Derek turned back to Emerson then picked up her phone. He flipped the button on the side from vibrate to sound before he set it down again. Then he leaned in and kissed her, squeezing the side of her lower back, pulling her to him with a possessive grab. “Love you.”
“Love you too.” When he pulled away, her eyes were like molten sapphires. Her hand slid from his grasp, and she watched him walk away and leave her office.
Derek gave me a nod before he left.
Emerson smoothed out the front of her dress and gently cleared her throat before she sat down again.
I grinned. “You guys are so cute.”
She flicked her eyes up to me, her cheeks filling with a bit of color. “Yeah, he’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
“You’re so lucky, girl. Most of the guys out there are cheaters and liars, and the really good ones are either taken or refuse to commit. So, you’ve won the lottery, if you ask me.” Not only was Derek super hot and rich, but he was so hard up for his wife that it was like reading a romance novel. “I wouldn’t believe something like that could even exist unless I met the two of you.”
Her eyes softened. “Thank you. Trust me, I know how lucky I am, and I know it every single day. He’s become a father to Lizzie when she’s not even his and has given me two beautiful sons and this amazing life together. His family is…wonderful.”
“I think it’s just a Hamilton thing because every other guy out there sucks. They just suck.”
She laughed. “I know.” She looked down at her paper again and finished her notes before she handed it to me. “I imagine it must be hard to work for Dex sometimes. Been there…”
I released the air from my lungs, feeling the weight on my shoulders, the stress I didn’t even realize I carried. Dex didn’t want me, and even if he did, it would never be in the way I wanted him. So, I didn’t even bother to hide it since everyone seemed to know how I felt. “Yeah, it can be.”
Her eyes were full of sympathy.
“I haven’t even really tried to date because I know I’m going to be disappointed. Dex makes every guy I’ve ever been with a goddamn joke. Even before I knew he was a doctor and he was just working with us at the Trinity Building, I knew he wasn’t like the other guys. It makes me so angry that he was married to a woman who just threw him away. What the hell is wrong with her?”
She released a sarcastic chuckle. “Stupid cunt.”
I grinned at her candor. “Yeah, I think so too. He told me what happened. I fucking hate her. I hate her for the way she screwed him up so bad. I don’t understand what he saw in her in the first place…if that’s how it ended.” Yes, she was gorgeous, I figured out that much, but I thought Dex would need more than a pretty face and nice tits to be happy.
Emerson gave a slight shrug. “They met at Johns Hopkins. She was finishing her law degree when he was in residency. She comes from a nice family, was Miss Whatever, beautiful, blah, blah. Of course, the family liked her because they’re pretty accepting to most people, but I never really liked her that much.”
“Really?” My eyebrows furrowed. “You seem like someone who will like anyone, too.”
“Which is true,” she said. “But once I was a part of this family, I started seeing Dex like my own younger brother, so I became protective. I felt like he fell under her spell and cared more about the pretty package she came in than what was truly underneath. Yes, she does philanthropic work through her practice and she smiles brighter than the sun, but I always felt like she wanted Dex because of his success and his looks, not really who he was inside. You know what I mean?”
I nodded. “Yeah, that makes sense.”
“And Dex just didn’t see it. I don’t blame him. It happens. But I never felt like she valued how selfless and dedicated he is to taking care of people, which is a really strong value in this family. When she bragged about him, it was always about his education, their penthouse, his practice, but not once would she tell people that Dex started his charity organization to help people, that he basically works for free for Doctors Without Borders to provide health care to patients who have no access to it. If anything, she was always annoyed when he was gone for a couple weeks.”
All I could do was stare because I was so shocked by the admission. It was those qualities that made me kiss the ground he walked on, that made me so excited to come to work every day, to work ridiculously long hours and help him as much as possible. It wasn’t his wallet, his success, or his looks that made me feel so strongly toward him. It was his heart. “He deserves better, so much better.”
I sat with Cleo at her desk at the Trinity Building, stopping by to give her an update about everything. “I didn’t realize funds were so low until Dex told me a couple days ago. He’s seeing a lot of patients, and since he tells me to accept all patients, regardless of insurance, we’ve kind of turned into a Medicare office.”
“And he’s seeing a lot more people than he used to—because of you.” Cleo had that motherly look in her eyes, drenched in pride, speaking so highly of her son like she worshiped him the way I did.
“I’ve done everything I can to help him, but I really can’t take much credit.”
“Yes, you can,” she said. “When I started helping my husband, every aspect of his life was taken care of so he could do the one thing no one else could—heal people. And he could dedicate all his time to it and do even better than before. It makes all the difference in the world, Sicily. They say behind every successful man is a woman. Well, I think the women standing behind my husband, Derek, and Dex are badass bitches.”
I chuckled loudly, loving the way she spoke her mind sometimes. She was professional all the time, but sometimes she let out a bit of flair and attitude, and I adored it. I knew where Dex got his sense of humor from. It definitely wasn’t his father. “Anyway, I think I need to schedule a gala event to get those donors quickly. I was thinking the Four Seasons? Your brother-in-law works there, right? Maybe he can get us a discount? I’m not trying to be stingy, but we really don’t have a lot of extra cash right now.”
