Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 25940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 130(@200wpm)___ 104(@250wpm)___ 86(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 130(@200wpm)___ 104(@250wpm)___ 86(@300wpm)
“One day, big brother, you’ll get the motto work hard, play harder, not work hard until you’ve got one foot in the grave instead of getting your dick wet.”
“My goddamn dick is off limits. Just because I’m not fucking everything with two legs, that doesn’t mean I’m not taking care of myself.” No limits. Alejandro has no limits as to what he’ll do or say. The boy—yes, boy, even at the age of thirty—has zero filter or zero regret. It doesn’t mean I’m judging him by his playboy antics. It’s who he is.
“Alright, I get it. Talk later, brother.” Alejandro finally understands I’m ready to get off the phone.
“Later.” I hit the end button, place my phone on top of my desk. Now that things are settled, I can get through the hundreds of emails that have suddenly appeared in the last twenty minutes. That doesn’t mean I’m not worried about what Alejandro has up his sleeve. The man is a nut job. One Christmas, when our grandmother was still around, God bless her soul, Alejandro took it upon himself to pick out his own gift to give to our Abuela. She mentioned wanting a new nightgown. Well, let’s just say he got her a nightgown, one from a high-end lingerie shop, going as far as to buy her a pair of thongs to go with it as a joke. Here she was, nearing ninety years old, and she opens her first present and pulls out the lacy fabric. Thankfully, she was a good sport, laughing and then holding it up to her body and asking if this is what Alejandro looks for in a woman he takes to bed. We laughed. Mom rolled her eyes, walking away and praying for something none of us could understand. That’s why when Alejandro says he has a present for one of us, there’s always cause for worry.
THREE
Cadence
It’s been three days since I left Rachel’s office. After her talk, I assumed I’d have gotten a call by now. That hasn’t happened, and I don’t know if I should be worried or thankful. The amount of butterflies that’s been swirling inside my stomach has made it to where I’m tossing and turning in bed at night. The sushi and wine I purchased at the grocery store were the last full meal I could eat without feeling like I was going to throw up. It didn’t help that when I called Hendrix, the one person I confide in the most even if it is few and far between, she didn’t answer the phone, and I’ve yet to receive a phone call back or a text. I’m hoping she’s holed up with Madden, or maybe she’s out of town with little to no service for work. That’s what happens when she forgets to tell her cell phone provider she’ll be out of the country.
That leads me to the here and now, sitting at my computer at my daytime job, going through the monotonous work of calling patients to confirm their appointments for Monday. You would think they’d have a phone service that would send out calls automatically, or even an email or text, but that’s not the case. I guess I should be thankful, because good job security and all that pizazz.
“Hey, Cadence, are you doing anything this weekend?” Our nurse on staff, Leah, who usually keeps to herself, asks me. I almost do a double-take, wondering if she’s talking to me, except Leah said my name. Okay, when I say she keeps to herself, I mean that she and the doctor I work for are knocking boots. Both of them are married, and while I don’t agree with it in the least, I also look the other way, keep my distance, doing what I need to get done, then go home. Those two can deal with the repercussions of their sins.
“I’m not sure yet. What about you?”
“Doctor Manning and I wanted to invite you out to dinner tomorrow night.” I’m pretty sure my eyes are bulging out of their sockets, wondering if Leah can see that or if maybe I’m hiding my surprise better than I thought.
“That’s really nice. Is it for everyone in the office?” Trying to figure out if there’s any wiggle room to get out of the offer.
“No, only Doctor Manning and I.” Well, if that doesn’t throw up some serious red flags.
“Oh, can I get back to you? I’m working on the weekends now, and seeing as how I’m on-call, it might coincide with my other job.” I don’t elaborate. Leah is throwing up all kinds of red flags, and I want absolutely nothing to do with them. Why would I ever want to go out with Doctor Manning and Leah? Not after walking in on them in the supply closet. Ugh. I was astonished, scared, worried I’d lose my job. A lot of people don’t realize that even in a medical office setting where there’s more than one doctor, more nurses, assistants, and receptionists, the little peons like me get little to no say even if you’re not at fault. That’s why when I saw the two of them in more than a friendly hug, more like a clench, witnessing Doctor Manning’s hand in a place I’d rather never see and hearing the noises they were both making, I backed away in an attempt to leave with little to no noise. Of course, life would be so much better if I never saw that. The meeting after was awkward. Sitting there nodding my head in front of the two of them wasn’t my idea of fun. In fact, I’d rather have a Brazilian wax job. After that, I learned to keep to myself, going as far as not to step foot in the back unless absolutely necessary.