Chapter 29      

Moira checked her countdown meter. The fundraiser was in three days, and they were in the final preparations.

Chase was getting his casts off today, and they were being swapped for a sling and walking boot. It wasn’t ideal, but he’d be more mobile this way. Of course, for Chase, this meant he’d look more presentable in the Italian suit his tailor in D.C. was specially making for him. She was happy he was happy.

He’d been different after that incredible session with Ally. Forgiving his father had changed him. Hearing the details of what he’d experienced had given her chill bumps, but when it came down to it, all that mattered was that it had helped him. 

He hadn’t had any headaches or chest pains since that session—even though he’d had a follow-up appointments with Ally and Dr. Sarah to, in his words, keep everything on track. He considered it the reason Andy had increased his work week to twenty hours, still not enough if you asked Chase.

“Yo,” Gary called in her doorway. “You cool? How was your meeting with your sister and Chef T?”

As far as she was concerned, Natalie and Chef T were catering rock stars. They were preparing a beef tenderloin with wild mushrooms and sea bass with hazelnuts and white wine as entrée choices, paired with crispy polenta cakes and asparagus bundles wrapped in prosciutto with thyme sprigs. 

“Observe my cucumber-like demeanor. Everything is good to go for the fundraiser. I even squeezed in a walk-through of the space with Jill and Abbie. The flowers arrive day of, but they’re starting to set them up today.”

“Awesome,” Gary said. “Hate to break your bubble though. Our musicians backed out last minute.”

She shot out of her chair. “They what?”

“Just kidding!” he said, laughing. “You should see your face.”

Coming around her desk, she drilled him in the chest. “Don’t you ever do that again.”

“Ouch,” he gasped, dancing away from her. “Fine. I won’t. Man, you’re vicious.”

“When you pull that kind of joke, I’m more than vicious.” She made her face go deadpan. “I’m your worst nightmare.”

“I swear I will never josh with you again,” he said in all seriousness.

Gary either forgot that promise or had never meant to honor it in the first place. For the next two days, he played one practical joke after another on her. There was the fake spider hanging above the toilet in the women’s bathroom. She’d tried to leap away from it and had promptly tripped on the pants around her ankles. He’d smeared mashed bananas on her office phone—something she’d discovered only after pressing it to her face to call Evan with a briefing report. Then there was the exploding can of worms he’d stuck into her tin of green tea in the break room. He said it was to help her chill, but only Gary would think jump scares were relaxing. Still, the pranks were kind of funny, and they were a welcome distraction. 

Of course, she’d tried plotting her revenge, only to discover she sucked at practical jokes. Luckily, she had two siblings who excelled at them. Matt and Natalie had both been liberal with their advice. So when she handed Gary the sandwich she’d brought him from Brasserie Dare, she waited just inside her doorway as he opened the package at his desk.

The girly scream he emitted made her clutch her belly with laughter.

“You stuck plastic flies in my sandwich?” he cried out, dashing out of his office and appearing in her doorway, holding out the items in question.

“You know what the song says, ‘I don’t know why he swallowed the fly…’ Oh, wait, I do. Because he played practical jokes on his boss.”

“You are so dead,” he said, getting in her face. Then he grimaced. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

She couldn’t stop laughing. “I know you didn’t.”

“But I would highly recommend you refrain from saying that to anyone you work with,” she heard a familiar voice say.

Chase appeared behind Gary, who lurched around.

“Oh my God, you’re like the big boss, like—”

“Chase Parker,” he said, holding out his good hand to shake.

She thought about warning Chase. Gary shook hands hard enough to make a zombie’s wrist snap off.

“Mr. Parker! It’s an honor.” He tucked the offending sandwich under his arm to take Chase’s hand after shoving the fake bugs into his pants pocket.

Moira’s shoulders started to shake. 

“Evan says you’re even a greater man than he is, and Evan is like the shit.” Gary grimaced. “I mean Evan is a visionary, a genius—”

“I know what you mean,” Chase said, stopping the over-exuberant handshake. “You can let go of my hand now, Gary.”

He released it immediately. “I’m sorry. I get a little excited. Working here is like the best time of my life, and Moira is—”

“The shit,” Chase said, his lips twitching. “I’m well aware of that. Why don’t you call out for a sandwich free of bugs—on Artemis, of course—while I speak with this genius right here?”

