“I’d prefer to wait until we get a final diagnosis,” Christian said, interrupting her thoughts. “No need to get anyone upset if they don’t need to be.”
Typical man.
Nodding, Sophie noted that he hadn’t given her an answer on the whole girlfriend thing. She looked at their joined hands and hoped he wasn’t the type of guy who would hold hands with one woman while dating another. Then she wanted to smack herself in the head, because it wasn’t as if he was holding her hand in a romantic way—he was looking for a little comfort while going through a scary experience.
They sat quietly as the medical team walked out of the room. No doubt the doctors would look over all of the test results and confirm whether or not what had happened to Christian was a heart attack. She hoped it wasn’t. He was far too young for that sort of thing.
He was calm right now. Relaxed. And while his eyes were closed, Sophie allowed herself to take a minute to study him. Dark brown hair that was looking a little haphazard right now, a strong jaw, and the kind of face that made a woman sigh with appreciation. He was tall—easily six feet—and even though he was in a hospital gown right now, she remembered from last night that he had an impressive physique. Christian was tan, but not overly so. He didn’t look like someone who spent a lot of time at the beach. More than anything, she couldn’t help but admire his lean muscles—she had to stop herself from reaching over and stroking a bicep.
That would be wrong, right?
Sophie spoke after a minute. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“If no one had been in your office with you, would you have called for help?”
Without hesitation, he replied, “No.”
“Wow,” she said.
“My turn. Can I ask you something?” He turned his head toward her and opened his eyes, and she was struck at how blue they were. Had she noticed that last night?
“Sure.”
“What were you doing at my office?” Both his tone and his expression were serious and at first, Sophie wasn’t sure what to say.
“Remember the job I told you about yesterday?”
He acknowledged her question.
“It was with your company,” she said.
One dark brow quirked and she thought it was sexy as hell.
Clearing her throat—and her mind—she continued. “I had no idea it was your company. Honestly, I didn’t give much thought to whose company it was. I met a couple of nice ladies on the beach a few days ago. They were sitting in the sand watching the surfers and when I came out of the water, they struck up a conversation with me.” She shrugged. “One thing led to another and I was telling them about my job search and the agency I had signed with and they told me they had the perfect job for me. All I had to do was apply.”
He looked at her quizzically.
“Well, I told them they needed to go through the agency—I didn’t want it to seem like I was poaching jobs from them. So they called and specifically requested me, and after a little negotiating, the agency agreed to send me.”
“And…these ladies, they were willing to just hire you after seeing you on the beach?”
With a nod, she went on. “It’s true. I was out surfing Monday morning and there they were, sitting on the sand. They applauded when I got out of the water. I thought they were teasing me at first. Then they explained that they were impressed with my determination.”
It was Christian’s turn to nod.
“Last night you encouraged me to make sure things got started on the right foot, and…that’s what I did. I went to the office—your office—and asked to speak to someone in human resources. Patricia agreed to meet with me, and it was the best interview I ever had!” she gushed. “When we were done, she asked me to wait out in the reception area and that’s when she went to talk to you. Only I didn’t know it was you she was going to talk to. I wouldn’t have tried to use that to my advantage, I swear.”
He laughed. “Sophie, I didn’t think that at all. It seemed like such a wild coincidence that you were there, that’s all.”
She sagged with relief. “Well, I’m glad I was there. I mean, I know I didn’t do much and your staff seemed to have it all under control, but I’d like to think that I would have been heroic in saving you. You know, if you needed it.”
It made her feel good to see that he was feeling a little bit better.
“Sort of like someone running to the beach to save a drowning person who wasn’t drowning?” he teased.
This time she laughed with him. “Exactly!” They were both smiling and chuckling when the cardiologist came in.
“How are you feeling, Mr. Montgomery?” he asked. Sophie looked at his badge and saw his name was Dr. Asher. He was reading the chart in his hand and barely glanced at Christian.
“I’m feeling much better,” Christian said. “I don’t have any pain or any of the symptoms I had earlier, and really, I don’t think it was a heart attack. I was exhausted from lack of sleep. I’m hoping you’ll cut me loose so I can return to work.”
Sophie gasped, hating that after all he’d suffered, he wanted to go back to work!
Tucking the chart under his arm, Dr. Asher looked at Christian. “You’re partly correct. You did not have a heart attack.”
“I knew it!” Christian said victoriously.
“However,” Dr. Asher quickly added, “your blood pressure is high. We’re going to need to monitor that.”
“O-kay… So, I can go, right?”
“Wait,” Sophie jumped in. “If Christian didn’t have a heart attack, what caused all of those symptoms?” Honestly, she already had that figured out, but she didn’t want to say anything until the doctor confirmed her suspicions.
“Anxiety attack,” Dr. Asher stated. “You mentioned earlier how much you work and what was going on when the attack hit. You also mentioned that you’ve felt that tightness in your chest before, correct?”
