When I was little, my dad read me Greek myths instead of the usual bedtime stories, and I loved them. My favorite was the abduction of Helen, which launched a thousand ships and started the Trojan War.
And I can still picture my dad sitting next to my bed, his deep voice bringing the stories to life. It’s hard to reconcile that memory with the man at the head of the table, droning on about Spartan war strategies.
The man who thinks I’m a disappointment.
I glance down at my plate and try to focus on my food. Mom’s a great cook and I love to eat, but I’m not enjoying it tonight.
Justin’s staring at my chest again. I glare at him but he doesn’t notice, probably because he isn’t looking at my face.
Hayley notices, though. Her eyes flicker from me to Justin, and she frowns. At me, of course, not at Justin.
“Something wrong, Alexandra?” my dad asks. He must have noticed my expression too.
“No, I’m fine.”
My father nods and resumes his lecture.
I leave as soon as we’ve finished dessert.
FIVE
ALLY
The next morning, I show up to work at seven forty-five, just in time to catch Dr. Malone coming out of his office.
“Miss Parker,” he says curtly, moving to walk past me. He’s wearing scrubs again, and the mint green color suits him. His dark hair’s a bit rumpled, like he’s been running his hand through it.
“Wait!” I blurt. “I brought your lunch.”
I’m pretty proud of my first lunch effort: there’s a kale salad with grilled chicken and goat cheese, a Greek yogurt, and a square of dark chocolate for dessert. He said he ate pretty clean, but dark chocolate’s one of the healthier dessert options. Maybe it’ll sweeten him up.
I pull the insulated navy blue lunch bag out of my purse. “Should I leave it in a fridge somewhere?”
“I’ll take it.” He takes the lunch, then gives me a quizzical look. “You bought me a lunch bag?”
“Well, I used your money, but yeah.”
His eyes crinkle at the corners, just a little. “Right. Thanks.”
He takes off down the hall before I can ask him what he’d like me to do today.
I can’t help but notice how good he looks from the back. Broad shoulders, cut triceps, and a really nice ass. It doesn’t seem fair that Mother Nature blessed this man with the brains of a neurosurgeon and the body of aGQmodel. One or the other should have been enough.
I walk into the outer office and find that Celine hasn’t arrived yet, but a second desk has appeared in the corner. It’s a battered wooden thing half the size of Celine’s, but it still feels like a victory. I’ve also been given my own computer, chair, and phone.
I dump my purse into the bottom drawer of the desk and log in to the computer. Heather Larkin has sent me calendar invites to a number of meetings, as well as an email titled Important Meetings.
Hi Alexandra,
I hope you’re settling in well with Dr. Malone! I’ve sent you several meeting invites to add to his calendar. The most important is the multidisciplinary strategic communication meeting next Wednesday. If this date doesn’t work, please suggest some alternate dates that would suit him.
Kind regards,
Heather
Okay. This is not ideal. I wasn’t lying when I told Dr. Malone I didn’t think I could persuade him to do anything he didn’t want to do. But Heather definitely expects me to get him there. She’s even willing to move the meeting to a time when he’s free.
And as Dr. Malone pointed out yesterday, Heather’s the one who hired me.
