Page 14 of Doc

The house is quiet when I go downstairs, and I hope that means Enzo isn’t giving Kail a hard time. In his position, I know I wouldn’t be an easy patient, so I don’t blame my colleague for his stubbornness, but I also hope he’s not causing himself unnecessary damage because of it.

The pizza Ash ordered earlier doesn’t take long to heat up, and I arrange everything on a serving tray. As I turn to grab the salad out of the fridge, Kail walks into the kitchen.

“Oh,” he says when he sees me. “Hi.”

I smile at the younger man. “Hey, how’s it going?”

“Good. Thanks for dinner, by the way. Doc said you paid for it.”

That fucker.I smile at Kail, because it’s not his fault Ash has my credit card number memorized. “You’re welcome. I won’t ask you to betray his confidence, but…how’s Enzo doing?”

Kail worries his lip before moving in closer. “He’s… I’m not sure actually. He hasn’t started therapy yet, and won’t really talk about how he’s feeling with me. I don’t blame him. I mean, he just went through something traumatic, but I think Doc was right, he hasn’t allowed himself to really think about what’s happened yet.”

I nod in understanding. Nobody expects Enzo to move on so quickly, but it has to start somewhere. That he’s so closed off at the moment is worrisome. I hope it only means he’s not ready to process what happened, and not that he’s going to try to ignore it for as long as possible.

“Let me know if you need a break. I know Doc has other people coming and going throughout the day, but if you ever need someone to take over a night shift, or even sit with you, call me and I’ll come down.”

“I will, thanks.”

Making sure I have everything, I pick up the tray. “Have a good night, Kail.”

“You too.”

Carefully, I head upstairs with my burden and find Ash right where I left him. He sits up in bed when I set the tray down on the nightstand.

“Ugh, why can’t I just eat my post-fuck pizza?” he whines when I hand him the salad.

“Because for a doctor you’re shit at healthy eating. Now, stop bitching or I won’t let you have any pizza. Especially since I apparently paid for it.”

He looks at me with not-so-innocent eyes. “Uhh, right, thank you for that.”

Rolling my eyes, I dig into my own food. I’d threaten to change my card—again—but I know that won’t deter the little shit.

We don’t say much as we eat, but then we don’t need to. Our relationship has always been more based on feelings—ironic considering my not being able to understand feelings is one reason we’ll never be a couple—and the contentment we gain from just being in one another’s presence.

This type of comfort isn’t something you can find with everyone, especially in our world, and we both hold onto it with two hands.

James leans against one of the cabinets in my office and I scowl at him. “Don’t you have some bodyguarding things to do?”

“Nope,” he replies, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Well, you can’t hang out here all day. I have things to do.”

“Wasn’t planning on it, my dear.” His smirk stirs both my irritation and my cock.

Before I can say something scathing back, the door to the office opens and one of the maids bows her head before allowing Soren to enter. He waits until the door is shut after the maid before turning to meet my eyes.

“Is the escort necessary?”

I shrug. “Boss’s orders, not mine. You’ll have to deal with it for a while, until he decides you’re trustworthy.”

He rolls his eyes and it makes me grin that he’s willing to drop some professionalism around me. Everyone knows I don’t stand on ceremony, and as long as someone isn’t an asshole then I don’t care if they allow their real personality to shine through rather than stifle it for ‘professionalism’.

James coughs, and it’s not a cute subtle cough either, but one that forces our attention to him. Glaring, I roll my eyes at his innocent-looking grin, before looking back at Soren.

“This is James Rossi, my main bodyguard, so get used to him being around. James, Soren Knightly, my new medical assistant.”

James steps forward. “It’s nice to meet you. Sorry you got stuck with Doc.”

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