by Sandi Lynn
He didn’t respond as he pulled out his phone and started looking at it.
Okay then, jerk.
I stared out the window and felt a twinge in my finger. When I looked down, the bandage came loose, the cut opened, and blood started to drip down my hand.
“Shit,” I spoke as I went over to the sink and wrapped a piece of paper towel around my finger.
“What’s wrong?” Carter asked. “Is it your finger again?”
“When Nora gets here, tell her I’ll be right back. I need to go to the ER.”
I took the elevator down to the ER and approached the receptionist at the desk.
“Please sign in and have a seat,” she spoke.
“This is a little bit of an emergency.” I held up my blood-soaked finger.
“Oh dear. Let’s get you back into a room.”
I followed her to room three and took a seat on the bed. After giving her my name, a nurse walked in and examined my finger.
“Ouch. Did this just happen?” she asked.
“I did it last night. I butterflied it, but it just came loose.”
She opened the drawer and took out a piece of thick gauze and wrapped it around my finger.
“The doctor will be in shortly.” She smiled.
I knew too well what that meant in an ER. I would bleed to death before I saw a doctor. I sat there and looked around the room. I slowly closed my eyes and the memories came flooding back as if it happened just yesterday.
“Pumpkin, what happened?” my dad John spoke as he entered the room.
“Dad? What are you doing here?” I asked in confusion.
“They were short staffed today, so Ed called and asked if I could fill in. It just so happened I was off from St. Francis today. I was going to call you later and see if you could join me for dinner. Now what happened?” he asked as he removed the gauze.
“I cut it last night while I was slicing an apple.”
“You’re a nurse, Zoey. You knew this needed to be stitched.” He cocked his head at me.
“I was hoping the butterfly would close it up. I really didn’t think it was that bad. Nora is here. The ambulance brought her in last night.”
“Why?” he asked as he numbed my finger.
“She had a seizure.”
As he began stitching my finger, I heard Carter’s loud voice down the hallway.
Chapter Ten
Carter
“What you don’t seem to understand, sweetheart, is that she’s my employee and she’s currently living at my house. So as far as I’m concerned, I have a right to check on her. There you are.” I stopped in the doorway.
“Mr. Grayson, what are you doing?”
“I came to see what was going on.”
The doctor turned around and gave me a smile.
“Come on in and have a seat. I’ll be finished in a minute.”
“Mr. Grayson, this is my father, John Benson. Dad, this is Carter Grayson.”
“Your father?” I cocked my head.
“Yes. They asked him to fill in today. He’s still on staff here on occasion. He used to work here before we moved to Connecticut.”
“Ah. I see. Nice to meet you, Dr. Benson.”
“Same here, Mr. Grayson.” He nodded. “Okay, pumpkin. All done.” He kissed her forehead. “My shift ends at six. Will you be available for dinner?”
“Yeah. Nora isn’t being released until tomorrow.”
“Great.” He turned and looked at me. “If you don’t have any plans, Mr. Grayson, why don’t you join us?”
I glanced over at Zoey and saw the expression on her face. She didn’t look happy that her father asked me to join them.
“Actually, I don’t have any plans. I’d love to join you.” I smirked. “In fact, why don’t we just have dinner at my penthouse? My housekeeper is a wonderful cook.”
“Isn’t that a little short notice for Sadie?” Zoey asked.
“No.” I arched my brow at her.
“Sounds good.” John smiled.
“Are you ready to go see Nora now?” I asked.
She walked in front of me down the hall, and when we reached the elevator, she spoke, “Why?”
“Why what?” I placed my hands in my pants pockets.
“I’m the hired help, remember? You don’t need to have my family over to your house. Why couldn’t you just have said no?”
“I didn’t have any plans for tonight, so why not?”
She glared at me as we stepped onto the elevator and took it up to Nora’s floor. When we entered the room, the doctor was there talking to her. He placed his hand on hers and gave it a gentle squeeze before leaving the room.
