“Selina, we are calling in a detective friend of ours, Detective Samuel Peterson to investigate what you have told me. I want to make sure this was purely an accident and not anyone trying to sabotage our work here.” Selina just nodded as she shut her eyes.
“Ok Damien, I agree with this. Whatever I need to do, I will for you and the company.”
The ambulance arrived without giving me a chance to say anything else to her. They whisked her away into the ER while I made arrangements with my assistant to cancel my 12pm appointment. Then I made arrangements for a private room for Selina. If she was going to have to stay here overnight, I wanted her to have privacy. As my phone started ringing, I saw that Steve was calling me.
“Hey D. How is Selina?”
“So far, so good. She is in the ER now getting checked out. I told her about Samuel and she will let him know anything she can tell him. I hope to God this is unfounded or we have a serious problem on our hands.”
“Yeah, that’s for sure. Your Dad already got wind of what happened and made an appearance here. I told him what I knew and he is waiting to hear back from you. He did make a comment that he found it strange that his son took such an interest in the dive this morning and maybe there was hope for you yet.”
“Jesus Steve. I don’t need his shit now.”
“I’m sure he has it all figured out already D,” chuckled Steve. “She’s an attractive woman, you worked hard to get her here, I’m thinking he is putting two and two together.”
“The main thing is Selina is ok but I have a bad feeling about this tank situation. I will feel better with Sam on the case and to get his opinion on this. Do you know when he can come to the hospital?”
“Anytime D. He is waiting to hear back from me.”
“Ask him to come this afternoon. If this is foul play, we have to find out who did this, why they did this and press charges. Selina could have died out there. I can’t put her or any others in danger.”
“I hope you are including yourself in the mix D. You are our CEO. If the company is targeted, you can be too.”
“Let’s see what Sam says first Steve. Any one of us can be in danger. What a fucking mess. I feel like I’ve aged ten years.”
“Go to her D. Make sure she checks out ok and what about her parent’s? Do you think she will be in touch with them about this?”
“I don’t know but what a way to meet the family.” I looked up to see the doctor motioning to me. “Look Steve, the doctor is calling me. Have Sam come by as soon as he can. I’ll be in touch and will be in the office later this afternoon.”
Hanging up with Steve, I practically run down the hallway.
“Mr. Stone, I’m Dr. Harper.”
“How is she doctor?”
“The initial tests came back normal. We are just waiting on her blood tests and gave her a mild tranquilizer to take the anxiety away. She is upset as to what had happened and that is totally understandable in this type of accident. Do you know if she has family here?”
“No, everyone is in New Jersey. Is she asking for them? I can reach out to her parents.”
“I would ask Selina first to see how she feels about that and work it out with her.”
“When can I see her?”
“You can go in now. Selina was already asking for you. “
“I also want you to know that I have Detective Peterson coming to the hospital later this afternoon to speak to Selina about this accident.”
“Just as long as he doesn’t upset my patient, I will allow him to see her. I will have him removed if she becomes agitated.”
“Fair enough Doctor. Thank you for all of your help so far.” I reached out to shake his hand but definitely wanted to get in the room with Selina. A huge wave of wanting to protect her came surging over me.
Chapter 25 Selina: Uneasy feelings
I keep going thru my mind all of the checks and rechecks with my tank. I was sorry to cause Damien any cause for concern but I’m not feeling good about this. Thinking that I could have died and never seen my family, friends and Damien shook me to my core. I felt a calmness come over me when the nurse came and administered the tranquilizer in my IV. It was mild enough to just take the edge off my anxiety but still enabled me to think things over a bit rationally about what had happened.
Oh my God! Damien! How was he when I was pulled on board unconscious? I felt a tear course down my face as I turned my head to stare out the window. It was then that I sensed him in the room with me.
“Selina,” Damien said with a whisper.
Looking over at him, I felt protected and also something else. Love. How can that be? We hardly know each other. I watched him walk over to my bed and pull the chair close to me. Holding my hand, he wiped my tears away with his other hand.