“You bet!” Gary saluted him.

Moira bit her lip to keep from losing it.

“Can I get you anything, Mr. Parker? I heard abut your accident. Ice? A pillow? You’re looking great actually.” A plastic bug fell to the floor—one Gary must have missed. “I’ll just…clean this up.”

Chase stepped over the bug and shut Moira’s office door behind him. “You have a peculiar way of inspiring morale.” Then he started to laugh. “Remind me to never engage in practical jokes with you. I knew you’d think of something.” 

She found herself grinning. All she wanted to do was kiss him and wrap her arms around him. Should she? “Natalie and Matt gave me ideas. They’re scary really. You need to meet them. How about tonight? You’re back on your feet and looking very good, I might say.”

He looked over at her, and she paused, feeling anxious around him suddenly.

“Ah…this is weird. I’m second-guessing things right now. I want to kiss you and hug you and…tell you how much I love you, but I’m at work. Is that okay?”

“I don’t pay rent for this facility,” he said, shifting his weight. “So long as we don’t throw everything off your desk and have wild sex, I think we’re good.”

Heat tore through her. “That was low. You know I would have serious ethical qualms about that.”

“So do I,” he said, “but it doesn’t stop me from thinking about it. God, it feels good to be out of the house and free of all that plaster.”

“How did you get here?” she asked.

“Bonnie is outside in the car,” he said. “I asked her to make a stop here after we left the hospital. I wanted you to see my new getup.”

He proudly extended his black walking boot. Then he gestured to his brace, rapping on it with his good hand. “The marvels of plastic.”

“You had her stop here on the way back from the hospital so you could model for me?” God, she loved him.

He turned around slowly in a circle. “I wanted to stand on my own two feet before you and tell you how much I love you. I couldn’t have gotten through this ordeal so easily without you.”

“I was just thinking about how much I love you,” she said, putting her hand on his chest. “And…I’m glad it was easier for you.” 

“Know what else?” he asked her, smoothing back the hair behind her ear.

“What?” she answered.

“I’ve been cleared to work forty hours a week, adding ten extra hours each week moving forward.” Then he frowned. “Of course, it’s still not enough time to get everything done. It’s going to take me weeks to dig out.”

Her heart squeezed. That meant he’d be leaving, right? She’d known it was coming, and she was happy he’d be able to reclaim his life. She just didn’t know what that meant for them yet. “That’s wonderful. I know how much you’ve been looking forward to that.”

“Yeah,” he said, but his tone lacked its usual certainty.

“It’ll be fine,” she said. It was a reassurance they both needed.

“Of course it will.” He pulled her against his chest. “I’m not letting you go, Moira, even if I am going back to work.”

“Of course, you aren’t,” she said, injecting some humor into her voice. “Especially now that you know I’ll put plastic bugs in your sandwich if you mess with me.”

Kissing her on the top of the head, he tightened his hold on her. “All I could think of when I got this great news was how I couldn’t wait to share it with you.”

It was the same way for her. She called or texted him every time Gary pulled a particularly Machiavellian joke, and after the outrageously delicious lunch she and Evan had enjoyed yesterday at Brasserie Dare, the first thing she’d done was call Chase.

“Does that mean you’d be open to meeting my family tonight? They can bring pizza and beer over to your house if that’s more convenient. Caroline is coming in tonight for the weekend.” 

“If you don’t mind, I’m tired of being cooped up.” He traced her face. “How about we do it at your house? I’ve never been there. I’d…like to make love to you in your bed.”

Everything tightened up down south. “That sounds like a plan. I’ll be your chauffeur. Oh shit. My place is a wreck since I’ve been staying with you. And Caroline will have to stay with Mom. Okay, you need to go. I have a lot to do. In addition to making sure this fundraiser rocks.”

He kissed her nose. “It will. Don’t worry about me getting to your house. I’ll find my way there.”

“You sure?” she asked.

Gesturing to himself, he said, “I’m an independent man again.”

After he left, she sat down in her chair, unable to dispel a slight sense of unease. 

Would an independent Chase love her and want her as much as the old one had?