Reining in Riley

by Claire Britain

  Dr. Mansfield stood back and folded his arms, gazing at Riley with a serious look on his face.

  “Here’s the deal, young lady,” Dr. Mansfield started as he took a seat next to Riley’s bed. “I will let you go home with Joanna tomorrow if your vitals stay stable. I think you will be more comfortable there but I want you on bed rest for at least a week and you’ll take the medication I prescribe and plenty of fluids. Then I’d like you to follow up with Dr. Morgan in a week. Do you have any questions for me?”

  “What? When can I go back to work? I have a big client and…” Riley began before she was silenced by Joanna’s glare.

  “Riley, the only reason you’re being allowed to leave tomorrow is because you’re staying with me and I have medical training. I don’t even want you thinking about work right now. Otherwise you’ll be having bed and breakfast here for a while longer. Do you understand me?”

  “Yes,” Riley replied grimly.

  “Yes, you need to listen to Joanna, Riley!” Dr. Mansfield chimed in. “It’s going to be some time before you can go back to work, I’m afraid. Joanna, we can loan you a wheelchair and I want to keep her on the antibiotic IV for a few more days so I’ll send her home with a supply and a stand. If her temp stays down and her lungs sound better, you can pull the IV in a few days. She’s lost a lot of weight so some nutrition supplements may not be a bad idea. I’ll have Irene round some up for you. If she takes a turn for the worse, I want her back here immediately.”

  “Yes, of course, Jeff, thank you,” Joanna acknowledged before he left the room.

  She smiled at Riley. “Ready to go home, kiddo?”

  “Oh, yes, it’s been over two weeks, hasn’t it?” Riley replied.

  “I have your room all ready for you. It’s the one at the front so you have a view of the ocean and you have your own bathroom with a nice garden tub,” Joanna said softly. “I know you want to go home to your place but it will just be for a couple of weeks or so until you’re stronger, okay? Oh, and Tracy is bringing around a lasagna for dinner tomorrow. She said it’s your favorite.”

  “It is, Tracy makes the best lasagna!” Riley beamed. “Thank you, Joanna, I don’t mean to be such a nuisance.”

  “Riley, you’re not, I want to take care of you. Besides, it will be fun. Kate and Helen are staying through Christmas so we’ll make the best of it and Tracy and Rae are coming over for Christmas Day. Your mother is welcome too, but that’s up to you.”

  Riley turned up her nose at Joanna’s last statement but she was relieved she was finally being released.

  * * *

  The next morning Riley got the all-clear from Dr. Mansfield and the orderly wheeled her down to where Joanna was waiting with her car. She hugged and said goodbye to Nurse Irene, who told Riley she was quite possibly the worst patient she’d had but said she was going to miss her, which made Riley grin.

  “Sorry, Irene, I guess I wasn’t exactly easy!”

  “Well, you better mind yourself with Joanna, I’m sure she won’t let you get away with much, young lady, so try to behave!” she said in her Irish brogue.

  The orderly lifted her into the front seat of Joanna’s car and loaded up the wheelchair and supplies into the trunk. Joanna helped Riley with her seatbelt, which pressed on her lacerations, making her wince with pain.

  “Try and hold it away, Riley, it will be a quick trip home,” Joanna urged.

  Joanna pulled the car into her driveway and Helen came out the front door to meet them. She opened Riley’s door as Joanna went for the wheelchair.

  “I can do it, I don’t need a wheelchair!” Riley huffed.

  “No, you don’t, put your arms around my neck,” Helen agreed as she effortlessly scooped Riley up in her arms and carried her into the house, depositing her gently onto the bed that was to be Riley’s for the next couple of weeks.

  “You have lost way too much weight!” Helen scolded as she took in Riley’s skinny frame clad in a pair of sweats and her San Francisco 49ers hoodie.

  Joanna brought in the IV stand and some of the supplies. “Riley, you want to change and get comfortable? I washed your nightshirt if you want it and Rae brought over some comfortable clothes from your house.”

  “Thank you, what I really want is to take a shower and wash my hair,” Riley replied.

  “How about I run you a nice bath and I’ll help you wash your hair. I don’t think you should be standing,” Joanna said.

