Chapter 37: Forgot To Tell You Something: Chapter 37

My former life comes flooding back the moment I enter the glitzy ballroom. I forgot how much I hate it. Sure, it’s glamorous as hell to the outsider, but it’s like a poorly fitted shoe—rubbing me in all the wrong places.

I glance at Ken, a fake smile plastered on his face and his hand encircling the whiskey glass in a death grip, and realize I’m not the only one out of his element. We’re doctors, much more comfortable in hospital scrubs than some black-tie shindig.

But, to help people, you have to follow the money. So, here we are.

“This used to be your life?” Ken exclaims, his eyes widening as he glances around the room. The man is used to hanging with the wealthy, but billionaires are a class all to themselves. Just ask them.

“Yep, and I hated every minute.”

“I can see why. Don’t get me wrong, the Ferrari is plush as hell, but these people make me want to run screaming out a forty-story window.”

I chuckle in agreement. “They’re terrible, all of them miserable people hiding behind their money and status. But that same money opened the first training facility, and now, it will open the second.”

“Makes me feel better to know that they need us as much as we need them,” he surmises, grabbing another cocktail off a hand-passed tray.

“Even with all their money, they can’t buy life. That’s where we come in. So, let’s play our part, grab the check, and get the hell out of here.”

“I have to mention something, old chap.” Jessop taps his glass, a thoughtful expression on his face. “I got a call from a Dr. Jackson at Regent Hospital, regarding you.”

My jaw slackens. I didn’t expect to have this conversation tonight. “Shit, he already contacted you? I’m sorry, I didn’t expect him to call until next week.”

“Are you leaving Memorial?”

“I’m considering it, but not because I don’t love the staff. Ever since I found out I’m going to be a father, my priorities have shifted. I realize how many years I’ve spent away from my family. Regent is in North Carolina, where my mother lives.”

“How does Lu feel about moving?”

“I haven’t mentioned it because I didn’t know if they had anything available.”

“That’s a load of garbage. Any hospital will make room for Dr. Owen Stevens.” He swigs down his drink, grabbing another off a tray. “I gave you a glowing recommendation, although I hate to see you leave.”

“It hasn’t been decided yet. I still have to speak to Tally.”

“What about the coordinator position? She was so excited about that role.”

“Ken, I don’t trust Charlotte.”

“You think she’d be that ruthless?”

“In a word, yes. She thinks she can hurt me by hurting Tally.”

“You have a lot to consider, old boy.”

“Don’t I know it.” I grab a champagne flute, motioning toward Martin Auerback. “The big dog just entered the yard.”

“Charlotte’s father?”

I nod, my muscles tensing in apprehension of this meeting. I haven’t spoken to Mr. Auerback since that last dinner with the family a week before I moved to Florida. The man barely tolerated me when I was engaged to his daughter; I know the gloves are off now.

“Mr. Auerback, you look well.” I hold out my hand, grimacing at his fierce grip. Laying down the law, I see.

“Owen, almost didn’t recognize you.”

I run a hand over my shaved head, forcing a smile. “Changed things up a bit.”

“In all aspects of your life.” He turns to Ken, holding out his hand in greeting. “You must be Dr. Ken Jessop. Charlotte tells me great things about your work. I can’t wait to get you up to speed on the lab.”

What a load of garbage. As if Martin Auerback has anything to do with teaching Ken a damn thing in the cath lab.

“Owen has already shown me the procedure, so I’m sure I’ll catch on with no trouble. He’s a hell of an interventionist, we’re lucky to have him at Memorial.”

I bite back a laugh. Ken is overdoing it, piling on the compliments, all aimed in my direction. I must send him a bottle of scotch for the effort.

“Dr. Jessop is a tremendous asset to our team,” I add, noting the change in Auerback’s gaze when he looks back at me.

“Let’s hope more loyal to this team than your last one.”

Yet another fucked up thing about the Auerback family. I was a team member, not part of the family. My pedigree wasn’t posh enough to earn me that distinction. In his eyes, I should be grateful for any access to his family name and money.

“My loyalty never faltered, but I can’t the same for my .”

I earn a glare from the billionaire, but I’m done singing for my supper. “I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.”

