Eva was the kind of girl who set stuff on fire during an argument or stole her partner's pet and euthanized it for revenge over some small, maybe mythical slight.
I'd read my contract three times, and it stated clearly that inter-office romances were fire-able offences. I couldn't date my secretary or the lady that delivered the mail to my office. I couldn't date active patients, and if someone I was dating ended up being my patient, I had to refer her out to another pulmonologist.
None of this was out of the ordinary or unexpected, but Eva didn't work in my office. We shared a building, and for some reason that meant I was free game. She'd tried hard over the past seven weeks to make advances on me, finding absurd reasons to visit my office or call me to hers. I wasn't a pediatric doctor in any sense, so I always rerouted her calls to the hospital.
"I hope my mistake doesn't come back to bite me in the ass." Everything in my office was recorded, audio and video, and I made it a point to document my encounters with Eva. She was just the kind of person who made me feel unsafe as a man. If she accused me of sexual misconduct, no one would be inclined to think she was lying until long after I was destroyed.
My phone trilled shrilly, breaking my thoughts, and I frowned and shook my head viciously. Fishing my phone out of the cup holder, I inhaled sharply as I set down my taco to answer the call.
"Hey, Mom. What's up?" I relished this opportune distraction, and the line crackled lightly.
"Carl, I'm just calling to see how you're doing."
A small smile stretched my lips, and I relaxed into the seat to exhale slowly. Hanging my free arm out the window, I tapped the door of my car.
"Your sister says 'Hi'. Are you excited for dinner next week?"
"I am, yeah. Tell Laurie I said 'hey'. How's she doing in school?"
My sister was my mom's child from her second marriage, but semantics didn't matter to me. Laurie was my only sibling, and not sharing a father didn't make that less true. She was ten years younger than me, in her second year of college to become a lawyer.
If there was one thing little sisters were good at, it was arguing.
"She's great, yeah. I just got off the phone with her. She's got a test on Tuesday, but she's confident about it. I told her that if she were stressed, she didn't have to worry about driving all the way up to Rhode Island just for dinner, but she said that the test would already be over, so it was no problem." My mom just talked, and talked, and talked... but I liked listening. She didn't have anyone interested in her anymore, and it was kinda sad when she paused to stop herself. "So, Carl, how's your job been? I know we haven't talked much because you're still adjusting, but I wonder about it every day."
"It's been great— the hospital is very welcoming. I'm slowly but surely getting into the groove of being here. It's nice to be closer to home, too. After spending all that time in school in Connecticut, I'm glad to be in the same state as you again, Mom." I could practically feel my mom blushing as she exhaled a little 'oh', and my smile widened. "It's going to be nice to get together with you and Laurie."
"Oh... I've actually... I wanted to talk to you about that. I've... been seeing someone..."
My brows rose, a surprised bark of laughter bursting from my mouth before I clamped my hand over it. Flames ignited in my gut, and discomfort slithered between my shoulder blades as my mom's expectant silence rang in my ears.
"Mom... you're almost fifty-five and you have a boyfriend?" Those were two words I'd never thought to put together. My mom hadn't dated anyone since her second husband died. I'd always worried that she'd get taken advantage of because she was old, rich, and lonely, but nothing could prepare me for the shock that she was dating someone.
"Well... yes, I am. His name is Augustus, and he's a wonderful man." Oh, Jesus. Is she for real?
"... Augustus... like, he was named after the month on the calendar?" I couldn't help the words tumbling out of my mouth, and my chest tightened. "Mom, I thought it was just going to be Laurie, you and I. This is the first time we've gotten together for anything but Thanksgiving and Christmas and birthdays in almost three years..."
"I know, but I really want to at least introduce you to him, Carl. I haven't invited him yet. I wanted to ask you first. Your sister already said it was fine." A war rampaged through my chest, and I pursed my lips to hide my grinding molars. I wanted to be open to the idea of my mom being happy and having a relationship, but...
There's just something about the words 'my mom has a boyfriend' that makes me cringe.