  Riley flushed a little at the thought but agreed.

  “Where’s Kate, Helen?” Riley asked.

  “She and Isaac are deposing the guy who hit you. The insurance company already agreed to pay your lost wages and replace your motorcycle but Kate’s going after the guy. He was texting when he ran the red,” Helen replied as Joanna came back in from the bathroom with a hard look after hearing about replacing Riley’s motorcycle.

  “Yeah, she asked me if she could and she took a boatload of photos of all my injuries last week to help her case,” Riley smiled.

  “Okay, bath’s ready,” Joanna said as she helped Riley stand and walk to the bathroom, sitting her down in a chair.

  She didn’t give Riley a chance to protest as she gently unzipped and removed her hoodie and sweatpants. Riley covered her naked breasts with her arms and contemplated the next move as she sat on the chair in her underwear.

  “Your cut is healing nicely, Riley; Jeff’s plastics guy did a hell of a job!” Joanna stated, trying to take the attention away from Riley’s nakedness as she slid her underwear off.

  Riley didn’t know if she was more embarrassed about her nakedness or the stubble on her long legs from being unable to shave as Joanna helped her into the tub.

  It felt wonderful to Riley, and her shyness melted away with the warm water as Joanna massaged the shampoo lather through her hair. Joanna rinsed her hair then proceeded to soap Riley’s legs one at a time and slowly shave each one smooth. Riley just sat back mesmerized in an almost euphoric state as Joanna attended to her.

  “I’ll let you soak a while; let me know when you’re done, okay?” Joanna smiled.

  “Okay,” Riley said as she sank back into the tub and relished the warm water on her aching body. Joanna came back in when she heard the water gurgling down the drain and she handed Riley a warm, fluffy white towel as she helped her out of the tub back into the chair. Joanna proceeded to dry Riley.

  “What do you want to wear, Riley, a t-shirt?” Joanna asked.

  “No, the shirt you got me,” Riley replied, smiling.

  Joanna dried Riley’s hair and helped her get dressed. “Okay, let’s get you back to bed.”

  Riley felt relaxed as she lay in Joanna’s queen bed propped up with fluffy pillows. Helen came back into the room and observed her friend as she went into doctor mode. Joanna re-attached Riley’s IV tube and started the pumps that infused the fluids and medication into Riley’s body.

  “The pain pump is back on but fairly low; if you need me to turn it up, tell me, okay? It will help with your breathing. Your shallow breathing is because of the pain from your ribs, which probably contributed to the pneumonia so I want you breathing nice and strong, understand?”

  “Yes, Dr. Armstrong!” Riley quipped with a grin, bringing a smile to Helen’s face.

  Joanna rolled her eyes and smiled. “You comfortable, Riley?”

  “Uh huh.” Riley yawned and within minutes she drifted off in a deep sleep.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Kate and Isaac sat in the lobby of Brown and Robinson Construction waiting for Robert Brown and his attorney. Kate was dressed in a gray suit and a light pink shirt with a pair of black heels. Isaac was in one of his usual three-piece dark suits with a crisp pinstripe shirt finished with a pair of gold cufflinks, his dark brown hair slicked back on his head. Kate pulled out the eight by ten pictures from her briefcase and showed them to Isaac, explaining each of the injuries they represented.

  “Katherine, these are compelling but I think it’s too much—they don�
�t know for sure if Riley’s head injury is permanent. I think we should start at three seventy-five personal and seventy-five for the firm?” Isaac said as he conferred with Kate.

  “Damn it, Isaac, we talked about this, just let me handle it. If it goes to court, then we can reconsider, but I want this for Riley!” Kate replied, somewhat irritated at Isaac’s indecisiveness.

  “Mr. Brown is ready for you now,” a young blond woman said as she came into the lobby. “Right this way.”

  Kate and Isaac were escorted to a conference room where Robert Brown and his attorney were waiting for them.

  “Douglas Winger. I represent Mr. Brown here and you must be Katherine Dennehy?” the shorter of the two men said as they stood up and shook hands in formality.

  “Yes, and this is Isaac Fuller. We represent Ms. Carrington and Armstrong, Klein, Dixon,” Kate said coolly as they took their seats on either side of the conference table.

