by Sandi Lynn
“You too, Mr. Grayson.” She glanced over at me.
As soon as he walked out of the kitchen, I did the unthinkable. I held up my middle finger in his direction. Sadie laughed.
“He’s such an asshole,” I spoke as I brought my cup up to my lips.
“Yes I am. I’m surprised it took you this long to realize that.” He popped his head around the wall of the kitchen and glared at me.
I gulped because I didn’t think he could hear me.
“Oh my god,” I mouthed silently to Sadie.
She smiled and made me some eggs before I headed out the door.
Before going to the hospital, I stopped by the florist. As I stood in front of the cooler and stared at the vast variety of colorful flowers, I smiled as a memory that would never be forgotten filled my head.
“Is there something I can help you with?” a nice young girl spoke as she approached me.
“Could you make me up a colorful bouquet of flowers?”
“Of course. Any specific flowers you would like me to use?”
“Just ones that are colorful and bright.” I smiled.
“Would you like them in a vase?”
“Yes, please. I’m taking them over to the hospital.”
As soon as the arrangement was ready and paid for, I hailed a cab and headed to the hospital. When I walked into Nora’s room, I was surprised that Carter was still there.
“Zoey.” Nora smiled. “Oh my gosh, what beautiful flowers.”
“How are you feeling?” I asked as I set them down on the table next to her.
“Tired.”
“Hello, Zoey,” Carter spoke in a low voice.
“Ah. I’m good enough to say hello to but not goodbye?” I cocked my head at him.
His eye narrowed at me for a moment with a look of disapproval. But I didn’t care. I was no longer going to let him disrespect and treat me the way he had been.
“I need to go.” He leaned over and kissed Nora’s forehead. “I’ll stop by later, on my way home.”
“Okay.” She smiled.
As he began to walk out the door, I spoke, “Goodbye, Mr. Grayson.”
He turned and looked at me for a brief moment and then continued out the door. Silence never left his lips.
“What the hell is going on between the two of you?” Nora asked.
“Your brother is a rude, pompous ass,” I spoke as I took the seat Carter sat in.
“I know he is and I told you why he’s like that. What happened to your finger?”
“I cut it last night slicing an apple. Actually, your brother walked in right after it happened and took control. He cleaned it up and put this butterfly over it.”
“Really? He did that?”
“Yes. I thought maybe I had witnessed a breakthrough, but he was back to his normal self this morning.”
“The way he is, Zoey, isn’t his normal self. Carter used to be an amazing loving person and he was so full of life. He didn’t have a mean bone in his body. This change I’ve witnessed for the past five years is so incomprehensible to me and it breaks my heart. He became a victim of circumstance.” She began to close her eyes.
Gently placing my hand on hers, I spoke, “Get some rest and I’ll see you later.”
As I was leaving the hospital, my phone rang and it was Holly.
“Hello,” I answered.
“Hey there, bestie. I’m in the city today. Any chance we can meet up somewhere for a bit?”
“Actually, I can meet you now. Nora is in the hospital. She had a seizure last night.”
“Is she okay?”
“She’s doing better today, but they want to keep her overnight again just to monitor her and do a couple more scans. How about Starbucks on Fifth Avenue?”
“Sounds good. I can be there in about ten minutes.”
“Great. I’ll see you soon.”
Just as I climbed out of the cab, I saw Holly walking down the street. We hugged and headed inside. After ordering our coffee, we took a seat at a small table for two by the window.
“So, how are you? How are things going with Mr. Mean?”
“He’s unbearable. He’s miserable. He’s a rude, pompous ass. Need I go on?” I smiled.
“Umm. No. I think you just covered it.” She laughed. “Want to know what I think about the situation?”
“What?”
“I think you like him.” She smiled.
Laughter escaped my lips.
“No, I don’t. How could you even say that after what I just said about him?”
