Page 123 of Nice Guys Don't Kiss Like That At Christmas
A Testicle?Also, I'm adding my brother to the chat, maybe that'll stop you.
Adds Jack.
Harper
Hi, love.Your sister's coming for Christmas.You know.Coming.
Jack left the chat.
Kellan
HA, Made that same joke.
Mike
Got Wes involved.He's building a case.There are stories.
Claire
I may have done something with IT.
Me
Thank you so much.Podcast with Maddie is ready.
Landon
And I got the vet funding.
Adam
Let's do this.
Myphonebeepswitha private message from Claire:
Claire
Check your email.NOW.
I curl deeper into Adam's side on the couch, both of us wrapped in the ridiculous Christmas blanket Sally left as a "room warming" gift.The tree lights cast colorful shadows across the room while Blanche snores softly near the fireplace, LoverBoy curled against her side.Dorothy, naturally, is methodically dismantling a gingerbread dog ornament with surgical precision.
But somewhere between HR conspiracies and emotional self-reclamation, she gets bored of pastry homicide and drags a small pink hand towel off the counter.She isn’t destroying it.She’s nesting with it, kneading it into a tiny dachshund bed like she’s finally decided this is home.
"Claire found something," I murmur, turning my laptop screen so Adam can see.
"Holy shit," Adam whispers, his arm tightening around me as we scroll through Claire's findings.
What she'd done wasn't technically a HIPAA violation—no patient records were touched—but accessing the hospital's secured email server without authorization?Using her IT credentials to pull restricted HR files and board meeting minutes?
"Claire could lose her job for this," I say quietly.
Adam nods, his jaw tight."She knows.The message says she was willing to take the risk."
The emails between Chuck and his father make my stomach turn.Plans to "handle the nurse situation."Discussions about which board members needed "reminders about hospital funding."A systematic campaign to undermine anyone who questioned Chuck's authority.
"There's something else," Adam says, pointing to an email from three weeks ago.Chuck's father informing him that he's stepping down from the board due to health concerns.Chuck's protection is evaporating.
No wonder he's been escalating.The podcast threats, the ornament obsession, the constant undermining.He's frantically trying to silence me before his safety net disappears.
