Epilogue
CORA
We crowded into Coach’s office with his present, the three of us, and a chair.
It sounded like the first line of a bad joke, and the space felt like the entire team was jammed into the small area while in reality it was just my tame Chimera who consumed every inch of breathable air and space.
“For you,” I presented the new leather office chair officially to the chimeras coach in the wake of the mess that started with Heath Valentine and ended with both of us.
Ward Bishop looked at both of us across his desk and posed his ass over his worn, used chair. “And if I like this one?” he said, both eyebrows raised as he made to sit.
I opened my mouth to object, horror building in my throat. I knew what I’d done on that chair, and I could not be in this room if he sat on it.
Valentine wrapped a firm arm around my midsection, squeezing tightly. “That’s your choice. We can donate this one to the hospital, maybe?’ he said smoothly. “I’m sure they have some underpaid doctors who need ergonomic support. Coach.” He placed a hand on the chair and wheeled it backward a step.
“Stubborn ass,” I muttered under my breath.
“What was that?" Ward barked at me, crooking a finger.
I wince and earned a jab in the back for my efforts. “Seriously? Both of you?” I shot Valentine a glare and then turned back to Ward. “That’s hardly fair.” I towed the chair with me, engaging with tug-of-war with my Chimera of choice.
Valentine relinquished, and I knew I would pay for my brattiness later in some not so subtle way.
Ward waited until I pushed the chair closer and exchanged it for the old one. I clung to the trashed desk chair and passed it safely backward. Mission accomplished.
“This one is so much better for your health,” I reassured Ward, breathing a little easier.
“I’ll bet,” Coach muttered, fixing me with a hard stare. His lips twitched, but he didn’t say anything else. “Go on. Don’t you both have jobs to do?”
“Are you grumpier than usual?” I watched him carefully. Asking Ward Bishop if he was alright was the stupidest thing anyone in the Chimeras club building could do and I knew better. But still…
Valentine gripped my elbow. “Come on butterfly. You got your way.”
“Just a minute.” I batted his hand away, earning myself a warning squeeze. Whatever. I cared about both men standing in this office with me, for different reasons. “Ward?”
He looked down at the knuckles he rested on his desk, and cleared his throat. “It’s my anniversary today.”
“Oh?” I blinked at him when he wouldn’t look at me. “Did you forget a present? I can lend you my assistant, Liz. She’s excellent at gift selection.”
Ward jerked his head once. “Sure. Send her in.”
Valentine’s hand closed on my arm, hauling me out of the office as I called my goodbyes.
I huffed at him. “That was rude.”
He tapped my nose and pulled me in closer. “You don’t know, do you?”
“What?”
“Coach and his wife. They’re estranged. They’re both as stubborn as each other and won’t break up, but can’t stay together. He sees her once a year, apparently.”
My mouth dropped open. “What the fuck?” I just found my Chimera. There was no way I was letting him go. “When?”
“Today. Their anniversary.”