Page 110 of The Potter

Remington, she learned, was seventeen, and while I thought he could take care of himself just fine, Halle felt like he’d done so much for her that it was only right that she pay it forward until he could afford a place on his own.

It was supposed to be a temporary situation.

Two years and a GED later, temporary finally came to pass. After spending those past two years at Potter’s Plastics, serving as my assistant—Halle refused to leave Astor and work for me, claiming she would kill me before lunch—Remington has decided that surgeons get plenty of pussy, and he wants in on this scam. His words, not mine.

Either way, my unexpectedly great assistant is starting college. He decided on Halle’s alma mater in Georgia, which annoyed me for all of about four seconds until he said, “Do you really want Hal coming to check on me every weekend, or would you prefer keeping her locked away in your bedroom for forty-eight hours?”

I couldn’t help him pack fast enough.

“Do you want me to help you unpack?” Halle’s voice pulls me back to the situation at hand—getting rid of the nosy teenager.

“No. He wants us to leave so we have time to squeeze in a celebratory fucking before we have to get back to Oscar.”

The fish, who has a tank that spans an entire wall of the house, is the same fish I hired someone to feed while we made this trip to Georgia.

“Vance! What is up with you today?” Halle seems quite offended with my behavior, but little does she know, the kid and I had an agreement. It’s time to see it through. The longer she plays Mommy Dearest, the longer I’m delayed in fulfilling my end of the bargain.

“Naw. I can manage. It’s just a few boxes anyway.”

That’s because I—well, my assistant—had the furniture shipped and assembled prior to our arrival. Other than his dishes and clothes, Remington should be all set. Which is what I need right now since I spent the past three hours on a jet, not able to distract Halle like I normally would. Instead, we played video games, which left me with a raging case of blue balls.

So, time for my assistant to spread his wings and make my girl happy, knowing he’s getting the second chance he deserves.

“Are you sure? Vance and I can stay and—”

I place my hand over her mouth. “He’ll be fine. I, however, won’t be if we have to stay here much longer.”

I’m already getting hives being in shitty dorms again. What’s more, I had to endure Halle’s stiff posture and silent tears as we drove through Frat Row, the location that changed her life irrevocably.

“Fine.” She sighs, flashing Remington a regretful look. “You sure you’re gonna be okay?”

Pulling her into his arms, he tucks her head under his chin, silently threatening me with a look as he says, “I’ll be fine. Call me later, kay?”

Because he won’t believe me when I tell him she’s fine.

“Okay. I’m gonna miss you, neighbor.” Halle squeezes him, and I know that no matter how far apart we are from Remington, we’ll always be family. The past two years together solidified a bond I hadn’t even realized I wanted.

The kid might have given me shit eight hours a day as my assistant, but he was a good kid. He was genuine with patients and a real pain in my ass when I missed my therapy appointments. Which, Halle insisted he try, too. We were both at her mercy but came out better men because of her.

“I’ll miss you, too, Hal.” He rubs her back and mouths, “I’ll fucking kill you if you hurt her,” over the top of her head.

Which, I’m all too happy to return with my own silent warning,“I’ll cut off your credit cards and repo your car. Test me, little boy.”

His car is a ’67 Chevy Impala we gifted him for his eighteenth birthday. It’s his most coveted possession, and I won’t hesitate to bring it back to Texas if he fucks up his GPA.

He nods and then grins, kissing the top of Halle’s head and stepping back. “Take care of the boss. He’s going to be a real asshole come Monday, when he’s dealing with the new guy.”

I groan. He’s not wrong. Since he’s leaving, I had to hire someone from a temp agency. I’m certain I’ll fire Nate, the “new guy,” as Remington calls him. So far, he’s asked me eighteen billion questions and even came into the bathroom to tell me I was late for my therapy appointment last week. I’m positive Halle and Rem put him up to it.

Halle turns back to me and laughs. “I’ll make sure and keep him alive.”

I’m not sure if she’s talking about me or the new guy at this point. Either way, it doesn’t matter. It’s time to finish this. “See ya later, kid.” I pull Halle to me, so she can’t try giving out one last hug, and pat Remington on the shoulder. “Don’t fuck this up.”

The kid might be annoying, but he has potential and will make a damn fine surgeon one day.

Inevitably, Halle goes in for another round of hugs, but I finally manage to get us into the car and down the block. “This isn’t the way to the airport,” she notices.

“We’re not going to the airport yet.”

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