Tell Me Something (The "Something" Series Book 1) by Aubrey Bondurant Page A

was going on?”
    “No, not at all and I would never ask him, but from what you’ve alluded to, it’s health-related and obviously not yours. As someone who has been through it with both my parents having had cancer, I want you to know that I’m here for you, Nigel.”
    That seemed to break down his last defense. I heard his unsteady breath. “It’s stage three colon cancer. My partner, David, has been going through radiation and chemo. We had to take a break because of the radiation burns, but he started back up this week. Surgery to remove the tumor is set tentatively for right before Christmas if we stay on course, followed by more chemo.”
    Sighing, I thought of all the things well-meaning people had said to me that hadn’t helped. I decided to give support rather than mere sympathy. “Stage three and operable are the most positive things you said in that sentence. It might not seem that way, but that means it is beatable. I will definitely be thinking of you both.”
    “Thank you. It means a lot, and I know you’re right. I need to keep thinking positive. How is Hong Kong?”
    “It’s all right. I think that Josh is going to be held up in meetings all day, and then we have a cocktail party tonight.”
    “Traveling overnight and then hitting the ground running is no fun,” he sympathized. “I don’t know how Josh does it so well.”
    “I don’t know, either. At least I got some sleep on the plane, but I don’t think he even closed his eyes once.” It was a little unnerving now that I thought about it that Josh had been awake before I went to sleep and also when I woke up. I hadn’t once had a glimpse of the man sleeping.
    “He’s an insomniac but one who seems to do fine with it. Merely a couple hours a night, and he seems as fresh as anyone else who requires eight.”
    After I filed this information away, I finished up Josh’s schedule and then let Nigel get on with his evening as it was late his time. I settled in going through emails and travel itineraries for the next few hours.
    I was so engrossed in my tasks that it took my stomach growling to remind me it was well past lunch time. Making my way down the hall, I passed Ana’s desk. I managed to restrain my temper when I realized she and the receptionist had obviously taken lunch for themselves from the catering order but hadn’t asked me.
    “I’m going to get a sandwich if Mr. Singer is looking for me.”
    “I’m sure he’ll get what he needs from me, but I’ll pass on the message if he asks.” Then in Cantonese, she spoke to the receptionist. “What a stupid twit. Clearly he is only keeping her around for one purpose.”
    The girl laughed and spoke back to her in their language. “She’s not even that skinny. Big butt.”
    Smiling tightly, I took some satisfaction from the fact they didn’t know I’d understood what they were saying. “Well, then. Be back shortly.”
    Big butt? I didn’t have a big butt. I just didn’t have an Asian butt, which happened to go with all one hundred pounds of either of them.
    ***
    By four o’clock I was feeling the effects of jetlag and having slept on the plane.
    Josh poked his head in to my office space and gave me a small smile. “You look tired.”
    “You don’t look tired in the least, which kind of makes me jealous.”
    “Are you ready to take off for the hotel? We finished up early. Figured we’d have more time to get ready for the cocktail thing. Besides, I have a call with the Sydney office in an hour.”
    His schedule didn’t have any mention of a call with Sydney. “Is this something I should have on your calendar?”
    He shrugged. “I just added it. I figured I’d use it to get us out of here early.”
    Smiling, I shut down my computer. I was happy to make my way back to the hotel as it would give me more time to get ready for this evening.
    When we got to the hotel lobby, Josh turned to study me. “You are welcome to skip tonight if you’d like to crash.”
    “I