Page 47 of Fixation
Harper:Hey, little bro. Please don’t worry. I’m okay, just need some rest.
Beau:Say the word and I’ll take the first flight to NY.
His response comes in when I head to the kitchen. Unlike Harper, my house doesn’t feel like a home. Other than the bare necessities, I don’t have much here.
Maybe now…
My heart warms and twists simultaneously. The thought of having Harper here—picking furniture, hanging paintings—does strange things to me.
Over the first year after my mother disappeared, I wished I could have someone on my side. A family member. A friend.
Anyone to reassure me I wasn’t alone.
Harper will be that person for me.
And I’ll be that person for her.
I pause in the middle of the kitchen to send an email to Emersyn on Harper’s behalf.Harpertells her there’ll be a week’sdelay in her custom orders. She needs more time to rest than she thought.
I read her emails earlier. She told Emersyn she’d need three days before.
Yeah, no. She needs at least two days to recover.
Which is whyHarperasks Emersyn to deal with her customers like they always do, since she’d need more time.
Emersyn shoots an email back seconds later. She says custom order delays never happen—fuck, I should’ve realized—but she suggests we offer a discount to compensate their customers.
I agree, asking her to email me back and give the bottom line.
Seconds later, I get an email from Emersyn. A few thousand dollars, that’s all.
I funnel the amount to one of Harper’s cash apps, not her bank account.
She won’t have to report it on her tax return, since this is a gift from me to her.
I’m more than herfriend, though I don’t think the IRS cares about semantics.
This is between Harper and me.
My obsession. My woman.
Despite the fight she gave me a moment ago, it won’t be long until she realizes I was right.
She’s mine.
She makes me work to be hers. Just like I wished she would.
My lips curve upward. My cock thickens in my scrubs.
Emersyn asks what else she can do to help. I take the initiative and instruct her to handle my emails without asking for my input until I—Harper—contact her.
Harper trusts her, and so do I.
Worst case, I’ll pay for the damages she caused.
Emersyn says she’s on it.
She won’t have to be for long. Harper will see how useful I can be. How much easier her life gets when she leans on me.
