Epilogue #3
Pushing down the rising panic, I keep my voice as calm as I can muster. “I need an ambulance at the Hale Cosmetics building immediately. Top floor. And hurry. I’m pretty sure my boss is having a stroke.”
I approach the hospital room that evening with a vase of flowers in hand, to find the twins, Helix and Phoenix, standing in the corridor with their wives.
Phoenix greets me with a hug and then introduces me to his wife, Jordie McNamara-Hale. She’s tall, blonde, and extremely beautiful in that effortless girl-next-door way. I already met Helix and Nicolette when they stopped by one day to have lunch with the big man.
“How’s he doing?” I ask.
“Good, thanks to you. They just moved him out of intensive care a few minutes ago,” Helix replies, giving me a shy smile. “Did you want to go in to see him?”
“If it wouldn’t be a bother.”
“Not at all. You literally saved his life,” Nicolette adds. “I’ll let him know you’re here.” She opens the door and steps into the room, returning a few seconds later. Taking my free hand, she squeezes it. “He said go on in.”
I enter and see two blonde women hovering around the hospital bed, cooing at the occupant. I’ve come to adore Haywood Hale the past two weeks. He’s the best boss I’ve ever had, kind and patient, even though the workload is demanding.
He looks up at me from the bed. His salt-and-pepper hair is plastered against his head from the woman slicking it back with her small hand. His wife, Rebecca.
But Mr. Hale’s smile is wide and even, not showing a hint of the droop I saw in his office earlier. I hadn’t realized I was scrunching my shoulders in worry until they relaxed.
“There she is!” he crows with absolutely no slurring of the words. If I didn’t know better, I’d say he looked out of place in that hospital bed. His color appears good, and his blue eyes are twinkling. “The lady who saved the day. Come on in, Mindy.”
Before I get two steps into the room, I’m engulfed by thin arms and a mass of blonde hair. “Oh my god, thank you so much, Mindy. The doctors said you saved my dad’s life.”
I pat Perri’s back awkwardly as my cheeks warm. “I didn’t really do anything. I was just in the right place at the right time.”
“Bull hockey,” the man in the bed says, and I laugh as I disentangle myself from Perri Hale’s exuberant embrace. She loops her arm in mine and guides me closer to the bed.
“I really didn’t, sir. I just called emergency services like anyone would do.”
Rebecca Hale smiles from the other side of the bed. “Haywood said you gave him three aspirin to chew. The neurologist said that probably made all the difference in the world.” Her eyes fill with tears. “I’ll never be able to thank you enough.”
“Well, I need to keep him around. Job security and all that,” I joke, and everyone laughs.
God, it feels good to see Mr. Hale smile like that.
I’ve been freaking out since it happened, though Phoenix was kind enough to send me text updates throughout the day.
He’d ridden in the ambulance with his dad while I held down the fort at the office, fielding calls from the media about why an ambulance was seen arriving at Hale Cosmetics.
Of course, I gave them the vague “There was a medical emergency in the building, and I have no other information to share at this time” reply.
“I’m just curious. Why did you have aspirin in your purse?” Perri asks, pushing me down into the padded chair she had occupied. She takes the vase from me and sets it on the narrow hospital tray. “I mean, most people carry ibuprofen or Tylenol.”
“Oh, well, my father died of a stroke when I was a teenager.” My heart lurches at the thought of my sweet, handsome dad, but I continue.
“The doctors said maybe if he’d had a couple aspirin nearby, the outcome could have been different.
So I went out that day and bought a bottle to keep in my purse.
” I let out a humorless laugh. “I replace them when they expire, but I always end up throwing away a full bottle because I’ve never had to use them before. ”
Mr. Hale reaches over and pats my arm, the gesture a fatherly one. “I’m so sorry about your dad, Mindy. I’m sure today was very upsetting for you.”
“It’s definitely not something I’d like to experience again.” I give him a playfully stern look. “So you’d better get well soon, Mr. Hale, and do exactly what the doctors tell you.”
“Oh, he will or he’ll have me to answer to,” Perri says forcefully. She’s quite adorable with her tiny frame, though the narrowing of her eyes and the hands on her hips let her father know she’s not going to be putting up with any arguments from him.
“And me,” her mother chimes in.
