The Doctor Who Has No Chance - Victoria Quinn Page 0,27
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.