Christian gave a curt nod and she knew he wasn’t being one hundred percent honest with the doctor. Taking his hand in hers, she tugged gently until he looked at her. “Christian, it’s important that you tell Dr. Asher how often this has been happening. You may have dodged a bullet this time, but there’s no guarantee this won’t lead to a heart attack in the future if you don’t get your anxiety under control.”
“I don’t have anxiety!” he yelled and the monitors began to beep like crazy.
When both she and Dr. Asher gave him stern looks, Christian at least had the good sense to seem apologetic.
“Mr. Montgomery, your girlfriend is right. You need to tell me exactly what’s been happening and what leads to you having these chest pains. I’ve already consulted with your primary physician and you’ll need to do a follow-up with him tomorrow.” He reached into his lab coat pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. “He’s agreed to see you first thing tomorrow morning to discuss some treatment options with you.”
“Treatment options?” Christian repeated incredulously. “What treatment options? It was an anxiety attack! I’ll try to relax a bit and I should be fine.” When he went to sit up, Sophie gently grasped his shoulder to stop him. The annoyed glare he shot her made her instantly release him.
“I’m afraid there’s a little more to it than just…relaxing,” Dr. Asher explained. “You need to take this seriously, Mr. Montgomery. You’re far too young to be heading for a heart attack. I’m sure your doctor will prescribe something for your blood pressure—some diet modifications and exercise—and he’ll most likely recommend that you reduce your work hours.”
“That’s impossible!” Christian cried out with frustration. “Do you think I enjoy working so many hours? Don’t you think if I could cut back that I would?”
“I don’t know you well enough to make that observation,” Dr. Asher said evenly. “Either way, you need to get proactive about
your health or you’ll be seeing a lot more of me, and fairly soon.” He turned to Sophie. “His discharge papers are ready. Make sure he gets to his appointment with his physician in the morning.”
“I’m right here!” Christian snapped. “I don’t need the two of you talking about me as if I’m not even here!”
When Dr. Asher started to speak again, Sophie cut him off. “I’ve got this. Thank you for everything, Dr. Asher.”
He wished them both a good day before leaving the room. Once he was gone, Christian tried to rise from the bed.
“Whoa,” she said to him, once more grasping his shoulder to stop him. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”
“What?” he asked irritably.
“For starters, you’re still hooked up to all of these machines, and secondly—you’re not wearing any pants.”
It was adorable to see him blush.
“Oh.”
“Yeah, oh,” she mimicked with a grin. “Give me a minute and I’ll find a nurse to come and disconnect you. I’ll wait out in the lobby and take you home.”
“I need to go to the office,” he stated.
“Okay. Be right back.” There was no way she was taking him to work, but she wasn’t going to tell him that right now. What Christian needed most was to stay calm, and arguing with him wouldn’t help with that.
After she talked to one of the nurses, Sophie walked to the hospital lobby and pulled out her phone. Thankfully she had Montgomerys’ number from when she’d called that morning to see about getting another shot at her interview. She figured she’d get Christian’s assistant to give her some clues as to how she could get him home without causing him too much stress.
Miracles could happen, right?
Chapter 3
Christian opened his eyes when Sophie put her car in park. It took a minute for his brain to realize what he was seeing.
“This isn’t my office, Sophie.” They were parked in the lot by the surf shop.
“I know,” she said lightly.
“So why are we at the surf shop?”
“Well, we’re not at the surf shop, exactly. I remember you saying that you lived near here. I have no idea which house specifically.”
He wanted to argue, but he didn’t want to be sitting in the parking lot, so he gave her the address and quickly directed her to turn at the first block to the right and six houses down. Once they were in his driveway and Sophie made to get out of the car, he stopped her.
Christian immediately stopped her. “You said you were taking me to my office.”
“Um…no. You said you needed to go to the office. Two totally different things.”
This time he didn’t stop her from getting out of the car. Instead, he climbed out and met her at the hood. “You know I can take myself there, right?”
She gave him a patient smile. “I’m sure you could—even though your car’s still at the office. It would be easy for you could call for an Uber. But then you’d have to worry about the late afternoon traffic, because, let’s face it, you’ll want to go inside and shower and change your clothes to wash that hospital smell off you. By the time you get done with that you’re going to want something to eat, because, again, let’s face it, you must be hungry. I know I am.” She paused and lifted a shoulder. “I’ll stop at the grocery store and grab a salad or something like that and eat all by myself at my apartment. Like I usually do.”
He didn’t say a word.
Another pause. “What about you? Do you usually eat alone? It’s boring, isn’t it? Do you cook, or do you do a lot of takeout? What do you think you’ll have for lunch?”
He’d heard enough. Raking a hand through his hair, he said, “You’re not going to let this go, are you, love.” It wasn’t a question.
However, he did notice how her eyes went a little wide at his statement and it reminded him that Sophie had no idea he’d spent so much time living across the pond.