Mr. Hale turns pleading eyes on me. “Good lord, save me from these women, Mindy. They’re going to pester me to death.”
“You’ll get no help from me,” I inform him smugly. “I can pester with the best of them. I’m sure Mrs. Hale would be more than happy to share whatever diet your doctors prescribe so I can make sure you’re eating properly while at work.”
Rebecca smiles appreciatively at me and then looks down at her husband for a long moment, giving him a nod before rising. I don’t know what that was about, probably some weird-ass married couple silent communication thing.
“Perri and I will go get a cup of coffee and let you two chat,” she says, smoothing down her husband’s hair once again.
“Oh. Right,” Perri says, wrapping an arm around her mother’s waist as they head to the door. She glances over her shoulder and blows her dad a kiss before they depart.
My attention goes to my boss, who immediately musses his thick hair as soon as the women are gone.
“I love my family, but those two could earn a black belt in nagging. I swear, it’s like being pecked to death by two very pretty chickens.”
I laugh at his description. “They just love you and want you around for a very long time,” I assure him. “How are you really feeling, Mr. Hale?”
“I feel fine physically. The doctors here are very good, and they got me out of the danger zone pretty quickly. I’ll be on blood thinners from now on, but other than that, I should be just dandy.”
“And mentally?” I press. Maybe it’s not my place to ask that. I’m just his employee after all.
But he offers me a wan smile. “It scared the shit out of me, if I’m being honest.” His gaze drifts to the corner of the room, and I remain quiet as he stares, seemingly lost in his own thoughts. Then he looks back at me and surprises me with a question. “Do you like your job, Mindy?”
“I love my job.” It’s a simple answer, but it’s the truth.
“And you’d like to stay in your current position for a while?”
“For forever, if you’ll keep me around. “No way am I giving up Ambrosia’s excellent coffee and pastries,” I reply, trying to keep it lighthearted, though I’m feeling anything but. Why is he asking me this?
His no-nonsense blue eyes are intently on my face. “Even if I’m no longer the CEO?”
That question throws me for a loop. I guess it shouldn’t. After all, the man almost died today.
“I love the company and I enjoy the work, so yes. I’d like to stay in my current position.” I quirk an eyebrow. “Are the pecking chickens trying to persuade you to retire?”
He chuckles. “Yes, though when I was in that ambulance, I thought about my life. About what I want going forward.” His smile deepens the dimples on his cheeks, which are dusted with a five-o-clock shadow. “Did you know I’ll be getting my second grandchild soon?”
My eyebrows lift in surprise. “I didn’t know that. Congratulations. Who’s expecting?”
His smile turns sly. “I can’t tell you. I’ve already said too much.” He shakes his head. “I just wasn’t sure if the office gossip mill had already gotten wind of it.”
“I haven’t heard a word, and I promise I won’t say a thing.” But my brain is working through the possibilities.
Phoenix and Jordie? They were married pretty recently, so it could be them.
Maybe Helix and Nicolette? They would have gorgeous babies.
Perri? She’s not married, but that doesn’t really matter.
Or could it be…
I stop that train of thought before it pulls fully into the station and return my focus to Mr. Hale.
“I’ve been in this position since I was in my twenties. I’m not getting any younger, and today's events…” He pauses, and I can see the emotion dancing behind his blue irises. “Today made me re-evaluate my entire life. I think it’s time for me to retire and let the next generation take over.”
“I think that’s a good decision. Family is important, Mr. Hale. I’ve lost both my parents, and I wish I could have just one more day with them.”
“Good. Glad we got that settled. I want to assure you, your job is safe. I’ll make sure of it. You’re bright, personable, and smart as a whip. Hale Cosmetics is lucky to have you.”
My throat clogs at his kind words. “Thank you, sir. I appreciate that. Will Phoenix be taking over for you?”
“No, Phoenix is too important where he is in marketing. My other son will be taking over.”
A sense of unease tracks a slow trail down my spine. “Helix?” I ask hopefully because Haywood Hale only has three sons, and the other option is absolutely not an option I can consider.
But the man in the hospital bed bursts my bubble with one simple sentence.
“No, my son Remi will be taking over, effective next week.”
He says something else, something about having all his children back in Houston, but my mind tunes him out.
Because Remington Hale is going to be my new boss.
And I am completely and utterly fucked.