Page 67 of Heartfelt Pain
Abe places a hand on his hip. “When was the last time you had any water?”
“What?”
He jerks a thumb over his shoulder. “Should I ask Trevino?”
“Stop using my bodyguard to spy on me.”
“How much water have you had today?” Abe asks.
“I. . .” Struggle to remember with the weight of their stares on me.
“Let me guess you had none.” He doesn’t need to voice his disappointment for me to know it.
“That’s really bad for your health,” Russ whispers.
“I don’t know if now is the time for one of your ‘I need to drink more water rants’,” I say.
“Did you eat breakfast? Huh?” At my silence, he asks, “Lunch?”
“I wasn’t hungry,” I mumble.
“How much sleep did you get?”
“What is this?” I question them.
Motherly concern pours from Russ. “We’ve just noticed how stressed out you’ve been lately.”
“I mean. . . I did find five of my ex’s killed, so yeah.”
“Before that,” Abe argues. “You’re not feeding your body enough vegetables, you barely drink any water. You work all the time.”
“Not all the time.”
“All the time,” he says, holding his hands out wide. “Are you forgetting I’m with you most of the day.”
“You’re working during that time too!”
Russ places a hand on Abe’s arm. “We were just wondering how you’d feel about a vacation.”
“Vacation?”
She nods clearly liking the idea. “You’re the most successful woman I know, Ren. But I think you could use a little bit more balance in your life.”
“Balance?” I’m disoriented by how united they are in their worry. “Have you guys been talking about me?”
Guilt crosses Russet’s face first. Abe is slightly better at hiding it, but he hangs his head.
“In all fairness your work effects Ben,” he quietly says.
My chest tightens. “And. . . Ben thinks I need balance.”
“Ben thinks you’re going to have a heart attack,” Abe says in that same gentle tone. “You take meetings between eight in the morning and eight at night. Aunt Macy worked half that time. You’re bringing in business, but at what cost, Ren? You won’t let anyone help you.”
“Ben helps me.” The idea cuts into me—what Abe’s really concerned about. “But you think I’m hurting Ben.”
For so long he’s been my ally. Except I’m hurting him. A pit in my stomach begins to gnaw.
“No,” Abe quickly says. “But there’s growing pains. You either need to let Ben take more of your meetings and split the work. Or think about limiting new clients.”
