Page 46 of Charm and Conquer

I glance away on a wince, automatically feeling like a piece of shit because I purposely ignored her text to cancel today. I wouldn't have, had I known this was the reason.

"My apologies. I was in back-to-back meetings all day, and it slipped my mind to respond." I turn my eyes back to hers, roaming her face tightly. "Have you taken anything?" I ask softly. "Whatever's going on, you might need to go to the hospital. I can take you."

This time it's her turn to look atmein alarm.

Aware I might be overreacting, I wrestle my face into it's usual impassive expression and try to act like I didn't just suggest something highly inappropriate.

"No, I think it's just…" She cuts herself off as her cheeks pinken, revealing her embarrassment. But she doesn't need to be embarrassed with me. I'll take her any way I can get her; healthy, sick, rich, poor. Burning me down with her little demon attitude that likes to come out more often than not. "I don't believe it's serious enough for the hospital. I've been taking medicine but it's not… I don't think it's working. I've been taking tums since yesterday and I still feel so sick."

I frown. "Let me see?"

Reaching over, she digs in her purse producing a small bottle, and slowly slides it towards me.

I reach across the desk and pick it up, turning it over to look at it curiously, zeroing in on the label before my lips tip into a frown. My eyes narrow, raising back to look at her. She's busy sipping slowly on the ginger ale, and that's when it hits me how desperate she is, because this is the first time she'severaccepted anything I've offered her to drink.

"Isobel, are you aware that these tums expired four years ago?" I ask, placing the small jar on the desk.

Her head jerks from the glass as her eyes meet mine in disbelief and then she slowly looks at the bottle, turning an interesting shade of red. I hurriedly reach down for the waste basket by my feet, but she holds up a hand and closes her eyes on a deep inhale. Then another, then another.

Though I have a shit ton to say, I pause, not really knowing what's going on or what to do. I'm tense, prepared to thrust the can under her face when suddenly her eyes pop open, and they look so hurt, so sad, that I feel something shift in my chest.

"Isobel, what's wrong?" I ask quietly.

"Men."

I raise a brow, lowering the can back to the floor and clenching my teeth hard, trying not to let that one simple word bother me."Men."I repeat. "What about them?" I straighten my posture, sit back in my chair and fold my arms patiently.

Isobel looks too sick for me to poke her like I'd like to.

"Christopher."

At the mention of her boyfriend, a muscle jumps in my jaw. My irritation with the man such that I want to demand she not utter his name in my office or around meever. "Your boyfriend?" I ask, quickly covering my tracks because she's not supposed to know I know anything about him or even what his name is.

Or anything I know about her… really.

"Yes. Christopher." She repeats his name for thesecondfucking time in my office.

"Yeah? What about him?" I ask coldly, thankful that she doesn't seem to notice, or care.

"He gave me those to take last night. I didn't even notice that they were expired because I could barely get out of bed, much less focus on labels. I couldn't even eat. He brought me those because he'd already went to the store yesterday and didn't want to go a second time." She looks to the side, lowering her voice. "And he didn't even bring me a glass of water either now that I think about it-"

"You haven't eaten sinceyesterday?"I ask sharply as displeasure blankets me in heavy swathes.

Four year old fucking tums?I think.That's foul.

"No, uh…I was too sick to keep anything on my stomach." She looks back at me as embarrassment clouds her features. The sound of silence ticks away between us for almost a minute straight before I break it.

"I'm sorry, Isobel," I say, though honestly, I couldn't give a fuck less about the man at this point. "It's a shame some men don't know how to treat their woman right." I shake my head, reaching for my office phone and dialing for my receptionist.

"Sir?"

"Sylvia, I need you to go down to the convenience store on the thirtieth floor and pick up a pack of tums, six bottles of ginger ale-"

"King, no!" Isobel gasps, her eyes going wide.

I continue just like I didn't hear her, ignoring another spike of irritation. "Order a bowl of chicken noodle soup-"

I go quiet as Isobel shakes her head, whispering, "No, no noodlesplease."