Baby For The Mountain Man

by Nicole Elliot

“Seven months,” Chloe replied.

  My parents looked at each other with identical smiles on their faces, and I knew what kind of thoughts circulated in their minds. Seven months wasn’t a short period of time, and since I brought Chloe here that could only mean this relationship was serious. I wasn’t surprised in the least when the next question popped up.

  “So do you two have plans to, you know, get married?” my mom asked.

  Mothers. They never get uncomfortable asking about this, as if it was the most normal thing to ask.

  “Mom! Don’t push it. We’re taking it easy for now. Maybe in the future, but let’s not rush it, okay?”

  Dad shook his head at this. “Young people these days. Taking it easy? What are you waiting for? You’re already thirty-four.”

  Chloe reached for my hand under the table and gave it a reassuring squeeze. I appreciated this gesture of support.

  “Bryce is currently busy in the hospital, so at the moment, we can’t make any plans,” Chloe responded calmly with a polite smile on her face.

  Mom frowned and glared at me, dissatisfied with this. “Bryce, what is happening with you? I understand that you love work and all, but don’t you think you’re overdoing it? Why can’t you slow down for a change?”

  And just like that, my mood dropped, her preaching ruffling my feathers. “Mom, Chloe didn’t come here to listen to this same old argument. Please, can you leave it be?”

  Thankfully, Dad changed the topic, asking Chloe if she liked fishing, but I saw that Mom didn’t want to drop this. She didn’t mention anything for the rest of our dinner, talking with Chloe about her favorite TV shows, but each time she looked at me, the frown lines around her mouth appeared, and it irked me.

  “Bryce, love, will you come with me to the kitchen and help me with desserts?” she asked me and stood up, heading to the kitchen without even waiting for my answer.

  I met Chloe’s worried gaze and shrugged my shoulders, hating that she had to witness this.

  “I’ll be right back,” I told her and went after my mother, preparing myself for yet another argument.

  8

  Chloe

  Things took a turn for the worse, I thought, worried about Bryce. I glanced at the door, wondering if he was okay. They were in the kitchen more than ten minutes already, and I was becoming anxious, tapping my foot on the floor repeatedly.

  Mr. Evander noticed me looking at the door, and he let a long sigh out.

  “I’m sorry if we made you feel uncomfortable. You weren’t supposed to see that.”

  “It’s okay. I have similar arguments with my parents, so don’t worry about it.” I smiled at him, feeling more comfortable next to him than I had thought I would be.

  I had imagined Bryce’s parents to be stricter—more formal—but they were down to earth people who welcomed me warmly to their home and showed nothing but respect. I felt nice here, and I had to admit to myself that I enjoyed this pretence a little bit too much. A pang of guilt filled my chest because they were so nice, and I was deceiving them, pretending to be Bryce’s girlfriend. How would they react if they knew I was just his assistant? Just the girl he was sleeping with?

  “It’s just that he’s working so hard. Too hard. And we can’t help but be worried about him. It seems like he’s obsessed with succeeding, failing to see what he already has.” He exhaled a long sigh, staring at some spot on the table. “I’m just afraid that when he realized that the life is short, it would be too late.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Bryce always wanted to be a doctor. This was his biggest dream, and Ruth and I were more than happy when he started working in the hospital. He was finally doing something he’s been dreaming about his whole life. But then he began earning money, and somehow, his interests shifted. He wasn’t just a doctor anymore—he was a businessman—and we got to see him less and less.”

  I had no idea how to respond to that. It was true that Bryce was super ambitious and had his full focus on expanding his business, but I’d thought that was something he had wanted all along.

  “I’m sorry for bothering you with this. We just hope that since he has you now, he’ll be able to see some things from a different perspective. Maybe he would be able to focus on what truly matters instead of just chasing more money and power.”

  Feeling slightly uncomfortable, I told him I needed to go to the bathroom and excused myself. On my way down the hallway, I passed the kitchen and halted when Bryce’s and Ruth’s voices reached me. It seemed like they were arguing about work.

  I tiptoed to the corner and peeked around it, spotting Bryce and his mother in the middle of the kitchen. My pulse accelerated when I saw Bryce’s face twisted in anger as he glared at his mother.

  “You’re working too much, Bryce. I wouldn’t be surprised if you came here with business in mind.”

  This hit close to home, and I saw Bryce wince. I thought he was going to tell her about going to see the hospital while we were here, but he didn’t, dodging her remark with a complaint about tonight’s dinner.

  “Every single time. I was hoping to come here and have a nice dinner for a change, but no, you had to mock me and my work right in front of Chloe. And of all nights, you had to ruin this one. It was supposed to be a calm, family dinner, not a battlefield. Tonight was supposed to be about Dad, remember?”

  “We just want the best for you, Bryce. We see how much this wears you down. You’re different.”

  Bryce crossed his arms. “I’m not different.”

  “Yes, you are. What are you doing with your life? Before, you were so passionate about your work. Now it’s all about those business meetings and money.”

  “What are you talking about?” I flinched at Bryce’s sharp voice. I’d never heard him speak like this. “I am passionate about my work. It’s just that my aspirations have changed.”

