The Man Who Has No Sight - Victoria Quinn Page 0,39

him and stuff.”

And stuff? “Are you going to visit often?”

“We’ll play it by ear.”

“You know, his birthday is right after Christmas. Could you stay until then? Please?” I couldn’t believe I just fucking said please. Like a little bitch. Why did I have to beg her to be there for our son?

“Jake wants to get settled before Christmas.”

“And what does Jake have to do with this?”

“Well, I’m moving in with him.”

“Again. He has nothing to do with you, me, and Derek. I’m asking you to stay. Jake is not part of this equation.”

“I need to sell my place.”

No matter what I said, it wouldn’t change anything. “So, you’re going to miss Christmas and his birthday?”

“I’ll send him a gift.”

I slammed my hand on the desk. “He doesn’t care about gifts, Valerie.”

“Look, if you wanted to keep this family together, you should have worked it out with me.”

“Jesus Christ, I don’t love you! Don’t put that on me. We can still be a family even if we aren’t together anymore. How many times—”

Click.

I threw my phone across the room, made it shatter, and then slammed my hand onto the desk again.

The phone on my desk started to ring.

I already knew who it was. I put the receiver to my ear.

Theresa spoke with a timid voice. “Everything okay?”

No, it wasn’t fucking okay. “Get a hold of Cleo and ask her to bring me a new phone.”

“Alright…anything else?”

“No.” I hung up and fell back into my chair, furious, my vision red, my knuckles throbbing.

The phone rang again.

I picked up. “What?”

“Uh…Dr. Hawthorne is here to see you. Should I let her in?”

I knew exactly why she was there. We should be celebrating right now. But that stupid bitch ruined everything. “Yes. And get me some ice.” I hung up.

Kathleen must have been warned about my sour mood because she wasn’t as perky as she usually was. She approached the desk, studying me like I was a viper about to strike with its fangs. “I just got the email from the symposium. Have you read it?”

“Yes.” I took a deep breath to steady my anger. “It’s very good news.”

Kathleen watched Theresa come around the table and hand me a bag of ice.

I put it on my knuckles.

Theresa also picked up my broken phone and set it on the desk before silently excusing herself.

“Bad day?” Kathleen asked.

“Yeah, a bit.”

“Problems with Cleo?”

“No. My ex-wife.”

“Oh…I see. You want to talk about it?”

“Not really.” Cleo would be there in the next hour, and we’d have an extensive conversation about it.

“Then I’ll come back at a later time…when we can celebrate.” She turned away.

“I apologize for my rudeness,” I said. “This all happened at the same time…”

She turned back to me. “I completely understand. We all have days like that. But I hope we’ll be attending next month.”

I wasn’t sure how I was going to pull it off. Being a single parent was rough. I had new respect for all the people who were parenting solo. “Yes. Wouldn’t miss it.”

“Great.” She smiled and let herself out.

Eight

Cleo

When Theresa called me, I knew exactly what had happened.

Valerie.

I picked up a new phone and then made my way to his building just outside the city. I also picked up his favorite lunch, because a good meal might help him calm down. I entered the building and moved to his office. Theresa didn’t stop me from just letting myself in without warning him.

So, he must have told her I could do whatever I wanted…because I wasn’t just his assistant.

I entered his office and saw him at his desk, looking down at paperwork, his jacket over the back of his chair, his tie gone, and the top button of his white collared shirt undone. His hair was messy because he’d been fisting it anxiously. Even though he was having a terrible day, he looked so fucking hot.

I approached his desk quietly and set everything down.

He was so focused on what he was doing that he didn’t notice I was there until the bag hit the top of his desk. His initial expression was full of rage, but once his eyes had a second to adjust to my face, that anger faded quickly. He rose from his chair, came around the desk, and then wrapped his arms around my waist, bringing me in for the kind of hug I loved to receive. His powerful arms took up most of my back, and he squeezed me against him, his chin resting on my head. He held me