A Diagnosis Dark & Deadly: A Dark & Deadly Novella (A Dark & Deadly Series Book 4)

by Heather C. Myers

After a moment, he returned to the room, and said, “Well, I should get going.”

  Olivia was already curled comfortably in her bed, underneath the sheets, her eyes closed. “Shut up and get your ass in the bed,” she mumbled.

  She couldn’t see him, but he grinned and walked around to the other side of the bed before sliding in beside her. He wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her towards him so her back was pressed against his chest. Her hair was dry now, but messy, and smelled slightly of vanilla.

  This was definitely more than expected. This was all he wanted and more. But like all good things, the night would turn into morning, and they would have to deal with the aftermath.

  For now, a good night’s rest with her against him was just what he wanted.

  Chapter 4

  He hated being one of those guys. The type of guy who takes advantage of a woman right after a breakup, and then sneaks off in the morning before she wakes up. Not that he took advantage of her; she seemed to have wanted just as much as he did. But, despite Mason Hadley’s calm and normally abrasive demeanor, he was afraid. He was afraid that if he woke up beside her, there would be an awkward confrontation, that she might expect something more. More than what they had; a boss-employee relationship, a colleague-colleague relationship, a love-hate relationship. And the thing was, he kind of wanted more as well, and that scared him to no end. He thought of last night like a dream, a perfect, priceless dream. Now it was time to wake up.

  He had to wake up and leave. She had to wake up alone.

  And somewhere deep inside of him, he hated himself for it.

  She felt him leave. She didn’t blame him. Last night was definitely a mistake, a beautiful, pleasurable mistake that should never happen again. She didn’t expect him to stay. In all honesty, she didn’t expect him to stay the night with her, but he did.

  The light rain tapped gently on her window. She blinked a couple of times before sliding out of bed and slipping on her satin red robe. She walked out into her living room and onto her small balcony, letting the rain drop onto her. Her hair was probably a frazzled mess, but at that moment, she didn’t mind. She felt an inner peace within her as she leaned her forearms on the railing and looked out at the city.

  Olivia didn’t feel alone. Olivia felt… content.

  She needed last night just as much as he did. The tension between them had built up over the last three years that it was only a matter of time until they had one night of uncontrollable passion.

  She smiled. Olivia felt more than content. Olivia felt… free.

  Olivia sat down with her best friend Shelby Woo, head of the nursing station at Boulder Haven Medical Hospital. The two had met there on Olivia’s first day as a resident. In fact, it was Shelby who had first warned her about Mason’s bedside manner but added that “it must be a good sign he took you on as his resident. Either that, or he wants to sleep with you really, really badly.” The two had been inseparable since then.

  Shelby Woo was short, about five foot two, but she could be quite intimidating. She was a year older than Olivia was, which made her just recently twenty-eight years old back in September. With her long, silky black hair and porcelain skin, she was beautiful. Originally from China, Shelby moved to the states when she was a senior in high school with the desire to become a nurse. Now, ten years later, she was the youngest woman in charge of the nursing staff in Boulder Haven’s history. She had dark eyes and a clear face. She was slim and spunky, very popular with both her colleagues and her patients.

  “You wanted to tell me something?” Olivia asked as the two opened their menus to figure out what they were going to eat for lunch.

  Shelby smiled with excitement, closing the menu and setting it to the side. She had come to this restaurant so often she knew exactly what she wanted. “Well…” she said, letting her voice trail off. She glanced down at her hands, and instead of continuing to speak, she showed Olivia the back of her hand. “Andy proposed!” she exclaimed, and the two girls joined in a squealing fit. People sitting at surrounding tables gave them odd looks, and some were even amused at their youthful excitement.

  “Oh my gosh, Summer actually did it!” Olivia said, once she had calmed down. She took Shelby’s left hand in hers, looking at the ring on her left finger. It was a small, silver band with small diamonds embroided in the surface of the silver band. When she had finished studying the engagement band, Olivia dropped Shelby’s hand and looked up at her friend. “How long have you guys been together now?”

  “A little over six years,” Shelby responded with a smile.