“Because I’ve known you my whole life, Zoey, and you never let anyone get to you. You always defended the mean girls in school. So your reaction, this out-of-character reaction to Carter Grayson, is telling me you’re into him.”
Damn her.
I ended up telling Holly what I knew about Carter’s past, all the death he experienced, and how he didn’t believe in God or Heaven.
“Wow. Now I have a better understanding why he’s the way he is. How sad.”
“I know, but he can’t take it out on people. The anger that consumes him is frightening,” I spoke.
“Then make him see there is a Heaven and a God. You of all people can do that.”
“I can’t force someone to believe something they aren’t ready for or don’t want to accept.”
“I suppose.” She shrugged.
After a couple hours of talking, it was time to head back to the hospital to check on Nora. When I arrived, I saw Carter heading to the elevator.
“Shit,” I mumbled.
He stepped inside and the doors began to shut. I could either wait for the elevator to come back down or I could yell for him to hold them. Knowing him, he’d probably push the close button just to prevent me from getting on.
“Hold on,” I shouted as I walked quickly to the elevator.
He put his hand in between and stopped the doors from closing.
“Thank you,” I spoke as I stepped inside.
“You’re welcome.” He glanced over at me.
When the doors opened, I stepped out first and walked ahead of him. When I got to Nora’s room, she wasn’t in there, so I went to look for her nurse.
“Do you know where Nora Grayson is?” I asked.
“She’s having an MRI. She should be done in a few minutes.”
“Ah, okay. Thanks.”
I walked back to the room and found Carter sitting in the chair.
“Well, where is she?” he asked.
“Having an MRI. She should be done in a few minutes.”
He didn’t respond as he pulled out his phone and started looking at it.
Okay then, jerk.
I stared out the window and felt a twinge in my finger. When I looked down, the bandage came loose, the cut opened, and blood started to drip down my hand.
“Shit,” I spoke as I went over to the sink and wrapped a piece of paper towel around my finger.
“What’s wrong?” Carter asked. “Is it your finger again?”
“When Nora gets here, tell her I’ll be right back. I need to go to the ER.”
I took the elevator down to the ER and approached the receptionist at the desk.
“Please sign in and have a seat,” she spoke.
“This is a little bit of an emergency.” I held up my blood-soaked finger.
“Oh dear. Let’s get you back into a room.”
I followed her to room three and took a seat on the bed. After giving her my name, a nurse walked in and examined my finger.
“Ouch. Did this just happen?” she asked.
“I did it last night. I butterflied it, but it just came loose.”
She opened the drawer and took out a piece of thick gauze and wrapped it around my finger.
“The doctor will be in shortly.” She smiled.
I knew too well what that meant in an ER. I would bleed to death before I saw a doctor. I sat there and looked around the room. I slowly closed my eyes and the memories came floodin
g back as if it happened just yesterday.
“Pumpkin, what happened?” my dad John spoke as he entered the room.
“Dad? What are you doing here?” I asked in confusion.
“They were short staffed today, so Ed called and asked if I could fill in. It just so happened I was off from St. Francis today. I was going to call you later and see if you could join me for dinner. Now what happened?” he asked as he removed the gauze.
“I cut it last night while I was slicing an apple.”
“You’re a nurse, Zoey. You knew this needed to be stitched.” He cocked his head at me.
“I was hoping the butterfly would close it up. I really didn’t think it was that bad. Nora is here. The ambulance brought her in last night.”
“Why?” he asked as he numbed my finger.
“She had a seizure.”
As he began stitching my finger, I heard Carter’s loud voice down the hallway.
Chapter 10
Carter
“What you don’t seem to understand, sweetheart, is that she’s my employee and she’s currently living at my house. So as far as I’m concerned, I have a right to check on her. There you are.” I stopped in the doorway.
“Mr. Grayson, what are you doing?”
“I came to see what was going on.”
The doctor turned around and gave me a smile.
“Come on in and have a seat. I’ll be finished in a minute.”
