Page 57 of Doctor Bossy

Now I finally understood the full gravity of that statement.

I understood that despite what I had with Griffin, he still loved his wife and always would.

And I was only a temporary distraction, one that would end up costing him in the long run.

I backed away from the sight, feeling emotions choking my throat. My heart hurt, a pain sharper and deeper than anything I’d ever felt. I wasn’t even exactly sure what the pain was until a separate stronger realization slammed into me with the force of a freight train.

I didn’t just have deep feelings for Griffin.

I was in love with him.

I was in love with a man who saw me as nothing more than a fuck buddy, someone to help him release all the pent-up passion and lust inside him.

He cared about me in his own way, I knew, but if I stayed long enough with him, that care would eventually turn into hatred. Because I would simply be the woman who drove him away from what mattered most to him—his family.

And that was the moment I knew I had to leave.

James walking in on us hadn’t been my worst nightmare.

This was.

* * *

I stayedin the bedroom that night. Griffin eventually came back upstairs sometime during the night, but he didn’t say much. He only gathered me into his arms and then fell asleep. I held him too while he slept, my heart aching the whole time—for him and everything he had been through. I savored the moment, knowing very well that it might be the last.

Then, the next morning, I brought up the inevitable over a very quiet breakfast of eggs and coffee.

“I think I should go stay with Kayley for a few weeks,” I said. “Just in case James comes back and wants to reconcile. I know him, and it might be awkward to do that with me here. I don’t think his pride will let him.”

Griffin frowned at me over his coffee and looked like he was about to deny my request, so I added, “I’ll be safe. Kayley lives in a gated community. And cops are already on the lookout for the culprits.”

“I still don’t think it’s a good idea,” Griffin countered. “There is far more security here than anywhere else. We’ve got brand new security guards, and I’m in the process of getting a bodyguard for you.”

I didn’t know he was doing that, and once again, my heart went soft at how thoughtful he was, just like when I found out about the security guards. He was such agoodman. I needed to leave before I fell even more in love with him than I already was.

“Yes, but my staying here is a problem for you, and I hate that. I hate that I’m causing a rift between you and James.”

He didn’t deny it. Instead, he simply said, “It’s not a problem.”

“But it is, though,” I refuted, but then we were interrupted when his phone began to ring.

He glanced at it and said, “Let’s talk about this again when we get back. I have a meeting this morning.”

I didn’t want to talk about it later. I didn’t know if I would still have the strength to do what needed to be done, but I nodded anyway.

Griffin drove me to work that day, but everyone was far too busy at the lab to notice we’d walked in at the same time. Leila had a harried look on her face as she barked out the instructions for today, and even Marco was scarce throughout most of the day until he came in the afternoon with a box of deliveries.

I got to work immediately, trying to get things done. I started to sense the strain around noon but didn’t stop to take a break for lunch. That was probably why I started feeling a little dizzy in the afternoon, but I wanted to tough it out and get work done first.

Just a few more hours, I told myself.Just get everything done for the day, and then you can rest.

I continued for maybe another hour until it happened.

“Becca,” Dr. Griffin called, walking into the office.

But I didn’t hear what he said after because suddenly, the world went dark.

26

---