Chapter 36: Chapter 36

LEXI

The next day, Lexi woke to the gentle hum of engines driving by her window. Her apartment on Ocean Drive was exposed to the main road, and she loved hearing people heading off to work. Kids going to school and workers beginning their day motivated her to get her day started as well.

As she showered and brushed her teeth, Lexi felt giddy about not having to wear a pad. Since the myomectomy, her period hadn’t lasted more than three days.

Knowing that she would be volunteering at the clinic today, Lexi decided to dress comfortably in sweatpants, sneakers, and a tank top. She then found Reece working hard in the living room, boxes of high-priced, one-of-a-kind shoes piled around her.

“When’s the store opening?” Lexi asked as she tried to find space to walk.

Reece continued sorting, not even lifting her head. “Soon, and I have a lot to do before then. I paid contractors to renovate, so I’m selling some shoes online for now until the store is ready.”

Lexi felt so proud of her friend. She wished she could afford a $5,000 pair of heels just to support her, but that was impossible, considering she did not have a job.

“I’ll see you later,” she said. “Don’t forget to eat something. I know you’ll sit in here and work all day and not eat anything.”

Lexi moved carefully toward the front door, but when she opened it, the sun and the view of the ocean were blocked by a tall, hard body.

“Chris?” she asked, eyes wide.

He smiled brightly. “Hi Fuzzy.”

Lexi looked down at his hands and saw two cups from Pete’s Coffee, as well as a food bag from Moe’s Bagels.

“Don’t worry about your friend,” Chris said with a reassuring smile. “I’ll make sure she eats today.”

Lexi wanted to tease Reece about this, but the look on her friend’s face changed her mind. It was clear that her best friend did not expect Chris to show up. She looked effortlessly hot in short, pink lingerie and a messy bun, but she seemed like she wanted to melt into the marble tile.

Lexi stepped aside, allowing Chris to come in. She sent her friend an apologetic look.

As she waved and hurried out of the apartment, Lexi called over her shoulder, “Um, I’m volunteering today for a couple of hours, so…see you both later.”

The moment her feet hit the sidewalk, though, her cell phone began to ring. Thinking it was Daniel, she didn’t bother to check the caller ID and answered, “Hey honey.”

“Come back to work,” Carlos ordered dryly.

“Huh?” Lexi removed the phone from her ear to finally check the name on the screen.

“You heard me. Come back to work. Customers are demanding that you return.” He sounded desperate. “I’ll give you a raise, and you can wear whatever you want. Just come back.”

Lexi grinned in satisfaction, but she could not forget the discomfort she felt working there. She did not want to return to that. Not even for a raise.

“Sorry, Carlos. I’m gonna have to decline.”

Before he could respond, Lexi hung up.

Smiling, she inhaled the morning air. It was fresh and humid. She loved the smell of the air after rainfall.

As usual, the bus ride to the clinic was short and pleasant. When she arrived, no patients were there yet, so she took the time to greet everyone and hug the owner.

After, Marcus examined her face. “You’re in a good mood,” he said.

“I’m alive, I’m happy, I’m in love,” she told him loudly. ~And I’m going to lose my virginity soon.~

Lexi hadn’t heard from Daniel since their talk yesterday, but she knew him well enough to know he would not return to her empty-handed. By now, he must have won the project, and she was eager to see him and offer him his reward.

With the corners of her mouth stretched to her ears, Lexi sat and grabbed the remote to switch on the television in the waiting room. She was about to step away when she saw the face of her man on the screen. Harsh words ran in a small marquee underneath him.

“Daniel Jackson said he has no plans to marry Camille Lannister. He said he feels nothing toward her and their hookup was never serious. Fans are outraged by his blatant disregard for Camille. They demand that he issue an apology to her and all the women in his past.”

Lexi grabbed her cell phone from her backpack and quickly texted him. She knew he was probably on a flight, but she hoped it would reach him the minute that he landed.

Lexi

I told you to win the project, not get into more trouble with the rest of the world. I’m happy you set the record straight, but we need to work on your people skills dude. Lol

Lexi

See you soon.

