Chapter 17
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
ALEX CHECKS THE REARVIEW, WEAVING through heavy traffic on Sunset.
He made a microscopic pit stop at his apartment to change before his presentation.
Now, he looks incredibly dapper in his blazer and dark blue button-down while I look like his ragamuffin groupie.
All I need is a pair of sunglasses to go with the Taylor Swift tee I’m wearing, and I’ll be ready for Coachella.
At least I opted for slip-on tennis shoes this morning over my flip-flops.
Alex’s grip tightens on the wheel as we face the onslaught of brake lights. We’ll barely make it on time—if we’re lucky.
His stomach rumbles, and he throws his head back against the seat. “I’m starving.”
My stomach gurgles, too, as if agreeing. But then inspiration strikes. I open my purse and hand him a Snickers. “My grandma had a ton of candy on her.”
He perks up and gives me a grateful smile, then scarfs the candy bar down in three bites. Damn. He was hungry.
“You want another?” I rifle through the options. “She also had Twix and a Milky Way.” I huff a small laugh, pulling out the Ziploc with three red-and-yellow gummy worms. “And these.”
“I’ll take a Twix.” He extends his hand, reaching for the baggie. “And the gummy worms.”
I can’t contain my grin. “Are you six, too?”
“Hey, don’t knock them till you try them.” He opens the Ziploc and drops the first one in his mouth. “I used to love these as a kid.” He offers me one, but I shake my head.
“Are they as good as you remember?”
“Not really.” He laughs, but tosses the other two in his mouth. “I must have more refined tastebuds now.” He flashes me a cheeky grin, and I roll my eyes.
A half hour later, we reach the health department with only eight minutes to spare. Alex gets out of the car and dusts off his hands, swaying slightly. Maybe a barrage of sugar wasn’t the best idea on an empty stomach.
I hop out of the SUV and give him a once-over. “You okay?”
“Yeah, my blood sugar must have gotten too low. I feel a little lightheaded.”
“Are you okay to do the presentation?” I brush some stray sugar crystals off his shirt.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I probably just need some—” He breaks off, catching my hands at the wrists mid-brush. His stare burns through me with an intensity I’ve never seen before. It turns my core molten.
“Alex?” I say tentatively, searching his eyes.
He blinks as if he’s coming out of a trance. “Sorry, you’re just—” He cuts his eyes away, releasing my hands.
“Just what?”
“Really fucking beautiful.” The words are a quiet rumble in his chest.
Definitely not what I expected him to say. A hot blush creeps up my neck, all the way to my forehead. “Um, thanks.” I tuck a chunk of hair behind my ear, no longer able to meet his gaze.
He leans down, his breath caressing my neck. “You’re even prettier when you blush.”
With that, the heat spreads everywhere—my chest, my arms, between my legs. I let out a shy laugh and push him toward the building. He takes my hand again, linking my fingers with his, like it’s the most natural thing in the world, and a smattering of goosebumps breaks out over my skin.
As he opens the steel door, a tall Black woman wearing a gray pantsuit greets us with an annoyed scowl, her arms crossed, her foot relentlessly tapping in black leather pumps. She glances at me for a moment then her eyes dart back to Alex. “Cutting it a little close, aren’t we?”
He winces. “Sorry, Monica.”
She must be his boss.
“Well, get in there,” she snaps, pointing to a door propped open with a rubber stopper. “I already have your presentation pulled up. Dr. Jennings has been in the virtual waiting room for ten minutes, and it’s nine PM in Atlanta. Go welcome him before you start.”
My stomach drops at the mention of Atlanta. I’d managed to push it to the back of my mind, but it’ll be even harder to lose him now.
Alex nods, wiping his arm across his forehead. He must be nervous—his temples are dampened with sweat even though it’s barely sixty degrees outside.
“What’s up with you?” She narrows her eyes, squinting at him. “You seem off.”
“I just need some water.” He licks his lips. “My mouth is super dry all of a sudden.”
Her brow creases. “All right, I’ll bring you some. Just get in there.”
Alex heads into the room, and before Monica follows, she eyes me down.
Her nose wrinkles like I’m something she had to scrape off the bottom of her fancy shoe.
Without another word, she turns on her heel and enters the room.
I plod behind, cursing myself for wearing this Taylor Swift T-shirt.
This pink Taylor Swift T-shirt. It doesn’t exactly scream public health expert.
I sneak into the back of the room. It’s filled with at least three dozen people all dressed in proper business attire. Me and T Swift slide into a seat in the last row.
