"Nothing more than usual." Alex shrugged before flinching. He seemed to keep forgetting that he'd only been out of surgery for six hours at that point.
"There’s been a lot more stress." Jamie stood back up and walked to the bed. She needed to touch him, to be close to him. “The wedding, interviews, media backlash, an ex-investor trying to sue the company, my brother-in-law stirring up shit. He’s the bastard who shot Alex.”
Mark stood and pressed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Jamie, he’s in jail. He can’t touch you guys anymore. Everyone’s going to see him for what he really is.”
Jamie nodded and then shook her head. “This isn’t about me. We’re talking about Alex. His job takes up the day, most of the night, and most weekends. Dr. Bennet, I think it’s too much.”
“Jamie—”
She cut Alex off. “He won’t listen. He keeps saying next quarter he’ll slow down, but he doesn’t.”
"And his stress level on his best day is ten times more than ours on our worst days." Mark stepped back from Jamie, out of reach of Alex. "He needs to learn to let go a little. Can you give him a pill for that?"
The doctor chuckled. "No, but if the chest pains are a warning signing, they’re not to be taken lightly. Alex?” He waited for Alex to nod and then made a few clicks and taps on his iPad. “Here’s the plan. You guys can stay for a little while, but realize that he needs rest. A lot of it. He looks good, and he's a strong young man, but he's still lost a lot of blood. He needs to sleep."
“Damn brother always looks good,” Mark muttered and Jamie leaned over to elbow him.
She shook the doctor's hand before turning her attention back to Alex.
"Alright,” Mark said and pretended to check his phone. “I'm going to head out and give you crazy kids some time to yourself." He walked around to the other side of Alex and took his hand. "You alright?"
"Yeah. That shit was crazy. Thank you for being there. I haven't seen you tackle someone like that since high school," Alex smirked.
Mark rolled his shoulders and grunted a little. "Yep. I still got it."
Jamie rolled her eyes. "I'll call you later with an update. Can you feed Jake for me?"
"You're not staying here." Alex turned to pin her with a hard stare. "It's uncomfortable, and I'll be fine."
"I'm not going anywhere. Don't say another word about it." She returned the stare before looking up at Mark. "You okay with getting the dog?"
"Of course. I'll make sure to stop back by the office and check on everyone there too."
"Just shut it down for the rest of the day." Alex leaned back and closed his eyes. "Thanks, Mark."
"Anytime, brother." Mark moved over to give Jamie a quick hug. "Call if you need me to bring you some clothes."
"I will. Thank you for everything."
"Anytime." Mark turned and walked out as Jamie slipped her shoes off and took Alex's hand, lifting it to her lips to kiss his fingers.
"You scared me so damn bad. I don't know what I would—" her voice broke.
"Baby. Come here." Alex scooted over with a loud grunt.
"I can’t sit on the bed. You need to re—"
"Get in this bed and stop asking questions. We'll apologize later if we've broken any rules. I know you need me. Come here." He lifted his left arm and she carefully got into the bed with him and snuggled up to his side. "I'm going to be okay. Stephen isn't though. I can't believe that guy. What the fuck was he thinking?"
"He wasn't." She took a shaky breath and pressed herself against his side before reaching over and lowering the bed to a more reclined position.
"I need you to run the company while I'm in here." He turned his face and tugged off the oxygen mask, dropping it beside him. "Can you do that?"
"I can try." She lifted up and carefully pressed her lips to his. His free hand slipped into her hair, gripping it tightly as he made love to her mouth. "I love you so much. Don't you ever leave me, okay?"
He smiled. "You don't know what that means to me. I honestly figured I would be a bachelor for the rest of my life. I know it's been trying lately, but you're the right woman for the job."
"What job?" She lifted her eyebrow at him.