TENACITY

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

Friday, July 29, 2016

Tech Geniuses

The way Valerie looked pleadingly at him made him feel sorry for her—not enough to make him stop what he was about to do, but still. His father, Andrew, looked surprised with a brow raised, wondering what his wife had been up to.

"We'll continue with my ex-girlfriend, Nicolysse Park," Trey said, hands on his hips as he paced the front. Andrew's head whipped to him, his eyes narrowing in displeasure. He obviously wanted Valerie to be dealt with first so he could know what was going on. He didn't like not knowing something.

Trey opened his mouth but didn't get a word in as the door burst open, revealing a very angry Alexandra. All that went through Trey's head in that moment was the fact that she was not supposed to be out of bed, and the thought pushed him towards her. "What are you doing here? You're not supposed to be on your feet."

"Some trust you have in me and my abilities to do this behind me," she began sarcastically, waving a hand to encompass the room. "Aren't we supposed to tell each other everything?"

Melissa appeared behind her, slightly out of breath. "I'm sorry," she huffed. "I tried to slow her down and talk some sense into her, but she closed the elevator in my face!" She leveled a glare on Alexandra.

"I wasn't trying to stop you, but at least try to understand what is going on. You do realize that if your doctor thinks this isn't working and that you're on your feet, she will definitely lock you up in the hospital?"

Exasperated and extremely tired, she walked past them to the back where Gale was to seat herself in the spare seat available at the back, snatching an unopened water bottle off the table. Gale stood to get another out of the mini fridge for his boss' wife.

Trey's eyes were on Lexi the whole time, trying to gauge her emotions. It hurt him to see unshed tears in her eyes, and pocketing the remote, he went closer till he could wrap his arms around her. "I'm sorry," he whispered, kissing the top of her head.

Her hands went around his waist, burying her face in his chest. "I'm not mad," she mumbled, sniffling. "I'm just hurt that I was not included; everyone at the house knew except me, your partner. Do you know how that feels?"

He didn't, so all he did was hold her closer to him, apologizing over and over again till she got herself under control. "Did you really think I'd try to stop you?" She pulled away and he cupped her cheeks, wiping her tears with his thumbs.

"I did," he admitted quietly, "but mostly, I was afraid it would make your condition worse if you stressed over whether it was a good idea or not, and I didn't want that for you. I'm sorry."

"It's okay," she replied with a small smile. "You had good intentions."

He returned the smile and reached behind her to close the door, nodding at the man who stood guard there. "You're already here, so you might as well sit."

She nodded, trying to hide her face with his body when she remembered there were still a lot of people in the room. Trey pulled away with a chuckle and her ears turned pink when it hit her that everyone had witnessed her melt down—those in the room and everyone tuned in.

She ought to start thinking twice and stop being impulsive.

"Hi," she greeted timidly, while Trey pulled out his seat at the head of the table for her. She received an influx of hellos and congratulations. She answered as many as she could, then headed towards the end of the table where Trey was standing. "I can't sit in front of everyone," she whispered, sniffling. "I want to see what happens on the screen."