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“I wasn’t spying on you,” he says, pointing to the nightstand. “I forgot my wallet. I knocked, but I don’t think you heard.”
I glance to my right, and sure enough, his worn black wallet is lying on my plastic nightstand. Grasping the edge of my sheets, I pull them up and cover my naked body as best I can before grabbing his wallet off the nightstand. Holding it out to him, I say, “I didn’t think you were spying on me.”
Why am I panicking? I didn’t do anything wrong, did I? Okay, it’s wrong to fantasize about another man, but who gets to govern my thoughts? I can’t even control them myself. God, I wish he’d make a joke to comfort me right now. Something like, “Well, that was quite a show.”Or, “If I wasn’t late for work, I’d join you for another round.”But it’s Alan, so all he does is politely take his wallet and avoid my gaze.
“I’ll lock up again behind me. Have a good night, Lennox.”
He doesn’t wait for my response.
And it dawns on me as he closes the door that the nicknames are gone, and we’re already back toLennox.
Except it’s appropriate.
Because right now, I do actually believe I’m in trouble.
6
Dex
Present Day
Miami
Ishouldn’t be nervous. I was bred for this. To the advisory board, the executives, and all of the employees at Hessler Group, I’m merely assuming my rightful role.
No one needs to know about the man who is having panic attacks behind closed doors. The man who feels more comfortable around deadly sharks than in large crowds of people.
They need “the closer.” Their leader. The man who graduated from Harvard Business School with honors and knows more about corporate strategy than anyone else in the room.
They don’t want Dex.They need Mr. Hessler.
I loosen my tie and lean back in my seat, looking out the windows at the Miami skyline. The sun is glistening off the still waters surrounding the cityscape. With no boats in motion, the water is stoic. It looks more like glass than water.
This was Grandma’s preferred meeting room for everything. She loved this view. She liked looking at the ocean, but she was terrified of getting in. Never once could I convince her to put on a wetsuit and see what was beneath the water line. Grandma couldn’t swim, and she wouldn’t let me teach her. She told me she’d rather be lion chow than shark bait.
In her favorite chair, looking at her favorite view, I can’t help thinking about her favorite movie. The unsinkable ship that sank.Titanic.Completely unfathomable. That’s how everything feels right now.Impossible.How the hell is Dottie Hessler gone? I wasn’t ready. No one was ready.
A vibration on the table pulls me from my thoughts. As usual, I smile when I see Lennox’s name flash across my phone. I answer without hesitation.
“Len, have you ever seenTitanic?” I ask.
This is my rapport with Lennox. We never answer the phone with “Hello.” We’re too eager to actually talk. “Hello” seems like a waste of time when it comes to us.
“I watch the 1997 version about once a year. I like to keep a young DiCaprio fresh in my mind,” she says.
“I know Kate Winslet survives. But if they were together when everything went down, how didhedie?”
“Jack?” Lennox asks.
“Who? No, I mean DiCaprio.”
“Yeah, Dex. He plays Jack. Kate Winslet plays Rose, who floats on top of a door to survive. Jack’s just holding onto the aforementioned door and freezes to death in the water.”
“What the hell?” I ask. “How does that make sense? Why didn’t he get on?”
“They couldn’t both fit.”
“And they couldn’t just find another door?”Freaking Hollywood.