I rolled my eyes.
“It’s cute.”
Like always, my heart fluttered when he gave me a compliment.
We left the building then headed to the pizza place on the way to his sister’s penthouse. We sat at a table while we waited for the pizza to be ready, sitting across from each other in a booth.
We hadn’t been alone together outside of work since we used to be together, and that was a little weird. We used to go to casual joints like this, getting tacos or something easy, and then heading back to his place or mine.
I missed it.
He would stare at me for a while and then force his gaze out the window, like he knew he was staring.
“You were able to log in?”
“Yep. Because of you.”
“I’ll put all our passwords in a shared excel sheet. That way, you can always look it up.”
“You’d think my photographic memory would be enough, but I can’t remember seeing the password written down.”
“Wait, you have a photographic memory?”
“Yep. Runs in the family.”
“Wow…I didn’t know that.”
He continued to gaze out the window.
I didn’t know that because he wasn’t a bragger. He didn’t go out of his way to tell people his gifts because they didn’t seem important to him, unlike other men I knew. “So, he just didn’t show up?”
He turned back to me and gave a shrug. “I guess he got cold feet at the last minute.”
“And then he dumped her too?” I asked incredulously.
“He was probably being proactive about it. Daisy wouldn’t put up with a guy standing her up, so he probably thought it was smart just to dump her before he could get dumped. That’s my theory, at least.”
“How did your parents take it?”
“They didn’t say anything. Daisy and I had dinner with them like nothing happened.”
“That’s sweet.”
“She doesn’t need to be embarrassed by his actions. We had a better time without him anyway.” He glanced at the counter to see if our pizza was ready before he looked at me again. Anytime his eyes made contact with my face, he stared at me for a while, his gaze absorbing my features as if I were a photograph he was committing to memory.
“Are you doing okay with it? I know that must have hurt.”
He severed eye contact. “Yeah, it hurt a lot. But that’s part of life, right?”
“Yeah, but it shouldn’t have to be.”
Her penthouse was a diamond in the sky.
It was much nicer than Dex’s apartment, but not quite the caliber of their parents’ place.
She sat across from me at the dining table, talking to me as she ate another slice of pizza. “Whatever. Fuck him. I know he’ll come crawling back, and that’s when I’ll get my revenge.”
“Revenge, how?” Dex asked.
“I’ll tell him to meet me for dinner and just stand him up.” She continued to eat.
Dex nodded in approval. “I like that, actually.”
Daisy talked about the situation like it wasn’t that big of a deal, but I could tell she was really hurt by the whole thing, like she’d shed a few tears before we got there. But she was too stubborn to look hurt, to look weak, to let someone hurt her.
I admired her attempt.
Daisy shifted her attention to me. “How’s it going with Zach? He’s super hot.”
Dex immediately rose from his seat. “I’m gonna use the bathroom.” He left like he couldn’t get out of there fast enough, like any description would make him hurl all his pizza.
I watched him go, my heart sinking.
Daisy continued to eat her pizza like she didn’t notice her brother’s abrupt departure.
“It’s not really going anymore.”
“What do you mean?” she asked, not following my words.
“I broke it off. Just today, actually.” He’d texted me a couple times because my decision was such a curve ball. Apparently, he’d never been dumped before. I wasn’t sure if he was just sad to lose me, or sad that I took a swipe at his ego.
“Oh, really?” she asked in surprise. “Why?”
Zach was a good guy and we had a great time together, so I didn’t want to talk shit about him.
“Ooh…I know why.” She ripped the crust off her pizza and ate it separately from the rest.
“You do?” I asked blankly.
“Yeah.” She nodded to the other side of the penthouse. “Dex, right?”
“Um, no.”
Now she truly looked shocked. “Really? Then why?”
“We just…I don’t know…didn’t really click. He talks about work all the time.”
“Don’t we all?” she asked with a chuckle.
“But all he talks about is how much money he makes. That’s all he cares about. He told me bought out this other company, and I asked what was so important about that company, if they had products he was passionate about, and he said it wasn’t about that—just the money. Literally, money is everything to him. If he’s not making more of it, he’s wasting his time.”
“So, it is because of Dex.”
“What? No, I didn’t mention Dex at all.”
“But Dex is the exact opposite of that. He’d be making a lot more money if he weren’t volunteering so much of his time, but that’s not important to him. His work is more important than the fattest check in the world. So yeah, I think it is because of Dex.”
Dex watched the game on the TV while we continued to talk at the dining table, switching back and forth between wine and beer like we didn’t give a damn.
Daisy ran her fingers through her long hair continuously, like she couldn’t sit still, too anxious. “My girlfriends are taking me out tonight. I’m gonna find a fine piece of man and take him home.”
Dex kept his eyes on the TV. “Do you think there’s an invisible wall separating us?”
Daisy flipped him the bird without looking at him. “I want to say I hate his guts, but I don’t. He was a bad-boy cliché from the beginning, and I stupidly thought I would be the one to change him. Lesson learned.”
