it was a legend in these halls. He was built like a swimmer, tall and toned, but that wasn’t even what people couldn’t shut up about. It also wasn’t that he was revered by his peers and was thought to be one of the most intelligent doctors around.
It was the fact that, while working full time at the hospital and apparently volunteering some of his time to help out veterans, he had also developed some kind of machine that had turned him into a billionaire.
Being hot, smart, and rich meant he was a perfect trifecta for all those who liked to gossip, and there were a lot of those people in this hospital. I couldn’t deny that I was one of those myself, but it was more because I couldn’t avoid it.
The front desk was a point of convergence for everyone from the different departments, which meant that people shared a plethora of information while they handed files or patients off, walked them in, or came along to discharge them.
When I’d first started working there, I’d tried to tune it all out, but in time, it had become like a soap opera I just couldn’t stop watching. Tuning all gossip out had slowly become listening with half an ear, then a whole ear, then eventually became listening unashamedly. And now, I was a full-blown part of it.
I was glad for it now, though. At least I had the lowdown on the doctor who was treating my daughter. I had to admit that so far, he was living up to the hype.
The guy was kind but direct, honest, patient, and, strangely enough, great with kids. It didn’t hurt that he was so easy on the eyes, either. Not that it mattered medically, but I wasn’t blind. Now that the initial shock had worn off, I would’ve had to be not to notice the whole sex on a stick thing.
“Mommy?” Adi whispered, and my spine shot straight up in my chair.
I squeezed her hand and smiled down at her, shutting all thoughts of anything and everyone else out of my mind now that she was awake again. “I’m here, baby.”
“Did I fall asleep again?” she asked before yawning and stretching out her legs.
I nodded. “You dozed off after we got back from the CAT scan.”
“Oh yeah.” She blinked the sleep out of her eyes. “Why is it called a CAT scan?”
“I’m not sure, baby. We can ask the doctor when he gets back with the results.” When Chris had mentioned earlier that he needed to send Adi for the scan, my heart had sunk all the way to China.
I’d been holding on to hope that maybe she wouldn’t have to be operated on, but it seemed like it might just have to happen. When he’d spoken about it in that calm, deep, whiskey-wrapped-in-smoke voice of his, it had all sounded like it would be okay.
It was only once he’d left that it dawned on me that my little girl might just really need surgery. I’d spent the next hour silently cursing Craig. Honestly, I wished I could rip his tiny dick off with my bare hands for this, but that would probably end with me in prison.
I wasn’t afraid of much, but even I didn’t particularly want to end up in the big house. Plus, that would mean that Adi would have to stay with Katie for a while, and I’d never hear the end of it.
No, it was better Craig kept his tiny, talentless dick. As long as he kept his butt away from us while he was at it.
Adi’s voice interrupted my thoughts. “Mommy, if a CAT scan is for cats, why did I have to go in it?”
I grinned at her. “We’ll have to ask the doctor that one, too.”
It would be interesting to see what he came up with on the fly. Fuck only knew my head was too flat after events of the last day to come up with any quirky answers for her.
“Okay,” she agreed. “I’ll ask him. Where is he anyway?”
I stroked her fingers with my thumb, looking up at the door. “He’ll be here soon. I think he’s just waiting on your results.”
Knowing this hospital, he was probably also so overloaded with patients that it could be hours before we saw him again. But something in my gut told me he’d be by as soon as he could.
Your hormones aren’t in your gut, the snarkier version of me spoke from a corner of my