Page 54 of Indebted

To say Midge was surprised to see me was an understatement. The surprise on her face was worth the mini panic attack I’d had on my way over here. “Katie?”

“Hi, Midge.”

She shot to her feet, “you’re not supposed to be here.”

“Oh? I didn’t realize my internship was over.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Yes, that was the deal.”

I drew back. “Excuse me?”

“Don’t play dumb with me, now march that skinny ass out of here or I tell my lovely brother-in-law that Justin’s clinic isn’t the project for him, and I make a call to that reporter who seemed so interested in you working here. You know, the one that Justin pissed off when he snapped at him?”

“The last investor Justin needs is your brother-in-law?”

Midge tossed her hair over her shoulder. “He’s not the last, but he’s one of the largest contributors—or will be as soon as you leave, for good. I knew something sick was going on between you two. When I told my brother-in-law to stop by to test my theories, I never expected him to tell me what he’d overheard.”

“You planted him here?”

Midge smirked in triumph.

What kind of person did that?

Someone with an ugly personality, that’s who.

I shook my head. “You know what’s sad, you’re going out of your way for all this, for what? Does it make you happy?”

Midge frowned. “I’m doing this for Justin.”

“Right. For Justin, because you love him?”

She sneered at me. “Like you love him? You’re like your mother, walking in here, catching his eye, using him.”

I never knew how my mother met Justin, but I guess it would sting Midge to see her walk in here and steal the man she’d been pining over. Then to see it again with me. But I wasn’t using Justin. I would never use someone.

“What you’re doing isn’t love, Midge. And the only reason you still have a job is because you're lording your family’s money over Justin’s head. If you really loved him, you’d know how much the clinic meant to him.” And I was going to ask him to risk losing that. For what? For me?

My resolve faltered as I left a sputtering Midge to find Justin.

In my pocket, my phone started to buzz. Glancing at the screen, I stumbled to a stop.

It was my buyer.

“H-hello?”

The sterile hallway echoed, but I couldn’t move my feet.

“Ms. Malone?”

“Yes?”

“I’m calling from the office of Ms. Darling. Darling Data Incorporated would like to invite you to our office…”

I entered Justin’s office without knocking.

He sat behind his computer, lab coat on, looking as handsome as I remembered.

“Katie?” He rose, looking like he wanted to come around his desk but stopping himself.