“I’m sure you do,” I hiss, our icy glares holding. I want to spew out a rail of obscenities all over his custom cut tuxedo, reminding Martin Auerback that he needs this deal more than I do, but I resist the urge. Instead, I employ another tactic learned during my years of medical schooling—the art of diplomacy. “But this training facility is about far more than you or me…or your daughter. Think of all the people we can save. I only wish we might have discovered it sooner.”

Mr. Auerback’s eyes glaze at my words. His second wife, the true love of his lonely life, died from heart failure. She was an otherwise healthy woman, but her condition went undiagnosed for too long. She couldn’t survive the surgery. All his money, all his power, couldn’t save the one person he loved most in the world.

“She would be happy that this procedure has the aptitude to save so many.” He claps my shoulder, an unspoken truce passing between us. “Let’s get on with it, shall we? To be honest, I hate these things as much as you do.”

I smile, the first genuine one since I entered the ballroom. “Business is far better conducted on a golf course.”

“Quite right.” Mr. Auerback returns his attention to Dr. Jessop, nodding toward the cigar bar. “Shall we mingle?”

I chuckle under my breath at Ken’s face, as my former almost in-law drags him round to one of a hundred whales. Hey, he wanted to live the high life. Now is his chance, and while they’re busy, I can reach out to the woman who has been on my mind all day.

Ducking into an alcove, I pull out my phone, dialing Tally. It’s late in Florida, but I know the woman only sleeps when I’m holding her. Another reason I want to get this business deal sewn up.

“Do you know what time it is?” Tally asks, her voice thick.

“Time for me to be home,” I respond, leaning against the wall as I fall into her husky laugh.

“I agree. How’s it going in La La Land?”

“La La Land is several hours south, and likely less artificial than the crap I’m dealing with tonight.”

“That bad?”

“It’s not good.”

“Oh, you got a few phone calls and some mail from a Regent Hospital in Asheville. The woman on the phone said she was returning your call. Something about a job?”

Regent isn’t wasting any time. “I field calls like that constantly.”

“I’m sure you do. Any place would be lucky to have you. I know I am.”

Something in her voice, mixed with the thousands of miles between us, catches up to me. “I need to ask you something.”

“Uh-oh.”

“What’s the uh-oh for?”

“You’re calling at half past midnight to ask me something? You’re getting calls from other hospitals? Owen, please don’t break up with me over the phone. I will kick your ass if you do that.” She’s joking, but I hear the undercurrent of uncertainty in her tone. I know this is hard for her. It’s no secret Charlotte wants me back, and although Tally seems secure in her place, sometimes the cracks show. “Seriously, I don’t want to pack again.”

“Will you be quiet? I am not breaking up with you.”

“Oh, I get it,” she mumbles, a throaty chuckle escaping her lips. “Are you hiding in the bathroom, hoping for a bit of that phone sex you promised earlier?”

I laugh, although she’s not wrong. Her voice, combined with the mental image of her naked ass as I pound into her, gets me hard in seconds. “You’ve got me pegged.”

“Knew it.” She stifles a yawn. “Are you okay, Owen?”

“Marry me, Tally.”

“What?” She’s wide awake now.

I feel eyes on me and look up to see Charlotte approaching. The woman is like a hound dog, tracking me down. I can tell by her expression that she knows exactly who I’m speaking with, but she won’t grant me the courtesy of a private conversation.

Deal or no deal.

“Marry me, Tally.”

It’s as if time stops as soon as the words leave my mouth. Charlotte, hearing my request, halts dead in her tracks, and there’s silence from the other end of the phone line.

Charlotte I can handle, it’s my tiny vixen’s response that worries the hell out of me. “Are you there, Darlin?”

“I’m—I’m here,” Tally stutters. “I damn near fell off the bed. Way to shock the hell out of me, Owen.”

“You still haven’t answered me.” I widen my eyes at Charlotte. It’s a universal signal to back off and give me some privacy, neither of which my former fiancée is doing. “I promise, I’ll give you the best damn proposal in the entire world as soon as I get back, but I couldn’t wait any longer. I love you so much and I want—”

“Yes! Of course, I’ll marry you, silly man!”

Tally’s laughter is the second most beautiful sound in the world.

The first? Hearing her say yes.

“You will? You’ll marry me? God, I wish I was there right now.”

“I’ll marry you. Whatever order it comes, Owen. Remember?”

“I want a ring on your finger before our baby is born.”

