Page 26 of Private Exhibit
Thank gods. Devon wouldn't have as much time to dedicate to it now that he had a day job again, but he knewGrimwouldn't mind. The man let them all work at their own pace, only closing out the task once everyone had submitted their reports. But atleast it would mean another paycheck. Gods knew he and Oliver could use the money.
Devon clicked on the link to open up the job details. He started to read, then paused when he saw Oliver put on a set of earphones. Devon frowned. It finally struck him that Oliver had interrupted him and changed the subject.
That was something Oliver had only ever done when they veered too close to something personal, something Oliver didn't want to discuss. But what did Steven Mason have to do with him?
Chapter 10
ANDY CHECKED the time as he stepped out of the elevator.
Damn it. He was too early again. After staying up so late, he'd thought for sure he'd wind up sleeping in. Instead, Andy had woken up even before his coffee machine had kicked on, and then he'd found himself dressed and ready and strolling out the door in record time.
Andy sighed.Gods. He had it bad. And he didn't even have Junior to distract him. Andy had waited up for the boy, hoping Junior would make an appearance and want to play video games. They often played late into the night, which was the reason Andy was frequently late to work. That time with his son was too precious to pass up. But last night, Andy had also wanted Junior present so he wouldn't keep dwelling on Devon.
He knew, the moment he went to bed, all he'd be able to think about was having Devon there beside him.
Being in the shower was hard enough with his imagination running wild. His bedroom was a whole different story.
But Junior had never showed. Andy frowned. Come to think of it, the boy had been absent ever since he'd taken off with Jess two days ago. It was officially the longest period of time Andy had gone without seeing his son.
Andy lurched to a stop, all thoughts of Junior vanishing when he spotted Devon up ahead.
Oh gods. Andy froze, tempted to duck straight into the morgue so he could avoid temptation. He'd have to spend theday hiding out in there again. Maybe Junior would finally show up and keep him company. If not, maybe one of his regular visitors would stop by. Regardless, he was going to have to avoid an encounter with Devon at all costs.
Except, when Andy noticed the anxious look on the boy's face, all his protective instincts kicked in at once. Temptation won.
“Devon?”
The boy gasped and looked up. “Doctor Gerard!” He juggled his phone in one hand and his lunch bag in the other, trying and failing to put the former away. “Sorry, I just wanted to make a quick phone call because I forgot to make it last night. I'm not clocked in yet, I promise–”
“Easy,” Andy murmured, holding out a hand only to snatch it back before he did something stupid. Like touch the boy. Or haul that little body into his arms.Fuck. “You're fine.”
Devon blew out a heavy breath, but still looked unsettled.
“Something wrong?”
“Huh? Oh, no,” Devon said, but the frown on his face belied him. “I missed a call yesterday, and I tried calling them back just now, but it went straight to voicemail. And my roommate is acting weird. I have this strange feeling he's keeping secrets from me, more so than usual–” Devon broke off, his cheeks coloring. “And you don't want to know all this. Sorry.”
Andy inwardly cursed, just stopping himself from saying anything.
Because he did want to know all that. All that and more. He wanted to know everything about the boy.
But that was dangerous.
“It's fine,” he said, forcing himself to keep it at that.
Devon nodded. “I'll get right to work,” he blurted out, then turned and let himself into the office.
Andy watched him go, pausing there a moment to take a deep breath before he followed.
“Holy–” Andy stared at the desk, wondering for a moment if he was even in the right room. Almost all of the clutter was gone. There were no tablets crowding the desk surface, and all the paper files were now in two precise stacks. Each stack had a sticky note placed on top. One readDONEand the other readTO DO. The rest of the glass desk was entirely clear. There weren't even any fingerprints. Devon must have taken the initiative to clean the glass before he'd left the night before. “My gods.”
Devon looked up. “Did I do something wrong?”
Andy slowly shook his head. He hadn't been able to bring himself to check the office before he'd gone home last night. He'd even stayed later than normal, hoping Devon would already be gone for the day. Even once he was sure the office would be empty, Andy had avoided it, heading straight out of the morgue and onto the elevator, never so much as glancing back at the office door.
It was a good thing, too, because if he'd seen this level of diligence last night, he wouldn't have gotten any sleep whatsoever.Gods. It was sexy as hell. It shouldn't have been, but it was.
Andy quickly turned away, hiding the sudden bulge that tented his pants. For lack of any other options, he headed straight for the coffee machine. Not that he really needed any more to drink, but he couldn't seem to make himself leave the room quite yet.