“Mr. Grayson, this is my father, John Benson. Dad, this is Carter Grayson.”
“Your father?” I cocked my head.
“Yes. They asked him to fill in today. He’s still on staff here on occasion. He used to work here before we moved to Connecticut.”
“Ah. I see. Nice to meet you, Dr. Benson.”
“Same here, Mr. Grayson.” He nodded. “Okay, pumpkin. All done.” He kissed her forehead. “My shift ends at six. Will you be available for dinner?”
“Yeah. Nora isn’t being released until tomorrow.”
“Great.” He turned and looked at me. “If you don’t have any plans, Mr. Grayson, why don’t you join us?”
I glanced over at Zoey and saw the expression on her face. She didn’t look happy that her father asked me to join them.
“Actually, I don’t have any plans. I’d love to join you.” I smirked. “In fact, why don’t we just have dinner at my penthouse? My housekeeper is a wonderful cook.”
“Isn’t that a little short notice for Sadie?” Zoey asked.
“No.” I arched my brow at her.
“Sounds good.” John smiled.
“Are you ready to go see Nora now?” I asked.
She walked in front of me down the hall, and when we reached the elevator, she spoke, “Why?”
“Why what?” I placed my hands in my pants pockets.
“I’m the hired help, remember? You don’t need to have my family over to your house. Why couldn’t you just have said no?”
“I didn’t have any plans for tonight, so why not?”
She glared at me as we stepped onto the elevator and took it up to Nora’s floor. When we entered the room, the doctor was there talking to her. He placed his hand on hers and gave it a gentle squeeze before leaving the room.
“What was that all about?” I asked.
“There’s another tumor and the cancer has spread.”
A feeling of sickness took over me and I needed to sit down.
“Why don’t you just have the chemo, sis? It can buy you some time,” I spoke as I took hold of her hand.
“We’ve already talked about this and you said you supported my decision. I refuse to spend whatever life I have left sick as a dog from that fucking chemo! It’s not going to cure me. You saw what it did to me the first time and I was stronger then.”
“I do support your decision.” I leaned over and kissed her forehead. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m really tired now, so if you don’t mind, I want to go to sleep. The doctor said he’ll release me tomorrow at eight a.m., so I’ll see you then,” Nora spoke.
After saying our goodbyes, Carter and I headed back to his penthouse.
“I know how hard this is for you,” Zoey spoke as we sat in the back of the car.
“Do you really?” I asked in a monotone voice as I glanced over at her.
“Yes. I do. I know you’ve been through a lot, Mr. Grayson.”
“You don’t know shit, Zoey. Unless Nora told you.” I narrowed my eye at her.
“She told me a little, and I’m sorry for your loss.”
Juan pulled up to the curb and I immediately got out of the car.
“And you expect me to believe there’s a God,” I spoke in anger as I entered the building.
“There is,” she said as we stepped into the elevator.
I ignored her comment because if I had responded, I would have lost it, and that was something I didn’t want to do.
The moment I stepped out of the elevator, I went over to the bar and poured myself a double scotch. Hearing that Nora’s cancer had spread tore me apart more than I already was. I wasn’t ready to lose her. Fuck, I’d never be ready. I downed my drink, set the glass on the bar, and headed upstairs to my bedroom to change my clothes before Zoey’s father arrived.
As I was coming down the stairs, I heard John’s and Zoey’s voices in the foyer.
“Hello, John,” I spoke as I extended my hand.
“Hello, Carter. Your penthouse is stunning.”
“Thank you. Would you like a drink? Perhaps a scotch or a bourbon?”
“Scotch would be good.”
I headed over to the bar and poured us each a drink.
“Would you like something, sweetheart?” John asked Zoey.
“I can get it myself, Dad,” she spoke as she glared at me.
“Can I pour you a glass of wine?” I spoke as I glared back at her.
“I wouldn’t want you to go to any trouble, Mr. Grayson. If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to check on dinner.”