I lift my hair and fan the back of my neck.
If it’s this stuffy where I’m sitting, it must be stifling under the lights up front.
Alex takes off his blazer and unbuttons his collar.
I can see his face glistening from thirty feet away.
Monica hands him a bottle of water, and he starts guzzling it immediately.
She steps up to the podium and smiles, glancing around the room. “Hello, everyone, thank you all for being here tonight. I’m Dr. Monica Watkins, deputy director of LA County Public Health, and I have the great privilege of introducing tonight’s speaker, Dr. Alex Cardoso.”
A round of applause breaks out, and Alex tears the water bottle from his lips before clasping it behind his back.
“Dr. Cardoso is a distinguished epidemiologist with a wealth of fieldwork and research to his name,” Monica continues.
“He has attended over fifteen medical missions, including his most recent trip to Peru this summer, where he and his team vaccinated a record number of both children and adults. He is currently the lead field officer for LA County, and I’m thrilled he’ll be sharing these important findings with us tonight. ”
Wow, Alex is ridiculously accomplished. He could probably have his pick of any job. That pipe dream is surely going to be a reality in the not so distant future.
And then he’ll be gone for good.
Vigorous applause fills the room, yanking me out of my thoughts.
Alex steps up to the podium, now poised with an easy confidence, clicker in hand.
He leans down and adjusts the mic, barely able to contain his grin.
“I thought I’d start with a joke”—he pauses, glancing across the crowd—“but I didn’t want it to go viral. ”
I roll my eyes. Alex, come on. But the audience roars with laughter. Yeah, everyone in here is a hard-core public health nerd. I flash him an enthusiastic smile and double thumbs-up, and he locks eyes with me, grinning like an absolute fool before clicking the first slide.
It was clear Alex is an expert in the field when he went through his presentation in the car on our way to San Diego, but seeing him in his element, in a room full of his peers, rattling off facts and figures with cool, collected confidence … Damn.
I bite my lip, fanning myself again. Even I’m starting to sweat. And maybe it’s not all because of the thermostat.
And I’m not the only one who’s impressed—the bigwigs in the room are eating up every word. A lot of them are even taking notes.
After Alex completes his final slide, he entertains questions from the audience, and provides a clear, thoughtful response to each one.
At eight o’clock, Monica returns to the podium to conclude the Q&A session.
The entire room breaks out in thunderous applause, and one by one, people rise to give Alex a standing ovation.
After Monica delivers a few closing remarks, a crowd swarms around Alex. He mouths something to Monica, and she frowns, but she comes back a minute later with another water bottle. His fourth of the night.
While Alex fields more questions, Monica makes her way to the back of the room … to me.
All I want to do is dissolve. I was supposed to come here to show my support for Alex, the way he’s done for me all day. But I’m an embarrassment to him.
I cross my arms, doing my best to hide Taylor’s face, like Monica hasn’t already seen it.
Her judgmental eyes roam over me again. “So, how do you know Alex?” The question is more of an accusation.
“From Barrett,” I offer. Even if I’m not dignified in this moment, the university is. It always is.
But Monica looks even more ruffled. Worry lines her forehead. “You’re one of his students?”
My jaw falls open as dread washes over me. Not only does Alex’s boss think I’m a student, she thinks I’m his student. That he’s involved with a student. Not that Alex and I are involved. Not that we’re not. God, things are so complicated right now.
But I need to shut this down immediately.
“No.” I shake my head, trying to regain even an ounce of my dignity. “We’re colleagues. I’m a professor in the Health Science Department. I’m June.” I extend my hand to her. “Dr. June Wells,” I add quickly, like a pompous asshat.
But then her entire demeanor softens. “You’re June?” she asks incredulously.
A pit forms in my stomach, but I force myself to nod.
A wry smile takes over her face. “He talks about you all the time.” Her knowing look makes me blush all the way to my toes.
I let out a shy laugh, smoothing a mass of hair behind my ear. I can’t believe Alex has mentioned me to other people. Though I’m dying to know exactly what he’s said, I refrain from asking dozens of follow-up questions because she’s his boss.
“Carol!” Monica cups her hand around her mouth, and an older woman in a navy skirt and matching blazer turns toward us. Monica waves at her to join us, and she furrows her brow as she strides over.
“Carol, this is June.” Two lines form between Carol’s eyebrows, and then Monica adds, “Alex’s June.”
My pulse quickens. They secretly refer to me as Alex’s June?