veins and the muscles in my neck and jaw were clenched so tight I feared they would break.
Of all the fucking weeks for Maxine to put a halt on work.
I needed a project. Something to occupy my mind because I was going off the deep end and needed a time out. Raking my fingers into my hair, I growled, then came to a stop in front of the pile of George’s stuff. Kennedy was against the shadowbox idea, but as of ten fucking seconds ago, her thoughts and needs were overruled.
It was time I started doing what I came here to do—to live my life for myself.
Not for Collin.
Not for Kennedy.
Not even for Maxine.
For Joe Channing, the guy who went out of his way to be everything for everyone else.
Besides, If I didn’t get my mind on something that wasn’t her, I’d tear myself apart.
Chapter Thirty-One
Kennedy
This day was one of the worst I’d had in a long time. Not only did I leave my phone at Joe’s, but Emmanuel glared every time I came out of a room. He never said one word to me. His stopwatch? Nowhere to be seen. The two of us had been making progress. While I doubted we’d ever fall into a routine like I had with Dorothy, life was so much better when he liked me.
While I should have been celebrating my newfound freedom from the timer of doom, anxiety festered in the pit of my stomach. I certainly wasn’t getting any faster with my patients. If anything, a combination of difficult visits and my curiosity over why Emmanuel wasn’t pouncing had me running further and further behind.
The growing sense of dread didn’t help matters.
Something was wrong. And not a little wrong. Something was very, very, horribly wrong. Like sneezing while applying mascara wrong. Or serving oatmeal with chunks of hot dogs wrong.
I just couldn’t put my finger on what had my nerves jingling and jangling. The awkward conversation the other night with Joe could have been to blame. For days, I’d avoided the topic of all things Collin West specifically because I was a terrible liar. I fully and completely blamed the Painkillers for the slip up I kept hoping wasn’t as bad as I thought. Those tasty little treats were deadlier than they looked.
I’d only have to sit on the secret for a few more days, though. So there was that.
In the meantime, I could distract myself from that unfortunate turn of events with the strange atmosphere at work. Not that it did anything to relieve the tension.
Ramsey avoided me like the plague. No nose boops. No impressive smiles or up-close views demanding I appreciate his bone structure. The number of times he walked past me without so much as a side-eye had me wondering if I was trapped in a bad dream where I’d gone invisible.
I rolled my eyes.
First, I was irritated because the man wouldn’t leave me alone.
I got my wish and had the nerve to be upset over the lack of attention.
Pick a lane, Kennedy.
When Mira Dixon, the office manager at Key West Pediatrics, approached at the end of the day, my nerves shot through the roof. This had to be a dream. One that was quickly devolving into a nightmare. With her shoulders square and her jaw set, Mira gave me a tight smile that died before it met her eyes.
“Doctor Monroe?”
“That’s me!” I gave Mira a smile that fell to the ground between us.
“I’d like a moment of your time.”
She didn’t wait to see if I had time. (I didn’t.)
She didn’t wait to see if I was following her. (I was.)
She just hightailed it into her office with me hot on her heels, my heart in my throat, my mind a hamster in a wheel running over hot coals.
Mira lowered herself into her highbacked leather chair behind her desk. “Would you please close the door behind you?”
I did as she asked and took a seat across from her. Back straight, tush barely perched on the edge of the cushion, nerves doing the Macarena at record breaking speeds. “Is there a problem?” I asked, then chided myself for such a stupid question.
Obviously, there was a problem.
All the woman needed was a cat cradled in her arms to fully embrace the “evil villain about to ruin my day” vibe. I never knew she had it in her, what with her pink pantsuits, pearls, and perfectly styled blonde bob.
“I’ll make this as brief as possible.” Mira clasped her hands on