Page 47 of Doctor Bossy

And I won’t forget. Ever.

21

BECCA

Ifelt only marginally better the next morning but decided to haul out of bed anyway and get dressed.

At least the headache was gone, and while I still felt lethargic, I was reasonably confident that I could get all my tasks done for the day. That was good enough for me.

On my way out, I glanced at the fridge, hoping to find some leftovers from the night before in there, but was shocked to find that it was stocked full.

“What the—?”

I tried to remember if I had somehow gone shopping in my sleep—sleep-shopped?—but then quickly remembered the face Griffin made when he looked into my fridge. I’d tried not to be embarrassed about how sparse it was, hoping he would simply assume I didn’t like cooking rather than the fact that I could not afford groceries.

But it looked like he had assumed the latter because he must have been the one to stock my fridge full some time between when he left last night and this morning. I wouldn’t be surprised if he slipped back in during the night because I had knocked out like a light. I’d fallen asleep at some point during our long conversation and woken up alone in my bed in the middle of the night, next to a note saying he’d taken off. I remembered giving him a spare key before I slept so he could lock the doors when he left.

And he must have used the key to get back in, to stock my fridge. Everything was neatly arranged, too, with fresh fruit and vegetables in their compartments, readymade dinners, and juices of different kinds. Every single food I mentioned loving in my childhood was currently represented in the fridge, and now I realize that all those questions he was asking led to this.

It was such a thoughtful thing to do that it instantly brought tears to my eyes.

No one has ever done anything like this for me,I thought. Not even James, at the height of wooing me. I’d thought he was the bee’s knees the one time he sent over Chinese food for me when I hadn’t been feeling too well. He’d made me know he did it, too, subtly hinting that he wanted to try some new techniques in the bedroom after I thanked him.

But Griffin had simply done what he did without asking for anything in return. And last night too, when he took care of me, he’d made it seem like it was nothing out of the ordinary.

Kayley was right, I thought.My expectations of men were ridiculously low.

Speaking of Kayley, I recalled that I needed to call her for our weekly phone catch-up. I felt guilty about not being able to meet up with her due to how busy I was, so I had to at least talk to her and find out if she was doing okay.

I did so on the way to work and chatted with her while I got on the bus. I told her about my huge screw-up at work, of course, but left out everything that happened in Griffin’s office after. While Kayley could be open-minded about most things, I was certain she would not approve of me sleeping with my boss, that was for sure.

“Jeez,” Kayley said. “I may not know a lot about your sciencey stuff, but that sounds pretty bad.”

“It was,” I admitted. “I really messed up, not just for me, but for everyone at the lab. Dr. Griffin was pissed as hell.”

“Hey, but at least you still have your job,” Kayley, ever the optimist, said. “So it couldn’t have been that bad. And speaking of Dr. Dreamy, how is he doing?”

I didn’t say anything for two reasons, the first being that I wasn’t sure how to answer that particular question. The second being that, at that moment, I felt something—a prickling on the back of my neck, almost like I was being watched. I glanced around the small bus but didn’t notice anyone outrightly watching me. Still, the feeling did not fade.

I’d experienced this before.

Back when I was in Branches, I called it my spidey senses because it was like an instinct that warned me when something was off. More often than not, it ended up being right on the money and had saved my life more than once, so it was a sensation I learned to respect.

But what on earth could be following me in Pikesville?

Maybe you’re just getting paranoid, I thought.

Yeah, and the last time you thought you were just being paranoid, you caught your fiancé cheating on you, so…

“Becca?” Kayley’s concerned voice came through. “Are you still there?”

“Um, yeah,” I answered. “Listen, I’ll call you back later. I’m almost at work, and I need to mentally prepare for whatever is in store for me over there.”

“I hear you. Call me after you get off, okay? Boy, do I have news for you on my end.”

“I will,” I said and then hung up.

With one last glance behind me, I got off the bus at my stop and went to work. The whole way there, I remained cautious, repeatedly checking over my shoulders to make sure I wasn’t being followed.

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