After what seemed to be the best weekend I’d had in too long, dawn was here on Monday morning, and it was time to return to work. Never once had I dreaded a weekend ending and returning to work until now. I loved my job, there was no doubt about that, but I also loved every second of being with Ash.
She never fully opened up about herself, but instead, she did what she seemed to be a master of skill at: she turned all the questions on me, or she twisted the conversation into some bizarre way of looking at the world through a more creative mind.
Perhaps that’s why I was drawn to her more than ever. She relaxed my stubborn, scientific mind and my black and white way of looking at the world. She might, in fact, be an art therapist. Who knew. I just felt more open and relaxed around her jovial spirit, which seemed to change after we rode up the coast and hiked around the area where we had lunch.
Her face seemed brighter, her voice was riddled with excitement, and she teased me constantly. After spending two sunsets and sunrises with her, I felt like the asshole player I was known to be was gone. Strange how a woman could change my way of thinking so much that I could hardly remember being the guy who slept with women for the hell of it.
I snapped out of my dreamy state—yeah, dreamy state—a whole new me that was going to be eaten alive by my brother and friends. All of my thoughts were recalling not just the fantastic sex with Ash, but the engaging conversations we shared when I was greeted by a mob of people outside my office parking structure.
Fucking hell! I thought as I found my parking spot, working up the courage to get out of my car. I shouldered my briefcase and worked vigorously to get through flashing camera lights, video cameras, and, God help me, a local news anchor with a microphone being shoved in my face. I smiled through my pissed-off feelings and worked to maneuver my way into the front door of the office.
Sandy was there, peeking around the glass entry doors and unlocking the sliding doors for me. “You okay, Dr. Mitchell?” she asked with a nervous laugh.
I eyed her, reining in my destroyed mood. I couldn’t go off on her, my nurses, or any of my staff in the office. “Keep the doors locked until I can get security down there to get rid of those people.”
“Jake.” She laughed. “You’re pretty much everyone’s dream guy on social media, you know that?”
“What?” I forced out. “No, I didn’t realize that.”
“Right, you’re not on social media.” She winced. “Yeah, so you and some girl—”
“Me and some girl?” I felt my heart fall out of rhythm, and my partner in surgery, Dr. Chi, was going to have to save my ass if I didn’t take a breath and get my blood pressure down.
“Some blonde. I guess you and James were at Gypsy’s last weekend?”
“That’s old news, why the hell is it just—” I stopped, half grateful Ash’s face wasn’t in this mess, and half outraged that this shit blew up almost overnight. “Don’t worry about it. I just got back from my rounds. At least they don’t know my schedule…yet.” I rolled my eyes. “Can you get the coffee on? I need to call security and get these people out of here.”
“It’s already done, and I’m going against everything you know I am when I say this,” she smirked, “but I’ll make you a cup. You deserve it.”
“Thank you, Sandy. Are the rest in here?”
“Everyone is searching on Twitter—”
“Got it. I take my coffee black,” I said. “I can’t hear any more about this. Can you do me a favor and send Haley into my office?”
“Got it.”
“She can carry my coffee.” I softened up some at my receptionist. “It’ll help to keep her off social media until I can talk to her.”
“Good call.”
After a quick call, security did a fantastic job of clearing out the media mob, and I had exactly fifteen minutes before my first patient was set to arrive. I needed to call Jim. This was a more significant issue than merely intruding into my personal life. This was a risk to my patients.
“Make it quick, I barely got into my office,” Jim barked, answering my call.
“Good, so now you’ll understand why you or Alex need to get someone down here to keep these mobs away from the hospital and my goddamn office.”
“What?” he snapped.
“Yeah, from your shitty temper, I’m willing to bet you were met by a mob on your way into work this morning too. My situation calls for the security you have at HQ, so get them over here. We don’t have the staff on security, and this sure as fuck is not their problem.”
“Take a breath, Jake,” he said. I could tell he was shuffling through the skyscraper to get up to his office on the top floor.
“I’m not taking a fucking breath until you tell me you have hired more security or sent your bodyguards over here to protect my patients from the impending heart attack I’m tasked to save them from.”
