Loverboy (The Company #2) - Sarina Bowen Page 0,109
it was free, you know?”
“Honey.” Posy gapes at me. “You say you don’t like coffee. But your benchmark is that brown pisswater from the college urn? That’s like trying Velveeta and deciding you don’t like cheese.”
“I guess there’s still a thing or two I could learn from you. Here.” I force myself to hand the cup back. “I don’t want to hog it all.”
“Oh, don’t worry.” She bends over and grabs a second cup out of her bag. “They sent me with two. The other one was to share.”
I reach down and pick up the donut as best I can with my clumsy, bandaged hands. Then I take a nice bite and wash it down with Rico’s cappuccino. “Goddamn, it’s good to be alive.”
“You never say things like that.” Posy says. “It’s the drugs. All of a sudden you like coffee, and you’re full of crazy ideas. If you tell me you actually like New York, I’m going to ask the nurse to call a psychiatrist.”
Aw, my girl still doesn’t believe that I’m serious about her. But that’s okay, I’m going to convince her. “Come here. Come closer.”
“Why?” Posy steps in. “Do you need something?”
“Yeah, this.” I lean over, which makes my leg wound move in an uncomfortable way. But fuck it. I kiss her neck anyway. “It’s not the drugs, baby. A guy can change his stripes when he realizes what’s important.”
She wraps an arm around me and holds me tightly. “I need you, crazy man,” she whispers.
“I need you, too.”
We stay like this a long time. My leg is throbbing, but I don’t care. Posy is here. And she brought donuts.
Eventually, though, there’s a commotion in the hallway. “Why was I not told when he woke up?” demands an arrogant voice.
Then Max practically skids into the room. He takes one look at me in the bed, and his shoulders relax. No—all of him relaxes. He bends over and grabs his knees, letting out a loud gust of air.
“Huh,” I remark. “I guess a few people were worried about me.”
“You have no idea,” says Carl Bayer, striding in after his son. “Thank you for deigning to regain consciousness today. We were all about ready to sedate Max.”
“We sure were!” yells Scout from the hallway. “I have a tranquilizer gun at the ready.”
Max stands up, looking affronted. “Haven’t lost an employee yet, Gunn. What were you thinking, walking into that trap?”
“Oh, he wasn’t,” Carl says. “It happens to everyone at one point or another. Love makes you stupid. Doesn’t make him a bad person.”
“I am sorry, though,” I tell both of them. “I should have waited for backup. Hell, I should have waited forty-eight hours to see Posy. It seemed really urgent at the time.” I turn and give her a big smile. “Sorry baby. I just really missed you. But I don’t think I made the impression I was trying for.”
“Oh, Gunnar.” She gives me a soft glance in reply. And it’s almost worth the gunshot wound.
Okay, it’s probably not worth a gunshot wound. But it’s still nice.
There’s another bossy voice in the hallway now. “Is this where he’s been moved? That’s a good sign, right?”
“Shit,” I whisper. That voice is not a welcome surprise. “Is that …?”
“The mayor,” Posy whispers. “It’s the weirdest thing. He keeps showing up to see how you’re doing. I don’t get it. Maybe he wants to look tough on crime?”
“Max!” I groan. “Seriously?”
“It was me,” Carl says quickly.
“You knew?” I watch the door in spite of myself. I’m not interested in seeing that man. Not much, anyway.
“Sure, kid. I do a thorough background check of everyone at the Company. Wasn’t even hard.”
And there he is, darkening the doorway of my hospital room in a tasteful charcoal suit and a fedora, looking every inch the aristocrat. His eyes snap onto mine, and he looks me up and down. Then he sighs.
You could hear a pin drop in the room. Everyone’s staring at him. He glances around at them after a moment, then has the decency to look sheepish. “Hello,” he says stiffly. “It’s good to see you are on the mend.”
“Is it?” I struggle to keep the bitterness out of my voice. “Aren’t you glad I didn’t need a kidney? That would have been a tough decision, right? And hard to explain to the family.”
“Holy hell!” Posy says beside me. “You’re Gunnar’s father? Seriously?” Her voice rises in anger. She’s like a steam valve that’s breaking under pressure. “You’re the asshole who was too