“Well, saying that you scared the Hell out of me is putting it mildly Princess. I never want to relive that again.”
“Damien, thank you for being there for me. I’m sorry that this happened and now that I have put a possible cause for concern with this dive. I just can’t help but feel that something was deliberately done to my tank; maybe not to cause me serious harm or death but just to scare us from making new strides in drilling. It might have gone farther than the person or persons might have wanted this to go. I just can’t shake this feeling.” Fresh tears came into my eyes that I just couldn’t help with all of the emotions surrounding me.
“Selina baby, if there is a threat here, Detective Peterson will get to the bottom of it. Now, I just want you to relax. All of the tests have come back normal; the doctor is just waiting for the blood results to come back. He feels that you will make a full recovery but you have to take it easy for now. I know that must be very difficult for you but you have to listen to the doctor and then to me too.” Damien gave me that beautiful smile of his and raised my hand to his lips for a kiss that I felt throughout my whole body.
“Do you want me to contact your family?”
“I was thinking about this because if there is some foul play here, then the news could get wind of it. I wouldn’t want my parents and brother to hear about this on the news. Maybe I should call them.”
“Ok, I’ll step out to give you privacy then.”
“No Damien, please stay with me. I might have to put you on the phone with one of my parents to answer questions I may not know the answers to.”
As Damien dialed the number for me, I prayed that my Daddy would answer the phone and not my Mama.
Hearing my Dad’s voice answer the phone, I breathed a sigh of relief.
“Hi Daddy,” was all I could get out as I choked up on the phone. Damien held my hand to give me the strength to get thru this call.
“Listen, there has been an accident but I’m ok.” I told him what had happened. He kept saying “ok” and “hmm” to what I was telling him. I told him how wonderful Damien was during all of this too and that I was staying in the hospital overnight for observation. Then he started in with his questions.
“So lass, do you think someone is out to do you and the company harm?”
“Maybe Daddy. You know how I am with my equipment. I wouldn’t have missed this.”
“And your boss, Damien is it? Sounds like he has been taking good care of you, maybe more than how a boss would take care of an employee? That much I have really gathered from this conversation my dear. Is he there with you now? May I speak with him?” Handing over the phone to Damien, I whispered that my Dad wanted to talk to him.
“Hello Dr. Harrison sir. Damien Stone here.” It seemed that my Dad just wanted to hear from Damien what the doctor’s reports were and if he felt I was in any danger. I heard Damien tell him that a trusted detective friend was coming by to interview me this afternoon. It seemed that my Dad was satisfied that Damien was taking care of me so he asked to speak with me again.
“Such a self assured man Selina. You seem to be in very good hands. Now your Mama is here, frantic to speak to you. You don’t have to sugar coat anything with
her as she has been listening in on all of this conversation. She is very interested in Damien now that she knows you are ok. You take care of yourself and also Damien lassie.”
“Yes Daddy. Hola Mama. Slow down Mama. Yes, I’m fine.” Then I just lapsed into Spanish to be able to keep up with her conversation. Damien motioned that he would be right back as he saw Detective Peterson in the hallway. I went thru everything with Mama. She wanted to hear my voice tell the story. Finishing up my conversation with her, I promised to call her back tomorrow when I was released and she wanted to hear all about Damien too. Hanging up with her, I just had to take a deep cleansing breath. They said they would tell Sean Jr. I just didn’t have the strength to go thru this again with him while I knew I would have to retell my side of the story to Detective Peterson.
“Selina, Is everything ok with your parents?”
“Yes Damien, I’m glad I told them. I would hate for them to find out from somewhere else.”
Nodding his agreement, Damien made the introduction to his friend.
“Selina, this is Detective Peterson. Steve and I are friends with him so you can be totally comfortable with telling him anything about what happened and what you suspect.”
