by Erin Wade
“And you’ll be recognized as the best heart surgeon in the United States,” Shay noted.
“Yes, the best in my field.” David puffed out his chest a little. “Just as my wife is recognized as the best in her field.”
“What has that got to do with anything?” Shay grumbled. “You’re not competing. You’re in two completely different fields. Besides, before long she won’t be your wife.”
“True,” David said. “Hopefully she won’t drag this out forever. I want to get it over with. I truly do love you, Shay, and want to marry you.”
Before Shay could do more than nod at him, David continued. “This week I have to deliver a list of all my assets to the court,” David said. “Katie has to do the same. I’m certain she is hiding assets from me so that she doesn’t have to share them.”
“She doesn’t strike me as an unfair woman,” Shay pointed out.
“I’m sure you only see her on her best behavior.” David furrowed his brow. “She can hold it together for an hour or two, but sooner or later she becomes difficult and unreasonable. She demands everything her way.”
“Hopefully you won’t have to endure this upset in your life much longer,” she said.
They finished their dinner, discussing the hospital and plans for their future. Shay couldn’t reconcile the man she knew with the one described by Katie.
##
David walked Shay to the door of her home. “I had a wonderful time tonight,” he said. “I wouldn’t mind a little nightcap and maybe staying over.”
“I don’t think so,” Shay huffed.
“Shay, we used to—”
“I didn’t know you were married!” Shay blurted. “Things are different now, David. Surely you understand that.”
“I understand that I love you, and nothing has changed for me.” David hung his head and gave her his best little-boy look. “I miss being with you.”
“You have a wife!” Shay growled. “A wife you never bothered to tell me about.”
“I know I’ve handled this in the most abominable way,” David muttered. “And I’m so sorry I have hurt you, but please let me make it up to you. When this fiasco is over, let’s go on a long cruise, just concentrate on each other and plan our wedding.”
Shay promised to think about it.
##
The minute David’s car pulled out of the driveway, she called Katie.
“Shay, I’m sorry I was such a bitch,” Katie gasped into the phone. “Please forgive me.”
“It’s okay, Katie. I don’t blame you. I’m sorry if I made you feel that I had betrayed you.”
“No, I didn’t feel betrayed,” Katie said. “I know you would never betray me. You’re too honorable.”
“Then why did—”
“I was jealous,” Katie blurted out. “Upset that you would be with David instead of me. I . . . I wanted you with me.”
“I . . . Katie, I don’t . . .” Shay’s sentence stumbled into silence.
“I need to sleep,” Katie said abruptly. “Breakfast in the morning? I’ll pick you up around nine. I’ll call you when I leave my apartment. I’m still learning to judge how much time Bear will require.”
“I’ll be waiting for your call,” Shay promised.
She fell asleep thinking about Katie Brandt.
Chapter 20
“Is there any chance I can monopolize your day?” Katie asked as they sipped their coffee.
“I have the entire day open,” Shay declared, ignoring the little voice in the back of her head that reminded her of the need to write treatment plans for the patients she was seeing tomorrow.
“Wonderful.” Katie beamed, pulling several sheets of paper from her purse. “I printed out information on tracts of land I want to see. Would you ride with me to examine them?”
“I’d love to.”
“They’re all more than fifty miles outside of the metroplex,” Katie pointed out. “We need at least a hundred acres for our manufacturing plant. I have to get out of town to find affordable tracts that big.”
They finished breakfast as they discussed the plant and Katie’s plans.
“Do you mind driving?” Katie asked. “I can direct you to the locations and give them my full attention. I just love road trips.”
“As do I,” Shay said.
##
Bear loved the road trip and the stops to tramp across the open fields or heavily wooded land the women inspected. In the open fields, Katie would unhook his leash and allow him to run free and frolic in the dirt and grass.
“This plat of land appears to be perfect.” Katie stood in the center of a hundred-acre tract of pastureland. “It’s level and cleared. Not that it matters. We’ll still need heavy equipment to move every grain of sand on this place.
“The perfect part is that it adjoins the new toll road and is only ten miles from the nearest small town. People coming to work for us will be able to afford the land and homes around the plant if they act fast. As soon as developers get wind of what we’re doing, they will buy all the surrounding property.”
“Why don’t you purchase the surrounding land and sell it to your employees at a fair price?” Shay asked.
“Yes, that’s what I’ll do.” Katie giggled. “Sometimes I can’t see the forest for the trees. You help me see the simple things I often overlook when I’m contemplating the bigger picture.”
By the time Shay dropped Katie off at her home, both women and Bear were exhausted.
“If you want to come in, I can whip up a couple of fresh chicken salad sandwiches,” Katie volunteered.
“Thanks, but I think I’ll go home,” Shay said. “I’m in serious need of a bath.”
As Shay opened her car door, Katie caught her arm. “Shay, I’m okay with you dating David. He’s terribly handsome, even if he is greed’s older brother.”
Shay laughed. “That was a sincere endorsement if I ever heard one. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
##
The next months were filled with meetings. Real estate agents and architects were daily visitors to Katie’s home office. She didn’t even count the number of meetings she had with Chandler as David attempted to drag her through the courts.
