Page 21 of Falling for the Hot Billionaire

“I will help you with whatever you need,” Tyrell was saying, but I wasn't really listening. I was looking through the window, looking at my house, and I still couldn't believe it. How in the world had this happened?

The fire department had left a number to call them, and I knew that it was a conversation that had to happen. I just wanted to cry, so I was thankful that he offered my drink with something a little stronger.

“I don't know what I'm supposed to do, I've never had a fire before. Everything I owned was in there, all my clothes, photographs.” I started to tear up the more I talked about it, so I just decided that I wouldn't say a word. What was there to say, really? I'm glad nobody was hurt, but it was mine and now what did I have left? The answer didn't make me feel good.

“Everything is going to be fine; you can get it all back.”

“Yeah, but where am I going to stay?” That made me more upset. Why hadn't I thought of that?

“You can stay with me, Justine. You'll always have a place as long as I do.”

“I couldn't possibly,” I said, refusing to even make that an option.

“Why not? I told you that I will do nothing out of the way toward you.”

I laughed, because now I could laugh at things like this apparently. I wasn't worried about anything like that. Could I really take such an offer?

“Why would you do that?”

“Because you need help, and I can help you. What other reason do I need?”

None that I could see, and I felt bad for even questioning his motives. I was just having a bad day, that's why I was not playing on. I took another sip of the fire liquid and snuggled into the chair. Could I really live with him? Even for a while?

“You really don't have to help me, but if you're offering, I am going to take you up on it.”

“Really?” He seemed surprised.

“Yeah, you're close to work and I do trust you.”

“Like I said, anything I can do to help,” Tyrell relayed with a grin.

I told him that it wouldn't be for long. I was already thinking about finding somewhere else to go to work. The demotion hadn't set well with me and though I hadn't told Lauren yet that I was looking for something else, I was. Now that I didn't even have a house close by, there was no sense in staying where I was. I could find another hospital and I would be able to help people the way I was supposed to all along. It was perfect really.

“Why do you say it's not for long? There is no rush.”

“I know, but after what the hospital did, I was already thinking about finding something else. Now I won’t be tied down to one location, because well, that location is gone.”

“You really are stuck on that aren't you?”

I agreed that I was, though I didn't like the way he said it. He said it like it wasn't meant to be, like I should just forget about it, but there was no way that I could. “Yeah, I'm really stuck on it. That was a demotion. How else am I supposed to take it?”

“Maybe they were just trying to keep you safe?”

I scoffed at the answer, it was just an excuse, and I certainly didn't want to hear about it. No matter what the reasoning was, it all ended the same way. I wasn’t able to do what I was supposed to do. That wasn’t okay with me.

I assured Tyrell that I would find something else and then I would find a place close by. Either way, I promised that I wouldn’t be there long bothering him. He promised that it was no bother, but it was just something else that I didn't want to hear. It felt like a bother, me staying there, but I would pay him back in some way. Tyrell was telling me not to worry and I was trying not to, but it was a lot. I still couldn't believe this was happening, but I was going to have to. It’s not like I could stop what happened next.

“I don't need people to keep me safe. I should be able to just do my job. Working in the medical field has always had its dangers. Nothing has changed.”

Tyrell looked uncomfortable and I figured that I was just bitching about it too much, so I tried to rein it in. It wasn’t his fault. It’s not like he had anything to do with it, so I should try a little harder not to let it come out like that. I told him that I would drop it and he didn’t say anything, but he did seem relieved. It’s not like anything was going to change. I would figure it out somehow. Until then, I needed to remember that it was my problem, nobody else’s.

The liquor was starting to do its work, and I told Tyrell that I was going to take a nap. I wasn’t as much sleepy as I was just emotionally exhausted. I knew that I had a lot to do. I had to go through the pile of rubble that used to be my house, but at the moment, all I could think about was getting a little bit of sleep. Lord knows I needed it.

Tyrell showed me where the guest room was that he had already made up for my stay. He was such a sweet guy. I didn’t know how I was lucky enough to have him as a neighbor, but it wasn’t the first time that Tyrell had saved me. It felt like he’d been trying the whole time.

17

Tyrell

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