Chapter Five
Grace
“You’re leaving me!? Since when?”
“I got a job as a private nurse,” I said. “I technically started yesterday, but I’m working half days through the week to transition into the job.”
“Who’s it with?” Emilia asked
“To be honest? The house we’ve been delivering flowers to regularly for the past three or so months.”
“Wait, how did they figure out you were a licensed nurse?” she asked.
“Without diving into whole story, the house we’ve been delivering flowers to has a man recuperating from an accident. When I took the flowers over yesterday, he had been doing physical therapy on the floor and they couldn't get him into his wheelchair. So I did.”
“Way to go,” she said with a grin. “But on a serious note, I’m happy for you. I know you’ve been dabbling with the idea of staying here or finding a job elsewhere, and I’m glad you found something in your field of study.”
“I’m going to hate leaving you, Emilia.”
“Trust me, I’m going to hate letting you go. But I know you love taking care of people. I know that’s why you got into nursing. You've worked with me for years, Grace. It’s time you got out of my shop and explored the world you chose to be a part of.”
“Am I making the right decision?” I asked. “Taking this job?”
“Depends. Are you excited for it?”
“I’m nervous.”
“But is that nervousness undergirded with positive or negative emotions?”
I picked up an apple slice between my fingers and slid it between my lips. I honestly wasn’t sure. Part of me was so nervous I could throw up. What if I really wasn’t what this man needed? What if I couldn't help him in all the ways I thought I could? However, I was excited about helping. About giving him a quality of life during his recuperation he obviously hadn’t been getting at his parent’s home. Or sister’s. Or whoever that mansion belonged to.
“Positive, I think,” I said.
“Then that’s good enough for now,” Emilia said. “So, tell me more about this person we’ve been delivering flowers to.”
“I can’t tell you much without destroying the HIPPA agreement between us.”
“Then tell me what you can.”
“I mean, he was in an accident. A bad one. He’s looking at another hip surgery in a couple of weeks so he can start retraining himself how to walk.”
“Yikes. What kind of accident was it?” she asked.
“A car hit him,” I said.
“Holy hell. Is he okay?”
I cocked my head off to the side and pursed my lips.
“He’s about as good as any man would be after getting hit by a car and being wheelchair-bound.”
“I get it. I get it. Stupid question,” she said.
“I’m hoping to not simply help him with physical therapy, but to also help him with his mental state. That goes a long way with recuperations like this, and he’s not in a very good one.”
“What do you mean? He’s not mean to you, is he?”
“Not so much mean as he is cold. Distant. He’s sort of severed himself from the world so he doesn’t get upset that he can’t convene with it,” I said.
“Grace…”
“I hear you, Emilia. But I promise you, he’s not a mean man. He’s a disappointed one. He’s obviously got a decent job if he can afford out-of-pocket all the things that come with an in-home nurse, and I can only imagine what he’s had to put on hold with that job because of this accident.”
“I want you to be careful,” she said.
“There’s nothing to be careful about. I’m his in-home nurse. Nothing more.”
“But I know you. I know how you get when you become invested in something. You lose your professionalism and it becomes an emotional thing for you. I’ve seen you do it with regular customers. Wanting updates on their lives and wanting to know how their kids are doing.”
“That’s called ‘networking’,” I said.
“So it is networking when a regular customer comes in here, talks about how her daughter got her heart broken for the first time, and you’re so emotional you have to go home early because you can’t stop crying and wondering if she’s okay?”
“That was one time, Emilia.”
“All I’m saying is be careful, Grace. If you want to help him through his mental blocks as well as his physical ones, I could see you becoming attached,” she said.
“That won’t happen. He’s a new client, and temporary at that. Once he’s up and walking and back at work, my job is done. Two months, tops.”
“So you’ll have no issues keeping it emotionally platonic?” she asked.
“I promise,” I said. “Emotionally platonic is my game as an in-home nurse. It’s a different world. I’m a different person when I’m in your flower shop. I promise this won’t be an issue.”