Shay never failed to text Katie every morning with an uplifting comment to help her face the day. Katie often scrolled through Shay’s messages when she needed a reason to smile.
“You’re in my thoughts always, but especially this morning,” Shay texted one day. “Good luck today, and remember, I am only a phone call away if you need me.”
Another message from Shay read: “Every new morning brings a new beginning, like a fresh page to write on; scribble my name a few times, won’t you?”
One of her favorites said, “As the coldness of the night gives its place to the warmth of the sun, I’d like to wish you a great day that brings you one step closer to achieving all of your dreams. Good morning, Katie.”
She read the most recent message aloud. “Some days you just have to create your own sunshine.”
Katie wondered if Shay knew how much sunshine she brought into her life.
Chapter 21
Shay couldn’t get Katie out of her mind. She constantly checked to see if she had a text or email from her. When her phone dinged and Katie’s face popped onto her screen, Shay’s heart soared.
She spent more and more time on social media, reading Katie’s posts on F2F and Twitter. All of Katie’s posts were sweet exchanges between friends and coworkers, and sometimes she commented on Shay’s page. Shay made certain to click the heart after each one, so Katie would know she was out there and thinking of her.
Shay found herself frantically searching for the little ticked hearts that told her Katie was keeping up with her too. In short, Katie was in Shay’s head, and Shay couldn’t get her out.
It was after midnight, and Shay was doing online research on a patient’s malady when a personal message popped in from Katie. “I want you to make love to me,” the message said
.
Shay sat in stunned silence and debated all the ramifications of responding to the message. Katie was still married. David had said his wife was mentally unbalanced.
“I’d love that more than anything in the world,” Shay responded, throwing caution to the wind. “When?”
“Right now,” Katie responded. “Tell me what you want to do to me.”
“I . . . I’ve never . . .”
“I’d kiss you,” Katie typed. “Soft and slow. So slowly your blood would boil. Then I’d cover your face with kisses. Soft, sweet kisses. I’d kiss the little cleft in your chin and your eyes and your dimples. I’d kiss you until your lips were swollen from our passion.”
Shay sat in stunned silence, fighting to calm the arousal the woman had fired up in her.
“Shay, are you there?”
“Yes!”
“What would you do to me?” Katie asked.
Shay grabbed the bottle of water from her desk and drank half of it, trying to hydrate her tongue and throat. She licked her lips. The room had suddenly become a firepit.
“Everything,” she typed.
“No, that’s not the way you play the game,” Katie teased. “You must describe each thing you want to do to me. Where you’d put your lips, and hands, and fingers.”
Shay drank the rest of the water in one long gulp.
“Katie, where are you?”
“In my bed,” Katie typed. “Where you should be.”
“May I come over?”
“No, that wouldn’t be proper.” Katie added a smiling devil emoji. “Good night.”
Shay watched as the green dot went out, signaling that Katie was no longer on Chat. She wondered what she should do. The text wasn’t at all like the proper scientist. She wondered if the brunette beauty was cracking under the tremendous pressures that filled her life.
Chapter 22
Shay scrubbed as she chatted with Doctor Linda Hayes, assisting surgeon on the operation they had just completed. “I’m going to grab some lunch in the doctors’ lounge. Do you want to join me?”
“Sure,” Linda replied. “I have some questions about that last procedure.”
As they walked from surgery to the nurses’ station, the floor nurse waved Shay to her. “Dr. Brandt asked that I send you to his office as soon as you completed the surgery,” she informed Shay.
“Gotta skip lunch,” Shay informed her friend. “My presence has been requested up above. Catch you later.”
David was in his office talking on the phone. He smiled at Shay and motioned for her to be seated. When he hung up the phone, he walked around his desk and closed the door.
“I have the most marvelous news, darling,” he said, perching on his desk in front of Shay. “I put your name in the hat for the new administrative position, and the board approved it.”
“David, I’m a surgeon, not an administrator,” Shay argued. “I like being a surgeon. I like saving lives. I don’t want to be in administration. You should have discussed this with me.”
David was crestfallen. “I thought you’d like having weekends off and not being on call 24-7. I thought I was doing something that would make you happy. It would free up more time for us to be together.”
Shay scowled. “I’m sorry. I don’t want the position.”
“I’ll be free soon,” David told her. “Our court arguments start next week. I can finally stop all these stupid depositions and endless attorney conferences and get down to business. I wanted you to be there for me. This new position would allow you to do that.”
“You mean the position is so unimportant that I wouldn’t be missed if I didn’t show up for work?” Shay said. “I have vacation time. I’ll take time off and be there for the trial. Please thank the board for me, and tell them I prefer the operating room, where I can make a difference.”
David’s secretary opened the door. “Sir, there is a man here to see you. He insists on an audience with you immediately.”
Before David could speak, the man shoved his way into the room and glared at Shay.
“If you’ll excuse us, Shay,” David grumbled. “I need to deal with this gentleman.”
Shay left the room and stopped at the secretary’s desk. “Roberts, who is that man?”
