“I can assure you, it doesn’t get much better than Ms. Kirby. I’m not going to sugar coat this if Charlie makes it through the surgery, and the night, it is possible your daughter may never be able to use her extremities.”
Bella gasped.
Noah continued. “We won’t be able to ascertain any brain damage until after the swelling goes down.”
“You mean if there is damage it could be permanent?”
“Yes. Because we won’t know the extent of her injuries, we won’t have an understanding of what that will mean for Charlie’s quality of life.” If she lives, she could be a vegetable. He thought.
Bella’s cries got louder. She suddenly couldn’t breathe as her body shook with fear. She couldn’t imagine Charlie dying, never walking again, or what Remington was going to do when he found out what happened to her. All of the scenarios playing out in her mind were impossible to process. Bella turned her tear-streaked face up towards Kane. “If Charlie pulls through, Remington is going to use this against me for custody.”
“Shh. Don’t think about that. I’ll handle Remington.” Kane rubbed has palm up and down his wife’s back as he rocked Bella in his arms.
She wasn’t reassured by Kane’s words. Nobody really handled Remington. His love for Charlie was the only tool she had to keep him somewhat under control.
Dr. Bridges was irritated that they were discussing a possible custody battle when the girl was fighting for her life. His voice reflected it when he stood. He was gruff. “Has anyone talked to Mr. Kneeland? We need to get the necessary paperwork completed ASAP.”
Bella would have rather detached her fingernails from her nail bed than call her ex-husband, but she hadn’t had a choice. “I called and told him that you would follow-up.” Bella reached into her designer purse and handed Dr. Bridges a business card with Remington’s information on it.
Noah took it. “Good. The sooner, the better.”
Chapter 5
Noah finished his phone call with Remington Kneeland. He needed to take a quick detour to his office which was on the fifth floor. The man was too arrogant for words. He was used to snapping his fingers and having people jump. This was a situation The Great Rich One couldn’t control, and it was eating him alive. Good. Noah thought. It was unfortunate that Remington’s karma came at the expense of his daughter, but nobody could control karma. Men like him needed to be humbled.
It didn’t matter that some people would say he was the same type of man as Remington only with considerably less zeros in his bank account.
Noah stepped inside his office and turned on the lights. He wasn’t the least bit surprised to see his latest temptation. She was sitting provocatively on the edge of his desk in her nursing uniform. She was every man’s fantasy. Her timing was terrible, but the woman was an enticement too hard to ignore. “What are you doing here?”
Jazlyn purred as she moved her dark hair out of her face, and curled her body into his. “I heard about your latest emergency and thought I would help you take the edge off. How long do we have until she arrives?”
Noah could certainly use a little edge control as he glanced at his watch. It would be cutting it close, but . . . “Enough.” He pulled Jazlyn’s mouth to his and kissed her hard on the lips.
She pulled back slightly and stared into crystal blue eyes. “Wait, before I forget, I wanted to ask if I can assist in the Kneeland surgery.” She whispered into his lips. “It could make my career.”
Noah knew this was the real reason Jazlyn was in his office. Not. Going. To. Happen. “This isn’t a good time. You know how Sky is. She likes things done a certain way. I told you to be patient. Everything will happen in due time.”
Jazlyn was undeterred. She dragged the tips of her nails up and down his arm. “You’ve been saying that for months. Now is as good a time as any to push the envelope. Her regular surgical nurse is out of town. She’ll need someone tonight, and you could put in a good word for me.” Jazlyn placed a wet kiss on that sensitive spot behind his ear. Her tongue darted out and caressed it. “You do me this one little favor, and I promise to do anything you want.”
Jazlyn was tempting as Noah’s eyes focused on the open buttons of her uniform that exposed creamy, full breasts. Who didn’t want a hot nurse? He sure as hell did, but her demands were insane. There was no way Noah would allow Sky to be in the same room with Jazlyn, let alone the confined space of an O.R. Sky was the kind of woman a man married. She had a promising future and was good for his career. Jazlyn, on the other hand, was a dime a dozen and would do anything to get ahead. She would have no problem telling Sky everything about their affair if she thought it would advance her career.