  “Well, it’s about time!” Olivia exclaimed. “When did he do it? How did he do it?”

  “Well, he did it a couple weeks ago for my birthday,” Shelby told her friend. “I would have told you sooner, but we wanted to tell our parents first.” She paused, a nostalgic smile on her face. “Apparently, when my parents came to Boulder to visit over the summer, Andy asked my father for his permission, so Daddy knew he was going to do it soon.

  “Anyway, for my birthday, he took me to Simon’s, that seafood restaurant on the pier,” Shelby continued, and Olivia nodded, indicating that she knew exactly what her friend was talking about.

  Before the woman could continue, the waitress came by to take their order. Shelby ordered the shrimp alfredo while Olivia settled on an egg salad sandwich and French fries.

  “Okay, go ‘head,” Olivia said eagerly. “Continue.”

  “Right,” Shelby said, taking a quick sip of her diet coke. “Okay, so you know how Vince is; he actually had the all the waiters sing ‘Happy Birthday’ for me after dinner, and they even brought a slice of chocolate cake out with a candle on it!” The two women shared a laugh. “After dinner, he took me to the end of the pier, just as the sun was setting. All of a sudden, I hear this music, right? So I turn, and there is this violinist, completely decked out in a tuxedo and everything. When I turn back to look at Andy, he was on his knee and asked me. I don’t know how he managed to time everything so perfectly, but when I said yes, the sun completely disappeared behind the horizon.”

  The girls shared another squeal fest before Olivia stood and pulled Shelby into a tight hug. When she sat, they both couldn’t keep the smiles off their faces.

  “That is so…. Summer,” Olivia said, shaking her head. “Wow, that’s great. You both deserve it; you guys are so good together.”

  Shelby smiled a knowing smile. “That I know,” she said, “and agree with.” Her face became serious, however. “Olivia, I wanted to ask you something though.” She paused and Olivia nodded, encouraging her to continue. “I wanted to know if you would be my Maid of Honor.”

  Olivia’s mouth dropped open in surprised, before quickly spreading into a smile. “Of course!” she exclaimed. “I mean, are you sure? Of course, only if you’re sure.”

  “Of course I’m sure,” Shelby said, pushing her friend playfully.

  “I feel so… honored!” Olivia said.

  “That is why they call it Maid of Honor,” Shelby retorted with a teasing smile. “Okay, okay, enough about me. Tell me about you and Owen. Are you guys still fighting like cats and dogs?” She arched a brow, obviously not amused by Owen’s antics.

  Before Olivia could reply, the waitress quickly set down the food before inquiring if there was anything else she could do. When the two girls responded politely that they didn’t need anything else, she left them to their food.

  “Actually, I broke up with Owen last night,” Olivia stated before taking a bite of her sandwich.

  Shelby nearly choked on her soda. “Are you okay?” she asked her friend with concern.

  “Oh yeah,” Olivia said with a smile. “After I did it, I realized I should have done it a lot sooner.”

  “I never liked that guy,” Shelby pointed out before taking a bite of her pasta. She watched her friend closely as she chewed. “There’s something else, though, isn’t there? You have this… glow surrounding you. Not the pregnancy glow or anything, but th
e I-jus-got-laid-and-it-was-good look.” She looked at her friend inquiringly.

  Olivia blushed, and grinned, but said nothing, opting to stare hardly at her sandwich.

  “Oh my gosh, you did get laid!” Shelby exclaimed, causing the surrounding restaurant clients to glance over at them again. “And not by Owen.”

  “Oh, God no,” Olivia said, scrunching her nose in disgust. “Definitely not by Owen. You know how I am with guys. If we break up, I just shut off. It’s like a switch; I don’t care anymore.”

  “If not Owen, then who?” Shelby asked with raw curiosity.

  “You cannot say anything to anybody,” Olivia said, thrusting her finger at her friend. Shelby put both her hands up in a manner of defense and nodded, her mouth full of pasta. “Okay. I kind of, you know, with…” She sighed. “With Hadley.”

