Page 35 of Carry On
Yeah, I knew that.
I just had to put a reasonable distance between Lincoln and me. I couldn’t deny the weird draw between us, and I couldn’t explain it either. If we crossed paths again, I’d cave. We’d end up right back here, and here would only lead to misery for him. He deserved better than the likes of me.
CHAPTER 27
LINCOLN
TheimageofNashcurled over in pain stuck with me long after he jumped ship and disappeared from my condo. I obsessed over it for days. His pain, the lack of care, the medical bill. All of it stuck with me.
If roles had been reversed and I were the one with the headache, my care would’ve been extensive simply because I had the money. The injustice of it all pissed me off. I was a lawyer while he was a goddamn veteran. I didn’t care if he was unhoused. He deserved better healthcare, not healthcare dependent on the bureaucracies of billionaires.
And all that stewing led me right to our HR department to ask about the constraints of my insurance, with hopes that there was a way I could add Nash to my policy. He’d probably hate me for even trying to talk him into letting me help him, but the benefits far outweighed the fight.
Eleanor Waters was our HR lady. You couldn’t pay me all the money in the world to take her job. You also couldn’t pay me all the money in the world to work in the same office with her. She looked young and sweet with coiled strawberry blonde hair, blue eyes, and a face full of freckles, but I knew better. The woman was quietly terrifying.
“Do you have a moment?” I asked as I knocked on the doorframe to her office. She nodded slowly and glared at me over the rims of her glasses.Taking the less-than-friendly invitation, I shut the door and sat across from her. “I wanted to ask you about my health insurance.”
“Okay.” She clicked her tongue while her long nails clacked on her keyboard. “Your insurance paperwork is in good standing, Mr. Cassidy.”
“I’m aware.” It always was. I was careful about making sure all my paperwork was in order, with records at home and reminders to re-up my policy.
“Then how can I help you?” Her typing stopped, and her chair squeaked as she rolled to make sure I felt the full weight of her glare. I dealt with hardened criminals, but Eleanor Waters was far more terrifying when she believed someone was wasting her time.
“I want to add someone to my insurance—”
“Are you married?” she cut me off.
“No.”
“Do you have children?”
“No.”
“Do you have someone that you claim as a legal dependent?”
“No.”
“Then, no,” Eleanor said, “you can’taddsomeone to your insurance, Mr. Cassidy.”
“Are those my only options?” I dared to ask.
“Yes.” Her response was blunt and offered no room for argument—not that I had one.
“Could you elaborate, Eleanor?” I prompted. That glare darkened, and I added, “Please?”
“You have three options, Mr. Cassidy.” She leaned forward, and her voice rose slightly as if to make sure I understood every word she enunciated. “You get married, you have a child, or you take on someone as a legal dependent. That’s the only way you’ll be able to add someone to your insurance.”
I made a sound, letting her words sink in. Marriage, kids, dependents. There was only one category that Nash could fit into out of that list.
“Are you getting married, having a child, or taking on a dependent, Mr. Cassidy?” Eleanor asked. No, she practically demanded it as I continued to irritate the hell out of her.
Well, fuck. The only way I could make this work was if I asked Nash to marry me. Yeah, I could see that going overrealwell.
CHAPTER 28
NASH
Doyouknowhowhard you are to find?” The sound of Lincoln’s voice made me frown deeply. Damn it.
