by Linda Verji
“See, even you can’t believe it.” Kelly sighed morosely.
“No, no, no. I was just taken aback for a minute, cause it’s, you know… Spencer.” Sin’s eyes widened as she drawled his name. “But it’s fine. It’s fine. It’s okay. It happens sometimes.”
“But it shouldn’t have.” Kelly wiped away the fresh tears wetting her cheek. “Talk about sleeping with the enemy. My father must be rolling in his grave.”
Sin tilted her head while considering Kelly’s words a long quiet moment before saying, “I don’t think Jesse’s rolling in his grave.”
“He is,” Kelly insisted. “I bet he never dreamed that his own daughter would betray him.”
“You didn’t betray him.” Sin frowned. “And Spencer isn’t the enemy.”
Kelly stared at her friend. “Do you have amnesia? My father died doing Spencer’s job.”
“And Spencer – I can’t believe I’m about to say this – paid for his carelessness.” Sin turned on the couch so that she was facing Kelly directly. “I’m not a fan of the guy – man, I am not a fan. But even I have to admit that he was gone far beyond the call of duty to fix his mistake. Very few people would do that.”
Sin guffawed. “Hell, most people who have the kind of power he has, would’ve worked hard to bury you deeper into the system. But he got you out then tried to help you fix your life as much as he could. It goes to show that despite all his mistakes, Spencer is a decent guy. And even if you don’t want to admit you, you realize that too. That’s why you’re attracted to him, despite your history.”
Usually A.J. was the one on Spencer’s corner, so Sin’s passionate defense of him was, to put it mildly, disconcerting. But even Kelly had to admit that her friend had a point. Though Kelly had never admitted it aloud, a part of her had already forgiven Spencer. How could she not when he’d gone so far to atone for his sins? Maybe that’s why he’d ended up carving a space for himself in her heart while she wasn’t looking. But still…
“Being attracted to him doesn’t excuse me sleeping with him.” Kelly sighed. “I shouldn’t have slept with him.”
“If only it was that simple.” Sin chuckled. “Sleeping with him was just a symptom of your real disease.”
Kelly arched her eyebrows. “I have a disease?”
“You have a disease.” Sin nodded. “You’re not like me. You wouldn’t sleep with someone just to scratch an itch. You’re an emotion kind of girl.”
Kelly frowned. “What does that mean?”
“It means you wouldn’t sleep with someone unless your emotions were already entangled.” Sin arched her eyebrows. “I think you love Spencer.”
“What?” Kelly’s high-pitched protest echoed in the room. “No way. Me. Love Spencer?” When all her friend offered her was a knowing look, she blustered, “You need to change your weed supplier because he’s giving you bad product. You’re making no damn sense. Me. Love Spencer? Wow!”
“My weed is good, thank you very much. My guy knows I’d cut his dick off if he messed with my stash,” Sin informed her with a laugh. She soon sobered up. “Okay fine, let’s say you don’t love Spencer. Will you at least admit that you have some very deep feelings for him?”
Even though that sounded suspiciously like love, it was much better than straight up admitting that she loved him. Kelly shrugged. “I guess.”
“And he makes you happy?”
“Sometimes.” When she wasn’t busy feeling guilty.
“Then I think Jesse would be rooting for you guys,” Sin said. Kelly opened her mouth to protest but her friend cut her off. “From everything you’ve told me about your dad, I think he’d understand. He would want you to be happy, wouldn’t he? Not beating yourself up because your heart went rogue. He wouldn’t want you to deny your feelings and torture yourself just to make him happy.”
Sin’s words played on Kelly’s mind the whole weekend. By the time she got to work on Saturday, she was still torn about her next move. Would her father really understand her feelings for Spencer?
As soon as she strode into their building, her eyes swept the foyer looking for Spencer. He usually got to work at around the same time as her, and they’d ended up sharing the elevator more than a few times. But he wasn’t by the elevators.