  Luckily, Shelby had just swallowed her mouthful of food when Olivia announced the name of her most recent lover because Shelby appeared to have difficulty comprehending the fact.

  “Oh. My. God.” Shelby stated, completely dumbfounded. “I mean, I knew you guys had this whole sexual tension thing going on, but wow. Was it good?”

  “The best,” Olivia said smugly.

  “So, are you guys… you know, going to do it again?” Shelby inquired, tilting her head to the side.

  “I mean, I wouldn’t mind, but I don’t think that it’s going to happen,” Olivia said after a long pause.

  “Do you like him?” her friend asked.

  “I… don’t know,” Olivia replied honestly.

  “Well does he like you?” Shelby tried, her brow raised expectantly.

  “I… don’t know,” Olivia repeated.

  “I know how to solve this,” Shelby said after a quick pause, her pointer finger extended towards the sky in a manner of explanation. “Okay, you know how Andy is a general physician for the clinic, right?” she began, grinning wickedly. “Do you think Hadley has ever seen Andy?”

  “Hadley doesn’t pay attention to anyone,” Olivia said, “beside himself, of course.”

  “And obviously you,” Shelby teased and then her face became serious. “I only ask because I want to, you know, experiment.”

  Olivia groaned. “Not another one of your experiments,” Olivia mumbled.

  “Hey, give me some credit,” Shelby said with a smile. “All I want to do is figure out if Hadley likes you. Sometime next week, I’ll send Andy up to ask for your assistance in a consult. Hadley’s reaction will tell us everything.”

  “How?” Olivia asked skeptically. “He’s just going to think I’m consulting.”

  “Will you just trust me?” Shelby asked with exasperation.

  “What good is this going to do?” Olivia questioned. “I mean, what am I- what are we supposed to get out of this?”

  “If nothing else, it might get you laid more often,” Shelby stated and grinned at her friend mischievously. “However, if this plan is cake, we need the icing, and I know exactly where to find it.” Olivia said nothing, but looked at her friend expectantly. “The mall.”

  Chapter 5

  He was nervous. He was never nervous. He didn’t know why he was nervous. The confrontation he had put off would soon happen in a matter of twenty-nine minutes. He had no idea why he was early to work. He was never early, almost always late. And yet, here he was, making himself a cup of coffee before Neil Hayes could touch the machine. He was sitting at his conference table which was in his spacious office, staring blankly at the seat next to him. Her seat. Would things be awkward between them? Would she hate him for leaving her? What she hate him for using her?

  But he wasn’t using her…

  “I’m surprised to find you here,” a low voice drawled from the doorway.

  Mason’s eyes blinked, her voice chasing away his doubts. Immediately he put up his defensive front, and looked at his boss, the Dean of Medicine and Hospital Administrator, levelly. He took a long drink of his black coffee – he needed something strong to prepare him for the day – before rubbing his lips together.

  “I figured I’d throw you off if I showed up early,” he told her, setting his cup of coffee down on the glass table before interlocking his fingers and resting them in his lap. “Now your whole day is going to be off, much like your period.”

  “Ha ha ha,” she mocked dryly, rolling her eyes. She walked into his office without an invitation and handed him a manila folder. “Since you seem to have so much free time, I could always assign you more hours in the clinic.”

  “How for along until you hit the bitchy trimester?” Hadley asked, quirking a brow. “I would be incredibly appreciative because knowing you, I don’t think I’d be able to tell.”

  Dr. Carmen Garcia rolled her dark eyes. It was a wonder she hadn’t fired Hadley after his first day of the job, causing two clinic patients to complain, and an actual case-patient to transfer hospitals, despite being correctly diagnosed. How long ago had that been? Twenty years, maybe. Even his first diagnostician team had all quit, although granted, they stayed longer than anyone expected them to. Dr. Bert McGraw resigned after Hadley aborted a patient’s fetus without getting the consent of the patient, despite the fact that it was killing her. Dr. Carmen Duffy quit after she was caught breaking into someone’s home and had to endure a night in jail. And Dr. Erin Feinstein quit after realizing that despite her utter adoration for the man, he would never return her feelings of affection. Out of the three, Feinstein was the only doctor from the team to remain in the hospital as a surgeon, probably because she wasn’t quite over her former boss.