“I’ve got it. Hold on.” I heard him talking to Alex while I practically broke my pen in half, waiting for him to bark orders at the president of our family’s company. “Okay, ten minutes?” he said to Alex. “Jake, you there?”
“Yes,” I answered.
“Ten minutes, and you’ll have men over there to prevent people from disrupting your patients.”
“I want them off the hospital grounds completely!”
“We’ll keep them a safe distance away from the hospital, that’s all I can give you.”
I couldn’t believe this shit. My brother, who ran the goddamn world, was talking to me like his hands were tied. “If your bullshit resolution doesn’t work,” I seethed, “then they’ll be reporting on cops arresting media and anyone with a cell phone on the hospital grounds.”
“Jake, calm the fuck down,” Jim ordered me. “That’s not happening, and you know it. They’ll be watched and removed from going near anyone who is visiting St. John’s.”
“Thank you. I’d hate to think we’d have women in premature labor, heart attacks—”
“Jesus, Jake,” Jim snapped. “I get it!”
“You get it? If you got it, Jim, then it would’ve all been handled. We can’t have the hospital in this state of chaos. Do you want to bring this place down? Fine, then just sit there and act like I’m dramatic or whatever you’d like.”
“I’ll talk to you later.”
With that, both of us hung up. I could tell Jim was as frustrated as I was, and now the Mitchell building was probably being overrun with the press, wondering about God-knows-what in Jim’s life and the company that our family started. This was a disaster.
“Haley,” I hit the intercom that rang to her earpiece.
“Yes, Dr. Mitchell?”
“Everything cool out there?”
“None of us are on social media if that’s what you’re asking.”
I pinched the bridge between my nose, and Haley walked into my office. The blonde nurse who was attractive as fuck waltzed in with her tits practically spilling out of the top of her dress.
“Why aren’t you wearing a smock over that dress?” I asked, furious she was dressed so unprofessionally.
She gave me some look I was not expecting from her. I knew doctors fucked nurses—and all other manner of staff for that matter—but Haley worked as my closest RN for at least four years now, and there was never any shit like this between us. I felt a knot tighten in my stomach.
“Well,” her voice was sultry and unexpected, “it appears that you, Dr. Jacob—”
I stood abruptly. “Is this a nightmare, and I’m just not waking up from it?” I questioned, turning my back to her and gazing at the cityscape view that I knew Ash loved. “Haley,” my voice and blood pressure lowered, “you and I both have a job to do, and we both will do it well. You will do best to act like the registered nurse who works with me, or you will be working with another doctor. Whatever is on your mind due to this chaos, end it immediately, or we can no longer work together.”
“I’m giving you a hard time, Jacob,” she said with annoyance.
“I’m not in the mood. You know exactly how I feel about what you believe to be funny, and this dress that is highly inappropriate to wear in the office. Cover it with a smock, or get to the hospital, find your scrubs, and change.”
“I get it.” She sighed, cheeks bright red when I turned around. “Sorry. I really am.”
“Thank you for understanding,” I said. “I’ll have Steph accompany me with all of my patients for this morning.” She turned to leave. “Haley?”
“Yes, Doctor?”
“I want all phones off social media until all of this settles down. We have to run this office with you as the best example for all of our nursing staff. I expect everyone will honor that while we work to end the nonsense of the media taking an aggressive interest in this business.”
“I’ll talk to the ladies.”
“I’m sure they’ve already seen you dressed like this?” I waved my hand over her dress.
“Yes,” she answered.
“Talk with the girls, and make sure everyone is in scrubs.”
“Yes, Doctor.”
She walked out of the door, and I rubbed my forehead, trying to take a few breaths and remove every cluster fuck that had hit me sideways since stepping up to my office this morning. Shit, this wasn’t going to get any better—I had to brace myself for the worst, and that was not in my personality. I went to my refrigerator, opened the glass door, and pulled out an ice-cold bottle of water, downing the thing instantly. I walked over and sat at my desk. Hopefully, going through Mr. Smith’s charts, my first patient, would help clear my head and pull me into the zone of just doing my job—my job that was strangely ruining my life.
I should’ve never done that docuseries. In a million years, I would have never in my life seen this coming.