  “Um, yes, how is Ms. Carrington?” Robert Brown asked somewhat timidly.

  “How is Ms. Carrington?” Kate retorted sharply. “This is how Ms. Carrington is.” She reached into her briefcase and tossed photograph after photograph of Riley’s bruised and battered body in front of him on the desk.

  “Two collapsed lungs, numerous broken bones, a severe brain injury, a damaged kidney, pulmonary embolisms, should I go on?” Kate asked a red-faced Robert Brown.

  “Yes, Ms. Dennehy, you’ve made your point, what’s the figure?”

  “The figures, Mr. Winger,” Isaac said, emphasizing the plural, “are one hundred for the firm’s lost revenue and five eighty to Ms. Carrington.”

  Kate raised her eyebrows in surprise and gave Isaac a quick sideways glance.

  Douglas Winger snorted amusingly at the request.

  “Oh, do you think this is funny, Mr. Winger? Do you think it’s funny that my client can’t remember what she had for breakfast as result of your client’s recklessness? Do you?” Kate asked, becoming more and more angry. “I don’t think a jury will find it funny, especially since your client here came out of it without a scratch.”

  “Ms. Dennehy, I hardly think the jury will look upon my client’s actions as reckless. It was a rainy day at rush hour in LA traffic, accidents happen!”

  “Mr. Winger, this was not an accident without blame,” Isaac began as he removed his iPad from his briefcase and queued up the video. “As you can see from this footage of the crash, your client was clearly texting at the time of the accident.”

  Robert Brown winced and paled at the graphic footage of the accident and he ran his hand nervously through his hair.

  “Mr. Fuller, Ms. Dennehy, even if the jury were sympathetic to this, what makes you think they would agree to such a large sum? From what I deduce from the medical records, it’s not even clear if Ms. Carrington’s injuries are permanent. She may well make a full recovery,” Winger scoffed.

  “Do you want to take that chance, Mr. Winger? Because if you do, and they are permanent, you are looking at double the figures in damages for my client!” Kate spat angrily.

  “This is preposterous, you can’t possibly expect…” Winger was cut off before he could finish his sentence.

  Kate got up, putting both her hands on the desk, and leaned over within inches of the two men.

  “I’ll tell you what’s preposterous, Mr. Winger. It’s preposterous that your client wasn’t arrested after his tox screen showed traces of marijuana. How exactly did you get away with that, Mr. Brown?” Kate seethed. “You got the fine boys in blue of this city in your pocket? You must be good friends with the mayor and city manager, I’d imagine, since two-thirds of the city’s building contracts were awarded to your company last year? Maybe that will come out in discovery when we take this to court. Should get some good news media, I’d imagine. Do your wife and kids know you’re a pothead, Mr. Brown?”

  “That’s enough! Isaac, you need to put a leash on your little pit bull here,” Winger said angrily.

  “Katherine,” Isaac said softly, putting a hand on Kate’s arm, trying to calm her down.

  “Yes, you’re right, that is enough,” Kate said, putting the photographs back in her briefcase and fastening it. “I think we’re done here; we want an answer by three or we’ll see you in court!”

  Isaac packed up his own briefcase. “It’s a reasonable offer, gentlemen, I suggest you give it some serious thought,” he said as he followed Kate out of the office, leaving behind a pale-faced Robert Brown and an angry Douglas Winger.

  “Katherine, you certainly did your homework. Did you see Winger’s face when we produced the footage? Young lady, if you can stay away from being held in contempt, I think you’re going to make one hell of an attorney!” Isaac said with a smile as he drove them back to the office.

  “Well, let’s not count our chickens yet until we see what they counter with, but I rather think we do have them over the proverbial barrel, Isaac!” Kate grinned.

  * * *

  “No, I’m not talking about it until after three,” Kate replied at the questioning that came her way when she returned to Joanna’s house. “How’s Riley, is she here?”

  “Yes, hon, she’s sleeping,” Helen replied.

  “I’ll go check on her,” Joanna said, leaving the kitchen.

  “She’s awake, Kate,” Joanna called out, taking a stethoscope that was draped over the IV stand and putting it around her neck. “How are you feeling, Riley? Did you get some rest?”

