My Forbidden Doctor: A Secret Baby Medical Romance Page 4

  "You look beautiful."

  "Oh, Carl." Leaning to kiss her cheek, my smile widened at her breathlessness, and she hugged Laurie as I pulled out my sister's chair. "Laurie, you look amazing! What a surprise!"

  "Yeah..." Laurie sat down to fold her hands in her lap, her sequin, black dress draping over her legs smoothly.

  Rounding the table to help my mom sit, I couldn't help but notice how Augustus hadn't stood up to be introduced. Out of the corner of my eye, he seemed nervous, almost, and I pursed my lips to hide my frown.

  "So, this is a nice restaurant. I thought we would've gone to somewhere with seafood considering the season."

  "Oh, well, Augustus and I had planned to do seafood, but there was a problem with reservations at The Golden Pearl—"

  Wait a minute, I just ran into Melissa there the other day. Those tacos were amazing.

  "I thought Italian food was a good idea. Don't you eat too much seafood all the time, anyway, Carl? Aren't you tired of it?"

  "The same dish can be made as differently as there are people in the world, Mom. There's no such thing as getting tired of it." My reply earned me a soft sigh, and my mom shook her head as I sat down in the only chair unoccupied. Having four people put me directly across from Augustus, and he actively avoided looking at me as I straightened my jacket. "So, how long have you been dating?"

  "Oh, well, we're not dating... just casually seeing each other." My mom blushed out of the corner of my eye, but she only spoke up when it was obvious that Augustus wouldn't.

  My opinion of him tanked hard, if that was even possible, and I tore my eyes off him with no intention of giving him another thought.

  Posh as it seemed, when I asked someone a question, I wanted that person to answer. I expected someone to stand and greet me in a situation like this. Hell, it was common courtesy to shake my damn hand, at least.

  Once again, Laurie and I shared a discreet frown when our mom's attention turned to the waitress who materialized between her and I.

  Chapter 7

  Melissa

  Twiddling my thumbs while I waited to be called, I couldn't stop thinking of what Terry had said. Days had passed, and him comparing my asthma attack to my dad actively hitting me with a car consumed my every waking moment. In times like this, I wished I had a job just to get my mind off it, and I debated getting one long before when I'd planned it.

  My mom had too much money, some would say, but I could live comfortably and relatively easy. She'd left me twenty-five million dollars, and my dad five million, because she'd not gotten around to changing her will. Staring at a particularly deep crease in the carpet, I frowned and scrunched up my nose.

  She'd had an appointment to cut my dad out after they'd fought about his cheating a few too many times. There was a week, maybe, between getting in that accident and getting free of my dad.

  "If she hadn't died, but divorced him, it'd be a lot easier not to see him." My voice was overly loud in the quiet, empty waiting room, and I tensed when I felt questioning eyes on me. Blinking hard, I tore my eyes off the carpet to find Carl gazing at me under brows knit with questions. "Oh— I didn't hear you."

  "I certainly heard you, Melissa. Is everything alright?"

  I stood up hastily, holding my purse under my arm as I nodded curtly.

  Gesturing me with a wave of my own file, Carl held open the door for me. My knees wobbled as I ducked a little under his arm, and the fine hairs on my back bristled when his weighty gaze slid down.

  But he was quick to catch himself, and Carl cleared his throat roughly before leading me through to an exam room.

  "Does this have anything to do with your dad and that asthma attack you had?"

  Again, I nodded, and I set my purse on the exam table to hop up and stuff my hands between my legs.

  "How did your mother die? If you don't mind my asking? Did she have allergies?"

  "Yeah, to my dad's cheating." Scrunching up my nose, I puffed out my lips at how distasteful that sentence was. Carl sat on his little, wheeled stool to hold his file on his lap, and my frown soured. "She had been drinking and driving. She crashed into a building when I was sixteen. She'd come home drunk and got into a huge fight with my dad about him talking on the phone with another woman. The last thing I ever said to her was that I wished she wouldn't start drinking until at least after dinner, you know? But— anyway, yeah."

