Page 33 of Secret Submission

Connor jumped, spinning around guiltily and tucking the phone behind his back as his thumb hit the button on the side to turn off the screen. He looked down at Sandra, who was standing just behind him, hands on her hips, one eyebrow raised. As usual, her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, so none of her suspicious expression was hidden.

“Nothing.”

It was the wrong thing to say. Sandra’s eyes immediately widened, sparking with interest.

“Oooh, you were texting her, weren’t you?”

“I’m on my break,” he replied, rather than answering the question, stepping to the side to move around her. Not that Sandra let him. She stepped with him, hands still on her hips, keeping herself between him and the door.

“Obviously.” She narrowed her gaze. “You’re in the breakroom. The question is, why were you in the breakroom, nowhere near the table, and instead over by the wall, hunched over your phone.”

Because he’d been texting with Mistress Julie and doing it completely out in the open had felt wrong. Not just because he was at work, either.

“I just had to check something on my phone, and I happened to be standing there.” It was sort of true. He hadn’t intended to look quite so conspicuous, but after throwing out the trash from his snack, he’d felt his phone go off, and he’d stopped moving to check it… then turned toward the wall when he’d seen who it was.

“Hey, Connor… can I ask you a favor?” A pretty blonde poked her head in the door, smiling her brightest smile. Inwardly, Connor groaned. Whenever Beth wanted a favor, it was usually a pain in the ass.

“He can’t do it,” Sandra said without turning around, and Beth’s face fell, turning sad and pleading.

“Well, I don’t know what it is yet. What do you need, Beth?” he asked, moving around Sandra again. This time, with a witness there, she didn’t block his way. Which meant he owed Beth since she was saving him from the Sandra Interrogation.

“I have Mrs. Malley this week every day at five. Would you mind taking her instead, so I don’t have to rush to pick up Robert?” Robert being her son, who needed to be picked up by six fifteen every day. With most clients, a five o’clock appointment wouldn’t be a problem for that, but Mrs. Malley could be… difficult.

“Sure, no problem.”

Behind him, Sandra made another aggrieved noise as Beth brightened.

“Thank you, Connor! I’ll go tell Aubrey to make the change!” She scurried away, as if afraid he was going to change his mind. Or maybe that Sandra would intervene.

“You’re too nice. You know that, right?” Sandra asked, following him out the door into the main room, around the equipment that was scattered throughout. She kept her voice low, though, since there were a few clients being run through their stretches on the other side of the room.

He shrugged.

“I don’t mind.” Yeah, he’d need to stay an hour later than he normally did, but that was fine. It wasn’t like he had anyone to rush home to. Beth’s husband apparently wasn’t around much, or very helpful, so he could help make her life a little easier.

“You should have at least had her trade one of her morning clients with you.”

“But then she would have to rush here after dropping Daniel off,” he replied reasonably. He knew because there’d been times in the past when he’d taken an early morning client off her hands. “I like helping. It makes me feel good. And you do want me to feel good, right?”

Sandra was silent for a moment before she grumbled, “I hate it when you do that.”

He grinned, still heading toward the front. He’d just felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, which meant Julie had probably texted him back, and he wanted to see what it said. Sandra couldn’t follow him into the bathroom.

“Where are you going?”

“Bathroom.”

She made another disgusted noise but peeled off. Connor didn’t fool himself into thinking that was the end of it. She’d be back to bother him about his dating life and probably about being too nice again. He didn’t mind. It was nice that she cared.

As he passed by the front desk, he waved to Aubrey and Beth, both of whom waved back. Aubrey gave him a look that made Connor think he agreed with Sandra about being too nice, but it really wasn’t a problem.

He did need to let Julie know he’d have to move their date to seven, though.

Julie

Escorting her most recent patient out of her office, Julie smiled and waved before closing the door behind him and letting out a deep sigh. Not because of him, just because she was tired. It had been a long day, and she needed to call her mom back. She’d seen the call come through while she was making the next appointment for Tristan.

She hadn’t talked to her parents since Saturday—five days ago—so she knew she wouldn’t be able to put it off.

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