at them?'
'No,' he said. 'I just need to sit here for a few more minutes to get them straight. Okay?'
Whatever this was, it wasn't normal, but it didn't feel
wrong. He trembled briefly, the twitch of his fingers
echoing in his entire body before he stiled. I saw the effort
in his eyes, what it took to stop himself from shaking.
I had known since the first week I worked for him that
Paul needed more attention than any other boss I'd ever
had. I'd been warned, but for the wrong reasons, and we'd
gotten along more than fine. Great. We'd made an
understanding. I didn't know what was wrong with him
right now, but it didn't realy matter. I had to take care of
him.
'Do you want me to cal your wife?'
He blinked and sighed. His shoulders hunched. 'Paige, I'm
just so very, very…overwhelmed.'
I looked past him to the computer, where a few windows
spread out across the screen. I stood and reached past
him to click them al closed, one by one, until al that
him to click them al closed, one by one, until al that
remained was the plain blue walpaper and tiny icons of his
desktop. Paul didn't move until I moved back to lean
against the desk. Then he swiveled his chair away from
me.
In profile, he looked older than he had before. He was a
man who wore his age in the lines of his face and his
frown, and in his heavy sigh.
'I just need a few minutes,' he said quietly.
'How long has this been going on?'
He looked at me then and managed a smile. 'A long time.
My whole life.'
'Do you take meds for it?' I kept my voice soft, and if the intrusive question offended him he didn't show it.
'Yes.'
'Aren't they working?'
Paul sighed, but smiled a little broader. 'Not today, I
guess.'
'Can I help you?' I asked without reaching for him again,
though I wanted to run a hand over his hair and cup his
cheek. Something smal and soft to comfort him. The way
my mom used to touch me when I was upset.
'You've helped me so much, you don't even know.' Paul
took a deep, long breath and squared his shoulders. 'Just
having you here has been such a…pleasure, Paige.'
I smiled at his hesitation. 'Uh-huh.'
He rumpled his hair, and some of his tension eased with
that simple act. He took another slow breath and let it out.
He looked at me with naked eyes. 'I find, sometimes,
knowing that you're there with my coffee is enough to
keep me on the right track. You never balked, Paige. Not
