by Jade White
“Melissa, today is Tuesday. Are you feeling okay? Your cheeks are red.”
Her stomach did a flip and the sweat was back, only this time it was significantly more. As much as she didn’t want to be sick in front of Dreamy Eyes, she didn’t have a choice. Managing to get up from the exam table, she stumbled toward the bathroom. He grabbed her before she fell into the door and steadied her in front of the toilet.
“Out,” she managed to say as she motioned for him to leave her alone and everything she had eaten came out violently. Her whole body trembled as she sat on the floor waiting for the nausea to pass. There was no way to know which shot made her sick although if she had to guess, she would go with the thick one. Of course it would be one she had to take every day.
“Melissa, are you okay?” Bruce was right outside the door. He’d heard her throw up, which was a bit embarrassing.
She started to say she was fine when she started to throw up again. This time wasn’t as violent, but it felt like her stomach was caving in from the cramping. She waited a few minutes to see if she would be sick again and then slowly stood up. Her body was weak as she washed her hands and rinsed her mouth out. When she came out of the bathroom she could walk, but very slowly. He led her back over to the table and helped her lay down, rushing out of the room.
When he came back, he had water and crackers. She didn’t think she could take any of either thing, but after some encouragement, she managed to swallow some water. It felt good on her throat, which stung, and she tried to nibble on a cracker. He started to check her vitals and attached a blood pressure sleeve to her arm.
“I’m fine. My body just isn’t used to it yet.”
“I’m still making sure. Something that makes you that sick that fast is not good for your body. I know you know that, but I’m just making sure you are thinking of these things.”
“You can go, Bruce. Tilly can take care of me,” Melissa said weakly, her body just felt really heavy. There was a throbbing in her head that pinged with every heartbeat.
“I’m not leaving until this whole thing has passed and then tomorrow I’ll be here when you give yourself the shots again. You need another medical brain helping you with this if you insist on doing it.”
Melissa didn't have the strength to argue with him. The ferocity she had experienced from being sick in combination with the newly-inserted medication had zapped everything out of her. He was right about having another medical doctor around while performing the trial phase of her research. He would be able to offer her insight on what she didn't notice by having an outside perspective. The more collective research she could obtain, the better prepared she would be to perform the procedure on the next patient. Melissa had been researching this method for so long, putting in countless hours, she refused to let stubborn pride take away an asset.
“Could you grab a blanket out of the supply closet for me? I'm going to lie down until the symptoms pass.”
Melissa’s eyes were already growing heavy with every passing second. As much as it pained her to shut her business down for the day, this experiment was much more important. Not only to boost her medical career in the shifter community but it was also going to provide her a baby. She was already attached to the idea of having a son or a daughter to call her own. A little sickness wasn’t going to stop her from the rewards. And at the moment, the best thing she could do was take care of herself so she could obtain what she was willing to endure this much pain for.
Bruce’s footsteps faded out of the room as he went to retrieve the blanket she had requested. Melissa was almost asleep when she felt Bruce drape it over her prone body.
“Thank you,” Melissa said slightly slurring her words. “I’ll call you when I wake up so we can discuss my vitals.”
Bruce let out a huff. “Melissa, get some rest. I’ll be right here when you wake up. There is no way I would leave a patient under these conditions. I’m appalled you would think I would leave you.”
Melissa fell asleep as her protest died on her lips. A weight had been lifted off Melissa’s abdomen, or at least that’s what she felt like when she woke up forty-five minutes later. She didn’t feel a hundred percent better, but she was able to sit up without running to the bathroom to dry heave. She was going to call that progress.
Bruce was right by her side when she started to stir from her vomit-induced nap.
“How are you feeling?” he asked, rubbing her back in big, strong circles. Melissa was amazed how sore her body felt, the heaving must have done more to her than eject her lunch.
“I’m better,” she said throwing him a shaky smile.
“I’ll be right back. I’m going to get some more testing supplies. I want to run all of your vitals. Don’t get up until I get back. I don’t want you falling.”
Melissa nodded her head as he sprung up and quickly left the room. Right when he was out of sight her office phone rang. Tilly came inside the room with a gigantic smile plastered on her face.
“Your baby’s daddy is on the phone.” She wiggled her eyebrows, making Melissa chuckle. The movement caused her stomach to quiver so she quieted down quickly.
“I’ll take it in my office.”
Bruce was not going to be happy. He made it clear he wanted her to stay where she was, but she was feeling better. Besides, Tilly would be right next to her if anything went wrong on the tiny trip it would take her to get to her office. Bruce would just have to get her vitals there. She would be more comfortable anyway. It was a win for everybody.
Melissa stood up and her stomach sloshed around. Melissa froze as she waited for it to calm down. Tilly came over and helped her pull up her trousers after several failed attempts. The little effort she was expending to get dressed was making her weak. Tilly helped her shrug on her coat and wrapped an arm around Melissa’s waist as they slowly walked back to her office.
“Are you going to be okay?” Tilly asked when Melissa all but collapsed into her office chair.