“What was that all about?” I asked.
“There’s another tumor and the cancer has spread.”
A feeling of sickness took over me and I needed to sit down.
“Why don’t you just have the chemo, sis? It can buy you some time,” I spoke as I took hold of her hand.
“We’ve already talked about this and you said you supported my decision. I refuse to spend whatever life I have left sick as a dog from that fucking chemo! It’s not going to cure me. You saw what it did to me the first time and I was stronger then.”
“I do support your decision.” I leaned over and kissed her forehead. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m really tired now, so if you don’t mind, I want to go to sleep. The doctor said he’ll release me tomorrow at eight a.m., so I’ll see you then,” Nora spoke.
After saying our goodbyes, Carter and I headed back to his penthouse.
“I know how hard this is for you,” Zoey spoke as we sat in the back of the car.
“Do you really?” I asked in a monotone voice as I glanced over at her.
“Yes. I do. I know you’ve been through a lot, Mr. Grayson.”
“You don’t know shit, Zoey. Unless Nora told you.” I narrowed my eye at her.
“She told me a little, and I’m sorry for your loss.”
Juan pulled up to the curb and I immediately got out of the car.
“And you expect me to believe there’s a God,” I spoke in anger as I entered the building.
“There is,” she said as we stepped into the elevator.
I ignored her comment because if I had responded, I would have lost it, and that was something I didn’t want to do.
The moment I stepped out of the elevator, I went over to the bar and poured myself a double scotch. Hearing that Nora’s cancer had spread tore me apart more than I already was. I wasn’t ready to lose her. Fuck, I’d never be ready. I downed my drink, set the glass on the bar, and headed upstairs to my bedroom to change my clothes before Zoey’s father arrived.
As I was coming down the stairs, I heard John’s and Zoey’s voices in the foyer.
“Hello, John,” I spoke as I extended my hand.
“Hello, Carter. Your penthouse is stunning.”
“Thank you. Would you like a drink? Perhaps a scotch or a bourbon?”
“Scotch would be good.”
I headed over to the bar and poured us each a drink.
“Would you like something, sweetheart?” John asked Zoey.
“I can get it myself, Dad,” she spoke as she glared at me.
“Can I pour you a glass of wine?” I spoke as I glared back at her.
“I wouldn’t want you to go to any trouble, Mr. Grayson. If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to check on dinner.”
I raised my brow at John and took a sip of my drink. Sadie announced that dinner was ready, so we headed into the dining room and took our seats.
“Sadie, this smells delicious.” John smiled.
“Thank you, Dr. Benson. I hope you enjoy it.”
“Sadie is the best cook in New York as far as I’m concerned,” I spoke.
“Zoey isn’t too bad herself. Isn’t that right, sweetheart?” John spoke with a smile.
“Dad, stop.”
“I must say, Carter, I’m highly impressed at your success at suc
h a young age. Especially for dropping out of college.”
“Dad!” Zoey exclaimed.
“It’s fine, Zoey. That’s public knowledge. Thank you, John. I had to drop out after my father passed away because we were on the verge of bankruptcy and his failing real estate business needed my attention.
“I’d say you are quite the genius for turning that company around and becoming the number one real estate mogul in New York in such a short period of time.”
“Thank you. My company means everything to me. As I’m sure being a doctor means everything to you.”
“It does. I love what I do and I love helping people.”
Chapter Eleven
Zoey
Carter carried on a conversation with my dad as if they’d been old friends who hadn’t seen each other in a long time. After we finished eating, my dad decided it was time to leave.
“I better get going. I have to be at the hospital tomorrow morning at six a.m. Thank you for dinner, Carter.”
“You’re welcome, John. Have a safe trip back to Connecticut.”
“I will. Sweetheart, it was good to see you.” He kissed my cheek. “Take care of that finger.”
“I will, Dad. Be careful,” I spoke as I walked him to the elevator. “Tell Dad I said hi and I miss him.”
