I had no reason to doubt him.
“At home,” I grinned.
“Sounds nice, doesn’t it?” I had never seen him so happy.
I couldn’t focus at work. My stomach was in knots and my mind kept drifting.
To Yoss. To his promises. To his smile.
To kissing him last night. It had been familiar and exciting. My heart hammered in my chest at the memory.
“You’re my smile, Imi. Always have been.” He kissed me with abandon. A passion unleashed. “Always will be,” he murmured into my mouth.
“Muffin?”
I startled, dropping the pen I was nibbling and knocked over my coffee cup.
“Whoa, it’s only a muffin!” Jason exclaimed. “You were a million miles away just then. I said your name three times.”
I looked up at my boss and gave him a wan smile. “Maybe I was ignoring you on purpose.”
“And maybe you should share what has put that silly grin on your face while you’re reading case notes for—” He peered over the desk at the paperwork for my new case. An elderly woman who came in with a broken hip and would need placement in a residential facility upon release, given that she had no family to take care of her. “Agnes Sutton. Aged eighty-four. Broken hip. No family. I’m not really sure why that’s making you smile like you’ve won the lottery.”
Jason sat down across from me and unwrapped the muffin and took a bite of it.
“I thought that was for me,” I asked.
Jason shrugged. “You waited too long. I figured it was fair game.” He finished the muffin and wiped his mouth before folding his hands across his stomach. “I spoke with Dr. Howell this morning and he told me that you haven’t completed Mr. Frazier’s discharge paperwork. That they were still waiting on a forwarding address. That you hadn’t updated him on Mr. Frazier’s placement. I told Dr. Howell you were out ‘sick’ yesterday but you’d update the file today.” Jason gave me a piercing look. “I also told Dr. Howell that you are my best employee and that not completing necessary paperwork wasn’t your style. So I figured I’d ask you what was going on. Because you’re not acting like yourself. At all.”
“Oh, is there a meeting going on that I didn’t know about?” Tess asked, poking her head around the door. I had never been more relieved to see my co-worker.
“Muffins? Jason, you haven’t brought me any,” she scolded, coming into my office and standing by the door with her arms crossed over her chest.
“I’m buttering up Imogen so she’ll take on another new case. Think it’ll work?” Jason joked.
Tess giggled. “Our Im is a do-gooder. Of course she’ll take it. No muffins required. So you should give them all to me.”
“Hey, I need convincing. I wantallthe muffins.” I glared at Tess who smirked.
“Girls, girls, there’s enough muffins to go around.” Jason paused. “Why does it feel like we’ve entered into uncomfortable sexual harassment territory?”
Tess and I laughed.
Jason got to his feet. “Okay, Imogen, please update Mr. Frazier’s paperwork and go talk to Dr. Howell. This is your priority this morning.”
“Got it,” I remarked a little sullenly, not looking forward to that conversation. Mostly because I had no idea what I was going to tell him.
After Jason left Tess sat down and crossed her legs. “Spill it.”
I gave her a look of confusion. “What am I spilling?”
“You’re wearing a shirt with cleavage. Younevershow off the goods. And you’re smiling. Really smiling. It’s weird.”
I looked down at the file in hands in an effort to hide my face. “Maybe I’m just in a good mood.”
Tess pointed at me. “See. That’s what I’m talking about. You’re never in a good mood!”
“Sheesh, you make me sound like a pain in the ass,” I muttered.
