Page 21 of Lost Room Lawyer (Room #4)

“You don’t need to justify yourself. I still love the book, just like many others do,” my mother said, standing up and gathering the three books into her arms. “I’m just saying that he seems to be good for you, and I’m very happy for you. Your happiness is important to me.”

I stayed seated for a moment, watching her return two of the books to the shelf.

She kept the Giacometti. On the way to the register, she abruptly stopped.

It seemed as if she had spotted something on the floor, but then she stretched out her arm as if trying to grasp onto something that wasn’t there.

I hurried over to her and supported her.

“What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“Yes … I’m fine. I just felt a bit dizzy for a moment. Probably stood up too quickly. This happens to me more often lately.”

I remembered her mentioning it, but I hadn’t expected the dizziness to be so severe that she almost collapsed. “Why didn’t you say it was so bad?” I asked accusingly. “You almost fell.”

“I have low blood pressure. That’s all.”

“Have you had it checked?”

“What’s the doctor going to do?” she asked, letting me guide her to the register.

I was annoyed with myself for not reminding her to make a doctor’s appointment. Typical. “Promise me you’ll see a doctor.”

“It’s probably nothing.”

“Promise me.”

“Okay,” she said, paying for the book. “I promise.”

That didn’t fully satisfy me, but at least it was clear that I didn’t take it as lightly as she did. Afterward, we went for a drink at a nearby cafe, and then I headed home. All I wanted was one thing.

To write.

And that’s exactly what I did. Despite the steel-blue sky, I shut out spring and lost myself in fiction all weekend.

I felt like an alcoholic who, after years of abstinence, succumbed to a single glass.

Maybe it was Hector, maybe not. Maybe I was just inspired by a muse or some god had granted mercy.

You’ve suffered enough, Nicola. Write!

I felt electrified. I lost track of time that I forgot to eat and sleep, even becoming irritated when Dominic interrupted my reverie.

“Don’t you have to work tomorrow?”

When I turned my head, he emerged next to me, placing a plate with a sandwich on the table. “Here. Don’t let it get as bad as it did ten years ago.”

I didn’t understand what Dominic meant and just blinked. My eyes hurt from staring at the monitor for so long. “What are you talking about?”

Dominic smiled. “Of course you don’t remember how obsessively you worked on that book. Eat. Take a shower. And then go to bed.”

Gradually, my brain switched back to reality mode. “Has it really been ten years?” I asked, even though I already knew the answer.

Dominic sat on the edge of the bed and crossed one leg over the other.

“I’m glad you can write again, but it was the same back then.

I lost count of how many times you stood me up.

Every time I called to ask where you were, I’d get Rina on the phone telling me you were writing.

Your mom should have been tougher on you.

You don’t realize how unhealthy that is.

You completely forget about everything else. ”

“Maybe that’s why I moved in with you,” I joked, drawing the plate closer. “That way, I have someone to take care of me.”

“You know very well that I’m not that social and it’s actually the other way around.”

“You work as a caregiver,” I countered. “If that’s not social.”

“No, I’m just the night watchman there. I couldn’t care less about these old geezers. Luckily, they’re asleep during my shift.”

I chuckled and took a bite of my sandwich. It was amazing how suddenly everything in my brain sparked and turned into inspiration. “I’m saving a spot for you as the antagonist,” I said with my mouth full, swallowing.

“But seriously … don’t you have work tomorrow?”

I glanced at my phone, but it had long run out of battery.

He shook his head and sighed. “It’s two o’clock! And you look like you haven’t slept at all.”

“Oh crap,” I groaned. “I should call in sick. Then I can finish this.”

“I can call for you if you want.”

All of a sudden, Hector appeared in my mind’s eye. How he undressed me with his gaze and fucked me on the desk in the office. My pants twitched, and I felt how tense my whole body was. My neck was as hard as stone and even rivaled my cock.

“I don’t want to log off,” I said.

I want to see Hector.

When I stood up, my legs buckled. Of course I could hold myself up, but it was definitely a sign that I had overdone it.

"And how are things going with your boss? Are you still letting him fuck you?" Dominic asked casually.

“Shit,” I muttered, opening the window to let in some fresh air. “Isn’t it a bit late for this kind of talk?”

“You’re not going to fall asleep anytime soon—I know you too well. So you might as well tell me about your sex life. You have one, after all. Mine is, well … really lousy right now.”

“We’re going out for dinner on Wednesday,” I said, loosening my shoulders. “Hector, his wife, and my father. All of us at the same table.”

“That sounds dangerous.”

“Shit, you have no idea. I look at Hector and get hard.”

“Is it good?”

“We were alone in the office for two weeks. Of course, it’s good. I don’t know how things are going to go from here. Linda’s coming back from vacation tomorrow, and Gerry isn’t going to stay in Vevey forever.”

“And your boss? I mean … he’s really hot, but wouldn’t it be his job to set the boundaries?”

“Because he’s my boss?” I asked, slightly irritated.

It wasn’t that I had forgotten. In terms of work, the situation was clear.

I was the intern. He was my superior. Once it was no longer about business, that boundary between us dissolved.

He had always been the proactive one, taking charge, but I had never attributed that to our professional roles.

He had never treated me like a kid just because I was sixteen years younger than him. We met on equal footing.

I realized that it was exactly this situation that could lead to problems. But even if this was a risk that tested our relationship—or whatever one might call what we had—we had long since crossed that boundary.

We could never go back to the beginning—no matter how professionally we behaved in business matters.

“Do you have the day off tomorrow?” I asked, trying to distract myself from my own thoughts.

“Yes, I’m meeting Clarissa.”

“Oh yeah? I thought that was over?”

“It was. I … uh … I’m just doing this to see if I can even get it up.”

“Shit, man. That bad?”

Dominic shrugged. “I managed to get out of that chemsex thing without too much damage. That’s the most important thing.”

“You know I’m proud of you.”

“And I’m grateful to you—for the rest of my life. Clarissa doesn’t need to know about this.”

“So you’re shamelessly using her?”

“I see it more as making up for what she did to me.”

“Touché.”

“Go to bed, Rossi.” Dominic stood up and rubbed his tired eyes. “You have work tomorrow.”

“Thanks,” I said, pointing at the sandwich in my hand.

“Don’t mention it. Someone’s got to look after you.”

Dominic disappeared into his room, and I did as he instructed. I finished the sandwich, took a shower, and was in bed by half past two. My thoughts kept jumping between Hector and my new writing project, but despite being so wound up, I fell asleep faster than I had expected.