MILLER
Byeeeeee
ME
Gabby, glad you are feeling okay. Please take the rest of the week off. We’re fine here. Take care of yourself.
MIKE
What he said.
GABBY
Fine. My nurse is pushing me to bed now.
FIELDS
Nope. Don’t want to hear about that.
I chuckle at Fields and Miller acting like Gabby is their virginal little sister. Wonder what they’d say about the deliciously vile things Taylor and I have done.
“Is there anything I can do for Gabby?” Telling her to take the week off feels like the least I could do, and I wish there were more.
“Making sure she knows that work comes second or even third on her priority list will go a long way.” Taylor smiles at me.
“She’s quite the workaholic isn’t she?”
“You have no idea,” she laughs. “But seriously, she’s been so much happier since taking on the GC role, and I think deep down she just needs to know you believe in her and don’t expect her to give up all the balance of her life in order to do the job.”
“Gabby’s one of the most competent attorneys I’ve ever worked with. I’ll be sure to let her know that once she’s feeling better and back at work. It probably wouldn’t be a bad idea to give the entire organization a reminder that their health and lives are more important than anything else we’re doing. I don’t want my staff to wear themselves out just to meet the bottom line.”
Taylor crawls across the couch, moves my computer to the table, and straddles my lap. Her fingers thread into the hair at the nape of my neck when she says, “You’re a good boss.”
I try to shake my head and protest, but she cuts me off. “No, you’re agoodboss, Grant. Your staff loves working for you. You’re nothing like your father and how he runs Davenport. Even the staff at this hotel rave about how great you are. Leading with a people-first mentality is at the core of who you are and how you run your businesses, and it doesn’t go unnoticed. I’m not telling you not to send a reminder to the company if that’s what you want to do, but what I am telling you is that they already know.”
Running my palms over her thighs, I soak in her words. As an outsider to all my companies and not witnessing me build them first-hand, her perspective is refreshing. I know she’s not just blowing smoke up my ass or telling me what I want to hear, not that Taylor has that ability to begin with.
“Thank you.” Taking her mouth with mine, I revel in the normalcy of the moment and the assurance she gives me, hoping I do the same for her every day because she’s brilliant.
“You’re welcome.” She moves to climb off my lap but I stop her.
“Wait, there was something I wanted to talk to you about.” I rub my hands over her legs again to keep them from shaking. I’m nervous to bring up this topic, but it’s something that’s been weighing on me and now seems like the right time to have the conversation.
“Oh boy, you have your serious voice going.”
“I’ve been doing some more research on your endometriosis since you said you have a doctor’s appointment coming up. Isn’t there a risk of cancer with the disease?”
She’s quiet for a minute, eyes bouncing over my face, and then she swallows anxiously before confirming what I’d read online. “Yes, there is a higher risk of ovarian cancer and other complications as well.”
“I think you should get the hysterectomy.”
Wow, Grant, way to just blurt out the thing with zero finesse.
“What?” The word tumbles out of her mouth in a mixture of surprise and disbelief.
“Besides you being in pain all the time, I mean hell, the two months I’ve been here when you’ve had your period have been tough to watch. If that’s what you’re dealing with every single month, it’s not worth it. What kind of quality of life is that for you? I hate to see you in pain like that, especially when there’s a solution. And with Gabby’s scare, if there’s even a one percent chance that keeping your lady parts means you could have a scare like this, then absolutely not.”
She gives a watery laugh. “Lady parts?”
