Taking Over by S.J. Maylee

had
done, or worse the lie covering it up. I thought she was going to kick me out
of her life.”
    “Shit,
Gina.” He reached for her, but she pulled away.
    “When
she told me about the cancer, I was relieved. I was fucking relieved it was
cancer and not my own lies.” She blew out a breath, as a single tear slid down
her cheek. “Aren't I a piece of work?” She licked her lips and slowly blew out
the breath she must have been holding.
    Marcus
stood. His chair crashed to the ground and, in the next second, he scooped her
up. “Only I get to call you a bitch. Okay.” He dried her cheek. “Honey, it was
an honest reaction to a stressful situation. You weren’t prepared for her
diagnosis.” He turned and settled her on his lap. “It's fucked up. No one
should have to deal with losing their parents so young. You've taken way too
much on.”
    “You
weren't there when my dad died.” She sniffed and hid her face on his shoulder. “I
honestly didn't think she was going to get out of that deep depression.”
    “Your
mother's happiness is not your sole responsibility.” He took hold of her chin,
until she looked at him. “You need to go after your own happiness too.” He
brushed the tears away. “Let me stay with you tonight. I don't want you to be
alone.”
    “I'll
be fine.” She picked up her napkin and rubbed under her eyes.
    “I
know, but you don't have to be on your own anymore. Let me take care of you.”
    ****
    The next couple of nights Marcus stayed
at Gina's, holding her all night long, in the hopes of reminding her she wasn't
alone. He recognized the fatigue etched in the hunch of her shoulders when he
walked through her door.
    During
the day they went their separate ways, but thankfully she kept letting him in
at night. He had no idea how she sounded so strong in her evening talks with
her mom. After her daily assessment of how her mom was doing, the pair would
talk and talk, giggles occasionally filled the room and his heart, but it was
the whispered parts of the conversation that always concerned him.
    Today,
they were holding a launch party for Janna's project. He knew Keller wasn't
planning to thank Gina for her part in getting the funding back, per her
request. No one around him had any clue how caring she could be. All they saw
was the exterior, what she chose to let them see. He'd been debating how to get
around her damaging ways. Each time he considered an option, he’d stopped,
knowing Gina would see it as a betrayal. The damn woman was a puzzle.
    Gina
had left that morning quite early. He hadn't expected an explanation, whatever
was happening between them allowed him to hold her at night, but it didn't seem
to allow him any insights into her padlocked thoughts.
    When
he arrived at work, he walked into the large open room that housed most of
Keller's team, the finest team around for developing applications. The
directors and project managers were upstairs near the boardroom. As the server
engineer, his cubicle was near the server room. Rob's desk, which was usually
empty because he typically worked from home, was positioned in the next section
over with all the developers. The technical writers were at the opposite end,
with Gina sitting next to Lydia. He used to love that he was far from Gina
during the day. Now, the distance troubled him.
    He
dumped his bag in his bottom drawer and removed the devices he'd need today
from the top drawer. The morning system checks kept him busy for a bit. Once
done, he turned from his desk, intending to fetch a cup of coffee.
    “Marcus, good morning, buddy.”
    “Rob.”
The men hugged. “I wasn't expecting you in the office today.”
    “Keller
wanted everyone in today for the launch party.”
    “Good.
Have you met Janna, yet?”
    “No,
but Keller says she's planning to use me on this project. I've heard some great
things about her.”
    He
stepped closer. “She's Simon's sub.”
    “Oh,
okay. She's a trainee too, right?”
    “Yes,
she's new to