Chapter Nine
Jamie’s first day back at work after her days off made her feel like Cinderella coming home from the ball. It was almost as if she’d dreamed the last couple of days of spending time Asa. The last thing she expected when he’d taken her out to dinner was to end up in bed with him. She could still feel his hands and mouth all over her. He’d left her breathless and begging for more.
Both of her previous sexual encounters had occurred shortly after she’d aged out of the foster care system. Her roommates had encouraged her to date but for the most part, she’d kept to herself. The first guy, Henry, had been a blind date who happened to be the cousin of one of her roommates. It turned out that he was as awkward as she was.
They went out a few times, mostly to the movies which didn’t require a lot of talking. On their last date, he’d taken her back to his place. She should have known something was up, because his room looked like it belonged to a teenage boy with its twin bed and posters of pin up girls on the walls. The only reason she agreed to have sex with Henry in the first place, was because her roommates were always talking about the wonders of sex and how great it was. With Henry, it had been very uncomfortable and nothing to write home about. She was bitter. The big ‘O’ that she’d heard about didn’t happen. But the worst part about the encounter, was his mother coming into the room and screaming at him for bringing a girl into her house.
Henry had lied and told her the house belonged to him. After being chastised by his mother, she brought them into her living room and read Bible passages to them.
Her second experience had been with a guy at her last job. She worked in the mailroom of an insurance company. One of her coworkers, Dustin, had considered himself the Romeo of the crew. Her coworkers had warned her that he was a player and he was only interested in pumping and dumping. He eventually wore her down and they went out a few times. She liked him but she wouldn’t have called it love. He, on the other hand, was very convincing when he told her that he wanted more than just friendship from her. What he really meant was that he wanted to get her in bed, just like everyone had warned her. She felt so stupid and naïve for falling for his lines. But the worse part wasn’t the fact that he’d tricked her, it was the fact that sex with Dustin had been nearly as disappointing as it had been with Henry. At that point, Jamie decided that sex just wasn’t for her. That is until Asa devastated her world.
Sure, it was a bit daunting that he liked a little roleplay in bed but it was his forcefulness that scared her. He was such a take charge kind of man and it worried her that being with a man like that could make her lose herself. He’d even made mention of wanting to take care of her. He suggested that if she quit her job, she could go to school full time and he’d handle her bills. Jamie, however, stood firm in that matter. They were still in the infancy of their relationship and it didn’t make sense to give up a good job just because he said so.
Everything seemed to be happening so fast.
Her work phone went off and she picked up. “Jamie speaking.”
“We need a clean-up in room 309. One of the patients accidentally knocked their food on the floor,” Edgar, her supervisor, explained.
“I’ll be right down.”
The third floor was where the general surgery rooms were located. She knew that Asa was working tonight. Her heart sped up in anticipation of the possibility of seeing him again.
She gathered her cart and headed downstairs. When she made it to room 309, she was happy to see that the mess wasn’t as bad as she thought it would be.
The patient was an elderly woman who gave her an apologetic smile. “I’m so sorry to have made such a mess.”
Jamie swept up the spilled food. “No worries. It’s my job.”
“I know, dear but you don’t need the likes of me making it harder on you.”
Jamie smiled absently and continued with her task.
“That’s such a shame, isn’t it?”
She raised her head to look at the woman. “What is?”
“That.” The woman pointed to the television overhead. “Did you hear about this story? About the councilman? He’s been missing for weeks and they still have no clue as to his whereabouts. His mistress claims the wife had something to do with it. But now, it turns out he’s responsible for embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from the city. This is turning out to be a big soap opera. Better than one, if you ask me.”
Jamie glanced at the television screen where it flashed a picture of a smiling middle-aged man in a suit. Just from looking at his picture, there was something she didn’t like about him. There was something behind that smile and then it occurred to her, it was the same smile her father would use around people he was trying to impress. Maybe she was just being overly sensitive. “I’m sorry, this is the first time I’m hearing about this.”
“Oh my, how could you not have heard about it? This story has been everywhere. People are now speculating that he may have faked his death and is living somewhere overseas because he was about to be exposed for embezzling those funds.”
Jamie shrugged. “I don’t really keep up with the news. I don’t watch much television either.” Jamie finished her task and was prepared to leave.
“I’m sorry to talk your head off, dear. I get excited about these types of stories. Even though this councilman is turning out to be a real piece of work, he has a wife and daughter who are very worried about him.”
“Maybe he’ll turn up.”
“I seriously doubt it. He’s probably somewhere enjoying that money.”
Jamie smiled politely. “Well, I’m all done.”
“Do you have to go dear? I get so lonely in here.”
“I’m sorry but I have to get back to work.”
“Well stop by and see me, if you get a chance. My name is Sylvia.”
“Nice to meet you, Sylvia. I’m Jamie.”
“Is that short for something?”
“James.”
The older woman looked at her in disbelief. “That’s your name?”
She held up her nametag. “Yes, that’s my name.”
“Well, I guess that’s the trend these days giving girls boy names. I suppose Jamie is marginally better.”
“Uh, thanks. Well, I really have to get going.”
“Okay, dear.”
As she was headed out the door, she was surprised to run into Asa.
“Dr. Stansfield!” she said his name in surprise. Even though they were together, she didn’t want to overstep any boundaries in their work space.
He smiled at her. “Hang outside for minute. I need to check on my patient and I’ll be with you shortly.”
“I have to finish my rounds.”
