They reached the street as Yank was being placed in the ambulance. "I'll ride with you," Lola said.
"Why don't you ride with your boyfriend?" Yank asked.
"You old fool, he isn't my boyfriend" Lola said. "He's my friend."
"You dress like that for your friend?"
Apparently Yank's leg wasn't as badly bruised as his ego, Damian thought.
"I dressed like this for you. Spencer wouldn't care if I ran naked through Central Park! He's gay!" Lola said, then helped the ambulance men push the stretcher inside. She shot a look of regret at Spencer. "And for forcing me to reveal that secret, you can damn well ride alone. Spencer will take me to the hospital!"
The other woman stormed off, head held high.
Damian turned to Micki. "Is my mouth hanging open?" he asked.
"No more than mine is, I'm sure."
"Spencer Atkins is gay?" Damian ran a hand through his hair and laughed,
"What's so funny?"
He shook his head. "Your uncle just lost his last excuse. He's going to have to step up or step out of her life for good."
“Umm," She said in a low voice. "There's something you should know but you can't repeat it until it's official"
Damian raised an eyebrow. "You've got me curious."
"Well, the Hot Zone is going to be merging with Atkins Associates. It's mostly because of Uncle Yank's eyesight. It'll benefit him to have someone he trusts handling his clients."
"He trusts Atkins?"
Micki nodded. "Like a brother. Like you said about Lola, a strange relationship. Anyway, he agrees the merger's necessary but he's not taking it well. That probably explains his ranting back there. It's hard for him to give up his independence."
"Wow."
"Well, now you've been entrusted with privileged information. Repeat it and I may have to shoot you." She grinned and his heart twisted inside his chest.
His seven-day road trip was looking damn good about now.
CHAPTER TWELVE
TWO DAYS AFTER HER UNCLE'S ACCIDENT, Micki was still annoyed with fate. Just when she'd decided to make use of the makeover changes she'd done inside and out and enjoy one more night with Damian, fate had held her to her original promise to keep her hands off.
Uncle Yank had broken his hip and needed immediate surgery to repair the damage done in the fall. Between recuperation and physical therapy, he was looking at a long haul. She spent the night of her uncle's party at the hospital. Since they'd sedated him for the pain, he hadn't been able to have a coherent conversation with Lola, so that relationship was still on hold.
Meanwhile Micki and Sophie were taking rams dog-sitting Noodle the Labradoodle who refused to eat, sleep or drink alone. Uncle Yank had spoiled the pooch rotten and if they didn't keep up his bad habits, the dog cried day and night. The neighbors had left notes of complaint on both Sophie's and Micki's doors, forcing them to take Noodle to work along with them. They'd also been alternating Visiting hours at the hospital in order to take any burden off of Annabelle who'd been ordered by the doctor to take it easy on her feet and on her stress levels.
Though she wished her uncle hadn't hurt himself so badly, Micki didn't mind the added chaos in her own life. With Damian out of town, she was happy to have her mind occupied with other things. When she had time to think, she tortured herself with what might have happened had she not been stuck at the hospital their last night together.
Her body tingled at the thought of making love with Damian once more, of what his hot, hard body felt like pressed against hers as he drove into her again and again and again.
She sighed, then caught herself and realized she was moaning aloud while sitting in her office going over paperwork.
"Nice, Micki," she muttered.
"Woof!" Noodle answered her from her perch on the chair reserved for clients. Apparently Uncle Yank gave Noodle the run of the furniture as well as his life.
"You miss him, don't you, girl?"
The dog let out a whine, laid her head down on the expensive leather and covered her eyes with her paws.
“I’ll take that as a yes " Micki said, laughing.
She checked her watch and realized it was almost time to relieve Sophie at Uncle Yank's bedside. It had been two days since the accident and the doctors wanted him up and out of bed to begin the difficult process of making him mobile in order to prevent pneumonia or infection from setting in. It wouldn't be fair to subject Sophie to that hell all by herself.
Micki grabbed her purse and walked out of her office. "Amy, if anyone needs me I'm at the hospital. I’ll check in when I can, okay?"
"Don't worry about anything on this end. We've all got things covered. You just get your uncle back to his cranky old self."
"Put that way, it shouldn't be all that hard after all." Micki laughed. "Wish me luck," she said and headed for the hospital and the grouch of the century.
Yank lay in his hospital bed and pretended he was sleeping while Lola paced the floor, muttering to herself. Only a blind man couldn't see he had a choice to make, he thought wryly. He just wasn't ready to make it yet.
"Why the hell didn't you tell me Spencer was gay? Why didn't he tell me himself?"
Lola turned around, obviously startled he wasn't sleeping. "Why? Are you interested in him?" she asked.
"Ha-ha."
Lola walked toward the end of the bed. "How are you feeling?"
At the reminder, he winced and pushed the pain medication button on his IV. "Like I broke my hip and had major surgery."
She nodded. "I figured."
"You're avoiding my questions."
She grabbed a chair and pulled it closer to his bedside, then smoothed her skirt and sat down.
Her new position gave him a direct view of the tank top beneath her blazer and her cleavage, which looked damn good for a woman her age.
"I didn't tell you because it wasn't my secret to tell and Spencer didn't tell you because…I don't know why. He kept it quiet because the industry's so male-oriented, he didn't want to make any of his clients uncomfortable."
"That's bullshit," Yank muttered. "Nobody cares about his personal life, only his ability to negotiate the best damn contract he can."
Lola's eyes sparkled with appreciation and he squirmed beneath her gaze. He wasn't used to her looking at him with anything other than frustration and disgust. He'd nearly forgotten what her approval felt like.
It felt good.
"I sent Sophie home for a shower and Micki's coming back in time for the physical therapist to help get you out of bed"
"I can't move."
"You have to move or else you'll end up with twice as many problems. Here." She shoved a contraption the night nurse had brought by. "Breathe into this and make sure you get that pressure thing up to ten. You don't want to get pneumonia on top of everything else."
He scowled. "Damn bossy woman."
"And you love me, Yank Morgan-don't tell me you don't."
"Even if I did, and I ain't admitting nothing yet, don't you think you deserve a helluva lot better than a man who's going blind and now has a busted hip?"
She glared at him, the frustration and annoyance back full force. "Don't you think that's my decision to make? That's been my point all along."
"Are you saying I could tell you I love you just so you could turn around and make the 'decision' to say I'm not what you bargained for anymore?" he asked, outraged by the thought.
Lola treated him to a smile he couldn't figure out. "I'm not saying yes or no. Life's full of risks and it's time you took one." She rose from her seat. "One beyond standing up on a chair and ranting like a fool," she muttered and headed for the door.
"Where are you going?" It wasn't easy to admit but he didn't want her to leave.
"I have a lunch date and then I have to get back to work. I promised the girls I'd start going over the files and figure out who can cover your clients while you're laid up. The merger's got to be on the fast track now."
He'd had a hard enough time swallowing his pride and agreeing to join his firm with Atkins but he couldn't let the agency flounder and the girls' PR business suffer. What with me young agents nipping at his heels, it was a smart business move. That didn't mean he had to like it