Disappointed, she walked into the elevator. Figures! The day she actually wants to see him, he’s not there. Maybe he’d brought his car today. Or maybe he’d come in earlier and was already upstairs in his office. Should she go and see him when she got to the office? What would she even tell him when she got there anyway? That she’d missed him? No way. She hadn’t even made up her mind about where their relationship was going; confusing him with words like ‘I miss you’ was just cruel. Maybe she could just pretend to need a document. At least that way she could see him without-
“Did you hear what happened to Lawrence on Saturday,” the man standing in front of Kelly in the elevator asked the woman beside him.
“I heard.” The woman clicked her tongue several times. “But I’m not surprised. With his weight, he was just a heart-attack-in-waiting. He’s lucky it didn’t happen sooner.”
Kelly’s heart jerked in her chest. Surely they were talking about another Lawrence, not the Lawrence she knew.
“I hear it’s bad,” the male gossiper continued unaware of the rapt eavesdropper behind them. “Rose says that he stopped breathing for a moment. If Spencer Chambers hadn’t called the paramedics so fast, Lawrence would’ve been in trouble.”
Yup! They were talking about the Lawrence she knew. Kelly staggered backwards as shock rippled through her. Feeling like her legs were suddenly watery, she clung to the railing behind her.
“Don’t breathe too soon.” The woman scoffed. “I heard he’s in a coma.”
“What?” Her companion’s surprise was nothing when compared to Kelly’s.
Lawrence was in a coma? Along with that shock, came distress. The poor man – and poor Spencer. Kelly could only imagine how he was feeling right now. Though he and Lawrence frequently bumped heads, they were closer than most fathers and sons. How could Spencer not have called her? He should’ve called her. She should’ve been there for him.
Kelly only dropped by their floor to ask which hospital Lawrence was admitted at before dashing out. She wasn’t sure how long it took the cab to get her to the hospital but it seemed like a hell of a long time. Only her knowledge of traffic-violation penalties kept her from yelling at the cabbie to step on the gas.
The moment the cab dropped her off in front of the hospital, she rushed in and headed directly to the main front-desk. The nurse who was there sent her to the Intensive Care Unit on the third floor.
“Are you family?” The stern-looking nurse manning the I.C.U reception desk demanded when Kelly asked for information about Lawrence.
Kelly started, “No, but-”
“Only family members are allowed to see him.” The nurse cut her off sharply. Her eyes narrowed. “You’re not press are you?”
“No, I’m not,” Kelly quickly denied. “I’m-”
“Kelly?” A deep voice called out.
Kelly turned, only to find Spencer walking towards her. He looked exhausted; hair a mess, eyes red with bags under them, shirt wrinkled. He even seemed to be moving and talking slower than usual as he asked, “What are you doing h-”
She didn’t give him time to finish his sentence. In the blink of a second, she closed the gap between them, lifted on tip-toes and wrapped her arms around his neck. The embrace caught Spencer by surprise. He stood stiff in her arms for a heartbeat before his own arms came around her waist. His body melted into hers as his muscles lost their tension.
Now that she was in his arms, the worry plaguing Kelly eased somewhat. She squeezed him a fraction tighter and sunk into his warmth, trying to give him comfort with her own body. His body was so familiar to her; its hardness, his scent, even the feel of his heartbeat against her chest, and she wanted to keep him close to her for as long as possible.
When she finally pulled away, it felt like their embrace had ended too soon. She looked up to find him watching her with sad eyes.
“You came.” He tried to smile, but it ended up as more of a grimace than a smile.
“I came.” She rubbed her palms over his arms. “How is he?”
“Not goo-” His voice broke and his head lowered almost as if he was holding back tears.
Kelly drew him back into her arms as his pain speared straight into her heart. Holding back her own tears, she patted his back soothingly. Spencer buried his face into her shoulder as they held each other. When they finally parted, Spencer led her to a couch in the waiting area.
“What happened?” she asked as they settled beside each other.
