Page 7

Ellie

If he had gone silent for the weekend, I would have understood. I fully understood taking a weekend and sorting out your feelings and trying to wrap your head around too much.

I’d done it.

I’d done it to him even. Fine, it was Sunday to Tuesday or whatever, but I understood that.

But I’d never ignored him. When he’d shown up at my door, I hadn’t turned and walked the other way or ignored him and just gone inside.

That was basically what he’d done when he ignored my text Monday.

And Tuesday.

Oh, and he literally turned around and walked away when he saw me at work on Tuesday.

I was a lot less understanding when a week went by.

And I was all out of understanding when another weekend passed without a word from him, especially since I’d sent more than two texts by then. I’d also left a few messages asking that he at least check in and tell me if he needed time.

Or if he was out.

I got nothing in reply. Not a damn thing.

Bastard.

So I was in less than a pleasant mood even if summer was right around the corner. Actually that normally put me in a shittier mood anyways. Most loved summer.

It was practically a requirement when living in the South.

I wasn’t a fan of the heat. I would take being cold over being hot every day that ended in Y.

So all of them.

Fine, now and again I did love laying out by the condo’s pool and getting some fresh vitamin D, but… The rest of the time it was too fucking hot.

It was too fucking hot right then at the end of April.

I flinched when something bumped my leg, snapping out of my snarly thoughts about stupid men and the stupid summer too. Glancing down, I saw bright green eyes blinking up at me.

“I’m lost,” the child said to me and reached for my hand.

I let him take it but studied him a moment. I swallowed a sigh. He looked between five and ten and probably too young to be left alone by parents. I couldn’t ever tell the ages of children. People always picked on me for that.

First, I wasn’t a damn pediatrician. I dealt with adults and was rarely around children. Second, everything was more confusing when it came to supes.

Very fucking confusing.

I’d seen fifteen-year-old warlocks who looked seven because their magic hadn’t flourished correctly and it had stunted their physical growth. On the flip side, I’d met seven-year-old shifters who I would have sworn were fifteen.

We weren’t human. Everything was more complicated.

“Let’s find your mom or dad,” I said to him with the best smile I could manage.

“Daddy, no mom,” he mumbled, glancing around before looking up at me. “What’s a house husband?”

“What?” I asked, studying him again. This child was filled with a lot of confusion, but he wasn’t scared or even worried about being lost.

That was odd, right? Or were children… I had no idea.

“Daddy said to be nice to you because he could be a house husband then,” the kid mumbled.

Okay, so he was old enough to easily understand but still young enough where he wasn’t the best at keeping secrets.

“Is that so?” I chuckled darkly. “What else did he say before he sent you on this mission?”

The child beamed at me. “Daddy called it that too. Rich Mommy Mission. He said I’m too cute for anyone to turn down.”

No kid was that cute… Though he was a cute pup. “Do you know where your daddy is? Is that why you’re confused? You aren’t actually lost?” I swallowed a snort when the kid immediately spilled the beans.

He excitedly told me about the big new room he would have and all the toys—the new expensive school he was going to attend when I became his stepmom. Not that he wanted me or a mom—he wanted stuff .

That’s why I wouldn’t feel bad giving a very firm no to this proposal.

Fuck no.

We “found” his dad at the security desk being the worst actor in the world.

“Just stop,” I told him firmly when he went to start the next act of this whole stupid play. “Your son is a better man than you because he’s honest and has integrity. He told me everything.”

His son nodded. “I told her about my new big room when she becomes my stepmom.”

Everyone around us froze.

“Who is this man?” I asked security, saying loudly that I wasn’t involved with him for everyone watching. “He’s not just a patient if he knows too much about me.”

The security guard gave me a pitying look. “I wouldn’t be sure about that, Ms. Reed. It’s spreading like wildfire.” He waited until I nodded. “But he’s a regular driver—delivers medical equipment to the hospital.”

I nodded and covered the boy’s ears, giving the dad a death look.

“You are disgusting and vile . Sending your child to—women don’t just lose their minds over kids.

And the fact you promised a list of everything you cannot give him to get him excited—disgusting.

You think because you bring a child to the picture that is worthy of getting my money?

