Page 40 of Sexting My Ex’s Dad

My hand tightens around the steering wheel.

“Human Resources tends to become very curious when department heads date employees.”

“You’re threatening to file a complaint?”

“I’m considering it.”

Her voice grows warmer, more conversational. “I could request a formal ethics review. Conflict of interest, abuse of authority, coercion. Those phrases tend to travel quickly through a hospital administration.”

Rage spears me quick and hot, and I have to close my eyes and dig my nails into my palm to stop myself from saying something I’ll regret.

“I could also contact the board,” she adds. “They’re very protective of the hospital’s reputation.”

The quiet in the car thickens.

“And donors,” Cindy continues calmly. “Hawthorne runs on philanthropic money. Donors dislike scandals.”

“You’re overestimating your influence.”

She laughs. “Am I?”

“Yes,” I reply without hesitation.

Then Cindy sighs. “You’ve always been confident, Nathan.”

Another message appears on the screen.

I open it.

A third photograph.

Athena stepping close to kiss me outside the restaurant, her hand curled into the front of my jacket while my arm circles her waist.

The angle leaves nothing to imagination.

“You see,” Cindy says softly, “I have options.”

My teeth press together. “You’re doing this because you’re jealous.”

There’s a pause. “Well,” she admits, “that’s the problem, isn’t it, darling?”

At least she doesn’t bother pretending.

“What do you actually want,” I ask, impatience creeping into my voice.

“Simple,” she says with a dry laugh. Her voice drops, the sweetness gone now. “You stay the fuck away from Athena and I’ll make sure you don’t lose your job.” She hangs up immediately.

I stare at the dead screen for a beat after Cindy’s last venomous word then hurl the phone onto the passenger seat. I slam the car into gear, the tires screaming against the asphalt as I tear out of the lot. My knuckles are white, fused to the leather of the steering wheel, while the engine roars, a mechanical echo of the violence vibrating in my chest.

Cindy thinks she’s a puppet master. She thinks she can threaten the only thing that makes my pulse steady and get away with it.

She has no idea how quickly I’ll burn her world down to keep Athena safe.

I drive until the city lights blur into long, jagged streaks of neon. I pull into a deserted overlook, the river a black, churning vein below. I leave the engine idling, the vibration humming through my spine, my breath coming in jagged, heavy draws.

Then, the phone glows as a notification pierces the dark. Athena.

I open the chat thread.