Page 25 of Doctor Grump

From then on, my day was pretty routine until the afternoon when my secretary told me that I had a visitor.

“There’s no space for walk-ins today,” I told her.

“He says he’s not a patient.”

“Who is it?”

“One Mr. Evan Santorini.”

My temple twitched as annoyance filled me. Just when I thought today was going to be a good day. I wanted nothing more than to deny the man entrance but then thought of Piper and said, “Send him in.”

Piper’s father was a portly man with a round serious-looking face that was set in a frown. He looked like Piper, but his features lacked her distinct warmth and charm.

He stiffly walked into the office and said, “May I sit?”

I didn’t expect him to ask. “Yes,” I said, gesturing at the chairs in front of my table.

He sat.

“Listen, if this is about your lawsuit—”

“I didn’t come here to talk about that,” he said, waving his hand impatiently. “I’m sure Fred’s lawyers are going to chew you up if everything is not copacetic.”

“Right,” I responded. “So, what did you come here to talk about then?”

“My daughter,” he stated as he crossed his hands over his chest. “What are your intentions with her?”

“Excuse me?”

“You know, she is nearly engaged to someone as we speak,” he said. “And you inviting her to work for you as a live-in nanny for your twelve-year-old daughter is very suspicious.”

Piper? Engaged?

For some reason, throughout his whole spiel, that was the only thing that stuck and continued running through my mind in a torturous loop. This time, I couldn’t suppress the heavy wave of jealousy that hit me at the thought of Piper being married to someone else, someone who got to hold her, kiss her, and caress her delectable body.

I despised the thought.

And perhaps it was that loathing that led me to be a lot harsher than I intended when I said, “If you have a problem with your daughter working for me, then you should take it up with her. All you need to know is that I offered her a job, and she took it. I don’t give a fuck about anything else. Now, if that’s all you need, you can get out of my office.”

11

PIPER

Ishould have expected Ian not to keep his word, but I was still disappointed when I knocked on his door the next morning, only to open the door and find an empty room with no sign of Ian, not even in his study.

I immediately shot him a text wondering where he was, one that he did not reply to.

“He’s probably already at work,” Kendy said during breakfast after I inquired where she thought her father was. “He usually is around this time.”

“Without letting anyone know?”

She shrugged and immediately turned her attention back to her cellphone. Ian wasn’t home for dinner either, and I finally gave up on waiting, allowing Kendy to have her dinner early and go up to bed. I went to bed too, a little later, when Ian was still not home. He must have snuck in close to midnight because I heard the door open around that time. But I couldn’t be sure since he was gone the next morning again before breakfast. This pattern continued for nearly a week, during which I felt irritated and disappointed. I tried to be patient, to understand that he probably had a demanding career that took up most of his time. But there was also Kendy to think about. My heart ached for the poor girl. Plus, I thought Ian and I had reached an understanding, but now I realized he probably just lied to get rid of me. I refused to bring it up with him again, knowing full well that he would only lie to me again. Not like he cared what I thought anyway.

Until he surprised me once again.

That Friday, as I was humming to myself and making breakfast, I turned around to find Ian standing in the doorway, watching me.

I screamed instinctively, nearly dropping the spatula.

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