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I laughed at the image that the memory conjured up. Knowing my usual level of grumpiness, she’d definitely meant Snuffleupagus, if I recalled correctly from all those years I’d watched and lovedSesame Street. I grumbled out a brief good morning in his voice as if I was greeting Jo. Maybe I’d try that next time I saw her, see if she laughed or remembered the way she’d teased me.
The idea that we might already have an in-joke elevated my morning happiness even higher.
I slipped my hand into my pocket. Shit. My phone. I needed to charge it. While I did that, I could take the time for a quick swim, extend my feeling of freedom. When I’d swum my laps, I introduced myself to the shower and grabbed a clean suit from my closet.
Damn, I looked sharp today. No one else would know I’d spent the night sleeping on the floor in Pointsville. No one would guess that, anyway. It was probably the least likely thing I could have done.
But it had been worth it. To see Dad peaceful and alleviate some of Mom’s worry. Those two things were worth as much time as I could spare. Maybe it was even the least I could do, giving Mom a night off. If only I could do more.
I grabbed my phone from the charger and dropped it into my pocket. There was a coffee shop down the block, although going there was probably a little more time than I could reasonably spare. Still, it was a long time since I’d bought breakfast to go, so I hurried there and ordered some food and a hot coffee. I’d earned a treat, and their French pastries were beyond compare.
Before I could think too hard about it, I grabbed extra coffee and pastries for the others. We all worked hard, and seeing my dad was always a reminder that life was just too short. Plus, I probably needed the brownie points for arriving late.
I checked my watch — I was definitely late now, but I barely regretted it. The boss could play hooky sometimes, after all.
The elevator doors opened on my floor and, arms full of hot coffee and sweet treats, I walked swiftly to my office. When I got there, the door stood open, and Davina and Jackson were gathered in a huddle with Brody.
I held out the pastries and coffee, but Davina looked right past them and met my eyes.
“What time do you call this?” She crossed her arms and arched an eyebrow. Really, she did everything but tap her foot.
I put the pastries and coffee on my desk once it became clear that no one was going to take them from me. “I’ve brought breakfast.” My words were redundant, though. They could all see that already, and still I hadn’t prompted anyone to thank me.
“Our meeting was supposed to start at nine,” Davina continued.
I glanced at the clock. Yeah, so I was a little later than that. “It’s not like we have a lot to meet about, right?” Things were quiet. “And to be fair, we see each other all the time.”
Davina snorted. “Right.”
Jackson handed me a wedge of papers, and I took them before sitting down. “What’s this?”
“Some of us have been working this morning,” Davina said, although she finally helped herself to a pastry. “Maybe if you’d been here on time, you’d know what Jackson had just handed you.”
I snorted and ignored her lack of logic. It wasn’t worth addressing. Instead, I looked at Jackson for a decent explanation.
“We’ve put together a packet of the other companies we should think about taking a look at for an Apex approach now that Gold Moon seems to be out of the running.” He sat in a chair nearby as he gestured at the paperwork he’d passed to me.
“Jackson meansnow that you seem to be letting your girlfriend run it.” Davina’s clarification wasn’t exactly helpful.
Brody smirked, though.
“I think she can probably turn the illegal behavior around, you know?” Jackson sounded thoughtful, and jealousy was a thin, painful spike slicing into me at the confidence he seemed to have in Jo.
How did he know what she could do? What had inspired his backing?
Before I could ask him about it, Davina spoke. “Have you even checked your phone this morning? A message to say you were okay last night wouldn’t have killed you, you know.”
I waved my hand, not wanting to explain. I’d enjoyed being unplugged far too much, but now I was back in the office, I needed to get back down to business.
“I’ll do it now.” I grabbed my phone from my pocket. “What?” So many missed calls and texts and voicemails. “You three might want to get breakfast while I see to this.” I paused. “And lunch. Maybe dinner.”
This was the reason I didn’t exist in a bubble of calm with no communication with the office. There was no one to be me while I was away, so the work was always waiting for me when I got back.
But I smiled just a bit as I scrolled through the list of missed calls. Davina, Davina, Jackson, Davina…I stopped looking through the list. The culprits who’d been blowing up my phone were all standing right in front of me.
“Maybe youdocare about your alpha after all?” I teased. “Huh. Except Brody it seems?”
Brody flashed a quick smirk. “I knew where you were as soon as you used your security code on the gate in Pointsville.” He shrugged. “I didn’t need to call.”
