CHAPTER 11
Drake
It wasn’t hard convincing Dee to have dinner with me in the hospital cafeteria after Tyson fell asleep. She was starving and now that Tyson was well on her way to recovery, she felt comfortable taking a short break. As we stood in line waiting for our cheeseburgers and fries, I wondered if I should consider this our first date since I did in theory ask her out. Nah. It was just dinner. And I didn’t date.
The cafeteria wasn’t crowded so we found a table for two easily. Dee set down her tray, which also included a small Coke like mine, and I helped her into her chair. I took a seat facing her. We simultaneously bit into our burgers. I was starving too.
“Wow, this is so good,” she exclaimed.
I swallowed my man-size bite. “Yeah. My mother’s a stickler about good food.”
She looked at me quizzically. “Your mother is a chef here?”
I almost choked from laughter on my next bite. My mother in an apron behind a stove? I. Don’t. Think. So. We’d had professional chefs cook for us for as long as I could remember. We even had a sushi chef that worked for us on weekends or whenever my father entertained Japanese guests at our house. After taking a swig of my Coke, I responded, laughter still in my voice.
“Hardly. She’s on the Board of this hospital and is very vociferous. My father made a huge donation to build the Trauma Center that bears our family name so they bow down to her.”
Her face lit up with a mixture of awe and surprise. I don’t think she knew how rich our family really was thanks to the phenomenal success of Danger Rangers. A shrewd businessman and investor, my father liked to joke he made as much money in his sleep as he did awake.
Dee played with her straw, swirling it around in the soda cup. “Are you involved with the hospital too?”
“No, not really. Except on Christmas when my father dresses up as Santa and makes me be his elf.”
A winsome smile blossomed on her face. “You’re a little big to be an elf.”
My cock flexed. “I’d say I’m way big.”
She blushed and immediately took another big bite of her burger. God, she was cute even with the ketchup left behind on her lips.
“You’ve got ketchup on your mouth.”
“I do?”
She flushed another shade of red.
“Lean forward.”
She did as I asked and with an outstretched hand, I wiped the ketchup off her sensuous mouth with my index finger, sweeping it across her soft, Cupid-bowed lips, longer than I had to, remembering how good they felt against mine. I’d never kissed a girl so hard, so relentlessly. Did she remember? I sucked the ketchup off my finger as her eyes stayed on me. The flavor of her cherry lip-gloss mixed with the condiment and was delicious enough to bottle.
“Thanks,” she murmured.
“You’ve got great lips. They’re just like your daughters.”
“Thanks,” she said again softly, almost embarrassed. “That’s one of the few good features she got from me.”
“Oh, the rest come from her father?” I suddenly realized I was entering unchartered, potentially dangerous territory. Her face darkened.
“I suppose.”
“Does he know what happened?”
Dee’s jaw tightened and she fiddled again with her straw. “My husband is in prison. He doesn’t know anything about our lives.”
My brows shot up. Boy, I sure wasn’t ready for that one. I was strapped for words. “I’m sorry,” I mumbled, not knowing what else to say.
Dee took a sip of her soda. “Don’t be. He’s a piece of shit and deserves to be behind bars.”
“What did he do?” I ventured.
Dee narrowed her eyes and took in a deep breath. “He assaulted me when he found out I was pregnant. Social services made me press charges.” She paused for another breath. “I had to be hospitalized. I almost lost Tyson.”
“Jesus. Does Tyson know this?”
“Tyson doesn’t even know she has a father. I told her he died in a car accident just before she was born. I didn’t want her to know what kind of man he is. For all intents and purposes, he is dead to me.”
Rage filled her every word. I wasn’t sure if I should pursue the subject, but I persevered. “For how long will he be serving time?”
“Ten years. Maybe less if he gets paroled, but I doubt the badass will.”
I reflected on the fact that she hadn’t once referred to him as her ex. A question burned on my tongue. “Are you divorced?”
“We’re separated,” she answered bluntly.
“Have you thought about divorcing him?”
“Plenty. But the asshole won’t grant me one.”
“Why?”
“I think he just wants to make my life difficult and punish me for getting him sentenced. Revenge.”
“Isn’t there a law that would allow you to?”
“Wishful thinking. A felony used to be grounds for divorce in California, but it no longer is. He’s got a very shrewd lawyer named Luis Ramirez and is contesting my plea for irreconcilable differences. I can’t afford to keep paying an attorney to fight him.”
“That sucks.”
“Tell me.”
“Is it unlawful for you to see other guys?”
“The court said I can, but truthfully, I haven’t wanted to. I’ve needed to be protective of Tyson. I just don’t need another bastard to fuck up our lives. Or hurt us.”
I processed her words. Dee came with a lot of baggage. Ugly baggage. Plus, I was her boss. Temporarily, but still. A warning sign should have flashed in my mind, but it didn’t. Instead, that kiss, that incredible kiss from last night, was all I could think about. I was intrigued and attracted to her though most guys would be running the other way. I wanted to spend more time with her…get to know her better and her cute kid too.
Relationships weren’t part of my DNA. And getting involved with someone who worked for me, let alone was still married and had a kid, were hard limits for me. I finished my cheeseburger, unsure of what I was starting.