Page 2 of Rex

“Meeting her at a family reunion should have been your first hint,” Gunner adds, only fueling the flames.

“Did you fuck her? You filthy animal! My wife would be so disappointed in you,” Pigeon says, then ducks the fist Reeves aims for his head.

“This is my life now and you want to saddle me with Horse too?” I ask Gunner while praying he takes pity on me.

“Saddle and Horse! Two words that scare the shit out of him!” Pigeon barks, then starts laughing like the asshole he truly is.

“Nobody is saddling this Horse! What the fuck is going on here?” Horse asks from where he’s now standing next to Gunner.

“I just broke the news to Rex that you’re starting work here on Monday. He’s happy to have the extra help and excited to start training his newest recruit. Don’t fuck it up,” Gunner answers before flipping me off and walking away.

“Hey! Thanks, Rex! Happy to work with you guys,” Horse says enthusiastically while watching the wrestling match now taking place on my office floor.

“Yeah. Whatever. First job for you to do is to get these two jackholes out of my office,” I order.

“Yeah, sorry, boss. I don’t start until Monday. What’s their problem?” Horse asks.

“Loser has to train you,” I state before reaching for my bottle of Tums again.

I wake up with a jerk, and it takes a moment to get my bearings. I finally made it home tonight, but only as far as my couch, it seems. Pulling myself into a sitting position, I rub my face with both hands. Glancing around, I absently note the absolute wreck my condo is in and realize I’m not faring any better.

After a few moments, I make my way to the master bathroom and strip. I shower quickly, dry off and walk into my bedroom with eyes still blurry from lack of sleep. Walking to my king-size bed, I faceplant across it. Sleep hits me within seconds.

Somewhere in the distance, I hear my phone beeping, but I don’t have any desire to retrieve it. As much as I love all things techy, I’m equally sick of them right now. I’ve recently begun to hate how easy it is for everyone to reach me, day or night. After a few more moments of feeling sorry for myself, I push out of bed, pull on a pair of sweatpants, and make my way to the kitchen.

“Higgins, brew coffee,” I order my automated system. “And order Nespresso pods.”

Opening the fridge, I grimace. There’s nothing to eat except some questionable sliced ham and what looks to be cottage cheese only it’s in the milk container. Grabbing the trash bin, I empty my fridge contents into it. Opening the nearest cabinet, I stare in dismay at the empty shelves. I’m still staring at nothingwhen my phone gets an alert, and Higgins announces that someone is approaching my security gate.

Opening my front door, I feel a huge smile hit my face as I view the most beautiful sight I’ll see today. Candy is standing on my step, arms full of groceries, twelve pack of beer dangling from a few fingertips. I realize I’m standing in her way when she speaks.

“You want to give me a hand, Princess? Shit’s getting heavy.”

I take the beer and two bags from her and follow her to the kitchen.

“I have a few more things in the car. Be right back,” she states before walking out.

My smile only grows when I see how well Candy has taken care of me. I’m putting the groceries away when she returns with a cooler. Curious, I take it from her, sit it on the counter, and lift the lid. Candy gains my undying loyalty when I see the food containers she’s carefully packed for me. Twelve in all, and each is done in either compartmental trays or bowls with lids, each a full meal, only needing a microwave or oven. I turn to Candy, wrap both arms around her, and hug the hell out of her. She tenses at first, then relaxes, then finally hugs me back. I don’t let go, though, until she starts muttering to herself about men.

“You even remembered toilet paper,” I say with a snort.

“Bringing you food. Food goes in and then out, so I figured eventually you’d need toilet paper too. Not that big a deal. No! Don’t hug me for toilet paper! That would just be weird,” Candy says while stepping away from me. “Each of the meals have instructions taped to the lid. I’m not a gourmet chef. I’m noteven close to having Ava’s skill, but having a hot meal ready to eat can be a lifesaver sometimes.”

“How did you know how much I needed this, Candy?” I ask quietly.

“I pay attention to details. I’m not good at a lot of stuff, but I do pay attention. You work too much and always look tired. Tired people get a few minutes they sleep, not shop. I have to shop for myself, so getting some extra things for you isn’t a problem. I cook for myself, so I just made extra and froze it for you,” Candy answers.

“Thank you. How much did this cost you? I want to pay—”

“No. I don’t want any money, Rex. Just wanted to do something nice for you, kind of like a thank you. You brought Chubs home to Lucy. Lucy loves you, and Lucy’s important to me. That’s worth more than money anyway. Oh shit. You’re going to hug me again, aren’t you?” Candy asks in a resigned tone.

“Yeah, and you’re going to let me,” I answer before doing exactly that.

Before Candy left my condo, she whipped us up a couple of omelets, toast, and teased the hell out of me about me still being on Ava’s shit list. She also gave me some sound advice for getting off that list and back into the good graces of our President’s wife.

With that thought in mind, I text Axel to get the number to his flower guru. Ordering an expensive bouquet to have delivered to Ava’s bakery on Monday, I’m starting to feel a little more like myself again.

Axel: Who’d you piss off?

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