“I had no idea you thought I was this prudish.”
“It’s not that you’re a prude.” She hesitated. “It’s just that you’re always so well behaved and in control. It’s nice to see you let loose and enjoy yourself.”
I nodded. “I guess you’re right. I have a stressful job. I should be able to burn off steam and have a good time every once in a while, right?”
“Is this going to be a regular occurrence?”
“I don’t think so. Why? Do you want in?” I joked.
She looked at the ground and blushed.
“Oh, my God.” I chuckled. “You want to have sex with us?”
“I’ve never had group sex before. I’ve always wanted to, but the situation never arose. It would be nice to do it with people I kind of know. That way, I’m not showing up at some random dude’s house for an orgy. That sounds like an easy way to be murdered.”
“I’d invite you, but I really don’t think we’re going to do that ever again. It’s too complicated.”
“Because you like both of them?”
I pursed my lips. It was something I didn’t even want to admit to myself. How could I be equally infatuated with two men at the same time? They both had their own qualities that made them special to me.
Chad was incredibly sexy. He gave off bad boy vibes, but I knew that deep down, he was caring. He was really popular among patients because he made them laugh. I had a soft spot for the tough but nurturing guys. Plus, we had a real sexual connection, the likes of which I had never experienced before.
Ted was also super cute, but he was sweeter than Chad. I liked him because he was easy to talk to and was always interested in what I had to say. He made it clear that he liked me for me, and not just because he wanted to have sex with me. I wanted to continue going on dates with him, and not just the kind where I come over for a few hours of fooling around before I head back home. I wanted something more long-term with him.
Both guys were incredibly attractive and great in bed. There was no doubt about that. It was really a shame I couldn’t have them both. At first, when Chad suggested that they share me, I was a little outraged. But, the more I flip-flopped between the two of them, the more rational that idea sounded. Those boys were messing with my head.
“I don’t know. I like Chad, but we’re kind of related now. I’d like to be friends with him, if he’s into it, but I can’t continue to have sex with him. I don’t regret doing what we did last night, but it can’t happen again.”
“So if you’re done with him, can I go for it?” Maria asked.
My expression soured. I wasn’t a jealous person, typically, but I hated the idea of anyone else being with him. It would hurt too much to see him show affection to anyone other than me.
“I’m just kidding,” Maria exclaimed. “I would never do that to you. Only you could get away with sleeping with two best friends.” She laughed.
“I suppose so,” I said quietly. I wonder if they felt any of the jealousy and possessiveness over me that I felt over them.
The next morning, I got up early as usual to do my rounds. Monday mornings were always busy. Finding the time to see all of my patients while new ones were being admitted was always challenging. Today, I welcomed the challenge, because that meant I wouldn’t have a lot of time to talk to anyone about anything relating to the events of the weekend.
After checking on a few patients, the rest of the staff started to trickle in. I had seen a few at the wedding, and I was prepared for others to give me a hard time about having a new stepfamily or a new love interest. That’s what I was ready for—not the reaction I got instead.
When I greeted a group of nurses at the nurse’s station, it seemed like they were almost afraid of me. At first, I thought that I had done something wrong or had been short with someone in my sleep deprived state, but I couldn’t remember that happening. I was always good at controlling my annoyances and it was rare for me to screw anything up.
My next thought was that the staff was bothered by the fact that there was a lot of nepotism going on. With my mom, Paul, Chad, and me all linked together by the bonds of marriage, it did look like there was a dynasty building. But that couldn’t be either—as far as I knew, people were very happy for my mom and Paul. It’s hard to be upset when two lonely middle aged people get together.
It took until almost an hour later to figure out what was really going on. I went to the lab to see if my lab work I ordered over the weekend was ready when Maria grabbed my arm and pulled me into the depths of her laboratory.
“You about pulled my arm out of socket. What’s going on?”
“I have something to tell you,” she said tersely with a grim look on her face. “There’s a video that’s been going around. One of the nurses got it and it’s making its rounds.”
“What kind of video?”
She swallowed. “Somebody showed it to me. I’m not sure I would have known what it was if you hadn’t given me such a detailed description, but Chad filmed you guys having your threesome and sent it to this girl.”
My stomach dropped and I instantly felt cold and clammy.
“That’s not possible.”
“I’m afraid it’s true. I’ve been telling people all morning to delete it and telling them that they’re spreading unlawful pornography since you obviously weren’t aware this was going on, right?”
“Of course not! I would have never allowed anything to be filmed. I don’t even like when people take pictures of me. Why would I ever agree to making a sex tape?”
“That’s what I thought. It’ll go away by the end of the day. People won’t want to get a lawsuit on their hands, but shit, Whitney. It’s not good at all.”
“Why would Chad send them? I really didn’t think he’d do something like that.”
“Do you think it was a mistake? Like he sent them on accident?”
“I’m not sure how you accidentally send videos you shouldn’t have even taken in the first place,” I cried. “Have you seen him today?”
“Not yet.”
“What do I do?” I asked, looking for a solution to a hopeless case. Even if the videos weren’t going around, words were, and that was enough to completely ruin a reputation.