“Oh, he’ll definitely hook you up.” She grabbed a card and wrote down his number. “Give him a call. He’s the general manager there.”
“Perfect.” I slipped it into my wallet. “Oh, and thank you for having my family over for Christmas Eve last week. They had a great time, and watching Daisy sing…was really special.”
She placed her hand on my back and gave me a gentle rub. “You’re welcome, honey. We loved having you. My husband loved the pie, which is saying something because he doesn’t really eat sweets.”
No surprise there…because the guy was ripped.
“And you know Dex wouldn’t shut up about it,” she said with a chuckle.
“Yes, I hear about it every day. I would have my mom make him more, but I don’t want him to need heart surgery himself.”
She chuckled. “Smart move.”
I rose from the chair. “I guess I’ll talk to you later.”
“Thanks for keeping me updated. You’re doing a great job.”
“Thanks. I don’t really feel like I’m doing a job, though…more of a passion.” I shouldered my bag, gave her a wave, and headed toward the front of the lobby where the double doors were located.
“Whoa, where you going so fast?”
I turned to look at Zach, recognizing his masculine voice immediately even though we hadn’t talked in months. “Work never sleeps.”
He was in a tailored black suit with a gray tie, his hard body filling out the material well, looking like a model about to head out for a photo shoot. And he had that playful, arrogant grin on his face. “Sweetheart, you really know how to work those heels.”
“Yes, I’m a professional. How are you?”
“No complaints. Like you said, work never sleeps.” He pulled out his phone from the inside of his jacket pocket, checked something, and then slipped it back as we walked outside into the January winter. “So, I hear through the grap
evine you no longer work here.”
“Yes, I’m an executive assistant for a cardiac surgeon now.”
“What a lucky man or woman.” He slid his hands into his pockets as we stood outside, and his blacked-out car pulled over to pick him up. His driver opened the back door for him to get inside.
I liked that he didn’t assume it was a man, like most people would. Kinda hot. “You’ll still see me around sometimes. I come by to talk to Cleo.”
“I have a better idea.” With his smile still on his face and a twinkle in his eyes, he turned on the charm. “I can see you tonight over dinner.”
He was a rich playboy, so maybe he just lived for the chase. Very few women probably ever said no to this guy. “You know—”
“I know that you don’t work here anymore, so I don’t see the harm. Not breaking any rules. So how about it?”
I didn’t even realize that. I didn’t work at the Trinity Building anymore. I could date any of the eligible bachelors who lived there. But Zach was definitely the hottest, and his confidence was magnetic. As tempting as the offer was, all I could think about was Dex, the person I was most excited to see now that I was finished with Cleo. Every time I saw him, my heart raced a little harder, and seeing the Christmas lights reflect in his eyes was a memory I would never forget. I needed to move on, see somebody else, forget about the guy I could never have…but I couldn’t. “I’m seeing someone, Zach. But I’m very flattered.”
Disappointment filled his eyes as he reached for his wallet and pulled out his business card. “I’ve never had to ask out a woman more than once, and here I am, asking you out at twice. But maybe the third time will be the charm.” He handed me his business card before he turned to his car. “Give me a call when you’re ready for an upgrade.”
10
Dex
Natalia turned onto her side, naked on top of the sheets, tight and chiseled like a woman in her twenties or thirties. She eyed me as I got dressed, her blond hair messy and all over the place. “You’re an even better lover than a surgeon, if you ask me.”
I pulled my shirt over my head then my sweater, sexually satisfied, but I also felt distinctly dirty. It wasn’t her age that bothered me, but the fact that this professional relationship had turned into a cheap hookup. It was wrong.
But I couldn’t say no.
“Moving to the city is the best decision I ever made.” She got out of bed and pulled on her silk robe, covering herself by cinching the belt at her stomach. She stepped into the bathroom, probably to fix her hair and makeup.
Full of self-loathing, I checked my phone and saw the text messages and emails.
A few were from Sicily.
I was immediately hit with a pain in my chest, like I was doing something wrong, betraying her in some way.
I quickly shoved the phone into my pocket and pretended I didn’t see her messages in the first place.
Natalia came back and walked me to the door. “You’re awfully quiet.”
I turned to her to say goodbye. “Natalia, it’s probably too late for this, but I’d like it if we could just be colleagues again…and forget this happened.”
Her arms crossed over her chest, and her eyes narrowed. “I’m not the kind to kiss and tell, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“No. It just feels wrong, inappropriate.”
“You’re overthinking it, Dex. We’re both adults. We don’t work together. We would probably never talk if it weren’t for us hooking up.” She gave a gentle pat to my cheek before she turned away. “I’ll call you.”
I got to the practice early that morning, needing to catch up on paperwork. I’d prefer to sleep a little longer, but I needed to document everything from my surgeries and complete my notes for the patients I’d already seen. I already had Sicily fill in a lot of information from her notes, but I still had to review everything before I signed off on it.
No matter how early I got in, Sicily was always there first.