“So, you kinda pressured him into this?”
“No, actually. I assumed we would never be serious, so I would just go about my life, date other guys, normal stuff, and he didn’t like that. He was actually the one telling me he wanted to be exclusive.”
“Okay…maybe you should hate him.”
She chuckled. “I look back on it now and realize he probably wanted monogamy but nothing serious. He wanted me all to himself for as long as he could have me, but he never wanted to go further than that. I told him we could either be casual or the real deal. No in-between. He couldn’t keep me off the market just to be selfish. So, that was how we decided to take a step forward. But when push actually came to shove, he showed his true colors.” She drank the last of her wine then licked her lips. “I fell in love with him like an idiot. Won’t make that mistake again.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Men suck. Duly noted.” She grabbed the plates and empty wineglasses and carried them to the sink. “I should get ready because I’ve got to manhunting. It was nice having you guys drop by.”
We’d been there for a couple hours, and time just flew by. I felt like I was in a place where I belonged, with people who made me feel at home. “Glad we could eat some pizza together.” I cleaned up my mess, and when I came back into the dining room, I saw Daisy walk up to her brother and whisper something quickly before she walked away.
Dex’s eyes froze for one moment, responding to whatever she’d said. Then he looked at me.
She told him.
I didn’t expect her to keep it a secret, but I didn’t expect her to run to Dex and tell him as soon as possible.
Dex quickly looked away, trying to act like nothing happened at all.
We said our goodbyes and then left her penthouse and headed to the street. We spent the walk in silence, like Dex didn’t know what to s
ay without bringing up what he’d just heard, and I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to talk about it.
He lived closer to his sister and my apartment was a little out of the way, but he didn’t stop at his building and continued to walk.
“You don’t need to walk me home, Dex. It’s fine.” The only reason he’d picked me up was because I didn’t know exactly where Daisy lived. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Thanks for coming along. I know my sister really likes you.” He stood with his arms by his sides, looking at me with that absorbent dark stare, emitting a subtle intensity he seemed unable to control.
“I really like her too. Mason is an idiot, and I’m sure he’ll regret what he did.”
“If he doesn’t, I’ll personally make him regret it.” He turned away and walked to his building.
I watched him walk away for a moment, surprised he didn’t ask me about Zach, and then I continued on my way.
Nine
Sicily
Can you just tell me why? Zach’s message lit up my phone.
I was in my little office next door to Dex’s at Kline Clinic. He was in his lab down the hallway, and he had a couple meetings throughout the day. His research project was still in its infancy, but he’d applied for clinical trials since you had to do that so far ahead of time. I was scanning all of his work and formatting it into digital folders, so he could pull it up wherever he was without having to haul a big bag of papers everywhere. Does it really matter?
What I liked most about Zach was how laid-back he was, how he could flirt without being sleazy, how he was just generally in a good mood and took nothing seriously. It was just easy with him. But all of those qualities couldn’t outshine the big flaw he had.
If it didn’t matter, would I be asking you?
The only reason I didn’t tell him was because I didn’t want to hurt his feelings. Maybe he wasn’t right for me, but some other woman would love how ambitious and aggressive he was about accumulating wealth. In fact, most women would like it. But knowing my family lost their savings to pay for my surgery made me realize money was the root of all evil, a tool to keep people oppressed, to control everything in this world. If Dex had been there, my family wouldn’t have lost everything they worked so hard for just to save my life. You care too much about money. There, I said it. It was done.
The dots didn’t appear.
I hoped I didn’t offend him, but he was the one who pressed for the truth when I’d tried to spare his feelings. I was as diplomatic as possible, wanting to be friends and on good terms, which was true.
But then he called me.
I let out a loud groan when I saw his name on my screen. I answered. “Zach, you asked.”
“I know, I know. I appreciate your honesty. But…I guess I’m confused.”
Did he think he wasn’t obsessed with money?
“I thought you would like that. All women like that.”
“Well, I don’t.” I looked down at my desk as I kept the phone to my ear.
“Interesting… Maybe that’s why I actually like you.” He seemed to be saying the words out loud more to himself, not to me. “I didn’t even realize it. So, can I ask why you feel that way?”
“Why I don’t care for money?”
“Yeah.”
“I just don’t think it makes anyone happy. I think happiness comes from doing selfless and good things for other people. Sure, money is great and everything, but really, would you be happier as a trillionaire than a billionaire?”
He was silent.
“I just… I need someone who’s motivated by more than money, I guess.”
He released a quiet sigh over the phone. “So, if I gave a bunch of money to charity, would you go out with me again?”
I chuckled, thinking it was a joke.
“I’m serious.”
“Zach, I’m sorry.” That thing I needed in a relationship wasn’t there, and I didn’t want to spend any more time on this if it wasn’t going to go anywhere.