Noah had to put an end to what they were doing. But, for now, he covered her lips with his and promised himself that he would end things after one last quickie. “We’ll see.”
Something resembling a commitment appeared to be enough for Jazlyn.
All thoughts of surgery were pushed into the recesses of their mind as they engaged in a frenzy of frantic movements. Hands and arms were everywhere as they melted into each other. Soft moans escaped them as their tongues waged war with one another.
They were so caught up in each other that they had no idea how their lives were about to change.
*****
Sky took the elevator up to the fifth floor. When she got off, she headed directly to the O.R. wing. She swiped her badge across the security scanner and pushed through the big double doors as she made her way down the long hallway to the nurse’s station.
“Oh, shit!” Cassie saw her on the monitor. She leaned over and whispered into Liam’s ear. “Is that Dr. Sky Kirby?”
He looked up from a chart he had been reviewing to study the little t.v. “Yep. That is her. Damn that woman is fine in anything even those gray sweats and hoodie. Hard to believe she’s a doctor.”
Cassie smacked him in his chest. “Women can be both beautiful and smart, you know.”
Liam whistled under his breath as Sky approached. “Mmmhmm. She is living proof of that.” His mouth watered as he watched Sky move towards them. “Even her walk is sexy.” She could easily star in any of his fantasies. Even in sweats, Liam could make out her slim waist, rounded hips. He had seen her from behind before and knew Sky had an apple bottom. It took a Herculean effort not to stare her down like a tasty snack when she arrived at the desk. However, Liam prevailed. Both he and Cassie stood a little straighter. He cleared his throat and kept his voice professional. It was also a couple of octaves lower than normal. “Good morning, Dr. Kirby.”
Cassie’s head turned slightly to glance up at him, but she kept her facial expression serious, even though she wanted to burst out laughing. Still, she couldn’t help herself. “Liam? I didn’t know you had a cold?”
He ignored her.
Sky was focused and hadn’t really seen or heard them. It wasn’t every day she was given an opportunity to exercise her surgical talents to this extent. She typically performed one or two procedures daily but based on the images sent to her phone, not one as complicated as what lay ahead. Her heart pounded with anticipation. There were butterflies in her stomach. Not from fear, but from excitement. It wasn’t that Sky was happy someone was hurt, it was quite the opposite. She was crackling with energy to test her skills and do the impossible. Sky was sure she felt like any rock star right before a big performance.
A handsome young man cleared his throat, and the two people standing in front of her came into focus. Sky came down from her cloud just low enough to ask a question. “Is there a chart for Charlie Kneeland?”
This time Cassie answered. “Yes, Dr. Kirby. I have it right here.” Quickly, she grabbed the chart and handed it over.
“Thank you.” Sky scanned it. Without looking up, she asked another question. “Do you know where I can find Dr. Bridges?”
“I saw him earlier. He may have gone into one of the offices.” Cassie smiled as she continued to hold her excitement within the walls of her che
st.
Sky nodded. “Thanks.” She finally looked up and glanced at her nametag. “Cassie.”
As Sky walked away and out of earshot, the young nurse behaved as if she had just seen Beyoncé. She hopped up and down, grabbed hold of Liam’s arm, and whisper-yelled. “She said my name. She said, Cassie!”
She craned her neck around to the right and left looking for her partner in crime. “Where is Jazlyn? She will never believe it.”
Liam hunched his shoulders. “Not sure. I think she said she needed to use the bathroom about fifteen minutes ago.” He pretended to ignore his overly giddy co-worker and picked up the paperwork he’d been studying before the appearance of Dr. Kirby. He teased. “I didn’t know doctors had groupies.”
Cassie laughed. “You’re just jealous she didn’t notice your sexy charms especially when you transformed into Barry White.” She mimicked him. “Good morning, Dr. Kirby.” They both stared at each other before bursting out into hushed laughter.