“Keep your head up. I don’t think anyone’s going to mention it to you. Try not to think about it, and maybe it will blow over.”
“Do you really think this will blow over?”
She pursed her lips, thinking of the best answer to give. “Honestly,” she said after a long pause, “I don’t know. All I know is that our work doesn’t stop when we have personal problems. Patients will continue to get sick, regardless of whether we’re going through a crisis or not. You’ll be okay, but you should probably talk to Chad as soon as possible to figure out what the hell happened.”
“I will,” I said, accepting her hug. “Thanks.”
I left the lab and walked back down the hallway toward my office. Maria was right—I still had a job to do and I couldn’t let anything get in my way. There was a mountain of paperwork on my desk that I had to get through, so there was no time to freak out.
Chad Brent was not going to embarrass me again. He may have taken control in the bedroom, but I was going to take full command of my career. Whatever petty games he was playing, I was not going to be a part of it. No, one night of fun was not going to end my career.
Chapter Thirteen
Whitney
My office was silent as I scribbled away at charts, writing notes and looking up medical histories for my patients. I figured that if everyone at the hospital was too nervous to approach me, I would at least get some quality work done.
I sent a text to Ted, wondering if he knew about the videos. I really hoped that he didn’t, so I wouldn’t have to find out that the guy I was dating was a scumbag who was in on the plan the whole time. I asked him if he had any idea about what was happening at the hospital, and then I set my phone in the corner of my desk.
I though
t about looking for Chad right away, but despite how furious I was with him, I knew I couldn’t look him in the eye. It was too painful to see him. He had betrayed my trust and I felt stupid for ever thinking that he cared about me.
When it came to lovers, trust was something I couldn’t negotiate on. I could date a guy who was a little messy, or late, or underachieving. I could even hang out with a guy who wasn’t conventionally attractive if I like his personality. I wasn’t very picky when it came to me.
But, I couldn’t have a relationship with anyone I didn’t trust. Whether that meant that he wouldn’t cheat on me or intentionally do something to hurt me, I needed that trust to feel comfortable. After everything I experienced this morning, I lost all faith that I could ever be in a relationship with Chad.
Disappointment would be putting it mildly. Since I met him, I had been searching for reasons we could make things work between us despite everything that stood in our way. First, it was sharing a workplace. Then, it was sharing parents. Hell, it even went so far as sharing me with his friend. There were so many reasons I should have avoided him at all costs, yet I knew that the chemistry between us was too good to throw away. But now, that wasn’t enough to displace the fact that he’d recorded us having sex and leaked it around the hospital. That was unforgivable.
Within the solitude of my little office, I completely forgot that my workplace employed a few people who didn’t give a shit if I felt uncomfortable or not. While doctors and nurses gave me a wide berth to deal with the awkwardness, my mother and stepfather had no qualms about busting into my office.
“Whitney,” my mom hissed, shutting the door behind her once she and Paul were in the room. “We’ve just heard some very troubling stories. Can you explain yourself?”
I took a deep breath and set my reading glasses on the desk, rubbing my temples. The stress was giving me a headache.
“What have you heard?” I asked wearily.
“We saw the pictures,” Paul said softly. My stomach turned.
“I haven’t even seen any of this,” I whined. “What makes you think that’s me?”
“For God’s sake, Whitney,” my mom exclaimed, “don’t you think we know what our own children look like? I’m absolutely horrified at what we saw and what was described to us.”
“What did you see?” I pried. I hated the thought of them seeing even a second of what went on in that room, but I was still curious.
“If you must know, you were on top of Chad and were touching Ted,” my mom choked out. I had never seen her look more uneasy in her life. Her jaw was clenched so tightly, I was afraid her molars would crumble under the pressure.
I felt sick. These were probably the last two people in the world that I wanted to know about my sex life. What made it worse was that it involved their son.
“I don’t know what happened,” I said, pressing my palms into my face. “I didn’t know that Chad was recording it. I’m so humiliated, I can’t even stand it.”
“It doesn’t really change things,” my mom said. “I’m sure that everyone’s seen it by now. This is serious, Whitney. You can’t be having relationships with coworkers like this.”
“Really?” I scoffed. “Because if I remember correctly, the two of you got married just a few days ago.”
“That’s different,” Paul said.
“How?”
“Because we kept things quiet,” my mom answered. “We didn’t display what we were doing in the privacy of our own homes for the whole hospital to see. We got married. There’s nothing scandalous about that.”
“But I didn’t want this to be public,” I cried. “Do you really think that I was okay with that?”
“Can you at least tell us how long this has been going on? Is this something the three of you planned up after our Christmas dinner? Or, was this going on even before then?”
“No, we didn’t plan for this to happen,” I answered. How could I explain myself without giving all the dirty details? “It was Chad’s idea. He just sort of barged in when Ted and I were together and it just happened.”
“You just happened to make a porno that was basically broadcasted throughout the hospital,” my mom muttered, rubbing the bridge of her nose.
“So,” Paul said, after a long silence, “where do we go from here? How do we proceed?”
