I sighed as I rubbed my temple.
My ringtone rang out into my silent office while I tried to think of ways I could escape going to the dreaded dinner.
I smiled as I looked at the screen and saw it was my mom.
"Hello, mom," I said as I picked up the call.
"Hello darling, how are you?" she said.
"I'm a fine mom, and you?" I asked and relaxed more into my chair.
"I'm good," she said.
"Is everything okay?" I asked with a frown; it was unusual for my mom to call during work hours.
"Yes, everything is absolutely fine, dear. I was just wondering if you could make it to dinner tonight. I have something important to discuss with you," My mom said and I became even more curious at these words.
"Something important, you say?" I asked to be sure I had heard correctly.
"Exactly, I'll be expecting you by 7 pm."
"Are you sure everything is OK, Mom? What about Dad?" I asked.
"Everything is fine; I just want to discuss something I think is long overdue, " She said.
"Okay, mom, I'll be there. Anything else?"
"No, that's all, dear. We will see you at 7."
"Okay, mom,"
"Goodbye, dear," My mom said happily.
"Bye, mom," I said as I dropped the call. What could be this be about? I guess I'll find out when I get to their place this evening, I thought with a frown.
"Woah, how time flies," I muttered as I checked the time and realize I was supposed to be with Mr. Tyrell, one of my patients, in the next five minutes. I stood up and grabbed my stethoscope before leaving my office to meet him.
Dr Rock: Chapter 2
Dr. Elsa
"Elsa," I heard Dr. Mabel call out from behind me. I had just finished my rounds and was on my way back to my office.
"Mabel," I said with a smile as I turned to face her. "Good morning."
"Good morning," she replied.
"Last night was amazing," I said as I recollected the previous night, which we had spent at Chanelle's place. It was one of our usual night outs we enjoyed with Dr. Chanelle and her husband, as well as Dr. Mia, who was now working in the neighboring town. I missed those times when she was still with us, I thought to myself. We all took turns organizing hangouts amongst ourselves to relieve the tension we encountered at work.
"I'm glad you had fun," Dr. Mabel said.
"Trust me, I did, especially the karaoke," I said as I chuckled at the memory of us attempting to carry a tune and failing spectacularly.
"That part was hilarious," Mabel laughed.
"Yes, it was," I said.
"I better be on my way now. I haven't done my rounds yet,"
"Okay, you should hurry up then. I finished mine not long ago," I said.
"Dr. Edward sent for me; that's why I haven't done mine yet,"
"Dr. Edward sent for you?" I asked with a frown.
"Yes, he had questions about one of my patients. Anyways, he said something about a dinner party," Mabel said as we walked along the corridor.
"The annual dinner?" I asked to be sure. I was well aware of the annual dinner organized by the hospital.
"Yes," Dr. Mabel said. "You've been to at least one of them, what's it about?" Dr. Mabel asked with a frown.
"The usual stuff, trying to bring us all together. You know, let us have a little break from work, but we are within reach at the nearest hotel in case of an emergency," I said.
"F&W Hotel?" Dr. Mabel asked.
"Yes," I said.
"Besides letting us unwind, what most people don't know is that the party is also to ask us to donate to help some of our patients who need help," I said with a shrug as we reached my office.
"Well, that's a good thing.".
"Yes, it's our little way of giving back to the patients who need more financial help.”
"I look forward to the dinner then.”
"You should," I said with a smile.
"I’d better be on my way now, see you later." Mabel walked away with a wave.
"Okay, see you around," I said before entering my office. I had barely taken my seat when the door to my office opened once more, and Dr. Walter strolled in. I cringed internally because I knew the reason for his visit. He had been trying to get my attention for months now, and despite my subtle signals about my lack of interest in what he was proposing, he was still adamant about his quest.
"Good morning, Elsa," He said with a coy smile.
"Good morning Walter," I said as I gave him a fake smile.
"I came by earlier but you weren’t in," He said.
"Yes, I was doing my rounds. Is there any problem?" I asked with a frown.
"No, there isn't. You look good today, doctor − as always, of course," He walked towards one of the visitor's seats on the other side of my desk and sat down.
"Thank you. Is there a reason you wanted to see me?" I asked, tired of his games.
"Can I ask you something?" He asked with a frown.
"Of course, go on," I said.
"Why do you act differently towards me?"
"I beg your pardon?" I asked with a puzzled expression.
"Well, I've seen you socializing with other staff members, and you are more laid back with them. With me, it's the complete opposite; it's like you can't wait to be rid of me," He said. Ah, now I understand what he’s saying. I had made an effort not to lead him on or let him think I was interested in him the same way he was interested in me. So, I had ensured I kept things strictly formal between us.
