I dropped Elia at home after dinner last night, claiming that I had early patients and I didn’t want to wake her up in the morning. The last thing I had on my mind was sex. Fuck! I need to introduce her to Rose, and she’s already practically moved in.

Even if Elia loves me, it doesn’t mean she wants all of this. I am starting to feel like I moved us forward too fast. I didn’t mean to even tell Elia that I love her, even though I know it’s true.

There’s a knock on the door, and I know that it’s Jessica on the other side. Anything to take me away from thinking about Elia is a welcome distraction so that my subconscious can sort this out instead of me worrying and not finding solutions.

“Come in!”

Jessica shakes her head as she enters, and I know that it’s not good news. I thought this was a done deal. The guy Ryan is a real fucking slime ball.

“Damn that bastard! Why’s he still refusing to sell? I thought it was a done deal!”

I stand up and get my ball and throw it in the direction of the hoop on the other side of the door. Something that I do once in awhile. Just so that I keep moving around, and I don’t end up spending most of the day just sitting down when I’m not seeing patients. Plus, the kids love to use the second hoop that I have lower on the door..

She closes the door behind her. “Well, have you talked to him?”

“It’s not like I haven’t tried, Jessica. The guy’s disappearing every week. Ryan hasn’t been back to the bookstore in over three weeks. He left one of the girl’s a note saying that he’ll be away for a while and that was it. Why is this one so difficult?”

I score a hoop; maybe there’s light at the end of the tunnel.

“I thought the lawyers were in the process of getting the contracts signed and that’s all we were waiting for?”

She sighs as she sits down and crosses her legs. It’s as if she’s talking to a child who’s not concentrating in class.

“They were, but then Ryan sacked his lawyer and didn’t appoint a new one.” she takes her time crossing her other leg.

Is she flirting with me?

She’s looking directly at me as she does it, and I don’t attempt to shoot a hoop again as I become distracted, but then I shake my head as I think about Elia. The one that I’ve committed to even if I did tell her that I love her by accident.

She smiles. “Before you ask me about Will, the PI who’s been trying to get ahold of you these last few days. Anyway, he says that Ryan keeps giving him the slip. He has a lead one day, and the next he’s gone. I don’t understand it at all. There are other bookstores. It’s not as if this is the only one.”

She stands up as if she’s bored of talking about this one bookstore. The one that I need to buy for Elia.

“We either find a way around him or find a way to pin this guy down!” I say as I shoot another hoop. I’m really on fire today, but I can’t find another way around this situation. Maybe I could just go and buy another bookstore for Elia. It doesn’t have to be this particular one. Then again, maybe this whole idea isn’t a good one to begin with?

Fuck, I feel as if I’m going completely nuts. I forget for a second that Jessica’s in the room as my focus seems to be on shooting hoops. The only thing that I appear to be doing right at the moment. I’m failing miserably at everything else.

“You did something stupid, didn’t you?”

“This is what this thing’s about. The reason why you’re obsessing about the store. It all makes sense now.”

I sit on the edge of my desk as she towers above me.

“Yes! He was about to do something to Elia. I wasn’t going to let him do anything to her.”

“Wow, Elia must be the most beautiful woman in the world, or maybe she’s put a magic spell on you guys; the way that you’re running after her, and not only you, but her boss, too.”

“So you think it’s okay if she was raped or something?”

She shakes her head. “I never said that. What I’m saying is the same girl that you’re dating just happens to have a boss who tried to…”

She’s searching for the words, but I say it for her, “Rape her!”

“Pursue her, and she’s got you wrapped around her little finger. I gather that's why you sent me out to pick up the iPhone and iPad. It was for her?” I don’t respond, but I can tell she’s getting jealous as her cheeks glow red with my non-confirmation.

“Anyway, it doesn’t matter. The investors are not happy about the deal. They looked at the paperwork and saw that you’re offering at least double the valued price and feel that you’re over generous. The problem is the legal team thinks of it as a high-risk business due to the finances of the current owner.”

“What do you mean?”

I haven’t heard about this until now. Jessica used to be less terse with me, too. I hadn’t ever noticed her acting this way before...and I guess she never cared when I screwed everything with a pussy. Everything but her. Did she think her magic pussy was going to domesticate me?

“Well, they say that he owes a lot of money. Maybe it has nothing to do with you rescuing Precious Elia,” she pauses probably waiting for a reaction, and I give her none. “He has outstanding gambling debts and not from a bank loan. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“I understand perfectly. Maybe I should look at another bookstore because this one’s turning out to be a lot more trouble than it’s worth.”

She smiles. “Exactly.”

And then she closes my door. I try to shoot one more hoop. I miss not by an inch, but a fucking mile!