  “Hi, Riley, how are you?” Kate asked, coming into the room and giving her friend a hug before sitting down on the bed.

  “Much better and glad to be out of the hospital,” Riley smiled.

  Joanna put the stethoscope in her ears and held the end to Riley’s chest under her shirt. “Deep breaths for me, Riley, nice and slow.”

  Riley complied, taking a few deep breaths.

  “Sounds a lot better,” Joanna said, replacing the stethoscope over the IV stand and picking up a thermometer from the bedside table. “Let’s see how your temp is.”

  “I don’t have a fever,” Riley protested.

  “Humor me, open,” Joanna ordered, putting the thermometer in Riley’s mouth.

  Riley rolled her eyes.

  “Better do what the good doctor here says, Riley. There are other ways to take your temperature, you know,” Kate said with a wicked grin.

  “Kate!” Riley exclaimed out of the side of her mouth, mortified at Kate’s innuendo.

  “I think you’re on the mend, Riley,” Joanna announced as she read the number on the thermometer after removing it from Riley’s mouth. “A little warm but not bad.”

  “Good, can I get up now?” Riley asked.

  “No, you cannot, miss, what did Dr. Mansfield say?” Joanna asked rhetorically.

  “Riley, I met with the guy who hit you today. We are trying to get them to settle out of court but if they don’t, Isaac and I are going to court for you and the company,” Kate explained. “We’ll know more this afternoon. But I told him I wanted an answer by three. He was pretty shocked when we showed him the footage of the crash.”

  “You have footage, can I see it?” Riley asked.

  Kate retrieved her iPad and queued up the video, giving it to Riley. Riley watched intently and her face paled as she saw her body being catapulted from her bike onto the oncoming car.

  “Holy shit, no wonder I hurt so bad,” Riley said in astonishment as she hit the play button again.

  “Kate, phone, it’s Isaac,” Helen yelled from down the hall.

  “I’ll be right back,” Kate said as she exited the bedroom.

  Helen poked her head around the door. “I’m going to make us some sandwiches and Kate made her chicken noodle soup for you. Do you want ham and cheese or turkey, Riley?”

  “I’m not really that hungry,” Riley lied, not wanting Helen to go out of her way for her.

  “That’s mildly interesting but you’re going to eat, so which is it?” Helen said sternly.

  “Um,
ham and cheese, please,” Riley replied timidly.

  Joanna smiled. “Oh, Riley, this is hard for you, isn’t it? You just need to relax and let us help you out, okay?”

  Helen came back in with a breakfast tray with Riley’s sandwich and a bowl of soup.

  “Thank you,” Riley said as Helen put the tray on the bed in front of her.

  “I hope these are ours, I’m starving!” Kate said, bringing in the rest of the sandwiches from the kitchen.

  “Yes, eat,” Helen said as Kate sat down on the bed and attacked her sandwich. “Did you get your answer?”

  “Yes!” Kate said with a huge grin.

  “This soup is great, Kate,” Riley said.

  “Well?” Helen demanded.

  “Well, they countered on the firm’s damages down to seventy-five but they agreed to the full amount for Riley. I knew he wasn’t going to take a chance and end up in court; he has too much to lose!” Kate stated proudly.

  Riley looked confused by the conversation.

  “How does five eighty sound, Riley?” Kate asked.

  “I’m not following you, Kate, what do you mean?” Riley replied.

  “Riley, let me spell this out to you. Robert Brown, the man who hit you, has agreed to pay the firm seventy-five thousand dollars in lost revenue and five hundred and eighty thousand dollars to you in damages.”

  “But why would he do that?” Riley asked, still confused.

  “Because I asked him for it, silly,” Kate replied.

  Riley dropped her spoon when it registered to her what Kate was saying.

  “Are you okay with the seventy-five for the firm? We asked for one hundred but I guess he had to save a little face and counter down somewhere.”

  “Of course, we didn’t really expect anything for the firm; well done, darling, Isaac said you did great!” Helen praised. “We can let Riley decide what to do with the seventy-five.”

  Riley was still in shock, looking at the three women with an open mouth.

  “Finish your lunch, Riley,” Helen directed.

  * * *