England, dammit! he silently reminded himself.
“You mean reminding you how you need to take the day off and have something healthy to eat while you relax? Um…no,” she said with a hint of sass.
He liked sass.
Apparently.
“Look, you don’t understand. I have a lot of responsibilities and—” He stopped when his phone rang. Looking at the screen, he saw it was Erin calling. With a muttered curse—of the American variety and not British—he answered, walking up the steps to the front door and going inside. Even without turning around, he knew Sophie would follow.
“Erin, how is everything? Did you reschedule with the Davenports? Were they upset?”
She laughed. “Funny, that’s what I was calling to ask you. Not about the Davenports, but about your health,” she said dryly. “How are you feeling?”
Christian gave her a quick rundown of what had transpired at the hospital, and he figured she’d be on his side where coming back to work was concerned.
He was wrong.
“You need to take this seriously, Christian,” she said firmly. “My father-in-law had a heart attack when he was forty-two and it nearly killed him. His doctors said his high blood pressure and his insane work schedule were largely to blame—especially since there was no history of heart disease in the family.”
That’s when Christian realized there was no history of heart disease in his family either.
Dammit.
“I have an appointment with my physician first thing in the morning. I’ll be in as soon as I’m done,” he said, tossing his keys on the kitchen counter.
“That won’t be necessary. I cleared your schedule through the end of next week,” Erin said sweetly.
“You did what? Why? What gave you the right to do that?” he demanded.
“I can’t take all of the credit,” she went on, unfazed. “After you left, I gathered everyone around for an impromptu meeting and reassigned as much of your work as I possibly could and then went about moving all of your appointments out. Everyone was greatly concerned about you, of course.”
“What about the Davenports? Even knowing that they went to see the Brannigans, you still rescheduled with them? There’s no way they’ll wait another week to talk with me!”
“Not true. David Marcum sat with them—along with me—and we gave them a general outline of what you had prepared for them and they were pleased,” she said proudly. “Honestly, I almost think we could’ve signed a contract with them today if we’d pushed a little.”
“Erin! This is beyond crazy! You had no right to step in like that! David had no right to step in like that! I’m going to have to talk to him and—”
“I asked him to step in, and you know what? He’s been dying for a little more responsibility around here. Everyone has. You hoard all the clients and then complain about how no one is pulling their weight! Christian, you have to realize that you’re not the only one capable of handling the accounts. You have a fantastic group of executives here who are tired of twiddling their thumbs while you work eighty hours a week.”
He sat at the kitchen table and sighed. “Erin, this is how I do things—”
“Well, you’re doing them wrong,” she snapped. “And I hate to do this to you, but…I called your father and I called Ryder.”
His chest instantly seized in pain and he gasped. Sophie was immediately at his side and he did his best not to meet her gaze—unwilling to let her see too deeply what was going on.
“Why…would you…do that?” he asked through clenched teeth.
“Because I knew this conversation was going to happen. I knew you were going to make light of what happened today, and I also knew if someone didn’t step in, you’d end up back in the hospital. You put way too much stress on yourself, Christian.”
“And you’re adding to it right now!” he snapped. “You had no right to call my father! And on top of that
, why Ryder?”
“Your father because, well…he’s your father. And Ryder because he used to run this place.” She paused. “It’s a week, Christian. Okay, ten days including the weekend. Take the time and rest. And until you get the clearance from your doctor, you’re not allowed in the office.”
Another chest pain.
“I’m allowed anywhere I damn well please! It’s my company!” he countered.
“Not for the next ten days. If you come into the office, your father will be called and then he’ll show up here and take over. Is that what you want?”
Immediately his mind flashed back to London and how his father had ruined everything for him. There was no way he would allow that to happen again.
He wanted to throttle his assistant more than anything in the world right now. But he also couldn’t help but be seriously impressed with her leadership skills and how she had managed to work quickly and efficiently—even if it meant screwing him over a bit in the process.
“Fine. Ten days,” he muttered.
“And don’t worry. Everything is under control here.”
A minute later he hung up and slid his phone away from him. Eyes shut, head tilted, he did his best to breathe deeply and try to will away the pain in his chest.
Without him realizing she’d done it at first, Sophie had her hand on his wrist and was taking his pulse. Then she felt his forehead.
Lucky him. He had his own personal nurse whether he wanted one or not.
And right now, he didn’t.
“You know you’re just proving everyone right, don’t you?” she asked, gently releasing his wrist.
It was pointless to pretend he didn’t know what she was talking about. “Yeah, well, old habits die hard.”
She laughed softly and walked over to pour him a glass of water. Placing it on the table, she sat. “From what I heard, you have a ten-day break, correct?”
He nodded.
“No doubt your doctor will agree that it’s for the best. He may recommend an even longer break.”
“Not gonna happen,” he argued lightly.
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