Page 13 of Indebted

I knew it was coming, but for some reason, even after all these years, it still stung. “And my mom? Did she ever drink black coffee?”

I could see the confusion taking over his face. No normal person would know where this line of questioning was going, but in my head, it made perfect sense. I needed to solidify in my brain what I’d known all this time. Justin never wanted me, and despite whatever weird chemistry there was between us, I had no right to be this attracted to him. It was stupid and illogical, and my afternoon of insanity had come to an end. Time to get back on the proverbial horse and get my life back on track. Time to stuff all these forbidden thoughts back into whatever box they’d jumped out of and let them rest in the back of my mind for all eternity.

“No, she usually had a smoothie in the morning. Green.”

Of course she did.

“What does this have to do with anything?”

“Nothing. I’ll take the job.”

He studied me, perhaps I wasn’t as transparent as I thought. It was a mild comfort.

He took out a business card and handed it to me. “This is my information, text me a start date and I’ll get all your onboarding ready.”

I wanted to pat myself on the back when my fingers didn’t tremble as I took his card. I slipped it into the back pocket of my shorts right as Justin’s warm hands curled around my upper arms.

He gave one tug and I stumbled into him, hyperaware of the way his hard body brushed against my sensitive nipples.

I thought I heard him groan, but we were spinning, the heat of his hands gone seconds later.

Blinking, I realized he’d simply moved me away from the door.

But the air between us still hung heavy with tension.

“And this?” I swallowed the hot ball of desire in my throat and gestured between us.

Way to keep that forbidden box closed for all eternity.

His face went flat. “There is no ‘this.’” He left without a backwards glance.

I kicked myself.

I’d tipped my hand, and now he knew I felt something.

Damn.

One quarter, that’s all it would take, and then I’d never have to see Justin Kingston again.

I stalked back to my bedroom where I locked the door to take care of the ache between my legs. All the while cursing his name.

Chapter 5

Ifelt ridiculous parking my broken-down car in the parking lot—which cost me twenty-two dollars for the day.

It looked out of place next to all the Tesla’s, Audi’s, and BMW’s. I ignored my brain as it tried to find Justin’s car.

The clinic A/C blasted me in the face as soon as I stepped through the door. The contrast from extreme heat to extreme cold raised goose bumps on my arms and under my dress slacks. I’d worn a simple blouse with a floral pattern, black pants, and my only pair of kitten heels.

The woman behind the desk still looked down her nose at me. “Can I help you?” She had bleach blonde hair, a fake tan, and fake blue contacts. The make-up she wore was applied a tad too heavily, making her look older, the wrinkle on her forehead emphasized by the caked make-up lodged in the groove.

Her badge announced her as Midge. If I had to guess, I’d put Midge on the wrong side of 50 and not happy about it. Upon closer inspection, I couldn’t tell if her eyebrows moved. Which made it really hard to figure out if she was surprised to see me, or unhappy. Her eyes narrowed as I neared, so maybe the unhappy option.

I cleared my throat. “Hi, I’m here for the intern position.”

Midge started typing onto the computer. “Name?”

“Katie Malone.”