Page 84 of Taste of Addiction

“I usually don’t keep tabs on former employees,” he adds. “So, I’m not surprised I wouldn’t know this.”

“I figured as much. But the meeting was, of course, awkward.”

“How so?”

“Well, for one, I’m pretty certain you fired Hanna solely because of me. At least that’s how she is making me feel.”

Graham looks off to the side. “There’s more to it than that, Angie. Please don’t feel guilty over this. You don’t need to fill your head with these types of worries.”

“But it was my fau—”

“It’s business and as simple as that. If I can’t trust my workers, then I do not have a place for them in my company—or my life. Hanna broke trust. So, she was let go with a respectable severance package. She should be thankful she even got that. My generosity only extends so far to those that step that far out of line.”

Pretty sure Hanna may have moved on with Bryce, but she did not move on from having anger toward me. I could feel it radiating off her in the way she looked at me, her posture, and the tone of her voice.

“Why else was it awkward?” he asks.

“I never thought my friend Bryce would find a girlfriend. He seems to be the guy who is chronically single and everyone’s best friend.”

Graham nods and takes a bite of the cheddar pretzel dipped in a habanero sauce. When it is standing room only in the little place, we decide to squeeze out the door and get a little fresh air.

“What time is it?” I ask, not wanting to dig out my phone in the bottom of my bag.

Graham glances at his watch. “Twenty to three.”

“I imagine I have a lot of paperwork to fill out,” I grumble. “Should we head to the office building now?”

“Yeah. That’s a good idea. We are just five minutes away.”

We walk in silence a few blocks until we reach the private offices of Dr. Lucian and Dr. Westinger. The building houses several different specialists, each taking up their own floor. We head up to the sixth floor and are greeted by a kind receptionist who hands me a packet of papers to fill out—mostly on my current health and reasons why I am here.

I fish out my driver’s license and insurance card to hand over. My insurance is basically to keep me from a hefty bill if something bad were to happen to me. Otherwise, it is useless, and the copays are so steep that I usually just suck it up if I am sick.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I thought you were informed already. We don’t accept any type of insurance.”

Graham, who was allowing me some privacy, walks up behind me and hands over his black card. “Just charge it. Go ahead and store my card on file to use for Miss McFee for any appointments here with or without my accompaniment or knowledge.”

I turn back to look at him and furrow my brow. His hand on my lower back calms my nerves. Why is he not even caring how much it’s going to cost?

“Don’t worry about it, Angie,” he whispers. “I got it. Okay?”

I exhale and move over to the couch to work on the packet. It is boring work, going through my medical history and listing everything out in writing.

“Umm,” I hum, looking over the last form.

Graham leans over and reads the title to himself. “You can use me, sweetheart, as your emergency contact.”

“Thank you,” I whisper. “For the past four years, I have listed Claire down for things like this.” And she did the same for me.

Graham kisses me on the side of my temple and watches me finish filling out the document. When I am done, he walks my paperwork up to the receptionist and then takes his seat beside me again.

“If you could have three things for Christmas—money is no object—what would you want?” he asks, rubbing the palm of my right hand with his thumbs.

I tap a finger to my chin. “Hmm…”

“Surely you have thought about this before now.”

I shake my head. “No, actually. I mean, I never gave it much thought. Claire, Zander, Blake, and I exchange gifts every year with each other, but the price is usually around twenty bucks per person. We are supposed to give ideas for what we want, and I struggle even to do that. If Claire picked my name, she would always go off the sheet and get me something way above the price point. But that’s just what Claire does.”

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