36. The offer

I stay like that for a while, pressed against him, my face hidden in the curve of his neck. His hand moving slowly along my back.

He presses a kiss to my hair. “You should sleep,” he murmurs.
I shake my head against him. “I don’t want to.”
His hand stills for a moment, then resumes its slow movement. “Me neither.”

But eventually, exhaustion wins.

When I wake up, it’s still dark outside. I reach for him but his side of the bed is empty.

I sit up straight, opening my eyes slightly. I notice the faint glow of light spilling into the hallway from downstairs.
I glance at the clock. 5:47 a.m.

With a sigh, I push back the blankets and swing my legs over the side of the bed.

As I enter the living room, I can already smell the coffee.

I find Bill standing in the kitchen, wearing a grey t-shirt and sweatpants. His back is turned as he waits for the coffee machine to finish.

For a moment, I simply watch him.
In a few hours, he'll be on a plane to Los Angeles.

As if he senses me staring, he turns. His expression softens immediately.
"Hey."
"Hey."
"You should still be asleep."

I walk toward him. "I couldn’t sleep anymore."
A small smile appears on his face.
"Same."

I stop beside him and lean against the counter.

He fills a mug with coffee and I reach for it. He hesitates for a second before he hands it to me.
“I’m allowed one small coffee.” I explain myself.

He nods and grabs another mug for himself.
I sip my coffee, watching him as he fills his own.

“What?” He asks when he catches me staring.
“Nothing.” I say, shaking my head and looking away. Because how can I tell him that I need to know what this is? When I’m the one who walked away in the first place.. and now I need him to say the words. How can I ask that from him?

“The taxi arrives in two hours.” He says softly. I nod, my stomach twisting at the words.

Time seems to fly suddenly, and the doorbell rings. “That’s my ride.” Bill says, grabbing his suitcase and walking towards the door.

He opens it, handing over his suitcase to the man standing in front of him. “Just a minute.” He says. The man nods and walks back to his car.

Then Bill turns back to me. “I’ll call you when I land, okay?”
He presses a soft kiss to my forehead, turns around and walks away.

Just like that. No “I love you”. No “I’ll miss you.” Nothing.

I stand in the doorway, watching him get into the cap and driving away.

“He’ll be back.” I whisper to myself. He promised.

I walk back inside, my mind all over the place. Why did I make such a mess? If I just stayed in L.A. everything would have been fine. I tell myself. Even though I know it’s a lie. Because not everything was fine.

But it will be. One way or another.


The next day:
“What about we go shopping? Don’t you need some maternity clothes or some stuff for the baby?”
“My clothes are starting to feel a little bit tight..” I admit, laying my hand on my belly.

“And it’s the perfect distraction. You will not be staying inside for two weeks.”
“I wasn’t going to do that,” I defend myself.

“No, because I wasn’t going to let you.” Brenda says, winking. “So, ready to go?”

Brenda just finished her sentence when the doorbell rings. “Are you expecting someone?”
I shake my head, as I walk towards the hallway.

I open the front door, seeing the person I least expected to see. “Hi, Evi. Can I come in?”
“Uhm, sure.” I step aside, letting him in. He walks straight to the living room.

“What is he doing here?” Brenda asks, crossing her arms.
I turn my head to look at her. Nodding for her to go upstairs.

She rolls her eyes. “Fine.” She mumbles, already turning away. “Scream if you need me!”

I wait until she disappears into the hallway before turning back to Wesley. “What do you want?”

He takes a step closer to me. So close I have to look up to him to meet his eyes. “I’m looking for an assistant.” he says with his usual calm voice.

I blink. “Okay… and what does that have to do with me?”

“I know you’ve been looking for a job,” he continues. “I know you applied to St. Marien Hospital.”

For a second, I just stare at him. I completely forgot about that application.
“Right,” I say slowly. “Well, they never got back to me.”

“So,” he says, his voice steady as it always is. “you need a job. And I’m hiring.”

The way he holds eye contact with me reminds me why everyone likes him. And why I fell for him when I first met him.

