Page 8 of Gene

“I don’t need you to call Gene. He doesn’t need to come. That was uncalled for.” Sammi was furious.

“Tough. I called him, he’s coming,” Nolan replied.

“He doesn’t need to come! This doesn’t concern any of you. I am fine. You just gave me a little fright, and I missed my footing. That’s it and nothing more.”

“Bullshit,” he said, and she flinched, not expecting him to cuss. “You and I both know it wasn’t just a scare. You need to take better care of yourself, and as for Gene, he said he wanted to know if anything happened to you. Something happened, so I’m letting him know.”

“I don’t need special treatment because I’m a woman. I can take care of myself. I am taking care of myself. I’m doing a great job at it.”

The second part was a lie. She really wasn’t taking care of herself, and it was showing. But there was more going on than her just not drinking water. Something was wrong, and she wasn’t about to tell them, not when it could get her fired and then she really wouldn’t have any insurance to get it checked out.

Nolan gave her a “are you serious” look, which she didn’t appreciate.

“Did you just lie to me?” Nolan asked.

Before she could answer, Gene walked up right behind them.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

“Nothing! Nolan is just overreacting. I am perfectly fine,” Sammi spat out before he could say anything.

She moved her hands behind her so she could push up, but before she could, Nolan spoke.

“Sit your butt back down,” he growled.

Sammi glared at him. “I don’t need to sit anymore. I am fine,” she argued.

“Sammi, sit,” Gene said before turning to Nolan.

“I am not a damn dog!” she yelled. “You can’t just tell me to sit and expect me to obey.”

It was something she hated about her name. It seemed like a dog name to her, and when people told her to do things, it didn’t sit well with her. Was she on the same level as a dog?

“I know you aren’t a dog. I want you to sit while I talk to Nolan and figure out what’s going on,” Gene gently said.

“I can tell you what happened,” she offered.

“And lie about it like you were lying to me?” Nolan asked.

“I wasn’t lying!”

But she was, she totally was, and they all knew it. There was no way out of this. She was getting backed into a corner, and it wasn’t looking good for her.

“Just stay sitting while I talk to Nolan for a second. Then we can talk,” Gene sternly spoke.

Sammi huffed out a breath and crossed her arms. This was not fair. She shouldn’t have to sit here and wait for them to talk.

“Eat some berries and drink some water.” Gene handed her a couple more.

Her mouth fell open. How did he know she ate some berries? Nolan hadn’t said anything.

“Got a little something right here.” He bent down and wiped at the bottom of her lip.

Her whole face flushed as she could see some blackberry juice on his thumb. But what shocked her even more was him licking his thumb while looking directly into her eyes. She shouldn’t be turned on by a simple action, but she couldn’t help herself. Her insides turned to goo, and she felt herself growing wet.

“Now, what happened?” Gene asked Nolan.

“I have been looking for her all day, allweektechnically, but every single time I try and look for her, she’s nowhere to be found,” he started to explain.

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