"I mean... I guess I could meet him? At least— please tell me he's not my age or something?"
"He's fifty-six. Thank you, Carl."
I kept my damned mouth shut at my mom's happy, satisfied tone. Really, I shouldn't judge the guy when I hadn't met him. He wasn't automatically terrible because he was dating my mom.
"So, I'll let you go for now, okay? I'll see you on Tuesday."
"Yeah. I'll see you on Tuesday, Mom." Hanging up, I stared dazedly at my phone and covered my mouth with my free hand. Squeezing my jaw, my nose scrunched up in distaste. Briefly, I debated texting my sister, but she was probably cramming right now for her test.
What a Hell of a distraction.
Chapter 5
Melissa
"I don't know, Terry. That sounds like a disaster waiting to happen." Leaning on the balcony of my apartment, I crossed my arms as my neighbor shot me a wild look. "He's my doctor. It's against the rules."
"Doctor-smoctor. Just get a new pulmo-whatever, and then you won't be his patient anymore, Mel."
I could only frown blandly at that, and Terry puffed out his lips in a smoochy gesture.
"You don't even have to roleplay it. How much fun is that?"
"I did not just hear that." Shaking my head, I dropped into the comfortable, deep wicker chair to huff.
Terry laughed a happy sound, but I was anything but satisfied with the way this conversation was turning out. My Maine Coon, Kimi, immediately jumped on my lap, and I smoothed her fur down her back. Tearing my eyes off Terry, my brows drew tightly as memories played behind my eyes.
"I just thought he was cute. I mean, we flirted a little, yeah, but that was before I knew he was my doctor. And it doesn't matter anyway. The closest Pulmonologist that isn't an idiot is in Providence. I don't want to make that kind of trip for every test and stuff."
"Well, once you get your machine thing to help you sleep, why don't you just drop him as your doctor?"
That's a good question. Leaning back, I stroked my cat as she started purring noticeably, and my mind whirred. I needed a CPAP machine; the nebulizer just didn't work, and I was out of options. If the CPAP machine failed me, too, I'd have to move somewhere with no pollen— like the moon.
"Because my asthma is getting out of control, and I really would rather not die of suffocation. He's cute, and kind, and seems like a stable guy, but he's also my only option right now." I understood Terry's point well; he'd acted on his spark with his partner, and here they were six years later, deliriously happy. His husband was so sweet, and they'd overcome obstacles similar to mine. Terry was a student in college, and his husband was a TA— it wasn't the same, of course, but there was a lot of stigma they had to overcome.
But Carl was my doctor, and his life could be ruined if he dated a patient. Even if I dropped him as my specialist, wasn't there a certain amount of time we had to wait? Wouldn't his reputation go down the gutter? All for what— a fun time that may last a little longer than either of us expected?
The risks just grossly outweighed the satisfaction far too much.
"Yeah... I guess I can't argue with that. Maybe, you'll get lucky and the hospital will find him a partner? Either way, it's shitty circumstances, Melissa."
I hummed softly in acknowledgment, and I glanced over as Terry leaned on the short rail dividing our balconies. "I'm not sure what I would do in your situation. At least, with Mark, all I had to do was switch to taking the class online..."
"Isn't the obviously best option to not do anything at all?"
He didn't have an answer for me, and I didn't have one for myself. Honestly, I wasn't even sure how this conversation came to the point of validity. Dating Carl wasn't going to happen— nope, no way. I wasn't going down that rabbit hole even though Carl was cute... and nice... and just as tall as I liked...
Shaking my head viciously, I reached by my chair to grab my glass off the floor and take a large gulp of lemon water. My thoughts didn't stop racing, but changed trajectory slightly, and an ache formed behind my eyeballs.
Here I was, talking about Carl— a man I had almost no experience with— when my own dad was refusing to talk to me because it'd mean he'd need to apologize. Not only for my asthma attack a few days ago, but also because he didn't even stick around to see if I was okay.
