Page 15 of Taming Grumpy Dr. Beast
The whole place had a laid-back vibe. It was a space that encouraged you to peruse the books within each aisle, and take your time making your selection. For me, being here signaled that I could slow down and forget the worries I faced outside these walls.
“Cece, this whole thing is weird.” I hoisted myself up on a nearby stool, careful not to knock over the pile of books we’d been sorting.
“What do you mean?” my best friend and boss replied. She grabbed her long dirty blond hair and pulled it up into a messy bun.
“I signed off on our contracts, but they only listed the university as the employer. I haven’t gotten an address or name of the person I’ll be working for.”
Cece’s brow furrowed in concentration. “Do you think the person might be famous and that’s why they can’t disclose who it is yet?”
I chuckled and shrugged. “It’s probably an old, eccentric donor who’s given the university a ton of money.”
“Hmm, you’ll have to report to me when you get there. This way, I know you’re safe.”
“I’m sure I’ll be fine, worrywart.” It was sweet of her to be concerned. I didn’t have the same reservations. Bev, who was handling the paperwork, made it sound like this was a fantastic job and had commented a few times she wished she could go, too. She wouldn’t say that if the location or individual was unsafe.
“Will you be stuck there?” She shot me a concerned gaze as she entered our latest acquisition into the store’s database.
“I have no idea.” I’d been so preoccupied with trying to figure out how to get the employer to be okay with Dad not accompanying me, I hadn’t thought about what I’d do after hours. “Right now, they’re expecting Dad and myself to arrive tomorrow afternoon. They’re sending a driver for us, so I’m assuming I can go off property when the workday is over, but to be honest, I just want to get this job done as quickly as I can. If I have any free time, I’ll probably read or do coursework.”
“Take some time off, Lil. You work too hard. You need to have some fun in your life.” Too many times Cece tried to take over the role of big sister. She was only two years older than me. We met when she was in high school. I tutored her in Statistics, and we became fast friends. What I loved about CeCe is that she didn’t expect me to be something I wasn’t.
“I hear you, but the faster I get this job done, the sooner I can return home to my dad.” The worry about tomorrow was eating away at me. It helped that I’d worked out an off the books arrangement with Janice and another home health aide we frequently used. They were both willing to take a percentage off the cost to take care of Dad around the clock while I was gone. Just thinking about the extra expense my stomach clenched.
To distract myself, I ran my fingers over the title of the book in the closest stack to me,Second Chance for Mr. Alden. I was a sucker for the second chance romance trope and made a mental note to buy a copy.
“I know. It’s going to be okay.” Cece laid a hand on my arm.
“Is it? I hate lying, though.” I looked down at the carpeted floor. The days where I could continue taking classes and add to my degrees were over. I’d always imagined when that happened I’d find employment translating various text for a private collection or a university if I didn’t work with Dad. It was what I had been ultimately trained to do and was a perfect fit with my affinity for languages.
“Lily, you don’t have any other options here.” Her fingers grazed my shoulder in a comforting rub.
I lifted my head to stare morosely at her.
“Lil, unless you can come clean about your dad, you have to hope your employer will understand or at least believe he’s too sick to go right away. I know you. You’ll complete that restoration long before it becomes a problem. And perhaps you’ll find that your employer is an understanding person and will be happy the job is done regardless of who does it.”
I tugged my lower lip into my mouth. There was no way I could let the university know Dad wasn’t fit to fulfill his contract. Not to mention I’d already committed us to this project and gotten Uncle Ward to help us out. He was putting his job on the line, helping us cover for my dad and signing off on my work.
My stomach tightened as anxiety gripped me. My employer would have the right to be a jerk about this situation. I was planning to show up at the house without my father, who the university believed was the best qualified for this job.
In their eyes, I was just a student fulfilling an internship. They didn’t know I’d learned everything Dad could teach me, and I was just as good as he was. My doctorate degree was only necessary to legitimize myself.
Ugh,” I groaned. “It doesn’t matter. I’m leaving tomorrow, anyway.”
Cece moved closer and wrapped her arms around me. I laid my head on her shoulder, an ache forming in my heart. “I’m going to miss you,” she said.
“Same.” Cece was my rock, the one who reminded me to do normal things occasionally instead of keeping my head stuck in a book all day. “I’ll hopefully only be gone for a few weeks.” I prayed it wouldn’t take long.
Bev couldn’t give me any information on the current state of the book. The university had possession of it initially, before it was moved. I got the impression only a few people had seen it. That could mean its condition was too fragile to transport which could also mean it would take me longer.
God, I hope not.
“Gone?” a deep voice asked in surprise behind us. “I thought I might have heard wrong. Someone in the department mentioned that you were starting your internship early. Imagine my surprise, I hadn’t heard it from you.”
Do you hate me, Universe?I couldn’t help wondering as Cece let go, and I slowly swiveled myself to face forward. “Hey, Gavin.”
His lips turned down into a frown. He rested his bulky forearms on the counter and leaned over it. Instinctively, I pushed myself away from him. “Why did I have to hear about this through the grapevine and not from you, Lily?”
“Most likely because I don’t run my schedule by you, Gavin.” I rearranged the piles of books in front of me to avoid having to look at Gavin. There was absolutelynoreason he needed to know my whereabouts.