  “You know my husband could kick your ass, right?” she said, quirking a perfectly plucked brow. Garcia was always sharp-looking; incredibly professional. She was always wearing name-brand pantsuits, Chanel being her absolute favorite. Her dark, curly hair was always pulled out of her face, and her makeup was always light.

  “Ah, but I’m faster,” Hadley told her with a grin. “Now, what do you have for me?”

  “Patient,” Garcia answered, leaning next to Hadley so she could read the folder from over his shoulder. “A woman, mid-thirties, lawyer. She was in court, going over jury picks, when she couldn’t form sentences. It just came out in babble.”

  Hadley said nothing, his eyes scanning the forms thoroughly. It did sound rather… interesting. Even he couldn’t deny it. Maybe it would even help take his mind off other looming things.

  “Of course, if you would rather not waste your precious time, there’s a clinic that is in desperate need of doctors.” She tried to make her voice sound appealing, but she knew he wouldn’t give in; he never did.

  “My team should be here any minute,” Hadley stated. “You go sit around, trying not to go into labor, and I’ll cure the patient.”

  Again, Garcia rolled her eyes but had nothing but the highest confidence in him. She walked out with a disgruntled sigh; while Hadley was curing a patient, she still desperately needed a doctor to help the lone Dr. Summer in the clinic.

  Neil Hayes was the first to walk in. He was surprised to see his boss already there, writing a symptom on the whiteboard. Specializing in neurology, Hayes was the second person hired to Hadley’s team. Hayes definitely favored suits when dressing for work, much like Hadley. Unlike Hadley, however, he shaved every other day. Currently, he had on a blue suit with black slacks and the shiniest loafers Hadley had ever seen. Every hair on the man’s head was perfect, brushed back and held there with gel. His grey eyes looked slightly tired, and he perked when his eyes rested on the coffee machine. However, they seemed to sadden when he realized the coffee had already been made.

  Hadley watched the changing expression on Hayes’s face and walked over to his table, picking up his cup and taking a long sip. “Delicious,” he stated. “You should really try some.”

  Hayes gave Hadley a tired look before trudging over to the coffee machine with the hopes of creating nearly perfect coffee.

  The next to enter with Alex Roberts. Roberts was quite a favorite with the f
emale (and a surprising number of male) patients, who specialized in cardiology. He had a very soft, soothing voice tainted with a Southern accent. Staying true to where he was from, Roberts wore jeans, belts with abnormally large belt buckles, and plaid collared shirts. There were even occasions where he showed up in cowboy boots, but normally it was some kind of tennis shoes. He had shaggy blond hair and deep brown eyes, and when he smiled, a dimple popped up in his left cheek. He, too, was surprised to see his boss already present, but said nothing more, and took his normal seat next to Hayes.

  Hadley glanced at the clock. She wasn’t late or anything, but he kind of wished she would show up so they could get this whole thing over with. And almost as though the universe heard, and granted, his wish, there she was.

  Goodson’s red hair was swept up in a fashionable messy bun, with stray strands of long locks framing her heart-shaped face. She was smiling as she entered, and he couldn’t help but be somewhat surprised. It was as though Friday night hadn’t even happened, and he wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. Yet, there was something different about her. An obvious observation would be her clothes. Granted, she was not wearing anything too provocative; a white collared shirt with bell-shaped sleeves and dark blue jeans with matching suspenders attached and black ankle boots. The body he had seen, had felt, had kissed was revealed tastefully in her current outfit. But even more than that, she walked with an air of confidence surrounding her.

  She looked happy, genuinely happy.

  “Well, Goodson,” he said in his gruff voice, “don’t you look like you just got laid over the weekend.”

  “What makes you think it was just once?” she asked coyly, arching a brow.

  This seemed to startle him. He was normally so quick with the comebacks, and yet here he was, staring at, completely speechless. Her statement seemed to bother him for whatever reason. She was single; she could fuck whoever she wanted. Even his rational left him unsatisfied.