Tally groans, but it’s tinged with laughter. “I already look like an over-inflated beach ball! I don’t want to be fat in my wedding photos!”

I’m laughing, she’s laughing. It’s one hell of a moment. “You’re not fat. You’re beautiful. And if you don’t want to be any bigger, we’ll have to get married as soon as I get back.”

I send one last glare in Charlotte’s direction. Seriously, the woman can’t take a hint. “I have to get back to the bullshit extravaganza. They’re looking for me. You need to get some sleep.”

“Fat chance of that. I have a wedding to plan.”

“I love you, Darlin. I’ll be home soon.” I hang up the phone, releasing a sigh of relief.

“Isn’t that cute?” Charlotte hisses, leaning against the wall next to me. “How nice of you to propose to another woman at the party that I’m hosting.”

“You wouldn’t have heard the proposal, if you weren’t snooping on me.” I shake my head. I won’t allow Charlotte to rile me up. I’m too excited that Tally is going to be my wife.

Mrs. Owen Stevens.

It’s about damn time.

“You disappeared. I was worried.”

I shoot her a sharp glance. “No, you weren’t.” I sip the whiskey in my glass, knowing there’s a permanent smile on my face. “I don’t expect you to understand, but I expect you to respect my decision, and my fiancée.”

“Marrying Tallulah before you know if the child is yours? Brave choice.”

“I know the baby is mine. And now, so is Tally.”

“I thought you didn’t believe in marriage.”

Oh Christ, she’s going to drag me down this conversation path. “With the right woman, I do. Otherwise, it’s a recipe for disaster. Charlotte, we were a terrible fit from the beginning.”

“I know,” she replies, a bit too brightly to be authentic. “You certainly didn’t fit the image that my family name needs to portray.”

“Not even remotely. Remember your father’s face when he saw my tattoos for the first time? I wasn’t sure which of you was going to faint first.” I’m trying to bring the conversation back to a lighter topic, while still driving home how awful we were together. “I really believe the right man is out there for you. I just hope you treat that relationship more conscientiously than you did ours.”

“I loved you.”

Another lie. Charlotte has never experienced love, at least none that I’m aware of, and for that, I pity her. I tried to love her, but emotionally, she was an island, unreachable by any means. “If you really loved me, you wouldn’t have cheated, no matter what excuse you provide.”

“I wanted to love you,” she relents, releasing a sigh.

“But you didn’t. You loved what you thought I could become, loved me when I donned a tux and played the part of the millionaire husband. But when I stripped down, and you saw the real me—tattoos, hardcore music—you turned away. Tally embraces every facet of me. The real me.”

“She’s punk, like you are.”

“We’re not punks, Charlotte. We listen to punk music. We have tattoos, but that doesn’t make us anarchists. We’re actually upstanding citizens, pay our taxes and everything.”

“I don’t hate Tallulah, even if she is rough around the edges.”

“She’s real, Charlotte, and she’s going to be my wife.”

Charlotte downs the liquid in her glass, before grabbing the whiskey from my hand and doing the same. “Congratulations on your second engagement. I think we should celebrate.”

Oh crap, I know that look. My sex life with Charlotte was as cool and calculated as the rest of our relationship, although she could get a bit frisky after imbibing one too many cocktails. Those few times over the course of the last several years were the only moments where Charlotte felt human to me. “We should get you some coffee.”

Without warning, she presses her body against mine, and I tense at the unwelcome advance.

I just proposed to Tally. Charlotte heard my proposal. Only problem? She doesn’t care.

“What are you doing, Charlotte?” I inquire, pushing her away from me.

Her hand slides down the front of my trousers, cupping my cock, those green eyes glowing with purpose. “I told you. We’re celebrating.”

With a grimace, I remove her hand, but she’s not willing to relent. Her free hand takes its place, lowering my zipper and sliding inside to grasp my shaft.

I huff out a breath. Never in our relationship was the woman this forward, this demanding. “You need to stop. Right now.” I jerk her hands up, grasping them with my own as I fumble my zipper closed.

“Or what? If you expect me to play nice, you’ll have to bring something to the table.”

I whirl her around so her back is to the wall, my arms caging her in, my body raging with anger. “I am bringing something to the table. The robotics cath lab, remember? The reason we are all here. Did you think you’d come to Florida after cheating on me and getting knocked up by another man, snap your fingers and bring me back into the fold? I’m not your servant, Charlotte. I don’t work for you.”