“A heart attack.” His eyes on their joined hands, he said, “It was just sudden…”
Apparently, they’d been in Spencer’s office when Lawrence had keeled over. Fortunately, the paramedics had gotten there in record time to prevent the situation from getting even worse. After the initial critical care, they’d raced the unconscious Lawrence to the emergency room where he’d been taken in for surgery.
Spencer finished, “He’s been in an induced coma since Saturday, but they’re trying to wake him up.”
“He’s fine though, right?” She squeezed his hand. “There’s no damage to his heart, right?”
“There’s some damage. But it’s his brain they’re most worried about.” Spencer sighed. “He lost oxygen to the brain during the attack. We got him here quickly, but they won’t know if he’s been affected until he actually wakes up.”
“He’ll be okay,” Kelly reassured.
“I hope so.” When his eyes met hers, they were watery with unshed tears. “I can’t lose him, Kelly. He’s my only family.”
Instinctively, she shifted closer to him and into his arms.
“You won’t lose him,” she whispered, praying that her words reached God’s ear. Please let Lawrence be okay.
CHAPTER 16
“Stop playing with your food,” Kelly scolded. Like a hawk, she watched Spencer as they sat facing each other in the hospital’s cafeteria.
“I don’t like the food here.” Spencer, who was seated across from her, pulled apart his burger. He curled his lip as he dangled the almost-black meat inside. “Look at this.”
“That’s why I told you to let me bring you food. You’re the one who insisted that it was too much trouble.” She reached for his plate and switched it with hers. “Here, have my burger. It isn’t as burnt.”
“You don’t need to do that,” Spencer protested as he tried to take his plate again.
Kelly slapped his hand away. “Eat your food. I don’t think Lawrence will be happy to find out you wasted away while he was sleeping.”
“You obviously don’t know him.” Spencer scoffed. “If I don’t waste away, he’ll complain that I didn’t miss him enough.”
Kelly chuckled before ordering, “Eat.”
After four days of her constant fussing over him, he knew better than to argue further. With a mock-huff, he picked her burger off the plate and bit into it. Normally, having someone hovering over him like she was doing would’ve annoyed the hell out of him. But for some strange reason, Kelly’s mother-henning didn’t bother him. If anything, it left him feeling grateful and amused.
The gratefulness was because he wasn’t sure how well he would’ve handled Lawrence’s illness if she wasn’t here. Harrowing was too tame a word to describe the last few days. Fear, panic, and sadness had circled Spencer like hungry vultures threatening to consume him. Though Lawrence had awakened several times now and his scans looked good, Spencer still couldn’t leave the hospital for fear that something would happen while he was away.
Lawrence was such a larger-than-life presence that it’d never occurred to Spencer that he was mortal too. Just thinking of this man, who was practically his father, dying was enough to make a fist tighten around Spencer’s lungs. If Kelly hadn’t been there too soothe his fear, he probably would’ve gone into full panic-attack mode.
Though she didn’t spend nights at the hospital, every morning she dropped by to check on Lawrence and to bring Spencer breakfast and fresh clothes. She spent her days covering for Spencer at the office and splitting his pending cases with Angelina. Whenever she had a free minute, she dropped by on the pretense that she wanted his advice on a case. However, he knew that she was really just checking up on him. In the evenings she was back at the hospital, fussing over him and keeping him company until eventually he forced her to go home. Her support and constant presence was what had kept him sane.
“I’ll drop these off.” Kelly reached for his tray when they were done with their meal. Spencer didn’t protest, but when she tried to walk him back up to the hospital’s VIP floor, he put his foot down.
“You’re going to be late for work.” He cupped his hands over her shoulders and turned her to face the hospital’s main exit.
“I have a few minutes to kill,” Kelly protested.
“Ten minutes to be exact. And we both know that that’s not enough time for you to go up then come back down and catch a cab.” He wrapped his arm around her waist as they strode towards the door. “I don’t want you getting fired while I’m away.”
“Is that your way of saying you miss working with me?” Kelly teased with a smile.
“Maybe.” He flicked her nose with his finger.