  Trailing off awkwardly, I inhaled deeply through my nose, and Carl's dark eyes met mine. I could see it in him that he understood somehow, but I didn't have the heart to ask him about it.

  "My mom's second husband, my sister's father, died of heart failure about eleven years ago, now. It really tore my sister up, since she was only nine years old at the time."

  My jaw hit my sternum, but Carl smiled encouragingly, comfortingly, as my throat tightened in horror.

  "Does your dad know the severity of your asthma?"

  "Um— yes. He wanted to go somewhere 'nice' to give me some 'big news'. The Golden Pearl is one of my favorite restaurants— the waitresses all know me. He insisted on getting a table outside because there was plenty of air and it eased his nerves." I still couldn't understand how my dad thought it was a good idea, even now over a week later. "My allergies were already acting up on the ride over, but I thought we'd be sitting inside, so I didn't take anything for them."

  "You seem a lot more disturbed by it now than at the Pearl. Did something else happen this past week?"

  My expression must've said it all.

  Carl insisted, "Go ahead, Mel. I'm your doctor, and this is important."

  "O-okay. Well... my best friend basically said it's the same as if my dad was driving and intentionally hit me with the car. It's really stuck with me."

  Carl tensed, his expression freezing at the unexpectedness of my declaration.

  I lowered my head into my hands to groan loudly. "I don't know what to do. He's my dad, but Terry's right. He treats me like I'm not his kid— ever since I turned thirteen and graduated middle school, he just... gave up on me."

  Misery wobbled in my voice, and I frowned into my palms before threading my fingers through my hair. Inhaling deeply, my breath hitched when a strong, firm hand pressed firmly against my upper back. I hadn't even heard Carl stand up, and warmth radiated from his touch. My heart leaped into my throat as surprise slammed into my diaphragm, and I peeked up at him from under my eyelashes.

  Carl's tender gaze flooded with sympathy, and, for a fraction of a second, the room around us disappeared. My heart beat wildly, intensifying the ache behind my eyes as I blinked back my sorrow and cowardice.

  "It's not easy to accept how a person affects you, Melissa. Good or bad. If your father is endangering your health, I don't know if there's anything you can tell yourself to make it better— at least, not in the long run." He spoke gently, soothingly.

  My throat tightened from the emotions crawling up to stain my tongue. The fine hairs on my cheek and shoulder bristled when I leaned to the side, resting my face on his broad, hard chest. Very hesitantly, he cupped my head, his other hand rubbing my back comfortingly.

  And it was comforting. Taking a few breaths as my heart slowed and the ugly feelings emptied from around my lungs, I closed my eyes. Carl pressed his palm against my back a little harder, just over my left lung, as I managed a shuddering exhale.

  "This is bad..." My murmur didn't evoke any reaction from him, and Carl swiped his thumb under my ear gingerly.

  "This is fine. Emotional stress affects your ability to breathe, too, Mel. Since I won't knowingly subject you to your allergies, this is perfectly fine."

  I didn't have a reply to that, and Carl's low tone raised goosebumps under my thin turtleneck. He might've said it was medical, but his touch lingered a few seconds too long before he very softly caressed my jaw. His fingers made their way to my chin, and he tilted my head up to catch my eyes.

  He's so handsome. The thought struck me even while Carl pinched the bridge of my nose lightly, b
ut his eyes didn't stray from mine. My mouth dried when the meaty part of his palm brushed my lips, and I curled my hands into fists between my thighs. The heat threatened to peel the skin from my fingers, only growing more intense when those luscious, dark eyes flashed with something.

  "I wish you weren't my patient."

  My eyes widened at his hoarse whisper, and Carl seemed to snap out of it. In a flash, his hands disappeared as he stepped back hastily, and surprise dragged down my cheeks. Turmoil rippled heavily across his strong features, and he coughed to give himself an excuse to wash his hands and face away from me.

  "I apologize— that was very unprofessional of me."

  "... I wish I weren't your patient, too."

  Carl's shoulders stiffened under his starched, white button down at my words.

  Licking my lips heavily as the steady sound of water blasting the aluminum sink filled every inch of the room, I shook my head a little. "I'd rather not die in my sleep, though."

