Next to You by Julia Gabriel Read Free Book Online Page A

needed, back in the early days of the company, Phlox and Zee had gone without paychecks so they could make payroll for everyone else. Even as the company had grown, they still tried to know everyone by name, know something about their lives and families. Employees were important to them … even angry reclusive caretaker employees.
    She trudged back to the house, barefoot. She wasn’t even wearing shoes because it was so damn early in the morning. The stack of baskets were still sitting on the porch. She picked them up and carried them into the kitchen, where the pot of coffee was now ready. She looked at the plate of pistachio muffins sitting on the island and her stomach turned at the thought of eating one.
    She was getting a little sick of muffins and cookies, not to mention frozen pizzas and supermarket salads. To cook more, though, she would have to use the range. She would have to turn on the gas. Even though she’d been here nearly a week, her heart still raced every time she put her hand on one of the range’s shiny knobs. Intellectually, she knew it wouldn’t happen again. It was more likely that she’d be hit by lightning. But the fear was bone deep. Just standing in front of the range made her muscles go weak and shaky.
    She sat down on an island stool and drank her coffee. Jared was wrong. She wasn’t one of the “people like you” who didn’t understand what it was like to have the kind of face most people associated with monsters. Frankenstein. Quasimodo. The Phantom of the Opera. Phlox had lived through that herself, an experience she wouldn’t wish on her worst enemy.
    She pressed her fingers to her cheek, then her sternum. Of course, he wouldn’t realize that she had shared that experience. There was no way for him to know that. Phlox had gold-plated insurance and enough money to pay for whatever the insurance hadn’t covered. She’d been able to hire a team of plastic surgeons to fix her right up. It only took thirty-two operations, but now when people passed her on the street, they no longer flinched. It was only Phlox who did a double take, every time she caught a glimpse of her new face reflected in the window of a store or a taxi parked at the curb.
    As she poured another cup of coffee, she wondered how Jared had gotten burned and what his care afterward had been like. She picked up her phone and called Cherise.
    “Good morning, Phlox. This is your one call.”
    Phlox sighed. “I am aware of that.”
    “Then what can I do for you on this lovely Friday?”
    “Did we extend full benefits to Jared Connor?”
    “The caretaker? Of course. He’s a full-time employee.”
    “Was he sent a benefits packet?”
    “That I don’t know. I can check with HR.”
    “Will you do that for me, Cherise? And let me know. Also, can you do me another favor?”
    “Sure. What is it?”
    “In my apartment, there’s a photo album. It has a black leather cover and it’s in the bottom left drawer of my desk in my home office. Can you overnight that to me? Rye can give you a key.”
    Cherise was silent on the other end. Probably pressing some sort of panic button to alert Zee.
    “I can do that,” her assistant said finally. “Is everything okay up there?”
    “Yes. Did you interview the caretaker in person?”
    There was silence on the other end. Then Cherise replied. “Not in person, no. I spoke to him on the phone and his references were glowing. Why? If you don’t like him, I can find someone else.”
    “No. It’s fine. He’s doing a terrific job. I just wondered. Call me if you can’t find the photo album.”
    She set her phone back down on the island and took another long sip of coffee. She hadn’t looked at that photo album in months and it was the last thing she wanted to look at now. Or ever again, for that matter. It was filled with photographs taken of her in the hospital immediately after the accident, then before and after each surgery. Some were selfies, some were photos she had forced