Today, she was in skinny black jeans, boots, and a blue sweater that fit snugly against the small of her back, highlighting the curves she had at every angle. Her hair was in loose, bouncy curls, and she always looked like a bombshell, ready for more than just the office, maybe even the runway.
Jesus fucking Christ, it was distracting.
Maybe I needed to make a dress code for the office—burlap sacks.
But knowing her, she’d still rock it.
I walked past her desk. “Morning.”
She beamed when she looked at me, always so happy to see me every single day. “Morning. Coffee and breakfast are on your desk.”
“Thanks.” I gave her a smile before I headed into my office. It was clean and organized, even though I left my papers everywhere at the end of the day. She came in after I left and filed everything, scanned it into the computer, and tidied up. My flowers were always fresh, and it always smelled good, not like the leftover food I threw in the garbage can near my desk.
I left my bag on the surface of the desk, took a look at the city, which was covered in January fog, and then sat in the leather armchair. My fingers absentmindedly wiped the sleep from my eyes, and I took a drink of my Americano before I grabbed the breakfast sandwich she left for me.
Then I got to work.
My phone was linked to the sound system she installed for me, so I listened to rock music as I reviewed paperwork and hustled to get everything filed before the first patient walked in.
A knock sounded on my closed door before Sicily poked her head inside.
I glanced at the clock, wondering if it was already time for the first patient.
I still had twenty minutes.
Sicily approached my desk. “You got a minute?”
“No. But I’ll make a minute for you.” I hit pause on my phone, so the music stopped.
Affection was in her gaze before she looked at her notebook. “I’m organizing the charity gala. Two weeks from Saturday. Is that okay?”
“Sure.”
“You’ll need to make some kind of speech. Is that alright?”
I nodded.
“I know this is kind of weird, but how do you feel about a documentary team following you for a TV series?”
My eyebrows rose. “Seriously?”
She shrugged. “I mean, a lot of people will see it, could get a lot of donations that way.”
I didn’t want a camera crew following me all the time, but I couldn’t deny it was good publicity, and it would allow me to help more people. “I’m open to it.”
“Great. I’ve already got a TED Talk scheduled for next week. I’m guessing that’s okay?”
“Yeah, that’s fine.” Derek still got anxiety when he did appearances, but that stuff never bothered me.
“Great. And also—”
“I hate to cut you off, but I really have to get through this, Sic. Can we talk later?”
“Actually, it’s about your first patient of the day. Ginny Tompkins.” She set down her things and moved around my desk to pull up all the scans. “Her mother just called from the car, wanted to inform me that her daughter has really bad anxiety about this and we need to be careful what we say to her. She’s terrified of surgery. She’s under the impression she’s coming in for a dentist appointment.”
I took over the mouse and scrolled through the images. “How old is she?”
“Five.”
I stilled then shifted my gaze back to her. “She’s had a hole in her heart for five years? Why? This should have been taken care of when she was born.” This little girl was struggling every single day when there was a simple surgery that could have repaired that. On top of that, she would have healed much, much quicker if she were younger. When kids turned five, it was a lot more difficult and traumatic.
“I guess they couldn’t afford it.”
I immediately bit the inside of my cheek, pissed off that this little girl was living like this because of money.
“They came from California. I guess th
ey heard about you from someone, so they flew out here in the hope your charity could comp the procedure.”
I leaned back in the chair and pinched the bridge of my nose, feeling so much anger inside my chest, and I had nowhere else to put it.
Sicily turned quiet.
“Fuuuuuck.” I dropped my hand from my nose and looked at the computer again. “We’re an advanced country, but sometimes I feel like I’m in fucking Uganda.” I propped my cheek against my closed knuckles, staring at the sizable tear in her heart, which would be difficult to close because it was large compared to the small size of her heart. “I’m one guy.” I dropped my hand and turned to her. “I’m one fucking guy. I can’t save the goddamn world. Why is it this way? It’s fucking bullshit. No one should be denied life-saving surgery because they can’t fucking afford it—”
“Dex, calm down.” She placed her hand on my forearm and leaned against the corner of my desk. “I know…I know.” Her smooth fingertips moved up and down my arm, following the cords underneath my skin, tracing them from the top of my hand to my elbow. “All that matters is she’s going to see you, and you’re going to make her better.”
I shook my head. “It’s more complicated than that. This hole is pretty fucking big, and it’s gonna be tricky. When it comes to pediatric cases, I can’t completely know exactly what’s going on until I actually open them up. I open them up and have to figure out what to do in the moment, on the spot. I know she has a hole in her heart and I know what to do, but there could be other issues that I won’t realize until I’m in there. This would have been much easier if we did this when she was a baby, and the hole may have caused other issues in her heart that wouldn’t be there if she’d done this sooner. That’s why it’s so important to get help immediately. Don’t wait six months, don’t wait a year…don’t wait a minute.”
She continued to rub my arm. “You’ve got this, Dex. You will heal her.”
I leaned my head back against the chair. “This poor kid, man. And she’s scared on top of it because she’s old enough to understand what’s happening…”
The Doctor Who Has No Closure (Soulless Book 10) Page 11