“Okay,” she said as she reached for my hand. “Then I trust you.”
“Thank you for looking out for me,” I said.
“Anytime,” she said. “So! Have you Googled him?”
“Say what now?” I asked.
“This guy. Have you Googled him?”
“Why would I do that?”
“Because you should be doing that for every private client. I do it when high-profile clients come into my flower shop.”
“Wait, you do? Why?” I asked.
“To know what I’m getting into. Knowing more about the person helps me to pick the arrangements that suit their lifestyle best. It’s an artform, you know. I always Google them first.”
“Or you could simply talk to them as well.”
“I definitely won’t have that kind of time once I lose my best employee,” she said with a grin.
“Now you’re just trying to make me feel guilty.”
“Never. But I did talk to the maid a little bit that used to be the one picking up the flowers. How much do you know about Hayden?”
“How do you know his name?” I asked.
“Besides the fact that me and the maid hit it off? Hayden Lowell owns and operates one of the largest luxury hotel chains in the world.”
“He does?” I asked.
“He does. So when you told me he probably has a decent job, that’s an understatement. He’s the owner and CEO of TreeTop Hotels.”
I felt my eyebrows rise to my hairline as my jaw dropped open.
“He’s what?” I asked.
“Make it a habit, Grace. If I can teach you one thing, it’s to Google your clientele. Big or small. Private or public. Whether you work as an in-home nurse for the elite or plug yourself into a hospital. Google is the best resource you have of finding out stuff regarding the people you’re going to be helping.”
“Hayden Lowell owns TreeTop Hotels.”
“His great-grandfather started the company, yes. Passed it on down through the generations, and now Hayden has control of it,” she said. “But that’s not why I brought this up.”
“I’m really going to have to Google him,” I said.
“That’s fine. It’s wise, actually. But the reason I’m telling you to be careful with him is because their lawsuit is all over the news right now.”
“Lawsuit?” I asked.
I pulled out my phone and started typing his name into the search bar.
“It’s pretty typical for families to sue drivers who hit pedestrians. But they aren’t just suing the driver. They’re also suing the city, claiming that the traffic lights and the pedestrian walk signs were out-of-sync. They’re gunning for blood.”
I flipped through a couple of the articles as my eyes scanned the material.
Emilia was right. The Lowell family wasn’t simply suing the driver, but the city as well. Mounting a massive defense and claiming millions of dollars worth of damages because of Hayden’s inability to run the company to his fullest extent. Something about an abandoned construction in Jamaica or something and investors getting their money back.
I didn’t understand half of what the articles were talking about, but I saw why Emilia was concerned.
In the heat of their anger, the Lowells were volatile.
“I don’t want you caught up in some insane lawsuit that’ll drain you for all you have if you do something wrong,” she said.
“I get it now,” I said as turned off my phone. “And I promise you, I will be extremely careful.”
“That’s all I’m asking. You want to help him and that’s your beautiful spirit talking. But I want to make sure you’re going to be okay in all of this.”
“And it’s one of the many reasons why I love you,” I said.
I reached over and took Emilia’s hand. I was going to miss this woman. She’d given me my first credible job and single-handedly saved my sanity through nursing school. Me graduating with honors and keeping on track was all thanks to her. To her perseverance and encouragement and late-night talks when I was up studying and couldn’t keep focus.
“You’re going to call at least three times a week to let me know how you’re doing,” Emilia said.
“I promise.”
“And if he still wants flowers delivered to wherever he is now, you’ll call me so I can deliver them. That way I can see you face-to-face.”
“I’m not going off to war, Emilia,” I said with a giggle.
“No, but you’re stepping into a new world. And that can be daunting. I want you to know that I’m still here for you. Just because your schooling is done doesn’t mean I am.”
I rose up out of my seat and pulled Emilia into a giant hug.
“I love you,” I said breathlessly.
“I love you too, Grace.”