“We?”
“You’re not the only one who’s going to suffer the consequences. Your mother and I have been thoroughly embarrassed. I can hardly look any of the staff in the face. I’m embarrassed to even talk with the other physicians that I’ve been working with for years. I’m worried that we’ll all have to leave the hospital to escape this scandal.”
“Leave the hospital? I just got here,” I protested.
“Then it should be easy for you to leave,” my mom replied coolly. “I would advise you to start looking for another job. Once you find a suitable replacement, turn in your resignation. You haven’t built up a large following of regulars yet, so the other doctors can spread your work out amongst them.”
“Why do I have to leave? I’m not the one who filmed or released the videos.”
“Oh, I assure you, my son will also be looking for a new job. With any luck, everyone will forget that he even worked here. I was so close to retirement, too. I just couldn’t go before my son completely ruined my legacy at this hospital. I always tell him that he should do better in just about every aspect of his life, and does he listen? Never.”
Suddenly, I felt very defensive of Chad. He fucked up, but he didn’t deserve this. I didn’t either.
“I think you are both blowing this out of proportion,” I said calmly, trying to reason with them. “It’s a terrible, terrible mistake, but it has absolutely nothing to do with our work as medical professionals. What we do in our personal lives should not have any bearing on patient care.”
“Our professional lives are our entire lives,” my mom said. “This is what we do. This is what our community knows us for. Do you think Paul and I want to be remembered for our hard work, or do you think we prefer to be remembered as the parents of two sexual deviants who show their private acts to the whole world? I can assure you, people love a good scandal. This isn’t something we can just walk away from.”
“Not to mention,” Paul chimed in, “Chad is your brother now. Do you know how horrifying it is for both of us to realize that we went wrong somewhere when we raised you? We gave you kids everything, and this is what you do in your free time. It’s downright disgusting.”
“It’s just sex, for fuck’s sake!” I shouted. I could feel hot tears of frustration behind my eyes, ready to come out. “I don’t know what kind of weird shit you do in your bedroom, but all it takes is one little mistake and the whole world knows. I’m not going to sit here and listen to you two lecture me on what’s proper. I’m an adult, and I have work to do. If you would excuse me, I’d like to take care of my patients today.”
I strode out of my office without looking back at my mom and stepfather. I understood their concern, but they were taking things too far. Besides, it was a little hard for me to care about their reputations when I still had mine to worry about.
Instead of seeing my patients, I made a beeline for the bathroom and slumped down into a stall just as the tears started leaking from my eyes. I couldn’t believe how something so wonderful had gone so wrong in just a day. I regretted ever talking to Chad at the Christmas party or letting Ted drive me home after dinner. Two men whom I cared about deeply were now the cause of my professional downfall.
I had worked so hard to get to this hospital and to make a name for myself. I wasn’t just the daughter of Dr. Saunders—I was my own person, and a brilliant one at that.
Once my body ran out of tears to cry, I stood up and dried my eyes on the scratchy one-ply tissue. When I looked in the mirror, I didn’t like what I saw. My face was red and my eyes were puffy. I splashed a few handfuls of cold water on my face and dabbed it with a paper towel. A little better.
>
Before I walked back into the hallway, I noticed that I had a new text message. I hoped it was from Chad, so I could find where he was and beat his ass, but instead, it was from Ted. He only wrote two words:
Call me.
So he knew. Otherwise, he would have needed a little more clarification. No, if he knew about it and just didn’t tell me, he would want to talk to explain himself. I couldn’t trust him either.
I expected this kind of thing from Chad. He was a playboy and everyone knew that he had the reputation of being a bad boy. I knew he had a gentler interior, but even I knew he was a bit of a wildcard. That’s what made him so attractive. He was too good to be true.
Ted, on the other hand, was supposed to be a genuinely good guy. Even Chad told me that his friend was well-behaved and romantic. I thought I knew exactly what I was getting with Ted. He was supposed to be wholesome and caring. He was never afraid to show that side of himself to me.
Yet, apparently, he was more loyal to Chad than he was to me. He and Chad had history—I was just some dumb girl who fell into their trap. I was starting to wonder how much of our tangled love triangle of a relationship was natural and genuine, and which part was carefully planned and staged. I couldn’t trust either one of them now.
I was alone now. I just needed to figure out what my next move was and how I would fix this terrible, fucked up situation. When my mom laid out my options, it seemed like I would have to find a new place to practice and just start all over again.
Maybe that wouldn’t be so bad, to begin again. I could move across the country and make all new friends. It would be hard, but I could do it.
Still, I wondered if I could ever truly depart this place, knowing that so much of my heart was woven into the hospital that I called home. As much as I hated Chad and Ted at this particular moment, would I be able to move on? I could hardly keep myself away from them as it was.
If I left, would the uncertainty of it all haunt me forever?
Chapter Fourteen
Chad
“Whitney won’t call me back, dude. What should I do? Do you think she’s okay?”
Forbidden Prescription 3: MFM Ménage Stepbrother Medical Romance (Forbidden Medicine) Page 8