“He’ll certainly be jealous once I tell him we had dinner together.” He smiled.
Once the elevator door shut, I walked back to the living room and found Carter sitting on the couch with another glass of scotch.
“I’m going to go to my room for the night,” I spoke.
He held up his glass and didn’t say a word, basically saying that he didn’t care. I sighed as I went to my room, shut the door, and changed into my pajamas. It was ten o’clock and I was getting ready to go to sleep for the night when I heard a loud noise coming from the kitchen. When I went to see what was going on, I found Carter on the floor in a drunken stupor with the bar stool knocked over.
“What is going on?” I asked as I bent down.
“The fucking stool was in the way,” he slurred.
“Are you okay?” I asked as I grabbed his arm to help him up.
“I’m fine.” He jerked out of my grip.
He tried to stand up, but he kept falling back.
“Please let me help you to bed,” I spoke. “It’s not going to kill you to take some help from me.”
He glared at me and once again tried to get up, but couldn’t. I sighed as I grabbed hold of his arm and helped him stand. Placing his arm around my neck, I guided him up the stairs as he stumbled quite a few times. I wanted to ask him why he drank so much, but I already knew. He was trying to drown his sorrows about Nora. Once we reached his bedroom, I helped him over to the bed and he fell back.
“Fuck,” he spoke as he put his arm over his forehead.
“All you need is to sleep it off.”
I bent down and removed his shoes and socks while he attempted to unbutton his shirt. He was failing, so I tried to help him. He grabbed my wrists and held them tight while his eyes burned into mine.
“Come closer,” he spoke in a low voice.
I stared into his drunken eyes and brought my face closer to his. He let go of my wrists, softly stroked my cheek with his thumb, and then wrapped his hand around the nape of my neck and pulled me closer until our lips were mere inches from each other. I gulped and before I knew it, his lips were brushing against mine. The smell of liquor infiltrated my space while the taste of scotch fell upon my lips. This was wrong—wrong on many levels—but at the moment, I didn’t care. It felt too good to pull away. Our tongues met as I placed my hands on each side of his face. Our lips moved in sync and his other hand made its way up my shirt. He groped my breast and let out a moan at the same time as sounds of pleasure escaped me. He rolled me over on my back and hovered over me as his tongue explored my neck. Suddenly, he stopped and rolled off me and onto his back.
“You need to go back to your room,” he slurred as he placed his arm over his eyes.
Silence overtook me for a moment as I stared at him. I climbed off the bed, and before I walked out of his room, I spoke, “Sleep well, Mr. Grayson.”
I climbed into bed, laid my head down and tucked my hands underneath my pillow. As I lay there, the tormenting events of just a few minutes ago haunted me. The softness of his scotch-stained lips against mine sent exhilarating vibrations down below. The feel of his hand on my breast made me tremble from head to toe, and the way his tongue explored my neck made me feel in such a way I’d never felt before. Ever. The brief sexual moment I experienced with Carter Grayson was unlike any other. Tomorrow would be awkward to say the least and I lay there and wondered if he would say anything about it at all.
I was up early so I could shower and get dressed before heading to the hospital to pick up Nora. I nervously walked into the kitchen and saw Sadie standing at the stove preparing some oatmeal. I let out a deep breath when I saw Carter wasn’t there.
“Good morning, Sadie.” I smiled as I poured myself a cup of coffee.
“Good morning, Zoey. Breakfast is almost ready.”
“Thank you.”
I took a seat on the stool and held the coffee cup with both hands wrapped around it.
“Have you seen Mr. Grayson yet?” I asked.
“No. Not yet. I’m sure he’ll be down soon.”
Sadie set my bowl of oatmeal down in front of me, and as I was eating, my phone dinged with a text message. Picking it up, I noticed it was from Carter.
“I’ll be bringing Nora home in about a half hour.”
I stared at his message in confusion. He was already gone and at the hospital?