“Hi Selina. I’m Sam Peterson. Damien filled me in on your concerns about what happened out at the rig. I’m happy to see that you are doing fine after this accident. I can assure you that if there is foul play involved here, I will find out for you and Damien. In the meantime, this stays between us and Steve, ok?”
“Yes, thank you Sam. Where do you want me to start?”
“How about who would have access to your tanks? I already have them in our possession and we are running prints on them. I’ll get a sample of your prints so this way, forensics will separate yours from their findings.”
So I gave Sam the list of names of the people on the dive team with Dave being our team leader.
“Was he the one who helped you by swimming for the both of you and giving you part of his oxygen?”
“Yes, Dave did that for me.”
“Damien, I’ve asked Steve for all of the film footage around the docking area as well as around your building. I just want to see if there is anyone suspicious hanging around the areas.”
“That’s fine Sam; whatever you need. If there is something wrong here, I know you will find it.”
Sam asked me some more questions until the doctor came in and told him that he wanted me to get some rest.
“Of course doctor. Selina, you have been a great help. I have a lot to work with here. I will keep you and Damien up to speed on what we find out. Rest up and I’ll speak to you when you are released.”
Watching Damien walk Sam to the door, the nurse came in and checked my blood pressure and other vitals. I was so exhausted that I just wanted to take a nap. Damien came back over to me as my eyes struggled to stay open.
“Go to sleep Princess. I will come back tonight to visit with you. You have my number if you need anything at all.” Bending over him, he brushed his lips across my forehead. I watched his formidable figure walk towards the door as my eyes drifted to sleep. I could have sworn he stopped at the door to look at me again but I wasn’t sure. I felt protected and cared for.
Chapter 26 The Girls
I’m lucky to have such good friends. After a good nap all afternoon, I definitely felt more myself. I felt sharper and a bit angry over what happened that morning.
I just finished talking with Julia when Denise and Theresa came barreling thru the door. They had flowers, a big Teddy bear, chocolates and a bottle of wine for them, slipping me a tiny sip to celebrate. After they listened to me as I told them what had happened, we said a quick prayer of thanks.
“I can only imagine how Damien was standing on the deck. Steve said he was a total mess,” said Theresa.
“Listen, I think the groveling stage is long over,” laughed Denise. “Poor man must have gotten grey hair from this.”
“I thought about how he was when they brought me over the side of the boat. Even I get sick over the thought but now that’s behind me and us. Where are the guys now anyway?”
“Well Steve and Tom are picking up BBQ and sneaking it into the hospital. You don’t have diet restrictions so this calls for a celebration!” shouted Theresa.
“Did someone say a celebration!” laughed Steve as he carried in two massive bags of mouth watering BBQ. The smell was amazing and made me realize that I was hungry and certainly not for hospital food.
“I have the dessert,” said Tom. I looked to the door at Damien who was just standing there staring at me. He looked so serious when everyone was in a jovial mood. I must have looked pathetic holding the Teddy bear in my arms when I really wanted to hold him in my arms. Holding out my hand to him, he crossed into the room and held onto it. I felt the electric current that seemed to go from him to me and back to him again. Lowering his lips to mine, he clung to me desperately. I felt wave after wave of emotion in that kiss. Damien showed me his longing, the wanting and the almost sense of loss over what the outcome could have been. It was just Damien and me in the room together. The others left the room quietly to give us this time together.
I felt his tears fall gently on my face. This man, who was a rock in everything in his life, became so precious to me. I felt the desperation and longing in his kiss to me, the fear of almost losing me. It shattered me.
Pulling gently away from him, I wiped away his tears that were fresh on his cheeks.
“My turn.” I gave him a watery smile. He knew what I meant by that from when he helped me on the plane and just gave me a smile that turned my insides out. I knew then that we were on the brink of sharing something very special between couples. Did I just think of us as a couple? Yeah I did and it felt good.
“Damien, I’m ok, let’s put the accident behind us and figure out with Sam if this is something we need to worry about. Right now, you and I have friends here that are probably starving and want to just celebrate with us.”