“I can have children. I’m not unable or even—you are an idiot, and I hope he inherited his mother’s intelligence.” I let out a slow breath to get myself under control before I just yelled all day. “But you’re right that he is a cute child and he makes me feel something.”

It was seriously hard not to punch the guy when his eyes filled with hope.

“That you’re lucky he’s a good boy and confessed,” I hissed.

“And he was honest that his father is an idiot because otherwise I might make the call to get you fired .” I nodded when the guy went pale.

“The fact you’re shocked is also disgusting, but if you dare yell at this child for being honest or try to punish him, I will. ”

I took my hands off the boy’s ears and told him to go by his dad.

The kid frowned up at me. “But Daddy said if I talked to you that you’d be my stepmom and we’d get all the cool stuff.”

I felt worlds better when everyone around us—patients and staff—looked at the dad with utter disgust. I ran my hand over the boy’s hair and caught a glance of someone else.

“You are adorable, but that’s not enough for me to act stupid.

You can’t just do bad things and be rewarded because you’re a cute pup. ”

And I said it while staring at Ha-joon. He’d walked up onto the scene with a few other doctors, so the timing was fitting.

“Don’t ever try this again on any other woman, and if you ever treat your son like a tool for your financial gain, I’ll call family services. So this better be the last time you try and act as a con man, yes?”

“Yes, Ms. Reed,” he mumbled, wise enough to not even try to deny it. “Sorry.” He grabbed his kid and practically raced out of there, the poor kid asking when they were moving into my house if they were leaving.

For the love of fuck.

“So you’ve had a day,” Dr. Joyce Tai said as she came over to me, glancing towards the exit before meeting my gaze again. The WTF look she gave me was fairly hysterical.

“I always have those kinds of days,” I drawled before looking at security. “Let’s make sure he doesn’t come back when he’s not working. I’m not the only one he could target here.”

He nodded but gave me a funny look. I held back a sigh until Joyce and I were alone. Clearly, something was up with that.

“Some of the former board are running their mouths that you hid that you were a doctor and your wealth because you don’t manage it well,” she explained. “That it was all from a mate and—you know how—”

I burst out laughing which shocked her, but it was maybe one of the stupidest rumors anyone had ever come up with about me. It took me a few moments to calm down, but when I did I had to wipe under my eyes. “If you had any clue all I’d done to not have to mate—fuck, that’s so funny.”

I shook my head and walked towards my office, ignoring her curious looks. Maybe soon.

Maybe one day I could actually open up about my past.

But probably not.

The whole situation resonated with me though. I’d always known how cruel people could be, but… It just never got better.

So I needed to be better to myself.

I made some calls and set up a few appointments. One was a recommendation from Sean and could fit me in during lunch. It seemed like such a foreign idea, but people did it all of the time.

People actually handled their lives during the day and made allowances for themselves.

My immediate staff were beyond shocked when I told them that I was stepping out to handle something personal during lunch but could be reached on my cell. It was actually amusing.

Like one of them dropped their sandwich in surprise amusing.

Dr. Renee Bass intercepted me on my way out. She was the Head of Psychiatry and Mental Wellness, and I’d asked for help a few times recently. She cut me a quick glance but was unreadable otherwise. “Lunch meeting?”

I nodded. “I’ve never updated my condo since it was built. I liked some of the newer features in another unit that I saw. Sean gave me a recommendation for a contractor and he could fit me in today to start getting some ideas—measure the space.”

“And this is a response to this morning?”

“It’s a response to a lot of things and even your reassuring me that my spa Saturdays are healthy. If the world will always beat on me no matter how much I help, I need to make sure I’m helping myself too.”

“Good, glad to hear it.”

I stopped when I got near the door, knowing there was more to this. I turned to her with a tight smile. “What’s up?”

She sighed and nodded, moving in closer and lowering her voice. “Joyce wasn’t gossiping.”

“I know. She never does.” I bounced that around. She actually did all of the time but more passed information to me and what was being said around the hospital. “She never betrays a confidence.”

That was very true.

Renee nodded, glad at least I understood this wasn’t an attack. “She said she sensed panic and fear coming off of you when you laughed about the situation this morning. She feared the whole thing triggered you and you said something…”

I thought about it a moment and frowned. “I didn’t think I felt that, just annoyed at the absurdity. I can’t say she was wrong.”