It takes me way too long to break eye contact. “Why are you doing this?” I ask, taking a step back. “Why would you get me fired and then come here to offer me a job?”

“I didn’t get you fired,” he says.
“Oh, please,” I snap. “I break up with you and right after they fire me. That’s not a coincidence.”

His eyes lock with mine again. “They are firing nurses everyday. This time, I just didn’t stop them when your name came up.”

“That’s not better.”
“No,” he agrees quietly. “It’s not.”

That throws me off for a second.
I cross my arms. “So what, this is your way of making up for it?”

“It’s a job offer,” he says. “You can take it or leave it.”
“You’re unbelievable.”
“And you’re pregnant and unemployed,” he counters.

I hate that it gets to me.

I think for a moment, before I start talking again.

“What kind of assistant?”

Something shifts in his expression. Like he knew I’d get here eventually.

“It's not a single-role job,” he says. “You handle whatever needs handling. It can go from answering calls, replying to emails, paper work or even assisting me during surgery.”

“And why me?”
“Because you’re capable… and you don’t waste time trying to impress.”

I glance toward the hallway where Brenda disappeared, then back at him.
“You really think I’d work for you?” I ask.
“I think you need a job,” he says. “And we were a great team, weren’t we?”

“I don’t know if—” I start, but my phone buzzes on the kitchen table beside me. Bill’s name lights up the screen, and I quickly flip it facedown.

“Uh…” I frown, trying to remember what I was about to say.

“So,” he says. “What do you think? It pays nearly twice what you were making before, if that helps your decision.”

I exhale slowly. “I’ll think about it.”
“That’s all I’m asking.”

“Okey then.” I say, listening to the buzzing of my phone. He called twice, that means he’s nervous.

“Okay. I need an answer by the end of the week.”
I nod. “Okay.”

The moment he leaves, Brenda rushes downstairs.
“What did he want?”
“You called Bill? Why would you do that?” I snap “He’s probably freaking out.”

“Because...” She hesitates. “I don't trust Wes.”
I roll my eyes. “I need to call Bill back.”
I grab my phone from the kitchen table.
“But what did he want? What did he say?”
“He offered me a job.”
“A job?!” Brenda's voice rises.
“Shhh!” I hiss, pressing the phone to my ear.
Bill answers after the first ring.

“Evi?”
“Hi, Bill.”

Silence.

“How's the album going?” I ask.
“It’s going fine,” he says with a sigh. “I think we only need a few more days.”
I nod, even though he can't see me, waiting for the inevitable question.

“Bill...”
“What did your ex want?” he interrupts me.
A small smile tugs at my lips. “I was waiting for you to ask that.”
“So? What did he want?”

I exhale slowly. “He offered me a job at the hospital.”
“A job?” His surprise is obvious. “Wasn't he the one who got you fired?”
“Yes… no. Not really.”

Silence.

“What kind of job?” he finally asks.
“As his assistant.”
“His personal assistant?”
“Yes.”

I can practically hear his pulse quicken through the phone.

“And what did you tell him?”
“Nothing. He wants an answer by the end of the week.”
“Evi, I...” He trails off. “You're pregnant. Maybe you shouldn't be working right now.”

“Pregnant women work, Bill. Plenty of nurses work while being pregnant. And honestly, this would be the least physically demanding nursing job I could get.”
“But he's your ex.” His voice tightens. “Do you really want to work for your ex-boyfriend?”

I shrug. “I don't know.”
“Maybe...” He pauses. “Never mind.”
“What?” I frown. “I said I'd think about it. I didn't take the job.”
“Not yet, anyway.”

“What's the real problem here, Bill? Me being pregnant, or me working for my ex?”
“It's not that.”
“Then what is it?”
He sighs, taking so long to answer that I wonder if he will at all.

Finally, he speaks.
“If you take that job, it feels like you've already decided where we're going to live. Like you've decided Germany is permanent.”

I swallow hard.
“You said you didn't care where we lived.”
“I know,” he says quietly. “And I don't. I just... didn't realize you'd already made up your mind. I thought Los Angeles was still an option.”