"I'm sorry if that's how I made you feel," I said, not wanting to tell him directly the reasons for how I had been acting.
"Listen, I have to be direct at this point. I like you a lot, and I'm sure you've noticed the subtle signals I've thrown your way, so I need you to tell me if you are at all interested in me," he said.
"No, I’m sorry but I’m not," I said with a shrug.
"But why?" He asked, a hurt expression on his face.
"You are a handsome man Walter, but there can't be anything more between us than being colleagues," I said as calmly as possible. This wasn’t the first time I had had to turn down a man I worked with; this type of conversation happened quite often.
"I see, you are just going to turn me down without giving me another thought," he said with a wounded look.
"There is nothing to think about, Walter, and I'm sure you will find someone else. We can still be cordial to each other, though," I said with a little smile.
"Okay, doctor. I'll be on my way now," He said and stood up.
"This isn't a problem between us, right?" I asked carefully.
"No, there isn't," He said shortly, shaking his head slightly.
"Good, I'll see you around then," I said.
"Okay," Walter said and left.
"That went well," I muttered as I let out the breath I had been holding. I had just started going through the medical reports of some of my patients when I was informed of an emergency.
"What's the situation?" I asked as I got to the theatre a few minutes later and started prepping myself for the surgery.
"Car accident, three of them: a man, a woman, and a little boy." A nurse replied as I sterilized myself.
They must be a family, I thought as the unwanted thoughts flooded into my head. When I was younger, I had been involved in an accident with my parents as well. Thank goodness Dylan hadn’t been with us that fateful day. Maybe, I would have lost him alongside my parents. I got into the theatre and cringed at the sorry state of a little boy on the bed. His parents must be in the other theatres, I thought as I moved closer to the bed. Some of my colleagues were already trying their best to save the little boy. The operation started in earnest and while I worked, I silently prayed that the boy survived. I realized later how bad the boy’s situation was, but we all did our best to save him.
No, no! I thought as his heart stopped beating mid-operation. We all swung into action and tried to resuscitate him. I barely noticed e
veryone else as I focused on bringing him back to us. I cringed at the thought of the possible condition of his parents at the moment.
"Thank goodness," I muttered while I let out a sigh of relief as his heart started beating once more.
I raised my head for a fraction to see Dr. Rock also heaving a sigh of relief. I had barely noticed that he was in the surgery until that moment.
We continued the operation, and after a couple of hours, we were finally done.
I was cleaning myself up after the boy had been transferred to a room in the ICU when Dr. Rock joined me at the large zinc sink.
"Hi, that was a good one in there,” I said with a smile.
“Yes, it was,” He said shortly before returning his attention to cleaning himself up. What’s up with him? We could at least congratulate each other on a job well done, but what did I expect? That Dr. Rock would change overnight? Everyone in the hospital knew about his strict nature and that he had no friends at the hospital. I had heard some people refer to him on several occasions as being cold. However, I didn’t see him as cold. The only thing I saw was a handsome young man. I had tried starting a conversation with him on several occasions, and each time he ended the conversation even before it really started. I was becoming more intrigued by him with each passing day.
“The boy gave us a scare in there,” I said, trying to make conversation again in the hopes that he would say something more than his usual short responses.
"Yes, he did," He said and left. I smiled as I stared at his retreating figure. I wanted nothing more than to follow him. However, I knew better than to do that. The effect he had on me had started the day we met and never ceased. Although I know it was only a mere reaction, what else could it be? Love? That emotion was definitely not for me anymore, especially after Raphael. I have had my share of heartbreaks, but Raphael had been the one that hurt the most. Martin had been the first to show me what heartbreak was when I discovered him in bed with another man. Dave had broken up with me for a model, and as if I hadn’t been through enough, I had still decided to try to find love again. My thoughts went back to Raphael, the last boyfriend I had. I had met him at a friend's party, and we had hit it up almost instantly. I had found myself crazily in love with him barely months after we started dating until everything had fallen to pieces. I had gone to see my brother but had returned early as a surprise, planning to take our relationship to the next level.
"Raphael," I had called out as I lightly knocked on his door. I had frowned when I had tried the handle and the door had swung open. I knew he never left his door open, so it had come as a surprise that it was unlocked. My first thought had been to call 911, as I had thought he was in danger. Thank goodness I hadn't done that or I would have made a fool of myself.
"Raphael," I had called out again as I moved further into his living room. That was when I heard his voice filtering into the living room from his bedroom. All thoughts of him in danger had instantly vanished as I frowned and moved towards his bedroom. That was when I had heard something that made my steps falter.
"Yes, I have her wrapped around my fingers," He had said with a chuckle. I wondered who he was referring to, I realized that whoever he had been speaking with wasn't in the room but on the phone with him as I heard no response from anyone else.
