Page 136 of Her Wicked Plan

I make a mental note that I need to come back more. If work with allow it.

“So, Leo,” my father says, “how are you enjoying your new job?”

Quiet enough beside me, Myles laughs slightly, and I do my best to ignore him. “It’s going well. Different from what I’m used to.”

“Crazier patients.” My dad is always blunt with his words.

“You have no idea,” Myles answers.

Mom's eyes dance between mine and Myles's in confusion. “Myles came up to speak with my boss about business things. He got to experience some patients firsthand.”

“Oh, Myles, sweetheart, you shouldn’t have gone there.” My mother coos.

I look at her with a shocked expression, my hand freezing mid-bite. “And what about me?”

“Leo, you can handle yourself there. It is what you went to school and were prepared for.” She shoots me a loving look. “Him? No offense, Myles, but I think those girls would scare you and eat you right up.”

I chuckle to myself, Chloe doing the same until Myles opens his mouth. “It wasn’t awful. Although, when I first met Leo’s patient, I wanted to shit bricks. Now she is scary.”

“She isn’t that bad,” I state as I push the lettuce around my plate. My mind wandering to her. Hoping she is behaving herself.

“That’s because you are used to her,” Myles says to me. “Anyone else would be afraid of her.”

“She hasn’t tried to hurt you? Has she?” Chloe’s tone is full of concern.

Myles almost chokes on his food at the question and speaks around a mouthful of food. “She held a letter opener to his neck.”

Everyone gasps, including my father.

I shoot Myles a death glare before trying to calm everyone down. “But she didn’t hurt me. It was more to scare me. Intimidate me.”

“Maybe you going there wasn’t a good idea.” Chloe sets her fork down.

Mom nods in agreement, but I shake my head. “She has gotten better. Hasn’t tried anything like that with me again. You guys don’t have to worry about me.”

“Honey, I’m your mother. Of course, I’m going to worry about you.”

“I know, but, like you said, I can handle myself,” I remind her, to which she curtly dips her head. “Anyway, enough talk about me. Chloe? How is your job going?”

She sighs. “It sucks. My boss is terrible and won’t be lenient regarding Carter. The office is not family-oriented. If I ever have to leave to pick him up from daycare early, they always give me a hard time.”

“That’s bullshit,” Myles mutters.

“Yeah, tell me about it. They try to make me feel guilty. And whenever I call Carter’s father,” She looks over at her son, who struggles to stab the small tomato with his fork. “You guys know how he is. Something is always more important than his son.”

Myles mutters curses under his breath, making sure Carter won’t hear. That boy will repeat anything you say.

“Have you tried looking for another job?” I ask.

“Between the job I already have and also being a full-time mom? I don’t have the time to search for anything else,” she states.

My parents hold sadness in their eyes, knowing there isn’t much they can do. My dad still works full-time, and my mother is always busy with charities and helping at the library. They help when they can, but there is nothing they can do about Carter’s piece-of-shit father.

“I can get you a job at my office,” Myles offers.

Both mine and Chloe’s eyes widen. “What?”

“I'm sure we can find something for you to do there,” he tells her. “With your background and knowledge, my boss would love to have you on the team. He is super relaxed and family-oriented. One of my employees has a kid and had to be off for an entire week when her child was sick. Our boss gave her no shit and let her have the time off. Paid.”