*****
Sky walked quickly to the physician’s offices hoping to find Noah. He said he would be down by the emergency, but wasn’t there. Her soft gym shoes didn’t make a sound as they padded softly down the long hallway. It seemed even longer because of the mostly empty spaces due to the time of night, or morning.
Sky was still looking over the Kneeland chart when she arrived at his office. The door was closed. However, there was a light shining underneath it and through the frosted window pane next to the door.
Slowly, she turned the knob and pushed. She stopped short.
Well, I wasn’t expecting this. Sky stood at the threshold of the door not really shocked, but maybe a little thrown off balance.
Didn’t men have an off switch? Apparently, not.
There was Noah in vivid Technicolor with some nurse locked in a heated embrace. Sky leaned against the wall and crossed her legs at the ankle taking in the show. They were so into each other, they hadn’t even noticed she was standing in the room. After a moment, or two, she checked her watch, then pulled out her cell phone and snapped a picture before announcing her presence. “If this isn’t a good time, I can come back?”
Chapter 6
Noah immediately released his hold on Jazlyn and jumped away from her as if she had burned him. He stuttered while adjusting his clothes and re-zipping his pants. “S-Sky . . . this isn’t w-what it looks like.”
Jazlyn shook her head up and down in agreement as her eyes darted from Noah to Sky. However, she was smart enough not to utter a word.
Sky folded her arms across her chest. “Funny, it looked like you two were throat fucking to me.”
Noah turned to Jazlyn. “You should go.”
“Yes, Dr. Bridges.” She scampered out as fast as she could giving Sky a wide birth as she walked around her.
Sky kept her eyes trained on Noah and wouldn’t even spare the woman a glance. However, Sky chuckled as she mimicked her words. “Dr. Bridges. My, aren’t we suddenly so formal.”
Noah thought Sky would be angry. She seemed more annoyed than anything. She should be screaming and yelling. Instead, she stood in total control seemingly mocking them. He didn’t understand it and prayed this wasn’t the calm before the storm. He needed to figure out what was going on inside her head. That’s when he began to explain. “Look, Jazlyn means nothing to me.”
“I stopped caring about how you felt and what you thought about five seconds ago.” Sky pushed herself off the wall and walked toward him. “Did we get all the release forms signed to perform the surgery?”
He hesitated before speaking. “Yes. I spoke to Remington Kneeland. His office sent over the necessary paperwork.”
“Good. Then, if that’s settled, I need a nursing assistant. Since you’ve worked with both Cassandra Meadows and Jazlyn Farrow, who’s the best? I’m sorry. Let me rephrase that. Who’s the better nurse? Just so we’re clear, I’m looking for surgical experience, not the kind where you include rutting like animals.”
He sighed. “Sky . . .”
She cut him off. “Look, nothing else matters right now except for finding someone qualified to assist me. You may be a lousy human, but you’re a good surgeon and have worked with both of the women.”
Frustrated, Noah swiped his hand through his thick, dark hair. “Are you serious? You don’t want to talk about what just happened? I can’t believe you’d even consider Jazlyn as an option to help you.”
“Again, you take me for someone who actually gives a shit about either of you. The patient deserves the best. If she can help me put that little girl back together again, then that’s all that matters. After that, I don’t ever have to deal with either of you again.”
“That’s impossible. We work together. I made a mistake. Don’t let one mistake ruin us.”
“You ruined us, and you decided there was no us the moment you started sleeping with someone else. You could have at least told me we weren’t exclusive so that I could have had other options too.” Sky looked down at her chart. “Both of their records are equally impressive.”
Frustrated, Noah began to pace. “Are you a robot or something?! We’ve been dating for months, and you’re acting like I didn’t mean anything to you!”
Sky hissed. “No, that would be you!” She pointed the metal chart at him. “Not me. So, stop confusing me with some twenty-two-year-old brain dead idiot, and quit trying to run your psycho-babble-bullshit game on me.”
“That’s not what I’m trying to do. I messed up. I’m sorry. I had a momentary lapse in judgment. You mean so much to me.”
