Page 44 of Property of Mongrel

“I have too and I’m glad that everything is gonna get sorted with your bank accounts.”

“Well, she fucked around and found out, didn’t she?” I ask, giggling.

“She sure did, but if they hadn’t figured it out, the Kings would’ve handled it because nobody fucks with us, and that includes our ol’ ladies.”

“Is that what I am?” I question.

“It’s what I want you to be, Addy. But you need to know, it’s a lifetime commitment when you’re the ol’ lady to a biker. Eventually, of course, you’ll wear my rings and have my babies, but to start, I’d like you to be my ol’ lady. You in?” he asks.

“Yeah,” I reply.

His smile is radiant and I’m sure it matches mine. I know we’ve taken a huge step in our relationship, and the irony isn’t lost on me that while we’ve slept in the same bed wrapped around each other, we haven’t had sex.

Yet.

With that thought in mind, I let him open my door and slide inside. He steps back, closes the door then watches as I start my car, back up so I can turn around, then head toward the gates.

Time to return to reality.

It doesn’t take long to get everything together for work tomorrow, so I find myself taking a quick shower before I indulge in a long soak, using one of the bath bombs that Mongrel got me the other day. As I sip my wine, the lilac scent surrounds me and reminds me of all the kindness he’s shown me since I first met him. I definitely need to see when Betty is free; she’s the most important person in my life and he’s now part of it too, so they need to meet.

By the time the water has cooled, I’m relaxed enough that I know I’ll fall asleep without any issues. While I’m interested to see what the other therapists think about what Janice did to us, at the end of the day, all of our money that was stolen is being returned. I’m just glad that she didn’t do it when that huge-ass lump sum from the bonus hit my account, as well as my fellow therapists, because that was a lot of money for me. Not that it’s okay because it was just my normal paycheck, because it’s not. I just would’ve freaked out more is all, because I don’t think I’ve ever seen that many zeros at one time.

“Alright, Addy girl, time to hit the hay,” I murmur after drying off, cleaning the tub, and brushing my teeth. Before I slip into bed, I go through my house one more time and check to make sure the windows and doors are locked, the alarm is set, and the light over the stove is on. It’s another quirk, but I hate getting up in a completely dark house. That probably stems from all the times our power was cut off, who knows? Satisfied that I’m safe and secure, I head back into my room, put my phone on the charger and double check that my alarm is set, then I send Mongrel a text.

Me: Just wanted to tell you good night and sweet dreams.

Mongrel: They will be because I’ll be dreaming of you. Good night, Addy. See you tomorrow.

Sighing, I curl onto my side and turn on a podcast. Sometimes I fall asleep with the television on, other times, I listen to podcasts. I guess some would call it my white noise, although I’ve tried the machines and didn’t like them. Before I know it, I’ve fallen to sleep, wishing a set of strong, muscular arms were wrapped around me.

Morning comes far too soon and I’m a bit discombobulated. Every one of my dreams last night were spicy in nature, so I’m feeling a bit feisty, to say the least. I’m not a virgin, but I’ve always been selective about the few partners I’ve had, but none of them has evoked the feelings in me that Mongrel does.

“Guess that means he’s my soulmate,” I tell my reflection as I put on some makeup. Since he’s bringing me lunch, I’ll eat the fajita leftovers for dinner once I stop at the store and grab a bag of mixed greens and a tomato to make a fajita salad. My stomach growls as I head out the door and I laugh. “Nuh uh, it’s a pumpkin and cream cheese filled muffin day, along with a refresher,” I mutter as I reach my car. “Oh, and a Diet Coke, of course.”

I don’t mind cooking dinner every day, but I don’t always have a lot of time in the morning. Some of my appointments are at seven, although thankfully, not today since I was off yesterday. Still, I typically go through a drive-thru and pick up something light to eat, as well as my caffeine.

Once I get to the clinic, I grab my tote bag, which thankfully has two spaces for the drinks I got, as well as my water tumbler and head inside, to see absolute chaos. “What’s going on?” I ask Kara.

“Girl, I know you know what Janice pulled,” she says. When I nod, she adds, “Well, apparently, she’s been siphoning money from the company for months, so now they’ve got a forensic accountant going through everything she’s done. Mrs. Rockmartin told us that it’s possible all of us have more back pay coming our way!”

“Holy shit, is she ever gonna get out of jail once she goes in?” I ask. “Because what she did was unbelievable. How did she think she was gonna get away with it?”

“Who knows? She’s apparently lawyered up, but the clinic’s attorneys are demanding answers so they know how far back they should go,” Kara replies.

“I’d say they should start when she began working here and move forward,” I state. “Because we all know that Beatrice was on top of things before she retired.”

“I suspect that’s what Mrs. Rockmartin plans to do,” she tells me.

“Well, let me get ready for my patients.”

“Yeah, gotta do the same. Wanna do lunch?”

“Can’t today, my old man is bringing me lunch,” I reply.

“Oh, that hunky biker?”

“Yep. I’ll fill you in when I get a chance.”