Page 62 of On The Beach

I flushed. Seriously? This guy had some brass balls, coming to my workplace and letting my boss know we fucked? God, kill me now!

"We'renotdiscussingthat." I snatched the bikini top and stuffed it into the pocket of my lab coat. "Thank you for signing the release; we'll let you know how?—"

"Oh, I'm planning to assist you," he said smugly.

"No fucking way." I took a deep breath and looked at myveryamused boss. "Sorry about the language, Dr. Kher."

"This is like a Bollywood movie." Dr. Kher had a whackedsense of humor, for sure. "Now, if one of you could burst into song, it would be the perfect scene."

"No woman, no cry—" Mick began singing, and I screamed. Yeah,screamedlike I was a child.

"Stop it." I took a deep breath. "Dr. Kher, I'm so sorry for being so utterly unprofessional, but may I ask you to give me a moment with Dr. Augustus."

Dr. Kher was nonplussed. "I think we're way past professionalism after I asked for a song. Well, lab meeting in thirty minutes, Belle, hope that's enough time." He walked up to Mick and held out his hand. They shook. "Nice meeting you, Dr. Augustus."

"I look forward to working with you, Dr. Kher."

I waited until my boss left the room and turned on Mick. "What the hell are you trying to pull?"

He shrugged, a slight grin spreading across his face. "Nothing. You want to use my patented process, and I want to see you use it. I want to be part of the clinical trial."

"Why?" I demanded.

"Because it's my fucking right, Babycakes."

"Don't call me that."

I was pretty close to crying. I had wept all the way back home, my heart breaking into a hundred pieces. I kept remembering what he'd said,"You came here to use me…I just let you use medifferently."

I never meant to use either Dr. Augustus or Mick Bottom—however, I did feel taken advantage of, and made a fool of. Even though RiRi, Cato, and Franco had apologized, and I knew they were notlaughingat my stupidity, it didn't change the fact that Mick had decided that I was a charlatan and humiliated me, especially with the fuck me and I'll sign the patent release suggestion.

"Belle, I'm here," he declared.

"And that's supposed to mean something?" My heartached. I'dreallythought that what we shared had been precious but that last night Mick had shown me who he really was, and I wasn't likely to forget.

"I came to give you what you wanted."

I narrowed my eyes, my jaws clenched. "Thank you. And now you can go back to Reef Harbor and spend your days drinking at the Coral Cove. If you leave your email address, I'll make sure you get regular updates on the trial."

He folded his arms. "No."

"Why?"

He cleared his throat. "Because it's not going to be convenient for me to woo you all the way from the fucking Caribbean."

I blinked. "Huh?"

"I said that it won't be convenient for me to woo you?—"

"I'm not deaf; I heard you. My huh was simply me wondering if you've lost your ever-loving mind."

He looked at me patiently, almost like he was assessing me. It was disconcerting to see Mick inclothesthat were not board shorts, flip-flops, and some kind of T-shirt.

His jeans looked designer. His sweater was, for sure, cashmere. His boots were expensive. This wasnotthe Mick I knew, which made me realize that he was a chameleon and, hence, completely untrustworthy.

"Why the name Mick Bottom?" I asked.

"My full name is Dr. Nicholas Michael Patrick Augustus, the Third. Augustus is the family name…my mother's first husband and my father was Lord Michael Patrick Augustus, who died when I was a baby. My stepfather was Jonas Bottom, and he pretty much raised me. He was American. Mother goes by Lady Arabella Maria Lucia Augustus. So, Bottom is not part of our namesofficially." He walked to me and put his hands on my shoulders. "When I came to Reef Harbor, Iwiped my past clean from the Internet, paid handsomely for it and became Mick Bottom."

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