Nathan got in the elevator to his apartment. Instead of pushing the button to ascend, he leaned against the elevator wall, his arms crossed, his chin sunk on his chest. He’d been thinking about his meeting with Chloe’s grandmother all the way home in the car.
Except for the moments when he’d been remembering what he and Chloe had done in the car before that. He shifted and settled his shoulders more firmly against the wall.
His plan to get Chloe a job at Trainor Electronics had taken a hit. Her dislike of corporations ran deeper than discomfort with the politics. It was personal. She might accept the offer, but only out of necessity. That didn’t make him happy.
Even worse, Chloe’s grandmother had invited him in and then tried to chase him away. She had weighed him and found him wanting.
It felt unnervingly similar to the way his father had judged him. And Chloe would respect her grandmother’s opinion.
After seeing their cozy little house, he was even more resolved to help Chloe keep her grandmother there. It was the right thing to do. That meant an e-mail to Roberta about getting Chloe that position before she took another one.
He hit the “Up” button.
When the elevator doors opened, Ed was waiting for him, dressed in his usual uniform of white shirt and dark suit. “Was there a malfunction in the elevator?” his majordomo asked.
Nathan shoved off the wall and walked through the opening into the entrance hall. “No, I was thinking.”
“Good to know your brain is still working, because I was starting to wonder.” Ed jerked his head toward a doorway. “Ben is in the den with his doctor bag. He says you missed your appointment with him this morning.”
“I had an emergency meeting.” A wave of guilt and exhaustion broke over Nathan. He’d canceled the checkup with his friend at the last minute because he hadn’t wanted to argue with Ben about whether he should be at work or not. “Don’t worry. I’ll let him poke and prod me to his heart’s content.”
Ed nodded. “You look tired.”
“It’s been a long day.” He hadn’t felt it until the elevator had stopped, and the evening stretched out empty in front of him. Despite knowing that Ben would lecture him, Nathan felt his spirits lift at the prospect of having something other than work to fill the next couple of hours.
Ed held out his hand, and Nathan shrugged out of his suit jacket in their familiar daily ritual. As he handed it to the older man, Nathan gave him an apologetic smile. “Thanks for worrying about me.”
“Someone needs to,” Ed muttered before he did his vanishing act.
Nathan squared his shoulders and walked down the hallway to the den. Ben lounged on the sofa, a rocks glass in one hand, the television remote control in the other. “I love watching television on your dime,” the doctor said.
Nathan dropped into an upholstered armchair with a grunt.
“You were dodging me this morning,” Ben said.
“I admit it.”
Ben turned off the television. “How do you feel?”
“Fine.”
The doctor gave a huff of exasperation and stood up. “I’m doing a full workup.”
Nathan waved a hand in surrender. “I’m bone tired. But no headache or any other ache, no fever, no chills, no cough. I do solemnly swear.”
“When you start quoting the Marine oath, I know you’re feeling like hell,” Ben said, but his tone had lost its edge. He flipped open the bag sitting on the coffee table and pulled out a stethoscope. “Just a quick checkup to earn my pay.”
“Forget the pay,” Nathan said. “Have dinner with me. As a friend.”
Ben gave him a sharp look. “It’s past dinnertime. Don’t you have to read fifty reports and answer three thousand e-mails?”
Nathan rubbed a spot between his eyebrows. “I may have lied about the headache.”
“I’ll eat a second dinner because you have an excellent chef.” Ben smacked the stethoscope against Nathan’s chest. “Breathe in.”
Nathan drew in several breaths as his friend moved the stethoscope around. He let Ben take his blood pressure and run a few other basic tests. “Satisfied?” he asked as the doctor folded the stethoscope back into the bag.
“You need rest,” Ben said, picking up his scotch and taking a swallow. “Or you could have a relapse.”
“We both know that’s not going to happen.”
“Which? The rest or the relapse?” Ben asked.
“Both.” The only way he would stay in bed was if he could lure Chloe into it with him. And he would rest only after he’d made her come at least three times.
Ed walked in with a tray of hors d’oeuvres. “Would you like a drink?” he asked Nathan.
“Something with orange juice,” Ben said. “He needs the vitamin C.”
“A Manhattan.” Nathan paused long enough to annoy Ben before adding, “With an orange juice chaser.”
“You’ll find several varieties of citrus fruit on the tray as well,” Ed said.
“Good man,” Ben said. “I’ll hold him down while you force them down his throat.”