  "Yes— no, of course not."

  Glaring at my knees at my own stupidity and naivety, I scowled lightly while Carl focused hard on washing his hands.

  "Speaking of sleep, how has that been going?"

  "Not good, to be honest. The technician for the sleep study was even surprised at how bad my asthma is when I'm lying down. That's not even counting what pollen gets into my apartment and stuff."

  Drying his hands, Carl nodded and took a shoulder-heaving breath before turning to face me. His professional mask set in place, and he swiped the folder off the counter to pop it open. Awkwardness wiggled between my ribs, but I couldn't let it get in the way of possibly getting a good night's sleep.

  "I have a cat— I'm not allergic to her, but sometimes she sleeps on me and makes it worse."

  "You may need to get tested again. You already have a history of spontaneous allergies, so I'd strongly recommend it. Your pollen allergy manifested when you were nineteen, but you're the right age to be at risk for another one. Do you want to do that today, or...?" Glancing up at me, Carl arched a brow quizzically. Indecision warred in my chest, but he was patient when it became obvious I wasn't going to answer immediately. "Since you're having such a hard time, and the test will back it up, I'm going to order you a CPAP machine. You should be able to pick it up from the hospital's medical supply store when you leave."

  "Oh, thank you. I hope it works. Otherwise, I don't know what I'm going to do. I really like this town. I don't want to move."

  Just like that, Carl's head whipped up, his mask slipping before it'd even rested on his face fully. Frowning more to myself, I shook my head a little.

  "It's just a thought I had. With everything happening with my dad, and my allergies acting up so bad, I thought that maybe a change would be warranted. I'm not allergic to pine, and there's a lot of places I haven't been to that are supposedly good for allergy sufferers."

  "... Well, if you're going to move, let me know when you make a decision so I can find an appropriate referral." Carl spoke slowly, his voice thick with unsaid words, his eyes gleaming with sparkles that shouldn't be there.

  Ducking my head in a nod, I pursed my lips thinly as flames licked up my neck. This time, he didn't even bother to apologize as he cleared his throat softly.

  "So, I'll send in the order, and you're welcome to take your time. I'd give it about fifteen minutes before you head over."

  Chapter 8

  Carl

  "Yeah, I'm leaving now. How was Mom's?" My sister groaned over the phone, and I grimaced as I shoved my arms through my suit jacket. "That bad, huh?"

  "Don't get me wrong— I'm glad she's found someone to spend time with, but I don't wanna hear about it. Also, he seems like an asshole."

  I nodded as I switched my phone from one ear to the other and slapped my jacket against my shoulders.

  For a second, Laurie paused to sigh roughly before continuing her little tangent. "I'm really, really not interested in how sweet this guy is, or how they did whatever together, or what they're planning to do. Not only am I a little bitter because I broke up with Matt at the beginning of the year, but... like, Mom— I don't want to hear about all the expensive stuff you do, okay. I'm glad you're happy, but everything costs money, and I don't understand why she'd doesn't see this guy as a gold digger. Can only women be gold diggers? That guy's definitely a gold digger."

  "Yeah, I'm not exactly fond of him, either. He didn't make the best impression. Is it too lordly of me to expect him to stand up and shake my hand, tell me his name, even?"

  My sister grunted grumpily as I snatched my briefcase off my desk and headed for the door.

  "I understand not wanting to be 'Dad' or whatever, but if Mom didn't tell me his name, I wouldn't know it. That's not right."

  Flicking the lights off, I glanced around my office once more before stepping out into the hallway. Laurie's heavy breaths sounded loud in my ears, and our bashing session was put on hold as I pulled my Bluetooth out of my jacket pocket. The offices were quiet, dark, and I hooked my device to my ear to slide my phone into my pocket.

  "Anyway, what are you doing right now? Your lungs sound great." Wandering down the hallway toward the reception area, I smiled when Laurie snorted roughly at my compliment.

  "I'm on my way home from my jog to take a shower before we have dinner tonight. I need to think of stuff other than Mom and that guy, too. It's bad taste to just shit on someone unless it's directly to their face."