It was nice to see her smiling and teasing so easily. Although Spencer still didn’t know where their relationship was or what they were to each other, the last few days together had eased the tension between them.
Kelly seemed more comfortable with him, which was both good and bad. Good because now he could hug or touch her without being afraid that she’d push him away. Bad because each of those touches left him tempted to go a step further, something he couldn’t do for fear that Kelly would run for the hills.
“Is there anything you want me to bring you when I come in the evening?” Kelly asked as they waited for a cab outside the hospital.
“I’m actually thinking of sleeping at home tonight,” Spencer said as he played with her fingers. “But it depends on how Lawrence will be doing.”
“Ah! So that means I won’t see you until tomorrow?” she asked. Was that disappointment in her voice or was he just imagining it?
“Probably.” He was watching her keenly enough that this time he saw her eyes shadow. Definitely disappointment. He fought to hide his instinctive smile. He considered suggesting she drop by his place instead, but he wasn’t sure they were there yet. So he just said, “I’ll let you know if I’m staying here or going home.”
“Okay.” She nodded.
Spencer waved for a cab, and soon one stopped in front of them. As he opened the car-door for her, she said, “Don’t forget to call me.”
“I won’t.” He smiled. “Promise.”
He expected her to get into the car right away, but then she paused beside the cab for a brief moment before suddenly stepping towards him.
Then her lips were on his.
It wasn’t a long kiss. It wasn’t even a deep kiss. In fact, it was more of brief peck as her fingers lightly caressed his arm. And yet it left him watching her in wide-eyed disbelief as she stepped back. Embarrassment flashed in her eyes just seconds before she darted into the cab. Before he could gain his composure and stop her from leaving so he could ask her what that kiss was about, the cab was already driving away.
Long after she was gone, Spencer stood stock-still staring at the road she’d disappeared down. What had just happened? Had Kelly kissed him goodbye? Of her own free will? He touched his lips and felt the ghost of her lips on his. He grinned. There was still hope for them after all.
The vibration of his phone drew his attention back to the present. He extracted the gadget from his pocket and checked the screen only to find that it was the hospital’s number. Already walking towards the entrance, he picked the call. “Yes?”
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“Mr. Chambers?” A female voice echoed over the line.
“This is he.”
“It’s Nurse Edwards,” the caller said. “I just wanted to let you know that Mr. Quinn is up. If you’d like to see him, this would be a good time.”
“I’m on my way.” Spencer hurried into the hospital then took the elevator up to the VIP floor.
When compared to the rest of the hospital, the VIP floor was like a different world. The elevator opened into a lounge that was lined with expensive and comfortable beige furniture. The walls had been painted a cool cream instead of the regular hospital-white. There was a large TV to entertain the floor’s esteemed guests, a sign saying that fast, wireless internet access was available, and a large shelf filled with books. Even the few doctors milling around wore white jackets instead of the traditional doctor’s coat.
Lawrence’s suite was even more luxurious. In fact, it was better than most five-star hotel rooms. Several windows lined the north wall, bathing the large room in plenty of sunlight. The fresh flowers (from friends, colleagues, employees and even enemies) that occupied every free surface in the room, only made the room seem brighter and larger. So large was the room, that it had its own visitors lounge complete with expensive furniture, and an en-suite. Spencer suspected that if they could get away with it, they would’ve even fitted crystal chandeliers in the rooms.
The only hospital-ish thing in the room was the bed; a white cot with side rails and flunked with various medical equipment to monitor Lawrence. The man of the hour himself was lying on the raised bed while a doctor and nurse examined him. The three people in the room turned when Spencer stepped into the room.
“Ah, Spencer. Finally here.” The doctor offered him a smile. “Lawrence has been asking for you.”
“Has he?” Spencer crossed the room to stop by Lawrence’s bed. He almost teared up at the sight of his godfather smiling up at him. Just a few days ago, he’d been worried that he’d never see Lawrence’s smile again. Spencer grinned. “How are you feeling, old man?”