“Justin?” The director’s sharp address pulled him out of the mental fog.
“Sorry. You caught me at a bit of a bad moment. I apologize, Ms. Cooper.”
A single, almost imperceptible tremor ran through her.
“I didn’t mention Grace’s last name, so I’m going to assume you two know each other?” Mark crossed his arms and leaned one hip against his desk, clearly waiting for someone to enlighten him.
Justin’s heart nearly stopped. Giving his boss the truth was the only option, but the words were hard to produce. “Grace and I have a relationship outside of the office.”
“No, sir,” she interjected quickly. “We don’t. We had a brief acquaintance. Nothing more.” She glanced over at him. “And that was definitively over before we became coworkers.”
This time Justin’s heart did stop. For a second, he couldn’t breathe. Black spots danced across his vision and his lungs gave up their push-pull partnership with air. “It’s a relationship.”
“I’m sorry you misinterpreted it as something other than what it actually was, Dr. Maxwell.” She ignored him, focusing instead on Mark. “It won’t impede our ability to work together, sir. What was and what is are two very separate things.”
Mark considered her a moment before he spoke. “It seems Justin here doesn’t agree.”
Justin mutely shook his head while, internally, he was shouting at her that what they had was more than an acquaintance. She’d experienced more. He had no doubt she had.
But she’d also walked out on him. He’d let her go, an action that would haunt him forever. Unless he made it right. He opened his mouth to speak, but she interjected.
“I’m sure Dr. Maxwell is merely acknowledging that we share a common educational foundation. He’s right, and I hope he agrees that this will allow us to work together well and serve the kids without any distractions.”
“Very nice speech, Grace.” Mark slid into his chair and laced his fingers together behind his head. “Now tell me what’s really going on.”
“I have to have this internship, Mr. Sanders. Without it, I don’t graduate and—” she spared a glance at Justin “—won’t be able to get on with my life. I want to put in my eighty hours, obtain a fair grade and find my niche in the workplace. Dr. Maxwell has nothing to do with that.”
“And what do you anticipate that niche to be?” he asked.
Justin tried to interject, but random hand actions were all he could offer. Neither Grace nor Mark paid him any attention. Sucking in a great lungful of air, he ran his hands through his hair. “Stop. Please, just stop.”
Mark arched a single brow as he dipped his chin in Justin’s direction. “He speaks.”
“I’m understandably a bit overwhelmed. Between realizing I’ll have patients immediately and then finding out I’ll be assigned to conduct Grace’s practicum, it simply took me a moment to process it all.”
“I’ll ask once, Justin, and I expect an honest answer.” Mark stared at him over the top of his wire-rimmed glasses. “Is this going to be a problem?”
“No. It won’t.” I hope.