“Apparently, Carter isn’t here. He’s at the hospital picking up Nora,” I spoke to Sadie.
“Oh. I thought he was still home. I’ll keep his oatmeal warm, then.”
Before setting my phone down, I replied to his text.
“Okay.”
I had assumed we’d pick Nora up together, but I guess there was no assuming anything where Mr. Carter Grayson was concerned. Nerves stirred inside me at the thought of seeing him after last night. I finished my oatmeal and took the last sip of my coffee when I heard the elevator ding and the doors open. Taking in a deep breath, I walked into the foyer.
“Welcome home.” I smiled at Nora.
“Thanks, Zoey. It’s good to be home.”
“Are you hungry? Sadie made oatmeal.”
“A little bit.”
“I have to head to the office, Nora,” Carter spoke as he bent down and kissed her cheek.
“Okay. I’ll see you tonight,” she softly spoke.
Carter stepped into the elevator without so much as looking at me. He either didn’t remember what happened last night or he just didn’t care. I wheeled Nora into the kitchen and over to the table then poured myself another cup of coffee.
“How did things go with Carter last night?” Nora asked as she slowly ate the oatmeal that Sadie thinned out for her.
“It went okay. He was just typical Carter.”
“He got drunk last night, didn’t he?”
“How did you know?” I asked.
“I could tell by his eyes and the fact that no matter how much cologne he put on, the smell of scotch was still on him.”
I looked down and traced the rim of my coffee cup with my finger.
“He was pretty bad. He couldn’t even stand up, so I helped him up to bed.”
“I hate when he gets like that.”
“Does he get drunk often?” I asked out of concern.
“Not as much as he used to, but he has his days. I can tell he likes you, Zoey.”
“No he doesn’t.” I gave her a small smile as I sipped my coffee.
“I know my brother, and I see something in his eyes when he looks at you. Just like I see the same thing in your eyes when you look at him.”
“Nora, I don’t have—”
“Be patient with him, Zoey.” She placed her hand
on mine.
I gave her a tender smile and finished my coffee.
“I’m going to my room now,” she spoke. “I have a phone call to make.”
I got up from my seat and she put her hand up.
“I don’t need help getting to my room. But if the phone call goes well, I’m going to need you to take me somewhere.”
“You just came home from the hospital, Nora. You really shouldn’t be going out today.”
“I had a seizure and they kept me in that damn place to run some more tests. I’m fine.”
She wheeled herself out of the kitchen and I looked at Sadie, who had the same look of despair on her face that I had on mine. After a few moments had passed, I heard Nora call my name. Walking into her room, I noticed she had grabbed her purse.
“I need you to take me to my attorney’s office. It’s only a couple of blocks from here.”
“Okay. Are we going now?”
“Yes, and this little trip is to stay between us. Carter is never to know. Understand?”
“Of course.” I nodded.
I helped her with her coat since the fall days were turning much cooler and we went down to the lobby. When Joseph saw us coming, he smiled and opened the door.
“You never saw us leave, Joseph,” Nora spoke.
“Of course, Miss Grayson.” He winked.
Chapter Twelve
Carter
I was sitting behind my desk trying to concentrate on work, but the only thing I could think of was how bad my head was hurting and what had happened last night between me and Zoey. I had to stop it from going any further because one, she was my employee, and two, it would be a mistake to have had sex with her in my drunken state. Even though I’d had sex plenty of times while I was drunk, Zoey was one woman who didn’t deserve that. The one thing that I couldn’t get out of my head was how she kissed me back. She didn’t stop me, and had I kept going, it would have changed everything. She was beautiful and sexy, and my cock would have given anything to be buried deep inside her. For me, it was purely physical. The things she said and the things I’d witnessed were too much for me and I found it difficult to be around her. We were complete opposites. She voluntarily surrounded herself around death and illness, and I did everything I could to avoid it. She believed in Heaven and a God, and even though I once did, I didn’t anymore, nor would I ever again.