He finally let it go. “Alright, sweetheart. Hope to see you around.”
“Yeah, I’m at the Trinity Building pretty often.”
“Great. So, I can still see that smile…and ass.” He chuckled then hung up.
I set the phone back on the desk then looked up.
Dex was standing in the doorway, wearing his white lab coat, holding a couple papers in his hand.
How long had he been standing there?
“Can I come in?” He stepped inside without waiting for a response.
When he handed me his papers, I looked over them.
“You can file that into my results for today. Not exactly promising, but I’ve got a lot of tweaks to make. I just try to remember that Thomas Edison attempted to create electricity over two hundred times before he got it right, so…” His short hair was a little messy, like he’d been running his fingers through it while hunched over one of the tables. His lab coat was open, showing his shirt and jeans underneath.
“I’ll get these scanned and into the system. Your lunch is on your desk.”
He crossed his arms over his chest and gave a slight nod.
I moved to the scanner and placed the first paper facedown before I started the scan.
He continued to stand there.
I turned around and regarded him, the machine making audible sounds behind me. “Anything else you needed?”
“I heard a bit of your conversation.”
“Oh.” I returned to my seat in the chair, unsure what he expected me to say about it. I was certain Daisy had already told him what I told her.
“You okay?”
“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”
“You guys were seeing each other for a while, so…just wanted to make sure.”
“It was only a couple weeks,” I said. “It was just casual, didn’t mean much.” I was uncomfortable by the conversation, feeling the warmth all over my skin, the spotlight shining hot right on top of me.
“Alright.” He turned to leave the office.
I watched him go, relieved the conversation was over.
Ten
Dex
I sat at the dining table and looked at my notes scattered around me, trying to figure out a way to make this thing work. From the very start, I knew it was controversial and would take a goddamn village to get off the ground, but it was still disheartening, regardless.
Sometimes my mind would wander to Sicily.
I overheard her conversation, more than I should have, and I realized she’d dumped Zach because he was too obsessed with money, which was typical of every billionaire out there. Well, except my family. I wasn’t sure what she expected, for him to be some philanthropic, charitable person.
When people got money, they kept it.
That was just how it was.
Daisy said Sicily dumped him because of me, but after listening to that conversation, I realized that wasn’t entirely accurate.
But it kinda was true.
She wanted someone like me—and there was only one of me.
Maybe now was the time to talk to her again…before some other guy beat me to the punch.
A knock sounded on my door.
I quickly looked at the time on my laptop and realized it was almost eight.
Maybe it was her.
I crossed the living room and opened the door, expecting to see that short little woman with the green eyes, wearing flats instead of heels because she never wore heels when she was off the clock. I expected to see her long hair pulled over one shoulder, to see the confidence and trepidation in her gaze.
But it wasn’t who I hoped.
It was Catherine.
Her pale cheeks had a subtle pinkness from her blush, and she still had the same little freckle under one eye that I used to stare at for hours. She was taller than Sicily, even without the heels, and that had been nice while we were married. I was so tall that it was hard to be with a short woman sometimes, but Sicily made me rea
lize how much I liked it. “Um…what are you doing here?”
Her eyes immediately filled with hurt, as if she’d expected me to respond in a different fashion.
Just this past Christmas, I looked at the floor in front of the Christmas tree and pictured the kid I could have had with her, pictured her sitting on a different couch with a glass of wine, making my mom laugh. I felt so alone, so empty, because I’d lost something that brought me so much happiness. But now, I didn’t feel that way at all.
“Can I talk to you?” she whispered.
“About what? We finished our conversation in the coffee house.”
“Please…”
The part of me that would always love her stepped aside and let her in.
We moved to the couch, and she pulled out a folded piece of paper from her pocket. “I haven’t spent a dime of it.”
“Dime of what?”
She unfolded the paper and revealed a check. It was everything I’d had to give her in the divorce. “My mom found that lawyer, and she instructed him to get every penny from you she could as compensation for my dad. I should have intervened, and I’m sorry that I didn’t. I never felt good about taking the profits of all of your hard work, which is why I never spent it. I want you to have it back.” She held out the check to me.
I looked at the line of zeros in the box, the money I’d earned busting my ass to provide for us, to give her a life that would allow her to work for a nonprofit and essentially make nothing. “Catherine, it hurt when you went after everything I had. But it was never about the money. It was about…the coldness.”
“I know… I’m so sorry.” She continued to hold it out.
But I didn’t take it. “It’s yours.”
“I want you to have it—”
“And I don’t want it. I’m doing just fine now.” I had a place to live, and my practice was making enough to give me a nice profit at the end of every month.
She looked down at the check before she set it on the coffee table.
I waited for her to get up and leave.
But she stayed, wearing a short purple dress with strappy flats, a black cardigan on top, her hair in big curls. And she looked right at me, deep into my eyes, staring endlessly.
The Doctor Who Has No Chance (Soulless Book 11) Page 7