“I’ll be fine, Tilly. This treatment is going to take some time to adjust to. Even regular fertility treatments are hard on women when they first start out. My body will find its balance soon. It may take a while, but it will come around.”
Tilly stared at Melissa as if she was trying to assess her symptoms just with her eyes. “I’ll be right outside the door if you need me.”
“Thanks. Can you let Bruce know where I am when he comes back?”
“I’ll let Dr. Dreamy Eyes know.” The sparkle came back in Tilly’s eyes banishing most of the worry that had been there since she walked into the treatment room.
Melissa ignored the sweat coating her body, and the nauseous feeling that overrode every other emotion she could have been feeling. She was afraid Thomas would pull the deal if he knew the toll it was taking on her body. She wasn’t lying when she told Tilly it took time for women taking regular treatments to become accustomed to the hormones being injected into their body. Melissa was tripling the hormones and adding cocktails of her own into the mix. She was positive her body could deal with it. It just needed time. She was going to endure whatever these treatments had to offer.
Melissa sucked in a deep breath as goosebumps sprouted on her sweat-chilled body. She could do this, she thought as she lifted the phone.
“How are you doing? I thought I would have heard something from you by now. Today is the day you started your treatments right? Or did I get the timeline mixed up?” Thomas asked when she picked up the phone. His nervous rambling was adorable.
“Sorry, I got busy with other patients. And yes you’re correct; I started the first series of shots today.” Melissa pressed her fist into her stomach, willing it to stay still.
“How did it go?” Thomas asked, making Melissa smile at how eager he sounded. It seemed she wasn't the only one attached to a baby that hadn't been conceived yet. “Wait, did you say shots? How many shots are we talking about?”
“It went great. My body accepted the hormones with no discomfort at all.�
� Melissa heard the insincerity in her voice when she lied. She could only hope Thomas didn't pick up on it. “I had a series of seven shots today.”
“Seven?” Thomas yelled over the phone. The back of Melissa’s eyes started to throb from the noise. She slouched down in her office chair, unable to stay upright.
“Yes, seven. It’s not as unusual as it sounds, Thomas. And it won’t be every day. I will only need seven shots once a week. I only need three daily.” Melissa’s mouth started to water as she held back the sickness taking over.
“Melissa, I didn’t realize how intense this was going to be. I knew you were going to have to go through some things to make it possible to conceive, but I don’t like the amount of pain you are putting yourself through.”
Melissa would have felt warm and fuzzy if she didn’t feel like death warmed over. Thomas cared for her well-being. That was a trait were-bears were known for. She knew their future child would have one amazing dad. His concern for her gave her more resolve to go through with this.
“Honestly, Thomas. I’m fine. The only discomfort I felt was the needle. I’m not going to let our child down because its daddy doesn’t like shots.”
Thomas sucked in a breath over the phone. He was quiet for a moment. “I can’t believe I’m going to be a daddy. Thank you so much for making this happen, Melissa. I wouldn’t want this to happen with anyone else. I’m going to tell our child, every single day, how brave its mommy was to bring it into this world.” His voice had an air of serenity to it.
“And I will tell our baby what a caring daddy it has.” Both of them were silent as the absorbed their statements to each other. Melissa’s body shivered as her stomach protested the drugs. She knew she needed to get off the phone soon, but she liked talking to Thomas. “Did you talk to your parents about me?” she asked, laying her forehead on the cool wood of her desk.
“I didn’t get a chance to talk to them yet. But I will, I promise. I’m so excited about this Melissa. I will tell them soon.”
“I’m excited, too. I want to remind you, though, there is a chance I won’t conceive or a miscarriage is always something to keep in mind.” She hated to have to be the downer on the conversation, but she was already misleading him on the treatment; she couldn’t, without extreme guilt, not remind him of what could happen.
“Nah, our child is going to be a fighter just like you are,” Thomas said, making Melissa half smile against her desk.
“I have a meeting I need to get to. I’ll call you later. Have a good day.”
“Talk to you later,” Melissa told him, closing her eyes as her body trembled.
She hung up the phone and remained in her position on her desk, willing her body to be the fighter Thomas assumed she was. She felt like she’d pulled that off pretty well; as long as he never saw her after a few shots, she’d be okay.
“I thought I told you not to move,” Bruce said from somewhere inside her office.
Melissa didn’t pick her head from her desk to see where he was.
“I needed to get up,” she said forcing herself off her desk so she could look at him. Bruce stared at her, concern and worry marring his handsome face.
“I don’t like this, Melissa. I don’t like this at all.”
“Bruce, I respect you as a colleague and a friend. I would appreciate you being a part of this, but if you can’t, I will understand. Like I said, I’m doing this. This mild reaction will not deter me. If you want me to find someone else, I will.”
“You call that a mild reaction? I’ve never seen someone vomit with so much force before.”
“Bruce, I don’t want to argue about this. Are you in or are you out? If you can’t do this, there will be no hard feelings.” Melissa’s tone had as much authority as she could infuse into it. She felt kind of bad because he was just being a concerned friend.
“I’m in,” he said after glaring at her.
As mad as he was at Melissa’s decision to continue going through the treatment, Melissa was stunned by the gentleness he used when checking her vitals. He wrote everything down on a chart he had in a file he had brought with them.
