Paul turned from Justin's desk as she walked in. “Hey. I heard about your dad. How’s he doing?”
She rubbed at her eyes. “Good. He came through the surgery great, and was moved to ICU a few hours ago. I'm headed up there this evening to see him.”
“Good. Grab your coffee and then let's talk.” Paul gave her a tight smile.
“Okay.” She walked past him, smiling at Justin and wondering what Paul wanted to talk about. By the look on his face, it couldn't be good.
When are things going to slow down? To stop being so damn jacked up?
It was like being on a roller coaster that was under repairs, and yet your dumb ass was still riding it. She let out a soft sigh at the thoughts she was entertaining, and dropped her stuff off by her office.
“Jamie?” Alex's voice caught her off guard as she stepped out into the hall. “Why are you here? You should be at home, sleeping.”
She turned and let her eyes move across him as lust blossomed in her belly. It had been a few days since they'd made love, and one day was a day too many.
“I took a nap. I'm good.” She walked toward him and wrapped him in a tight hug. They rarely showed affection at the office in plain sight, but she needed him for a minute. He didn't deny her, but instead leaned down and kissed her several times. “I wanted to be around people.”
“Your dad's doing okay?” He kissed her again.
“Yeah. He should be in ICU now. I'll head up there later this afternoon.” She touched the side of his face. “I need time with you.”
He smirked. “Even in the middle of the scariest storms, my girl still wants to cuddle.”
“Who said anything about cuddling? I want sex.” She nipped at his mouth and turned, walking to the coffee bar as he growled at her. Warmth danced around her center, promising to bother her until she finally did something about it. Being tired was one thing, but being horny would drive her to close their door and force him to give her some much-needed attention.
After grabbing a large cup of coffee and fixing it to taste more like a dessert, she made her way back to her office.
Paul was already sitting in the chair in front of her desk.
She closed the door and walked toward him. “Why am I thinking this isn't going to be a talk I want to have after being up all night?” She lifted her eyebrow at him and sat down in her chair to study him.
“I know. I should wait, but I had a long conversation with my folks last night. I was just mulling over Kristen's decision to move back home, and I get it. It's lonely as fuck here. I don't have family, and the friends I have want to go out and get drunk at the bars all weekend long. I'm ready for a different life, Jamie.” He shrugged. “I love it here at the firm, but I think I'll love my job no matter where I go. It's the other parts that I'm missing out on.”
She took a sip of her coffee as concerned dripped down her chest. Mark wanted to leave, and now it sounded like Paul did, too. Both of them had just been given a big promotion to help pull them into lower-level management so that Alex could start pushing stuff down to them. It would seem the promotion and the plan to have more pulled off of Alex was going to fall through completel
y.
“Does Alex know that you're thinking about leaving?” She set her coffee down and stifled the need to sigh at the situation. There was no reason to let Paul know how disappointed she was. Alex would do that for both of them.
“No. I wanted to talk to you about it first. He's been moodier lately than I remember him being before. I'd rather not piss him off first thing in the morning.” Paul visibly paled.
“I get that, but he needs to know.” She picked up her coffee. “I'll talk to him about it and then come get you and you can fill him in. Let me soften the blow.”
“Okay. Can you do it soon? My parents want to take me with them on a trip in three weeks. I need to put in my notice today.”
She held back the need to growl and nodded. “Yeah. Let me drink this and then I'll go into the lion’s den for you.”
He smiled and got up. “Thanks, Jamie. You're the best.”
“You sure this is the right decision?” She got up as well and walked toward Alex's office. The coffee was making her stomach hurt.
“Yeah. It feels right. You know?” He smiled before walking out.
“No, I don't know. Nothing feels right lately.” She let out a huff, knocked, and walked in. “Alex, do you have a minute?”
“Not really.” He stood up from his desk. “But for you, I'll make time.”
“Paul was just in my office, and—”