  “But why? I just want you to be a good doctor. Why are your aspirations so high? You used to love medicine, but these days I don’t even know anymore what you want. I’m afraid you’ve lost your vision.”

  “I haven’t lost my vision, Mom. It’s just that my perspective has changed. I still love medicine, but this is better for everyone.”

  “How is this better?”

  “If I manage to expand my business, I’d be able to help more people. I’d make sure those hospitals provide the best service possible to clients.”

  “I believe you would help people more if you went back there and worked with your patients, especially if you dedicate your time to research again. Imagine how much more that would mean to people. You’re so smart, Bryce, so don’t waste your skills and time on something like business and investment. That is not you.”

  Deciding I’d heard enough, I moved away silently and went into the bathroom, my mind reeling with thoughts of their conversation.

  I didn’t like seeing Bryce so conflicted. It was obvious that medicine was his life, but he was also a businessman, and I was sure he could be successful if he expanded his business. On the other hand, his mother was right. Somehow, it seemed that all Bryce was running after was power and more money, and he was already having more than enough money to last him a lifetime.

  If he could go back to medicine and research, he would be able to find himself again and stop overexerting himself with work. He would be able to realize there was something else but that endless chase for money, and his parents would stop bothering him about work.

  I looked at myself in the mirror, feeling like I’d crossed some invisible line when it came to Bryce. I wasn’t supposed to care this much about his future or his relationship with his parents. I wasn’t supposed to feel this nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach that was telling me that maybe Ruth was right, and Bryce was completely wrong. Maybe he had lost he way.

  I wasn’t supposed to feel anything, but here I was—feeling more than I wanted to admit myself—and I wondered what I was going to do about it.

  9

  Bryce
>
  I was livid. I wanted to tell my mother so much, but I restrained myself since everything that came to my mind was so ugly that would turn this dinner into a downright disaster.

  I’d given up a long time ago on my parents accepting my plans, determined to make the most out of my business with or without their support. Their reluctance to support me was one of the reasons why I’d stopped visiting them as often as before. Sometimes, I just wasn’t ready to listen to their lectures about my career, so I used my work as an excuse not to see them.

  Tonight my mother had crossed the line. Chloe was already doing me a big favor by pretending to be my girlfriend, so she wasn’t supposed to witness our arguments. She wasn’t supposed to deal with my emotional baggage. So having Chloe hear my mother giving me the same old reproval was more than enough to make me furious.

  All I’d asked for was one normal dinner with my family. What I’d gotten? And they said this was all about the family time, what a joke.

  “I’m not wasting my skills or passion, Mother.” I always called her mother when I was mad at her. “I’m putting them to a very good use, but of course you wouldn’t understand that. I’m done with trying to make you understand me. All you’ve been doing these last few years is showing me again and again how disappointed you are with me, and I’m tired of it. I think it will be best if Chloe and I leave now.”

  She scowled, hurt by my sudden decision. “What? No, love, don’t say that. Please, let’s calm down. We’re supposed to have a nice family dinner…”

  “Like you just said—we’re supposed to have a nice family dinner, but it’s nothing like that. Chloe doesn’t have to listen to us bickering all the time. That is why it’s the best to end our dinner here.”

  “No, Bryce, wait!”

  I left the kitchen annoyed with my mother, set on making this project successful more than ever.

  ***

  My mood went south the last night and it only got worse after the restless night. I’d been barely able to sleep, rolling around in my bed, the argument I’d had with my mother playing on repeat in my mind.

  They didn’t understand. They didn’t understand how hard I worked for my future, considering me overly ambitious and wide of the mark. If only they took a look at a bigger picture, they would be able to understand how much this meant to me, even though being a doctor and helping my patients had been something I’d dreamed about from the start.

  This had been a toss-up, but the pros of developing my own business were too good to disregard. I was making more money than ever, wasn’t I? What was wrong about securing my future and the future of my family?

  Still, there was a voice deep within my mind that kept telling me that maybe my parents were right. Maybe my argument was full of holes and I’d been making a grave mistake here.

  We had left my parents house soon after I got out of the kitchen, and even though my father didn’t tell me anything, his expression spoke volumes—he was yet again disappointed with me. Chloe and I didn’t speak at all during our ride back to the hotel, which only made my anxiety levels rise, and I wished she didn’t have to see me like this.

  The rough sex we’d had before we went to sleep was good, but it couldn’t relieve me from stress, so when I woke up this morning and took Chloe to the hospital for the tour, I was ready to spit fire. I was supposed to take it slow, but as we walked through the corridors, listening to the representatives’ spiels, I was unable to stop grumbling.

  “This place doesn’t look the way I imagined it to be,” I said straightforward.

  “It doesn’t?” Mr. Roberts, one of the sellers, asked, stopping mid-step to look at me.

  “I looked at the documents you provided, but they show something completely different. The capacity is insufficient, and the placement of the wards isn’t right. The whole place is structured wrong.”

  “But, sir, we assure you that with a minimal investment, it will be able to reach its maximum potential.”

