Nicole was in awe of Rhettâs candidness and resilience.
Wishing she could adopt even a fraction of his outlook, she realized her own suffering might be lessened.
Nicole made her way to the hospital.
Rhett had now been transferred to the provincial hospital for specialized care in infectious diseases.
When Nicole arrived, she found Rhett already hooked up to an IV.
He seemed surprised to see her.
âMiss Lawrence, what brings you here?â he asked.
âI happened to be nearby and thought Iâd check on you,â Nicole replied, not wanting to admit she had come specifically to see Rhett.
Noticing his discomfort and pale appearance, Nicole asked, âAre you thirsty? Would you like some water?â
Rhett, though not particularly thirsty, had a sore throat.
âIf itâs alright with you, could you get me some water?â he asked.
âSure, Iâll get some now,â Nicole said.
âMy thermos is in my briefcase.
I canât reach it like this.
Could you take it out for me?â
Nicole retrieved the thermos from the said briefcase, inadvertently pulling out Rhettâs work ID along with it.
âs BunnyBookery On the back of the ID was a carefully preserved photo of a woman with a bright smile and a lovely face.
Nicole assumed this must be Rhettâs girlfriend, even though he had never mentioned her.
Clearly, he was deeply in love with her to keep her photo so close.
Feeling groggy, Rhett didnât notice the mishap.
Nicole quickly put the ID back and went to get the water.
On her way back, she ran into Conor, Jarrodâs assistant.
âMiss Lawrence, are you here to see Mr.
Schultz?â Conor greeted her enthusiastically.
âNo, Iâm not,â Nicole replied, feeling a bit awkward due to Conorâs exuberance.
Conor glanced at the thermos in her hand, his expression puzzled.
Nicole explained, âA friend of mine is getting treatment.
â
âOh, I seeâ¦â Conor replied, disappointment evident in his voice.
As Nicole nodded and was about to leave, Conor quickly added, âMiss Lawrence, could you please check on Mr.
Schultz? His back wounds have worsened, and heâs in a bad mood.
â
During Jarrodâs treatment, his darkened expression spoke volumes, even though he remained silent.
Conor knew Jarrodâs distress stemmed from not seeing the person he most wanted to see.
Unlike Conor, Alec had been with Jarrod for many years and had a deep admiration and concern for Jarrod.
This led Alec to favor Jarrod and resent Nicole.
If Alec could empathize with Nicoleâs perspective, he wouldnât voice many of his demands and might even feel angry about them.
But Conor wasnât like that.
As a highly competent assistant, his role was to alleviate his employerâs worries.
He needed to be flexible and insightful, acting as a mediator between Nicole and Jarrod.
He knew how to phrase things to make Nicole feel compelled to agree.