I raised my brow at John and took a sip of my drink. Sadie announced that dinner was ready, so we headed into the dining room and took our seats.
“Sadie, this smells delicious.” John smiled.
“Thank you, Dr. Benson. I hope you enjoy it.”
“Sadie is the best cook in New York as far as I’m concerned,” I spoke.
“Zoey isn’t too bad herself. Isn’t that right, sweetheart?” John spoke with a smile.
“Dad, stop.”
“I must say, Carter, I’m highly impressed at your success at such a young age. Especially for dropping out of college.”
“Dad!” Zoey exclaimed.
“It’s fine, Zoey. That’s public knowledge. Thank you, John. I had to drop out after my father passed away because we were on the verge of bankruptcy and his failing real estate business needed my attention.
“I’d say you are quite the genius for turning that company around and becoming the number one real estate mogul in New York in such a short period of time.”
“Thank you. My company means everything to me. As I’m sure being a doctor means everything to you.”
“It does. I love what I do and I love helping people.”
Chapter 11
Zoey
Carter carried on a conversation with my dad as if they’d been old friends who hadn’t seen each other in a long time. After we finished eating, my dad decided it was time to leave.
“I better get going. I have to be at the hospital tomorrow morning at six a.m. Thank you for dinner, Carter.”
“You’re welcome, John. Have a safe trip back to Connecticut.”
“I will. Sweetheart, it was good to see you.” He kissed my cheek. “Take care of that finger.”
“I will, Dad. Be careful,” I spoke as I walked him to the elevator. “Tell Dad I said hi and I miss him.”
“He’ll certainly be jealous once I tell him we had dinner together.” He smiled.
Once the elevator door shut, I walked back
to the living room and found Carter sitting on the couch with another glass of scotch.
“I’m going to go to my room for the night,” I spoke.
He held up his glass and didn’t say a word, basically saying that he didn’t care. I sighed as I went to my room, shut the door, and changed into my pajamas. It was ten o’clock and I was getting ready to go to sleep for the night when I heard a loud noise coming from the kitchen. When I went to see what was going on, I found Carter on the floor in a drunken stupor with the bar stool knocked over.
“What is going on?” I asked as I bent down.
“The fucking stool was in the way,” he slurred.
“Are you okay?” I asked as I grabbed his arm to help him up.
“I’m fine.” He jerked out of my grip.
He tried to stand up, but he kept falling back.
“Please let me help you to bed,” I spoke. “It’s not going to kill you to take some help from me.”
He glared at me and once again tried to get up, but couldn’t. I sighed as I grabbed hold of his arm and helped him stand. Placing his arm around my neck, I guided him up the stairs as he stumbled quite a few times. I wanted to ask him why he drank so much, but I already knew. He was trying to drown his sorrows about Nora. Once we reached his bedroom, I helped him over to the bed and he fell back.
“Fuck,” he spoke as he put his arm over his forehead.
“All you need is to sleep it off.”
I bent down and removed his shoes and socks while he attempted to unbutton his shirt. He was failing, so I tried to help him. He grabbed my wrists and held them tight while his eyes burned into mine.
“Come closer,” he spoke in a low voice.
I stared into his drunken eyes and brought my face closer to his. He let go of my wrists, softly stroked my cheek with his thumb, and then wrapped his hand around the nape of my neck and pulled me closer until our lips were mere inches from each other. I gulped and before I knew it, his lips were brushing against mine. The smell of liquor infiltrated my space while the taste of scotch fell upon my lips. This was wrong—wrong on many levels—but at the moment, I didn’t care. It felt too good to pull away. Our tongues met as I placed my hands on each side of his face. Our lips moved in sync and his other hand made its way up my shirt. He groped my breast and let out a moan at the same time as sounds of pleasure escaped me. He rolled me over on my back and hovered over me as his tongue explored my neck. Suddenly, he stopped and rolled off me and onto his back.