  “I would already be investing enough money into this property. I don’t want to go bankrupt just fixing this place.” Okay, that had been an exaggeration, but I needed to get my point across.

  “Sir, consider the location and its long-time competitiveness,” Mr. Meyers, the other representative, said. “It occupies one of the best spots in the area, and it would provide you many clients.”

  “I’m not satisfied with the location,” I countered as we continued walking down the corridor.

  From the corner of my eye, I could see Chloe wincing, awfully quiet. She hadn’t said a word since we started the tour, letting me do all the talking. I glanced at her and spotted a sour expression on her face, but the moment our eyes met, she masked it, which didn’t sit well with me at all. What was wrong with her now?

  “But the location is its strongest asset,” Mr. Roberts said.

  “Exactly my point. It doesn’t offer anything of value to me, and frankly speaking, I don’t think I would get this business rolling any time soon. I didn’t make millions by hoping for the best. I made millions by careful planning and smart business decisions, and I don’t think this would be a smart business decision.”

  Chloe let out a barely audible grunt, and I turned to look at her. She was glaring at me, her lips pursed. Roberts and Meyers looked equally unsatisfied, and I could guess they wanted nothing more than to be out of here and at home with their families. Still, I had to hand it to them—they weren’t giving up that easily.

  “Sir, we hope you will reconsider this. If you look at the past few years, you will see that the hospital runs better than others in this area. We have a good reputation for a reason.”

  “I’m not finding your argument convincing at all,” I bit back.

  With a sigh, Chloe came in between us. “If you’ll excuse us for a second, I would like to talk with Dr. Evander in private.”

  She pulled me aside, out of their earshot, and faced me with her hands on her hips. “What is going on with you? These people are bending over backwards to meet your needs and you’re being rude. If you don’t want the place, then say it. Don’t make them adhere to your every whim!”

  For a few seconds I was unable to do anything but gape at her. I was already used to the Chloe who would make sure I was completely satisfied, but this Chloe right here was defying me, and I didn’t know what to make of it.

  “A whim?”

  “Yes. A whim. You’ve been completely disrespectful to them for no reason. This place isn’t as bad as you make it to be. Sure, you would need to invest some money to make it work the way you want it to, but it’s not a lost cause.”

  I ran my hand over my face. “You don’t understand.”

  “No, it’s you who doesn’t understand. You’re mixing personal issues with work here, and it’s clouding your judgment. Get over whatever you’re going through, Bryce.”

  She looked away and exhaled a long sigh. “Look, l heard your argument with your mother in the kitchen. I’m sorry. I know I shouldn’t have listened, but it was hard to walk away when you two were really going at it. I wanted to tell you that they weren’t fair, and they should try to listen to your side of the story, but the point is—you can’t let your parents’ disapproval get to you. Deal with it like a grown up and stop sulking.”

  Just wow. Who was this woman and what had she done with my Chloe?

  I maintained our eye contact, completely taken aback. A woman had never said this to me before, so hearing Chloe put me in my place was making me shocked and impressed at the same time.

  And just like that, all my anger dissipated. I threw a glance at the sellers, finding them in the middle of a hushed conversation, and took a few steps toward Chloe. She was looking so fierce—so confident—and it was making me want her more.

  “What do you think?” I asked her.

  She cocked her head to the side, clearly confused with my question. “What do I think about what?”

  “What do you think about my mother’s words? Do you think I’m was
ting my skills and time? Do you think it would be better if I returned to my original plan?”

  Her brows furrowed as she let her eyes wander to some spot in the distance. It looked like she was thinking whether she should be honest with me or not.

  “Please, tell me the truth.”

  She let out a tiny sigh. “I think your mother could be right. Is money really that important? You already have plenty of it, but the thing is—does it really fulfill you? Does all of this”—she motioned with her hands around us—“Does it make you happy? And more importantly—does it feel as fulfilling as saving people’s lives?”

  Words failed me as I pondered about her words. Now that she’d put it that way, the answer was clear. I didn’t feel so fulfilled or excited when I dealt with my business. I remembered vividly how I felt in the beginning of my career—I was on the top of the world. It was like I was invincible and my abilities were unlimited.

  I was a researcher and I worked with people, and it was never about the money. I hadn’t chosen my career because of the zeroes on the checks. The money came on its own, but along with it, it appeared that I had changed, and not for the better.

  How could I be so blind? I’d been too occupied with getting more power and money, forgetting the most important thing. Happiness. I wasn’t happy, rushing from one meeting to the other, always stressed and trying to make everything work, without even realizing I wasn’t being myself.

  “Thank you, Chloe,” I murmured to her, wishing I could hug her right here and now. “You helped me just now more than you can imagine.”

  I turned on my heel and joined Roberts and Meyers, deciding this was the end of this tour.

  “Gentlemen, thank you for your help and for agreeing to see us today. I apologize for my inappropriately impolite behavior.”

  I took a quick look at Chloe and found her smiling at me. I smiled back at her, much calmer now.

  “I am afraid I’m experiencing some personal issues at the moment that prevent me from continuing this project, so I won’t be acquiring this hospital after all. I am terribly sorry for today’s inconvenience.”