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“Yeah.” She flipped open a folder and flicked the list his way, her irritation hard to contain. Then, she grabbed the coffee and sipped, burning her tongue. “Goddammit, do they have to make it this hot?”
Donovan glanced up, wincing a bit at her raised voice. He rubbed two fingers over his brow and then took the paper in his hands to scan over it.
“Headache?” she asked, not lowering her voice.
“Uh-huh.”
She lifted her massive diagnostic manual out of her drawer and dropped it on the desk. It made a pleasingly loud sound. Smack!
Donovan jumped, almost dropping the paper from his hands. “Jesus, Rush, what the hell?”
She pretended to be searching for a certain page. Flip. Flip. Flip. “Guess who stopped by this morning to have a chat?”
Flip. Flip.
He groaned. “Please tell me it wasn’t Suri.”
“Nope.” She glanced toward the door to make sure it was shut and then reached back into her drawer and tossed his wallet onto the desk between them. “Your friend Dr. McCray. She said you left this at her place last night. She also told me that she now understands how a complete novice got a job here. She implied that I must’ve been quite generous in college, doing special favors for the graduate students.”
“She what?” Donovan’s voice boomed in the quiet office.
Marin’s fingers curled against the desk, the rage she’d felt earlier this morning seeping back into her veins. McCray had looked so damn smug. Like she was talking to a child. Marin had wanted to punch that expression right off her face. Beyond the accusation just being straight-up insulting, didn’t women have enough trouble getting professional respect without throwing the you-slept-your-way-to-the-top allegation at each other? “I can’t believe you told her—”
“I didn’t!” Donovan said, lifting his palms. “I would never tell anyone that. I mentioned we were friends in school. She must’ve looked up what years we graduated and made assumptions.”
“Did you also mention that you almost offered to mentor me in your bed last night?”
His teeth clamped together.
“No, I’m sure you didn’t. She probably wouldn’t appreciate that much.” Marin straightened in her chair, refusing to show how much getti
ng blindsided by McCray had affected her. “Look, I don’t give a shit what you’re doing with whom. It’s not my business. But this job is important to me, and I need this position. I cannot and will not get dragged into some petty bullshit because your girlfriend is insecure and you play fast and loose with commitment.”
“She’s not my girlfriend.”
“Whatever. Girlfriend. Sex buddy. I don’t care.” Okay, she did. She totally did. But she couldn’t let him know that. “I’ve got enough on my plate already with this job. I don’t need rumors or marks on my reputation to add to the stress.”
He scraped his hands through his hair and then laced his fingers behind his neck. “I don’t even know what to— Fuck. I can’t believe she went there. I’m sorry. This is my fault.”
“Yes. It is. Did you cancel on her to meet with me last night?”
Something fierce flashed in his eyes. “It doesn’t matter. Like I said, she’s not my girlfriend and there’s no commitment. Never has been. And whatever we did have going on is done anyway. She has no right to dictate what I do with my time.”
“I don’t think she knows that.”
“She knows.”
“Right. She also told me she was just here to give me a friendly girl-to-girl warning. That I was too naive to mess around with someone like you. That you’d just break my tender little heart.” Marin gritted her teeth. “I swear to God, Donovan. I was ready to throw down with her. No one gets to talk to me like I’m a toddler. And if she tries it again, I’m going to get myself in trouble. You need to fix this.”
Donovan lifted a hand in surrender. “I promise. I will. She thinks me ending things with her has something to do with you because of what she walked up on last night. And she assumes you’re an easier target for her wrath than I am.”
“That is a seriously misguided notion on her part.”
He rubbed his brow again. “I need more coffee for this kind of morning.”
“You and me both. But there’s no time. We’ve got a session in a few minutes.” She pushed her chair back and stood. “And if you need aspirin, I have some in my purse.”
A long breath gusted out of him, and he got to his feet, tucking her list into the inside pocket of his jacket. But when she walked past him, he grabbed her hand, halting her. “Wait.”