“You work for my father.”

“Correction. I work your father. He’s trying to help save lives, you’re trying to ruin them.”

Her lips crush against mine, but I fend her off easily, wiping my mouth. “Stop it. Have some self-respect.”

“Why do you want her and not me?”

“I love her, Charlotte. I never loved you. You never loved me. It was a business arrangement, more than it was ever a relationship.”

I see tears in her eyes, but I know better. This is just another act, a ploy for sympathy. Besides, emotions in public are not Charlotte’s style.

What she will do is negotiate. And I can see by the set of her jaw, her terms are non negotiable. “You stand to lose an awful lot, Owen.”

“Are you threatening me? I’ll walk away from this deal right now. There are plenty of investors out there, Charlotte.”

“I’m not threatening you. You have something I want; I have something you need.”

“What is that? We are not reconciling,” I remind her.

“I’m aware of that, particularly after you proposed over the phone. How provincial.”

“What do you want?”

“I’m a businesswoman. I know a good deal when I see it. I only hope you’re as talented in that arena. Daddy wants to give you a payout once the training center opens, as thanks for all your hard work. But I thought it was overly generous, all things considered.”

“Get to the point,” I hiss.

“There’s many more training centers that need to be opened. The two of us know the ins and outs, we are the natural choice to open the remaining centers around the country.”

“There is no way I’m opening those centers with you.” I would lose my damn mind first.

“I figured you would say that, but I convinced Daddy to quadruple your payout…once all the centers are open. Will you really walk away from a ten-million-dollar payday?”

Jesus Christ, the rich really are an entirely different species. They bend the rules according to their whims and because of their deep pockets; they get away with it.

“Let me get this straight. If I don’t agree to spend every waking moment with you for the foreseeable future, you’ll have your father withhold my rightfully earned monies?”

“You’re getting paid, Owen. As per the original agreement, $250,000 for your time. It’s more than fair. The ten million is a gift, one that need not be given if the recipient is ungrateful. You do have a child on the way.”

I hate her, and I hate that a ten-million-dollar payday would ensure my family is taken care of for the rest of their lives—Tally, our children, and my mother. I hit the wall next to her, making her jump. “You are fucking evil, Charlotte.”

“No, I’m a businesswoman.”

“Is there a difference in your world?” I run a hand over my scalp, willing my heart rate down. “What about Tally?”

Charlotte shrugs, staring at her manicure. “What about her?”

“You were never giving her the coordinator position, were you?”

“No, I told you not to guarantee it. You’re the lovesick fool who’s going to disappoint her. Oh, one other thing. The payday is contingent on you fulfilling my needs. All of them.”

“I just told you we’re not reconciling.”

“I understand. The little woman can wear you ring, but when we’re on the road, you’re mine.” She traces her manicured nail down my shirt front. “Tallulah never has to know. I can be discreet, Owen. You discovered that firsthand.”

I grab her fingers, tempted in my rage to break them. “Not a chance in hell.”

“You might come to regret that decision.”

I hate Charlotte with a vengeance for throwing Tallulah into the middle of our squabble. But I know that she’s basing decisions on her negative emotions of jealousy and anger. I need to speak with Mr. Auerback, get to the real grain of truth. Of course, the man has never denied his daughter anything before. I highly doubt he’ll make an exception for the man who left her.

“You don’t have to decide now, Owen. Just let me know your choice…before it’s too late. Just remember, you’re as expendable as we are. We also have far more powerful attorneys in our corner.” With a last pat to her hair, she straightens to her full height, and glides back into the ballroom.

I know that the Auerback family has ruined more than a dozen people who didn’t play by the rules. Unfortunately, the rules bend and sway to their whims. Charlotte has made it clear if she doesn’t get what she wants, she’ll ruin me, and all I’ve worked for.

I’m tempted to pick up one of the elaborate side chairs and break every window in the place. Show them what a hardcore punk I really am. But I refrain—not for Charlotte or her father, but for the lives that can be saved and the petite angel I have waiting for me in Florida.

Tally deserves better than this garbage. Once I get home, I’m calling Regent and getting my family away from the sin and debauchery of the ultra-elite.

I stare into the ballroom, my blood raging through my veins. It may be a party celebrating innovations in healthcare, but it instead resembles a tank of hungry great whites.