"Do you think I should seriously consider cutting my dad out of my life?" The question sent a pang through my chest as it rolled off my tongue. I loved my dad, but he had so many faults, and they were having a negative impact on me. "He literally disregarded my health concerns. My asthma attack could've been a lot more serious than it was, and it was really bad. All because he 'had something special to say'... which we never got around to, by the way."
"I think you should seriously consider expressing your feelings instead of hoping things get better next time. We've been neighbors for years, Mel, and you've never had an encounter with your dad that you didn't bitch about afterwards for some reason. I have a feeling that if you told your dad exactly how you felt, you wouldn't need to cut him out— he'd do it by himself rather than try to change."
My cheek twitched in a small frown. Terry was able to perfectly put my anxiety into words, and I instantly slumped in misery. Scratching Kimi's head absently, I frowned as I wiggled my bare toes on the ottoman.
"You're an adult, but you're still his kid, Mel. It's not and shouldn't be your obligation to deal with him just because he's your dad. Considering all the grief he's put you through, I'm honestly surprised you still put up with him."
"I don't know. I guess... I just... Mom's gone, you know, so I guess I don't want..." Trailing off uncertainly, I pursed my lips thinly while Terry nodded out of the corner of my vision. "I don't want my cat to be the only thing in the world that loves me, even if it's a fantasy. Until I have no reason to believe it, I'll keep on."
"You literally just said your dad didn't care if you died, as long as he felt good about himself by taking you somewhere nice." Terry hung his upper body over the short, 4-foot divider to snap at me— not rudely, but like he was trying to wake me up. His wide, brown eyes grew wider when his brows disappeared above his hairline. "Hello! Melissa, are you seriously going to say that shit and then ignore it? Just because your asthma attack could've been 'more serious' doesn't negate the fact that he knowingly brought you somewhere that triggered it, even after you pointed it out and suggested alternatives. Okay— your dad knowingly put you in harm's way. It doesn't matter that you're okay now— you could've had to be hospitalized or worse— you could've suffocated right at that table and died. If your dad purposely ran you over with his car, but you didn't die, would you forgive him? This is exactly the same."
Scrunching up my nose at that, I sank deeper into my wicker chair. My butt hung off the edge, and I glared at my feet as I flexed them. Once again, I was sucked into my own thoughts, trying desperately to refute the points Terry had made. My dad was my dad, so he had to care about me... right?
I was obligated to endure because he was my only parent left, and I didn't want no one to be able to fall back on.
But the last time I asked my dad for help with something, he blew me off. I was moving into this apartment, and he'd promised— sworn up and down that he'd come help me move my stuff. In the end, though, I had to get the movers to help me with a very green incentive.
If my dad purposefully ran me over with a car, would I act the same way? That was basically what had happened. My dad forced me to go to that restaurant, wanted the best seat in the house— which ironically wasn't even inside the building— and ignored me. Even during my asthma attack, he just sat there expecting my inhaler to be a miracle cure.
"I know it's the same." My tiny voice squeezed out from behind the dense lump in my throat, and I inhaled a shallow, ragged breath. "I know."
Out of the corner of my vision, Terry climbed over the divider, and I blinked back the sting in my eyes. A horrible feeling clawed up from my gut, riding waves of bile that I forcibly swallowed down. Tightening my grip on my cat while Terry sat gingerly on the chair's arm, I closed my eyes and savored the feeling of his hand stroking my hair.
"You're a great person, Mel. I'm not gonna stop being your friend." The rough material of his work jeans rubbed my face when I rested my cheek on his thigh. "You'll be okay, even if it hurts for a while."
Chapter 6
Carl
Nervousness tingled my palms as I twirled my keys, staring up at the super nice, ritzy restaurant my mom had directed me to. I reached to swipe down my mouth, hoping to wipe away the nasty taste on my lips. Inhaling a deep, sharp breath, my heart rampaged against my ribs.
As the days dwindled to this night, my mom had talked more and more about Augustus, and I really didn't like what I was hearing. They went here, and they did this, and they talked about going to that European country...