He reached for Sky, but she backed away and glared at him. “If I were important, I would have never walked in on you playing tonsil hockey and about to do God only knows what else with that woman.”
“Are you that cold?”
“Cold? That’s rich.” Those words had been thrown at her before, but she refused to let them hurt her. REFUSED to allow him to hit her where she was vulnerable. She wasn’t cold or unfeeling, at least, not with the people who earned her trust. Even before tonight, Noah hadn’t earned it. But, after tonight, he’d failed just like all of the rest. “Look, we don’t have time for this. If you can’t tell me which one of the nurses is the best, I’ll flip a coin.”
He lashed out. “Maybe if you had shown me that you cared even a little,” He placed his thumb and forefinger together. “This incident would never have occurred.” His face was red with frustration. Nothing he said seemed to be breaking through.
This bastard is still trying to blame this on me? Sky was about to cut-up, then stopped herself. She wasn’t going to allow him to pull her into his circle of madness. “Wow. Dr. Bridges your ego has caused you to lose your mind as well as overestimate your importance to me.”
I’ll be scrubbed and ready for surgery in ten minutes. I hope you can get yourself together in that amount of time. You seem a little emotional, and Charlie Kneeland needs you at the top of your game.” Sky started to walk away.
Noah knew that Sky had intimacy issues, and this situation wouldn’t help that. She had emotionally walled him off and was not going to allow him back into her space—at least—not yet. He’d messed up. Smooth words and charm were not going to fix things. He saw it in her eyes. Reluctantly, he answered the question. “Meadows.”
Sky stopped walking, and without turning around, she responded. “Meadows it is.” She refused to give him, or anyone else for that matter, the satisfaction of knowing they could hurt her. Fortunately, the O.R. was a place she could focus on what really mattered, and that was saving lives and not on her latest disappointment. It was her place of Zen and probably saved her thousands in therapy costs.
Sky left his office and quickly went over toward the nurse’s station where she came face to face with Jazlyn again. The woman shrank back from her gaze as if attempting to disappear. There was no need for that, but Sky understood why she would. Jazlyn Farrow had to know that Sky could end her career with the snap of a finger. Even though Sky could, she
wouldn’t. Decisions based on emotions never worked out in the end. And no man was worth throwing an entire career away. However, she hated women who thought they could climb the ladder of success by laying on their backs. If Jazlyn continued on the path she was on, she would end her own career.
Sky stopped and turned her attention toward the other woman. “Cassie, right?”
“Yes, Dr. Kirby?” She couldn’t believe the woman remembered her name.
“Can you be scrubbed up and ready for surgery in the next ten minutes?”
Cassie was about to levitate off the ground. “Absolutely. I can be ready in five.”
“Good. I hope you’ve eaten your Wheaties because this procedure is going to be a marathon.”
“I have my running shoes ready and have been preparing my whole life for this.”
That was the kind of enthusiasm Sky liked to hear. She lifted a perfectly sculpted eyebrow. “If you can be ready in five, then I’ll see you in three.” Seeing the excitement on Cassie’s face, as Sky walked away helped to distract from Noah’s lying and cheating.
It wasn’t until she was alone in the physician’s locker room and changing into her scrubs that Sky allowed herself a moment to take a deep breath. She had hoped Noah would be different. On paper, he was perfect, and she had thought maybe he could be the one. Instead, he lived up to her low expectations of men.
She tucked her mass of dark, wiry curls underneath her surgical cap. How many times am I going to do this dance? She was good and truly over liars and broken promises. In the past, Sky contemplated getting a dog. Maybe she needed to do more than just think about it. A dog might be the closest she would ever come to a healthy relationship. While she wasn’t an advocate of making emotional decisions, Sky was going to make an exception. “Time to get a pooch.” At least they had a reputation for being loyal.
Her phone vibrated in her pocket. She took it out and answered it. “Dr. Kirby.”
“Any updates on my daughter?”
Remington's Sky Page 3