“When you get out of here, we have to talk.”
“I know.” He bent over to give me another kiss when the door opened and Steve stuck his head in.
“Can we eat now? The troops are getting restless.”
“Sure Steve, let’s celebrate,” said Damien.
Two hours later, the doctor came in to kick everyone out. My nurses and aides were all in my room, really causing a commotion that the doctor wasn’t pleased about. He wasn’t worried about me but about the other patients on the floor. Tom gave him a pulled pork sandwich which softened his mood but he still kicked everyone out. The girls insisted we were still on for shopping on Saturday and I promised them I would be there. As everyone filed out, Damien was the last to leave. His eyes just bored into mine until he gave me that sexy eyebrow lift and a quirky smile.
“Yes Mr. Stone. What are you smirking about?”
“Well good Doctor, I’m thinking about how sexy you are, even in that hospital gown and knowing you are naked underneath it.”
“Get out of here Damien. How can you even think about that now?”
Coming closer to the bed, he put his face and lips close to mine.
“I’m thinking how good it will be when I’m in you and make you mine. You know it’s just a matter of time before that happens Princess.”
Taking a deep breath, I reminded him that we have to talk first.
“Yes, we will but now, you need your rest. I’ll be here in the morning to take you to my place to recover.”
“That’s totally not necessary Damien.”
He cut me off and let me know his assistant already packed a small suitcase of clothes and toiletries.
“Yes, you will be staying at my place. You can recover there. I have a housekeeper that will keep an eye on you. Until we know what we are dealing with here, I don’t want you alone in your condo. You are safer with me.”
How safe could I be with Damien? My heart started racing at the thought as I knew I was already in danger of
losing myself to him.
“I’m giving you the rest of the week off. You can do your research at my house. I just want you safe, ok?”
“Yes Mr. Stone.”
Hearing over the loud speaker that visiting hours were over, Damien leaned over for a kiss. I felt my heart pounding in my ears at the thought of his lips on mine. He did not disappoint. With his lips slanting across mine, he pulled me close to his chest. I felt my breasts respond to his masculine hardness. I know that Damien felt this too. Before my thoughts turned towards doing things that I wasn’t ready for yet, Damien pulled back from me and gave me a sweet kiss on the lips.
“Now get some rest and I’ll see you in the morning. If you need anything, give me a call, ok?”
“Yes Damien, thank you for everything.”
Chapter 27 She's home
I picked Selina up from the hospital as planned and got her settled into my home. I needed to get into the office for meetings all day, one of them with my Father. It was something I certainly didn’t look forward to.
"Selina, if there is anything you need, you can call down to the front desk and they will get it for you. Just relax, watch Netflix and work if you want. I'll be home as soon as I can."
"I'm not sick and really can go to work."
"I'm ordering you as your Boss, to take this week. Until we know what's going on, I want you safe."
Pulling her against me, I smoothed a piece of hair away from her face and lightly tugged on her ponytail to move her face up closer to mine. I noticed that she moved closer to me as she pressed that sexy body right up next to mine.
"It's better knowing you are safe here than at your place. Besides, I like having you here."
Smiling down at her, I took her lips on mine. Hearing her whimpers of desire, I turned this kiss into something that didn't need to begin right now. I couldn't get enough of her, couldn't get close enough to her. Her sundress and my suit separated us when all I wanted to do was make her mine. Moving my hands under her dress to her thighs, I slowly moved the up to grasp that cute ass of hers and squeeze her. My lips trailed down her neck as I felt her arms wrap around my neck. Picking her up against me, she held on around my neck with her legs around my waist. Pushing her up against the wall, Selina was aware of how much I wanted her. As she tipped her head back, I enjoyed the soft texture of her skin and felt her heartbeat beneath my lips. Nipping at her collar bone, I knew this was getting out of hand. It wasn't what I would want for our first time. She deserved more than that.
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