Page 43 of Family Bonds- Garrett & Justine

And when did he ever even care about those things?

“Which is why I brought donuts,” he said. He turned his head when Troy opened the door to come in. “Because we know I’ve got to bribe you guys to keep getting our meds out first.”

“So it is bribing,” she said. She winked at him and she understood how he’d turned that around.

It was nice to know they were on the same wavelength for things. Though he wouldn’t care if anyone saw them together.

The more he thought of it, they had dinner in a public place. She went to his parents’ house. He ate at her place. They were on the ferry and spent the day together.

They weren’t hiding anything and many people who knew him could have seen them.

But they wouldn’t know her unless they worked here.

“It’s more like letting you know how much I appreciate the hard work you do,” he said. “Help yourself, Troy, before Justine eats them all.”

“Don’t mind if I do,” Troy said, opening the box. “Boston cream. Sweet.”

He watched Justine’s smile drop and held back his laugh.

When Troy was gone, he said, “I’ll get two of them and jelly next time so you can have one of each throughout the day.”

He was all but whispering it to her.

“Thanks, but my hips don’t need it.”

“No comment,” he said. “Because, you know, I shouldn’t be looking at your hips.”

She laughed. “No, you shouldn’t be.”

“I should get back to my office and put those donuts out before someone sees and helps themselves.”

“Bye, Dr. Mills.”

“Bye,” he said.

He left and went down the halls to his office.

When he let himself in, he saw Danica talking to Nadine.

“Dr. Mills,” Danica said. “Should be a quiet day.”

“It always is when we don’t have treatment patients in,” he said. “But the lines might be nuts with calls too.”

Danica would man those lines for all patient calls to give results, fill scripts, or answer any general questions.

“To me, if I get to sit at a desk it’s a quiet day,” Danica said.

“I’m not sure I could do that all day,” he said.

He liked to move around and talk to people.

Maybe he was more outgoing than most.

Not nosy, but trying to be helpful.

“Because you’re always running around the office,” Danica said. “You never sit down. Don’t you ever get tired?”

He wasn’t aware people thought of him that way. “I sit at night when the day is done.”

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