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“I need to call Chloe,” I said, almost in a panic.

“I already called her. She knows what happened. She said she’d be coming by this morning.”

“How did she react when you told her?”

Jonesy chuckled. “She freaked out a little. She said her boyfriend was there with her. She was better as we ended the call.”

I sighed, and even that hurt, making me wince. “I guess I’ll be entertaining the parade of admirers today.”

“Please rest today, babe,” he replied, bending down to give me a soft, gentle kiss on the lips. His hand cupped my face. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

Jonesy straightened, picked up his coffee from my tray, and turned to go.

“Uh…can you find out if I can have coffee?” I pleaded.

“Yes, Howler,” he said with a laugh, waving a hand over his head as he walked toward the door.

As he retreated, I caught sight of his muscled butt in the slacks he wore. Although I was banged up pretty badly, I still took in one of my boyfriend’s best assets, and it made me ignore the pounding in my head, if only for a few pleasurable seconds.

I realized just how tired I was as I settled my head back down into the pillow, and within a few seconds, I drifted off, thinking how lucky I really was.

I woke a couple of hours later, smelling the distinct aroma of fresh coffee. Chloe stood over me, slowly wafting the steaming brew under my nose as I opened my eyes.

“You couldn’t have just woken me up like a normal person?” I huffed.

“Whoever said I was normal?” she replied, pulling the cup away from my face. “Ya know, Jonesy told me to swing by your favorite coffee place and bring you your normal order this morning, but considering how surly you seem to be, maybe I should⁠—”

“Give me that,” I barked, pushing the button on the bedrail to let me sit up. I shifted, and it felt like every inch I moved revealed a new level of pain. “Fuck, that hurts.”

“Simmer down, boss,” she said, pulling the rolling bed tray closer and placing the coffee on it, making it easier for me to reach.

I sighed. “I’m sorry. Thank you for bringing it.” I gritted my teeth before settling back.

“You’re welcome.” She waved a hand over my body. “You take one little trip to Lake Tahoe, and look at the prize you end up winning. Do you remember what happened?” she asked.

“Everything happened so fast. I remember having crossed a bridge when a large black SUV pulled up beside me. They shoved me into the guardrail, which gave way… and over the edge I went.” I took a deep breath, forgetting about my ribs, and winced with a groan. “Next thing I knew, I was upside down with a broken arm.” I gently raised my arm in the sling. “I think I passed out after that.”

“Do you know how lucky you are to have survived something like that, boss?”

I shifted to get comfortable and reached for my coffee, taking a sip and humming my approval.

“I know…that’s what a few people have said. I’m more pissed that I lost my cellphone, though.”

“Oh…Jonesy told me that, so I went and got a new one for you before I came here,” she said, digging in the tote bag she carried. “I remember you telling me you have all your phone information on the cloud. So it should be easy to set up. I charged it to the company credit card.” She placed the boxed phone on the tray next to my coffee.

“Have I ever told you you’re a lifesaver?” I said, giving her a little smile.

“No, you never have. But I’ll take the compliment.” She looked down at her hands after sitting back down. “I’m just happy you’re okay, boss. When Jonesy called last night, I was beside myself.”

“I’m sorry, Chloe,” I said softly. “But as you can see, I’m fine… or I will be after I heal. You’re going to have to run the office until I get out of here.”

“Oh… don’t think you’re going to be heading into the office the minute you’re out of here. I’ll have the locks changed so you can’t get in. You need a good few days' rest at home first,” she said defiantly.

“Yes, Mom,” I replied sarcastically, reaching for my coffee. Just then, a nurse I hadn’t seen before came in and walked around the end of the bed to inspect my monitors.

“Good morning. You missed breakfast, but we felt it would be better to let you sleep. My name is Jeannie, and I’m the day nurse here in the ICU. But because you’re doing better, you’re being moved to a regular room this morning,” she said, checking my IV bag.