"Trust me, I know she is going to ask us to take this relationship to the next level soon," He had said. I had moved closer to the entrance of his bedroom so I could hear every detail clearly.
"Yes, she doesn't know about the money yet, and by the time she does, we will have made her sign it off unknowingly," I had heard him say. I had no idea what he was talking about.
"I'm going to do that as soon as she returns from her brother's place. I never liked that idiot Dylan; he has ruined every plan we've made in the past. If we could just get him out of the way," I had listened carefully as my eyes widened in shock. It was true Dylan had never liked Raphael; all he had said was that he thought Raphael was sneaky. I should have listened to my brother's intuition. I had realized two things at this point; the first was that Raphael had never loved me, and the second was that I had been just a pawn in his game. I later found out that my parents had left a huge amount of money to me and Dylan. Raphael had been working with my parent's lawyer to get the money away from Dylan and over to me so he could steal it, and what better way to do that than for Raphael to gain my trust.
Thank goodness I decided to make my visit a surprise. I might not have discovered his plan until it was too late, I thought to myself as I walked back towards my office. I had learned my lesson; love might be for everyone else but definitely not for me. I frowned as I heard a notification on my phone when I entered my office.
Hey big sis, guess who is here? I smiled as I read the message from my brother. I saw that he had called several times while I was in theatre. I decided to give him a call.
"Thank goodness," he said as soon as he answered the call.
"Dylan," I said as I chuckled.
"I was beginning to think that I would have to come over to the hospital to get you," he said while I chuckled.
"Well, I was in surgery," I said as I went around my desk and took my seat.
"How was it?" He asked.
"It was successful," I said.
"That's good," he said.
"Wait a minute; you said you are back in town?" I asked as the content of the text dawned on me fully.
"Yes," He said excitedly.
"Wow, from the sound of your voice, I can tell that the competition in Paris went really well," I said. Dylan had gone to France to take part in a baking competition a few weeks back, and I had tried my best to keep up with his progress from Claywell. However, I hadn’t had a chance to call him for the past few days because of one reason or the other, mostly because of the different time zones.
"Yes, it did. I came second," He said, and I felt my face light up with a smile. Dylan had always loved anything that had to do with cooking, especially baking, ever since he was little. I had tried to convince him to open his own bakery, but he would always say it wasn't the time for it yet. I didn’t understand why he didn’t want to, given how amazing he was at baking, and money wasn't an issue. The money our parents had left for us was more than enough to make his dream a reality.
"Wow, congratulations. I knew you could do it."
"When will you be able to go home so we can celebrate this properly?" He asked, and I checked the wall clock in my office.
"My shift ends in two hours," I said.
"Good, I'll be waiting for you. I have some new recipes I learned during my stay in Paris. I can't wait to try everything out," he said.
"Sounds interesting, I look forward to it," I said with a smile.
"Good, I'll be expecting you," He said.
"Okay," I said as I ended the call.
I opened the door to my apartment hours later, quite a bit later than the time I had given Dylan. Another emergency had come up at the hospital thirty minutes before my shift was supposed to end, and I had had to join some other doctors to attend to it.
"I should have known you wouldn't be home in two hours like you said," Dylan said as he stepped out of the kitchen. He gave me a broad grin before he crossed over to give me a tight hug, which I returned.
"Hello big sister, it's good to see you again," Dylan said as he held me at arm's length, still grinning. “I’ve missed you.”
"I've missed you, too," I said as I looked at him. "Something smells good," I added as I sniffed the air.
"Yes, I made something I'm sure you would like," He said excitedly.
"I like the sound of that. I'm sorry I’m late, there was an emergency, and you know how these things are," I said apologetically.
"It's fine. You just go upstairs and freshen up, then we’ll have dinner. How about that?" Dylan said.
"I'm in," I said with my hands raised.
"Good, I'll see you in how many minutes?" He asked.
"In fifteen," I said befor
e I went upstairs to freshen up.
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About Vanessa James
Vanessa James is from a small Midwest Western town but now live s in sunny California with her husband Mike, 3 kids and Benji the dog.
She’s always had a passion for writing, especially romance novels and simply love the fact that she gets to do this full-time now.
Her guilty pleasure apart from all things romance is rugby, yes that’s right rugby. Maybe it’s because she’s married to an Englishman and lived in the UK for many years.
Or is it because she can spend 80 minutes watching 30 hunks running around tackling each other?
Shhhh, don’t tell Mike. LOL!!!
When she’s not watching rugby, writing or reading, she loves nothing more than to be outside with her family and Benji creating wonderful lasting memories together.
Oh and there’s also a passion for homemade cookies, who hasn’t right!
Dr. Finch (Healing Hands Book 4): A Steamy Workplace Romance Page 10
