“You’ll get there, I promise.” She went over to the blinds, opening them as far as they would go, the room instantly lighting up, the sun now shining over my chest. When she returned, she stayed by the foot of the bed. “Your schedule today is more packed than I’d like it to be. You know your assistant is coming over, and then your mom texted and said she’s bringing lunch. Your physical therapist will be by this afternoon. Two of your employees are coming in the early evening, followed by Smith, who’s bringing dinner.”

My clients needed me. My colleagues were covering as much as they could in my absence, but ultimately, I was the one who had to make the decisions while my employees implemented my wishes. My head just wasn’t in the right place to tackle that load of responsibility.

“What else do you have in there?” I said, pointing to the pocket of her scrubs. “An extra dirty martini on the rocks perhaps? I could use one of those right about now.”

There wasn’t pity staring back at me; there was understanding. A deep brown blanket that settled over the bed, pulling all the way up to my neck.

“Can I cancel everyone but Mom and PT?” Her knee rested on the mattress, hands gripping her narrow waist. “Let me decide what’s best for you. Please, Caleb.”

“Whitney, that’s why you’re here.”

She took out her phone and began typing. “Done.” Her smile was a little more devilish than I had seen. “I don’t want to be the meanie, but this is your first day home, and draining all your energy isn’t going to help you heal.”

“You can cancel my mother if you’d like.”

Her eyes widened. “That’s where I draw the line. In my line of work, moms can be scary.”

“And you’re saying mine is?”

She put her hands in the air, like I was aiming a gun at her. “I plead the Fifth.”

I laughed, the feeling almost foreign since it had been so long.

My mother was the glue that held our company together—smarter than anyone I knew and ruthless when she needed to be.

“Where do you think I get it from?”

“I wouldn’t describe you that way at all.”

“You haven’t seen me at the office.”

She took out her notebook again, flipping it around when she was done writing.

“Work enough hours that your scary side comes through,” I read, glancing up at her. “Sounds like another unattainable goal.”

“Nothing is unattainable—you’re going to learn that very soon.” She gathered her dark hair and hung it over her shoulder, where the ends were flirting with her tit.

Fuck me.