“Can I copy those?” she asked, clicking on a file in her computer where she would be storing her data.
Bruce extended the file toward her. When she moved to grab it from his outstretched hand, her body surged. Melissa shot up from her chair and stumbled to the bathroom outside of her office, passing a stunned Tilly on the way. Tilly followed her, stopping Bruce from entering the bathroom.
Tilly held Melissa’s hair back as she purged what little she had taken in after her first vomiting session. When her body was spent of all energy from dry heaving into the toilet, Tilly helped her lean against the wall.
“Are you okay? I mean really okay? None of this fake ‘I’m fine’ stuff.”
“I’m fine, Tilly. I promise. This is a lot for a body to handle. I’m strong though. I’ve got this.”
Tilly kissed her on the forehead before helping her back to her office chair. Bruce was inside her office, pacing the floor. When they walked in, he rushed to help.
“Don’t say anything,” Melissa said, holding up her hand as she tried to suppress the tremors running through it.
Bruce pursed his lips together, but kept quiet. The three of them were all silently staring at each other when Nathaniel walked into Melissa's office.
“Hey, sweetie. I need to drop by your place when you get home tonight. I have some stuff I need to get,” Nathaniel said.
As always he was in his own little world where he only cared about himself. Any other human being would have noticed the tension in the room, or that Melissa was as pale as a ghost.
“Are you really that oblivious? Can’t you see that she isn't feeling well?” Bruce said, stepping in front of the desk blocking Nathaniel from looking at Melissa.
Melissa felt awful and she wanted to fall back to sleep more than anything else. She was not in any condition to deal with Nathaniel and his request. She needed to get rid of him as fast as she could, and she knew the only way to do that was to let him have what he wanted.
“Bruce and I will be working late tonight at the office. I’ll call you when I’m on my way home and you can stop by.” Melissa had every intention of sleeping in her office that night. There was no way she could handle Nathaniel. She would just turn her phone off and deal with him in the morning when she felt better.
“You don’t need to cater to his needs,” Tilly said, moving to stand beside Bruce, officially blocking Nathaniel’s view of Melissa.
“This is between me and my wife. You two have nothing to do with this.”
“Ex-wife. And you need to get out of here. I told you to stop coming in Melissa’s office. This is a medical building. We have to keep a professional atmosphere. Remember the success of this business is what keeps you out of any more debt.”
Melissa watched Tilly’s back as she yelled at her ex. Her whole body shook from the anger pouring out of her. Tilly said just the right thing to get his attention. Nathaniel was stupid, but he wasn't that stupid that he would ruin a place of business that made money he could spend.
“I’ll see you tonight, sweetheart,” Nathaniel said before turning around and walking out of her office.
“You’re not going to your house tonight,” Tilly said. Both she and Bruce turned around to stare at Melissa.
“No. I just said that to get rid of him,” Melissa admitted.
“You can stay the night at my house again.”
“No. I’m going to sleep in the office tonight.” When Tilly and Bruce opened their mouths, most likely to argue, Melissa stopped them. “I’ve slept on that couch almost as much as I’ve slept in my own bed. I need to be near the medical equipment so I can check my vitals. I want to document everything during the treatment. I don’t want to bring any of it home because I’m not feeling well. It makes sense to just stay the night. Now both of you get out of here—I have data to enter.”
Tilly and Bruce
turned to walk out the door, but before they disappeared from her view, Melissa’s guilt set in. “Thank you for helping me out. I couldn’t have done it without both of you.”
Tilly turned around and shot her a wink. “Anything for you.”
Bruce didn’t turn around, but Melissa saw him nod his head indicating he heard her.
CHAPTER FIVE
Thomas reclined in his office chair, putting his hands behind his head grinning widely. He had single-handedly landed one of the biggest clients McMillian ever had. For months, Hilary Dalton kept him and the company on the edge of insanity. She refused to give them her answer on which company she was leaning toward. Thomas had just hung up with her personal assistant telling him that Hilary had just signed the papers making McMillian and Company the chosen one to launch her new scent.
With Hilary Dalton as a client, McMillian and Company would be sky-rocketed into a whole new level of clients. Thomas’ grandfather, Bill, had built the company from the ground up. His grandfather had noticed so many good causes being ignored because they didn’t have the exposure they needed. With that very thought in mind, Bill created McMillian and Company to help get them the publicity they needed. Every year, their fundraising events became more lucrative and extravagant. People looked forward to what they would do next.
In the beginning, his grandfather only took on charities with worthy causes, but as their parties started to attract more high level celebrities at their events, the company expanded to take on other facets of the business. McMillian’s received a new slogan, We don’t just do parties; we throw extravaganzas, pushing the limits of what they could do. And they did.
They were now the most sought-after company, but with Hilary’s business, they would be able to grow the company even further by taking on celebrity-endorsed products. This was all Thomas needed to create another branch of the company. He thought once his father saw the numbers after her campaign was successful, he would come around and be okay with it. His father did everything from home and that was the only reason he was able to get something like this past him.