He raised a brow and though he didn’t say a word, he conveyed so much in that look.
Jamie sighed. “Fine.” She waited outside the room and started to organize her cart to give herself some busy work.
“Is there a reason you’re loitering in the hall instead of doing the job this hospital pays you for?”
Jamie looked up to see Dr. Nguyen. She hadn’t seen the other woman approach.
“I just finished cleaning this room and I was—”
“If you’re finished cleaning, then you have no reason to hang out here. I suggest you go get back to work.” She narrowed her eyes.
“But, I was waiting for—”
“You’re being insubordinate and I will report you to your supervisor.” On her worst day, Dr. Nguyen was insufferable but today she was downright nasty and rude. Jamie was almost certain it was because she had seen Jamie and Asa having dinner together.
“I wasn’t being insubordinate. If you would stop cutting me off, I can explain to you—”
“Who do you think you’re talking to?” The doctor raised her voice as if Jamie was her child.
Since they were close to the nurses’ station, several pairs of eyes turned in their direction. Jamie was so embarrassed that she didn’t have a response that wouldn’t get her fired. She grabbed her cart and wheeled it away. She’d catch up to Asa later.
This was one of the reasons she was reluctant to start a relationship with Asa. People would always see her as someone beneath him. She’d be an embarrassment to him and eventually, he’d come to resent her. In their brief time together, she already understood their worlds were too far apart.
She took the service elevator to the next floor so that she could finish her rounds. An encounter like the one she had with Dr. Nguyen, usually made her angry or even want to cry. But, it only served as a reminder to her what she already knew. What she had with Asa would never last.
* * *
Asa heard a raised voice outside of Mrs. Pearson’s room which soundly a lot like Maria’s. He’d told Jamie to wait outside for him and he had a good idea that his colleague was once again pulling rank. On most days Maria didn’t bother him, she was insignificant in his world. She was a small-minded person who liked to put other people down to make herself feel superior. But, he minded very much that she seemed to be taking out whatever frustration she had in her life on his Jamie.
He would have gone to check out what was going on right away but Mrs. Pearson was a talker. Asa patiently listened to her go on about her daughter who still hadn’t visited even though she’d recently had surgery.
“I’m really sorry to hear about your situation. If you’d like for me to make a call to your daughter to let her know how important a visit would be, I can do that for you.”
The old woman’s eyes lit up. “You would do that for me?”
“Absolutely. She’s listed as your next of kin on all of your paperwork and you’ve given us permission to disclose your medical status to her. I’m sure like you said she’s busy but if she understands the seriousness of your condition, she’ll make the time to come see you.”
“Oh, that would be lovely. You have an excellent bedside manner, young man.”
“I appreciate that but I need to go make the rest of my rounds.”
“Will you be back?”
“Of course. You take care now and get some rest.”
“Thank you, Dr. Stansfield.”
Asa was relieved to finally be out of the room. He didn’t mind having conversations with his patients. Statistics showed that if people had a good rapport with their doctors, they were more relaxed which helped them in the healing process.
When he left Mrs. Pearson’s room, Jamie was gone. The next time he saw her, he intended to tear that ass up.
Asa checked in on a few more patients before heading to his office to complete his paperwork. He was just finishing up his charting when there was a knock on the office door.
“Come in.”
Maria poked her head in. “I was hoping to catch you. I needed to get your opinion on a patient.”
Asa sighed. “Sure. Have a seat.”
“These parents brought in their child this morning and all symptoms pointed to a mild cardio infarction. However, when the tests came back, he was healthy. And, there were these strange marks under the rib cage and chest. I was wondering, if you could take a look at the charts for me.”
“Certainly. I just need to finish this up. You can leave the chart with me and I’ll get back to you.”
“That’s it?”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know, but you’re acting kind of cool toward me. Did I do anything wrong?”
“Who were your yelling at earlier?”
Maria seemed confused for a moment but then comprehension seemed to dawn on her. “Oh, one of the janitors wasn’t doing their job. It’s nothing for you to worry about.”
“Oh, but I am. If it’s the one I’m thinking about who was standing outside of Mrs. Pearson’s room, then I told her to wait for me because I needed to speak with her.”
She raised both brows. “Oh, wait a minute. That was your little friend from the restaurant, wasn’t it? Well, if she would have just spoken up, then there wouldn’t have been any issues. Timid little thing, isn’t she? What an odd friend you have.” She laughed.
Asa could tell she was lying through her teeth, but there was nothing he could say to her now that wouldn’t have answering to the director. “Perhaps, the respect you demand of others, should be reciprocated.”
“Respect? What’s this all about? Are you upset because I yelled at your little friend? Or is she more than just a friend?”
“Not that it’s any of your business, but yes, she is and any slight against her is a slight against me.”
“Wow, Asa. I didn’t realize you liked that type.”
“What type is that?”
“Well…you know. She’s just…well never mind. I can see you’re not in the mood to hold a civil conversation. I trust you’ll get back to me on your opinion of this patient?”
“Yes.”
Asa was glad to see the back of her. There were many things he could have said but what he really wanted to do was strangle her until her eyes popped out.
Easy beast.
Once he finished his own charting, he looked at the file Maria left him. As he read through the boy’s medical history, he stiffened. He recognized some of these injuries.
The parents had brought him to the hospital on three separate occasions for different injuries. This one, however, was different from the others but it fell in line with his suspicions. He’d have to do some more research to be certain but if what he believed turned out to be true, it may just be time for another monster hunt.