There was far too much money being thrown around, and I had this gnawing, sickening feeling that it wasn't this guy spending much of the stuff. My mom was loaded after the death of her second husband, but this kind of spending wasn't how she operated. Sure, she liked nice stuff, but lately, all she seemed to do was spend on doing things with this guy.
"You look like you're gonna throw up, Carl."
I couldn't hide my frown anymore, and I sighed heavily as I hooked my arm around my sister. Not looking away from the glowing sign hanging above the front door of the restaurant, I grumbled. Laurie hugged me briefly, her own sigh tinged with foreboding.
"I take it you're hearing the same things I am?"
"This is gonna be torture." For a second or two, I mumbled unhappily like a teenager forced to eat a piece of broccoli, and Laurie huffed softly in agreement.
"All I hear about this dude is that he likes spending Mom's money. They went to a casino— a casino. Just decided one morning to get a private jet to Connecticut and bam."
"Yeah. I heard. Mom had a blast." Snorting roughly at that, I tensed.
Laurie sucked her teeth indignantly. "Let's just get this over with."
When I glanced over, surprise raised my brows. "You dyed your hair."
Laurie flashed me a dimpled smile. She flipped her professionally done, ocean blue-green hair, flashing silvery when it caught the flood lamps illuminating the parking lot.
"It's beautiful, Laurie. Really."
"Thank you. I passed my test. It's not the Bar or anything, but it was important, so I thought that I'd treat myself and do something crazy that didn't involve getting blackout drunk."
Taking a lock between my fingers, I tugged gently, grinning at her. "I like it."
Laurie blushed as she licked her lips heavily. "I thought... you know... I never do anything wild, so I deserve this. I haven't told Mom."
"You look amazing with blue hair. It's so out there, but it's still respectable."
Her face turned bright red at the blatant admiration in my tone, and she elbowed me swiftly before sauntering toward the entrance. This was the kind of place where all the waitresses wore three-piece, feminine suits as uniforms, and the valet would be sued into the ground if he so much as breathed in one of the cars.
What's worse— it was an Italian place. Of all the wonderful seafood restaurants we could be eating at, my mom decided to bring us to the most expensive place that didn't utilize the region. I'd been here once before, during my celebration-slash-entry-interview with the hospital, and there was zero seafood on the menu.
There wasn't even shrimp alfredo. Appare
ntly, this Italian place didn't want anything to do with seafood because it meant competing with 'specialized' places. Jesus.
"Let me." Opening the door for Laurie, I couldn't help but smirk a little when she flounced past me. The smell of Italian food hit me like a brick wall, so thick and heavy compared to the lightness of living by the ocean. Gingerly taking Laurie's coat off her shoulders, I couldn't resist running my fingers through her long, wavy hair. "Whoever styled this did a really good job. How much was it for your whole head?"
"Almost four hundred dollars, but I never spend money like that, so I was willing to splurge. The last time I did anything more than a trim must've been... God, I don't even know. When I was eleven, maybe, and decided it'd be cool to have bangs." She shivered in disgust at the memory.
I smiled even as my gaze narrowed to scan the floor. I spotted my mom almost instantly, and my smile dropped when I saw who she was sitting with. So, that's the guy.
Augustus looked slimy, like a stereotypical caricature of a used car salesman. He was balding quite noticeably, was pretty overweight, and instantly struck me as the guy who tried to talk over people. I knew I shouldn't judge him based on his looks, but of everything I had heard of him thus far, his looks had only intensified my dislike for him. Truthfully, I wasn't at all surprised by his appearance, even though I was disgusted.
Of course, I wasn't a gym rat, but I did work out three times a week and ate well. Holding my arm out for my sister, I inhaled a bracing breath as we shared a look of dread. Walking across the floor toward my mom, my heart rate jacked up, and my knees struggled to bend with each step. My collar tightened around my throat, and I clenched and released my jaw hard.
"Mom—"
My mom's bright, brown eyes flew to mine at my call, and I forced a smile. She looked happy as she popped up, her wrinkled face glowing as she rounded the table.
My Forbidden Doctor: A Secret Baby Medical Romance Page 3