Lexi placed her phone back into her bag, almost laughing out loud at the thought of what Daniel’s face would look like when he read her text. Even her calling him “dude” would cause him to roll his eyes.

Just then, the clinic phone rang loudly, and Lexi hurried to answer it. “Thank you for calling M Care Gynecology. This is Lexi. How may I assist you?”

“Hi, I’m Gloria. I had a procedure done a couple of weeks ago. I have to schedule an appointment for my checkup.”

Lexi’s happiness faded instantly. She tried to respond but couldn’t. She just sat there with the phone against her ear.

“Hello? Are you still there?”

“When do you want to book the appointment for?” Lexi sounded cold, but she couldn’t help it. She could not even grasp her emotions, let alone explain them.

“I will come in with my boyfriend. He’s overseas right now… Maybe you know of him? Daniel Jackson. He just made the news, turning down Camille Lannister, and I know he did it for me. We’ve been fighting lately.” Gloria continued, “Did you hear? He said he had better. That’s me again. I’m so happy I can’t even express it. I never liked that bitch.”

The rage piling up in Lexi’s throat was close to bubbling over. Close to exploding. She could barely contain it.

She was about to take a deep breath and try to calm herself, but Gloria spoke again. “It’s kind of nice talking to a stranger about this. Plus, there’s that patient confidentiality thing, so I don’t have to worry about you telling anyone else. Anyway, thanks for listening. Please book an appointment for me for this weekend any time after 9 a.m.”

Lexi Draya Fox lost it. “You delusional little fuck-face bitch!” She did not know where those words came from, but they could not be unsaid.

Gloria’s shock was obvious in her momentary silence. “Excuse me?”

Lexi couldn’t stop herself. “Don’t try to take credit for Daniel’s change because you had nothing to do with it.”

“And how would you know anything about our business?”

Lexi laughed out loud. “Next time you see Johnson, ask him who Daniel’s girlfriend is. No, ask Josh. Or better yet, ask Camille. She’ll tell you. She saw us together recently, and I must say the response she got from him then wasn’t far from the one he publicly gave yesterday.”

When Gloria didn’t respond, she continued, “You wanted to vent to a stranger, and so did I. Before you consider filing a complaint with my manager, this is me quitting as a volunteer. Someone will call you to schedule your appointment. Have a nice day.”

Lexi slammed the phone down to end the call. She was so heated she could barely breathe.

After a minute, Lexi glanced around and saw Marcus standing in the doorway, shocked. She stood up and packed her belongings.

“I’m sorry, Marcus. Truly. That was unprofessional and stupid, and I deserve to be scolded. It’s a bad look on your clinic to have volunteers who can’t control their anger.”

Marcus looked as if he was still trying to process something. “Was that Gloria?”

Lexi frowned but nodded.

“She already called yesterday to schedule her next appointment. What’s going on?”

Lexi explained word-for-word what was said during their call.

“Interesting,” Marcus muttered. “When she called yesterday to schedule the appointment, she asked for you by name. I didn’t think anything of it and told her you’d be working today. She wanted to know what time, saying she wanted to thank you for being so kind on her last visit. I should’ve known it was a lie since she was unconscious when you were there, and you had already left by the time she woke up.

“I’m sorry… I didn’t think things through properly. I didn’t know she wanted to mess with you. What’s this even about? What’s going on?”

Since seeing Marcus perform Gloria’s abortion, Lexi had forgotten that he wasn’t just her boss; he was also her friend. As her friend, she told him everything in detail. Daniel, Gloria, Camille, everything.

Marcus stifled a smile. “So, the scandal my wife’s been watching all morning concerns you.”

Lexi lightly shoved him. “This isn’t funny. How are you this calm? She could sue me… or the clinic.”

He chuckled. “For what? For defending yourself? We’ll sue her for stalking you and for harassment. I’ll sue her for wasting my resources, and on top of that, I’ll call in a favor and request a psych evaluation. People tend to go insane after a traumatic event.”

Lexi hugged him tightly.

“Don’t leave,” Marcus said. “I’ll call her separately and offer our sister clinic if she’s unhappy with this one. Please resume as usual.”

Lexi nodded and unpacked her things.