  I couldn't help but laugh at that, and I crossed the threshold to halt mid-step. Surprise made my brows arch at the figure hanging around the waiting area, a small envelop under his arm.

  "Excuse me? Can I help you?"

  The slender man whipped around, intelligent, if not a little droopy, brown eyes meeting mine.

  "Just a sec, okay?"

  My sister hummed as I took out my Bluetooth, and the guy cleared his throat before curtly holding out the envelope.

  "Carl Northrop, you're being investigated by HR."

  "What!" A shocked scoff escaped me, and I took the envelope to rip off the side. There, plain as day, was a summons to HR for the morning, and I ground my teeth hard. When I looked up, the guy was gone, and the page in my hands crinkled overly loud in my ears.

  Did the hospital somehow find out about what happened with Melissa? But there were no cameras in the exam rooms, and it wouldn't have shown anything, anyway.

  Oh, fuck— did she report me for harassment or something? Melissa didn't strike me as the kind of person to do something so— so underhanded, though. Considering how she dealt with her dad, it's entirely likely she'd just ignore me and trudge on. Maybe, if I got persistent enough or something, she'd find a new pulmonologist if she were desperate.

  But she wasn't desperate, and I sure as shit didn't push my luck or make her feel threatened or uncomfortable.

  Sticking my Bluetooth in my ear once again, I straightened out my summons to scan the paragraph again. There wasn't even a hint of why I was being investigated, and my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth.

  "Shit— Laurie, we might have something to talk about. I just got summoned to HR for an investigation."

  She gasped, the line crackling sharply and whipping my brain, and I covered my mouth to hide my grimace.

  "God. I haven't even been here for two whole months yet, and I'm already being investigated for something. It says here I've been suspended pending the outcome! What the Hell!"

  Panic heightened my tone, and I crumpled up the letter to stuff it roughly in my jacket pocket.

  "I cannot believe this!" Hissing as I stormed out of my office, I instantly bristled as eyes immediately scanned my body.

  My head whipped up, and frustration turned my blood to sludge in my veins when I saw Eva leaning against the wall outside her own office. She looked so smug, so haughty, and my eyes narrowed into slits.

  "You didn't have anything to do with that, right? Because whatever you're trying to do to get me to have sex with you, it's not gonna wo
rk, Eva. What kind of stupid do you have to be to think initiating an investigation with HR on me is going to make me sleep with you?"

  Eva's jaw dropped to her non-existent chest at my extremely candid words, and surprise flashed in her wide, blue eyes. Today was not the day for this, and my lip curled in a vicious snarl. Straightening to flounce toward me in her tight pants-suit, she picked up her jaw enough to frown and stabbed my chest with her polished nail.

  "You should've slept with me. Now, you're going to suffer the consequences. I hope you like scrubbing toilets, Carl, because even having an inquiry about sleeping with patients is going to get you fired."

  I was speechless, fuming as she strutted past me with a flick of her hair and a little huff. To be so brazen...! All I could do for a long few seconds was glare at the spot Eva had just been, my face flaming so hot it could melt off my skull.

  "... Carl?" Sucking in a sharp breath at my sister's call, my cheek twitched in agitation. "Do you want me to go with you to HR tomorrow?"

  "I— I don't even know. I need to think. I don't understand what the Hell just happened? Did she really just say that?" My question echoed down the empty hallway, and Laurie grunted lowly into my ear. "I would never sleep with a patient."

  "But she's right, Carl. Just having the investigation on your record is something you may not be able to recover from. I'm not a lawyer yet, but I know enough about ethics violations to acknowledge she's got you pinned. You never mentioned you were having trouble with someone?"

  Disgust and panic mingled a volatile storm in my chest, and I practically growled as I turned on my heel to take the stairs. I was shaking, my eyes stinging and disbelief slowing my mind.

  Was this really happening? Right now? After my appointment with Melissa earlier, I just had to get served with false allegations? No matter what the fuck I told myself, what I did with her was still inappropriate.

  Mel just looked really heartbroken, and it reminded me so much of Laurie when her dad died. I couldn't stop myself from comforting her, and then I noticed the gold flecks in her eyes, and...