Page 60 of The Marriage Negotiation

"Feel better?"

I smiled as I lifted my head so I could face Patrick, resting my chin on my folded hands. "I do love you, you know. This isn't a one sided thing."

Patrick smiled back, his hand brushing the side of my head. "I know, baby. You show me every day how much you love me."

"I guess this is the be happy, be in love part, huh?"

"I don't know." I shrieked when Patrick grabbed me and rolled me beneath him. "Are negotiations over?"

I spread my legs and wrapped them around Patrick, tightening them so his body was pressed against mine. "Not yet."

Chapter Seventeen

~ Patrick ~

I blew out a breath as I set the pen down and then pushed the contract toward Jake. The responsibility Zaq and I had just taken on was a heavy one, but one I looked forward to.

"Is that everything?"

Jake glanced to the man beside him. "Miles?"

Miles grabbed the contract Zaq and I had signed and read it over quickly before closing the leather binder and smiling up at us. "That's everything. All the stuff you listed should already be in the clinic. Now that you and Zaq have passed the state licensing exam, you can start practicing medicine tomorrow if you want."

"You have that list of clients?" I asked. I wanted to make sure the people that had signed up for the program were the ones we would be treating.

Miles handed me another black leather bound folder. "This is everyone to date. In all, there are a little over fifty people currently signed up. Most of them are people that paid into the program, but a few or employees of those people. Like Lucas, he's signed up Oliver, his butler. Jake here has signed up Stella and Fred. Sam and I signed up Burke, and so on."

"Make sure everyone has our phone numbers so they can call us if they need us," Zaq said. "No sense on being an on-call doctor if no one calls."

Jake chuckled. "Everyone got your phone number when they signed up and paid their annual fees."

"I guess we're all set then." I turned to look at my husband. "Do you have any questions?"

"Only one," Zaq replied. "Does this signing conference include lunch? I didn't have a chance to get breakfast thismorning before Patrick rushed me out the door and now I'm starving."

I chuckled as Jake said, "We can do lunch. I'll buy."

"Why don't we go toLe Bernardin?" Miles suggested.

I'd heard of the place, but I'd never been there. It was a little above my price range. If Jake was buying, however, I was all in.

"Let me call Jai and see if he wants to go," Jake said as he reached for the phone.

Miles grabbed his cell phone and started dialing. "I'll call Sam."

A few minutes later, the six of us were walking out of Jake's office with several bodyguards. It was kind of weird. I had grown used to having Jackson around, but not the others.

I doubted anyone would fuck with us.

The elevators took us straight down to the parking garage. Zaq and I climbed into our car with Jackson at the wheel. Well, technically, it was Jake's car, but he'd loaned it to us until we could purchase one of our own.

We pulled out onto the street and started heading down the road toward the restaurant. We'd only gone a few blocks when my cell phone rang. When I answered, a security guard from our building was on the other end.

"Sorry to bother you, Mr. Scotton, but there is a Mr. and Mrs. Scotton here in the lobby wanting to see you. They say they are your parents."

I huffed. "Very well. Keep them there. I'll be there in about ten minutes."

"Yes, sir."

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