“Besides being rude, crude, and an asshole, you mean?” Roberta blurted. “His name is Reggie Ansloe. He smelled of whiskey.”
“He seems menacing,” Shay observed. “Should we call hospital security?”
“I did,” Roberta said as the elevator dinged and two security officers approached.
“Looks like you have this under control. I’m heading home,” Shay said. “I had two surgeries this morning and no lunch yet. I’m getting a headache.”
##
Shay tossed a baking potato into the oven and then took a shower. She was pulling on a clean pair of jeans and a soft pullover when her doorbell went crazy.
“I’m coming,” she called, hoping whoever was leaning on her doorbell would stop.
Shay unlocked the door and stepped back as the whirling dervish and Bear charged into her foyer. “Katie, what’s going on?”
“David,” Katie yelled. “He’s filed for a competency hearing to determine if I’m capable of participating in this stupid civil action. I swear, Shay, I hate the man more every day. How did I ever think I was in love with him? I can’t believe I married him and put him through med school.”
Katie dove into Shay’s arms and sobbed into her breasts. Shay held her and comforted her until the tears stopped, and Katie hugged her tighter.
Shay took Katie by the hand and led her to the sofa. “Sit here and catch your breath,” she said. “I’m going to get you some water. Then you can fill me in.”
Shay hurried into the kitchen, returning moments later with two glasses of water and a box of tissues. “Okay, tell me what’s happened,” Shay said. “I’ve never seen you so distraught.”
“We filed our assets with the court today,” Katie said, sniffling. “I listed everything, but David listed only his car and the house. He didn’t list his stock in Brandt Technologies and Face2Face. He swears he sold it to pay the taxes on the house and buy his new Porsche.
“Chandler has people searching for his assets. We must find them quickly, or it will look like I’m filthy rich and he’s a pauper by comparison. The courts will make me give him half of my stock, which will make him the majority stockholder when he miraculously buys back his stock from whoever is hiding it for him.
“He also filed a petition to get half of my earnings for the next five years. That will force me to make him a partner in my current military project. Shay, he’s using the law to steal everything I’ve created, all of my intellectual property. I’ll never be free of him.”
“When do you go to court?” Shay asked.
“Monday.”
“Have you had a psychiatric evaluation by another psychiatrist?” Shay asked. “We’ll need that to rebut Tucker Sandifer’s testimony.”
“No.” Katie exhaled the breath she was holding. “Can you recommend someone?”
“I can,” Shay assured her. “My good friend Link Weslin. He’s one of the best psychiatrists in the business.”
Katie listened as Shay called Link and filled him in on her situation. “Tomorrow?” Shay said. “Yes, we’ll be there at eight on the dot.”
“Link will spend all day tomorrow with you,” Shay said as she hung up the phone. “He can do a psych eval and whatever he feels will be needed in court. He’ll testify on your behalf. He’s considered an expert witness by the courts, so he’s testified many times.”
Katie thanked her. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“Have you had dinner?” Shay asked.
“No, I was too upset to eat.” Katie mumbled.
“I was going to order a pizza,” Shay said, hoping she’d remember to turn off the oven. “I believe you like the Pizza Supreme. Am I right?”
“You are.” Katie giggled. “You
’re always right.”
“You’re welcome to spend the night here,” Shay offered.
“I’d love that, but I really should go home after we eat. I don’t have clothes, and I want to look my best for your doctor. If he’s going to evaluate me, I need to make a good impression.”
Shay nodded. “I worry about you, that’s all.”
“I’ll be fine. I’ll have Bear with me. I should walk him before the pizza gets here.”
“Let me slip on my shoes and I’ll walk with you,” Shay said.
##
They ate and planned the next day. “I’ll pick you up,” Shay volunteered. “We need to be at Link’s office at eight, so I’ll pick you up at seven thirty.”
“Shay, I can’t tell you how much it means to have your support,” Katie said. “Thank you.”
“You need someone in your corner, lovely lady,” Shay said, giggling. “I’m just glad it’s me.”
“Katie,”—Shay nibbled her bottom lip— “shouldn’t we discuss the messages we exchanged last night?”
Katie’s blank stare surprised Shay. “What messages?”
“The . . . um . . . you sent me a message telling me—”
“Shay, I didn’t message you last night,” Katie declared. “I worked on the schematics for the new plant all night.”
“I’m sorry.” Shay shook her head as if to clear her mind. “I’m thinking about something else. My mistake.”
After Katie left, Shay turned on her computer and reread the exchange between them from the night before. The messages were clearly from Katie.
Could David be telling the truth?
Chapter 23
On Saturday morning Link Weslin greeted the two women and Bear warmly and led them into his office. He listened solemnly as Katie told him of all the things that had been done to her at Glencove.
“My God,” he huffed. “I’m surprised you’re still coherent. I want to do an MRI to rule out anything physical, just in case they bring that up. We have an imaging unit just down the hall.
“A brain scan will also show the activity in certain regions. We then compare your scan with a normal brain image to see if there is activity that might indicate a problem.
