Page 19 of Manhattan State of Mind

“I’ll let her know. She’s with her mom now. Please, wait here,” she says, heading toward Lucy’s room.

What are a few more minutes in the grand scheme of things? This week’s been hell anyway.

I watch as she disappears behind the hospital room door. I stand by it, stuffing my hands in my pockets to hide my clenched fists.

I’ve never been so nervous in my life. If Lucy hated me before the accident, it’ll be tenfold now.

I hear Dr. Ramirez from within the room. “Lucy,” she says.

“Hi, doc,” comes Lucy’s tired reply.

A sharp pain pierces my chest.

“JP is here,” Dr. Ramirez says.

An eerie silence follows. Thick and suffocating.

“Who?”

I want to throw open the door but I’m frozen, stunned. What the fuck?

Another pause.

“JP… Wolfe?” Dr. Ramirez questions, uncertainty creeping into her voice.

“JP Wolfe?” Lucy’s words come out slurred and sluggish. My hand itches to open the door, but Lucy’s words stop me cold. “Mr. Wooooolfe? Wha… Why’s he here?”

Her words hit me harder than any punch. My hand freezes mid-air. What the hell is happening?

“Would you like me to ask him to come back another time?” Dr. Ramirez asks.

“No!” Panic and confusion fill Lucy’s foggy voice. “Why’s he here? Am I in some kind of trouble?”

Leaning heavily against the cold wall outside her room, I struggle to draw in full breaths. The harsh reality slams into me. To her, I’m back to being Mr. Wolfe.

It took forever to make her see me not just as a corporate shark but as a man who bled when cut, who hurt when wounded, who had vulnerabilities like anyone else. To allow her past my defenses? That was even tougher. But I did it.

She might have mistaken her love for hatred in the heat of recent events, but at least there was passion, there was sentiment.

Now? We’re back to square fucking one.

“Who is he, darling?” another female voice, presumably her mother, pipes up.

“He owns the freaking company! The woooolf! But it can’t be… can it? Not him.”

“It’s okay,” Dr. Ramirez says soothingly. “I’ll let him know now isn’t a good time.”

“Oh my God, what if he’s here to fire me?” Lucy’s panic returns. “I’ve met him before… sometimes, I think… or was it just once? I don’t remember…” She trails off, her voice full of despair. “My head feels funny. All floaty and dopey…”

I clench my fists against the cold wall, my heart hammering like I’ve been injected with enough adrenaline to take me down.

A feeling of helplessness washes over me, stronger and more powerful than anything I’ve ever felt. I was ready for anger, for hatred, for resentment. But this… I wasn’t prepared for this.

A growl seethes in my chest, a primal sound that echoes in the hushed corridor. Maybe loud enough for them to hear in the hospital room.

“Everything’s okay, Lucy,” Dr. Ramirez attempts to reassure her.

“I can’t see my boss like this. I look like a trainwreck.”