In the Palm of His Hand novel · Chapter 13 of 24
Chapter 13: Bathwater
I ran the bath the next morning before he could make coffee.
The tub in his bathroom was a long white stone basin set under a window, deep enough for a man his size.
I poured in everything on the shelf that smelled like cedar.
Cal stood in the doorway in his sweatpants and watched the steam climb the glass.
"Tell me about the table," I said. "Short version. Then you're in the water."
"Penelope."
"Short."
He leaned on the frame.
"On the thirty-first, I kneel in front of Crowninshield and the two other bosses. My wife stands behind me and says she vouches for me."
"That's it?"
"That's the whole rule. If she doesn't, or there's no wife, they let him do what he likes."
"And if I say it?"
"Then I'm settled, and I'm a married man with a property company, and nobody may touch me."
"Just those words."
"Just those words," he agreed.
"I can do that."
"You can do anything. That's what frightens me."
I turned off the tap.
"Done talking," I said. "Take them off."
He pushed the sweatpants down and stepped out of them.
The scar on his side had closed to a pink seam, and the burn on his forearm shone in the light from the window.
He climbed into the water and lowered himself with a long breath.
It rose around his chest and spilled a little over the edge.
"Now you," he said.
"I'm washing you first."
"I don't need washing."
"I wasn't asking."
I knelt on the mat beside the tub with my sleeves pushed up.
The rest of this chapter is part of the paid portion of the series. Chapters 1–6 of In the Palm of His Hand are free to read — start from the beginning, then unlock the rest with coins in the app.
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