Wayne had yet to visit her, but something didn’t sit well with her.
The nurse came in and saw to her chart, and looked her over, then left.
She hadn’t seen him since they had touched down, and she had been wheeled past Frances, who stood with a couple of people dressed in suits.
Biting her lip, Temperance lay in bed and waited.
Time passed, and with it came the reality that this was the end.
Someone cleared her throat, and Temperance looked toward the sound, seeing Frances, the woman who was waiting for her on the first day of being a nanny.
She held a file in her hands.
“Hello, Miss Michaels. I don’t know if you remember me—”
“I remember you. It’s done, isn’t it?” Temperance asked.
“Excuse me?”
“Timothy. Wayne’s handed him back to child services.”
“Timothy is not Mr. Myers’s responsibility.”
“So he handed him right back as if he didn’t have a care in the world.”
“I don’t know if you’re aware, Miss Michaels, but it’s not his responsibility to house all unwanted children.”
Temperance stared at the woman before her, and saw that even as she defended her boss, she didn’t believe in the words. “Speak the bullshit to yourself in the mirror.” It was the first time she had ever sworn to someone while she’d been working for them. Frances was an extension of Wayne. “Are those my marching orders?”
“This is the final contract and last payment.”
She took the file and glanced over the sum of money. It was a stupid amount, and looking at the settlement figure, she grabbed the pen, crossing out the amount and putting the correct sum.
“You shouldn’t be making changes without a lawyer present.”
“I don’t need a lawyer when I’m requesting the correct figure. I have the files at home to prove that. I don’t need anything more or less.”
Frances took the paperwork back, and her gaze went wide. “You want less?”
“I want what was agreed.”
“Mr. Myers arranged for that figure himself. He wants you to be paid properly.”
“I am being paid properly. Now, if you’d leave, could you please send a doctor in? I want to arrange to leave now.”
Her heart was breaking.
Wayne in a few choice moves had shattered her heart into a thousand pieces, or at least that was what it felt like.
Sex didn’t mean anything to him, and it never would. She had to remember that.
“Your stay at the hospital is also covered.”
“I don’t want it.” She gritted her teeth, feeling the tears that flooded her eyes.
Don’t be stupid!
Don’t let it get to you.
“Please, send in the doctor.”
Frances nodded and left the room. Temperance flung the blanket off her legs and eased toward the edge of the bed.
Her stupid leg wouldn’t work, and she was trying to move it.
She wouldn’t stay here, not for a moment longer. A change of clothes was on a chair in the corner, and Temperance was determined to get out of that damn hospital. She’d call Lilah and they could gather her things from Wayne’s apartment.
How had her life changed so easily?
She hated that it hurt.
The pain was unlike anything she’d ever felt.
Love shouldn’t be allowed to happen within a matter of days. The heart was one of the most important and vital organs in the body, and yet it was so easily broken, so easily hurt.
There was no secret way to protect herself.
She was well and truly broken. Temperance had expected it. She just hadn’t expected it to be this fast or this cold.
****
Wayne sat in the waiting room of the hospital. He didn’t want to go home, and he didn’t want to see Temperance. Frances didn’t take long, not that he imagined she would. So far, his efficient PA had handled everything perfectly. Timothy was back in child services, and he’d been granted an apology.
He stood as Frances exited the elevator and came toward him.
“Is everything okay?”
She sighed. “I don’t know. What do you consider okay? That woman is broken-hearted, and Timothy was so lost and hurt.” She handed him the file. “I’ve done my work for the day. If it’s okay with you, Mr. Myers, I’d like the rest of the afternoon off.”
He opened the file and saw the sum he intended to pay Temperance had been crossed out, and the original figure in place. “Who did this?” he asked.
“She did. She won’t take any more money.”
Wayne saw Frances had something to say. “What is it?” She’d been working for him long enough that he valued her opinion. He knew there wasn’t going to be anything she had to say that he was going to like.
“How could you have—it doesn’t matter.”
He’d disappointed her. “You can have the rest of the week off.”
She nodded and left. He watched her go, her shoulders slumped.
Watching Timothy leave had been one of the hardest things he’d ever done. Frances had warned him before he got on the plane that child services had already been alerted and would be waiting to take Timothy away when he landed.