After the Storm (manxman)

Chapter 17

Chapter 17

(Hospital Cafe)

Luis...

I stood up and shook Mrs. Reynolds' hand, the Nursing Recruiter in the Human Resources office of the hospital. I came in and applied for the open Oncology Nurse position on a whim. The Nurse Manager of Cancer Center had practically tripped over herself in her enthusiasm to hire me, and I was slightly disappointed I got the position not because of my nursing skills. It was because of who I'd been married to and I have a suspicion my new position had to do with who I was dating as well. The woman had barely glanced over resume, she didn't even look at my references, although she did gush over my degrees and training certificates.

I still felt like I was only being hired because of the Randall money flowing through the place. I must admit, after all the money Jackson's family donated to medical facility they'd actually named for old man Randall. Then in regards to Stephen, who is the resident golden child, the pampered Surgeon who brings in the mega bucks with his brilliance and his awe inspiring reconstructive surgeries on burn patients. It seemed that I needed nothing other than those facts about myself to snag any position I wanted.

What a coup it must be for Nursing Administration to capture not only the beneficiary of a prime trust donor, but also the boyfriend of their highest money making doctor. Talking about keeping everyone happy, everyone except for me. I almost wanted to refuse the position, but I can no longer sit home on my laurels doing nothing all day but checking in with Myles, and waiting for my sexy beast of a boyfriend to finish his work for the day. I'm bored out of my fucking mind and I knew I had to do something when I considered going out to lunch with my sister because I had nothing else to do.

Lord knows I have been avoiding her and my mother like the plague. I didn't feel like being interrogated about my relationship with Stephen. I didn't need my sister's passive aggressive crap and butting into my affairs under the guise of making sure that I was mentally in the right frame of mind or my Chi was aligned or some such nonsense. If Danielle actually believed in mind over body and all that then I would be tempted to listen to her, but she's just prattling to her herself speak. I love her, but sometimes I just wanted to tell her to shut up and go

away. My mother wasn't any better, the apple didn't fall far from the tree when it came to those two.

With Jackson and I, they had the class to stay away unless they were invited to our home or any other functions due to his declining health. Now, I'm getting several messages a day from both Dani and my mother about getting together with Stephen and I. I know that they all got on like a house on fire at the beach house but for some reason, I didn't want them in my private life any more than necessary. They tend to smother me and personally I just didn't feel like dealing with them at all. I'll talk to Stephen later about maybe having a brief dinner out somewhere and hopefully that will appease their curiosity.

"Luis...Hey Luis." I heard someone calling my name as I loosened my tie while walking towards the elevators that would take me upstairs to Stephen's office. I turned to see Aubrey rushing towards me looking very smart in his dark gray slacks, his dress shoes, and lab cost flapping behind him.

A smile curved my lips, "Hey buddy." I greeted my friend as he came skidding to a stop in front of me. Aubrey has always been beautiful, but now looking at his flushed cheeks and the increased confidence radiating from him instead of his almost crippling shyness. Like this, he transcended from beautiful, he is simply stunning and I told him so, only to receive another pretty blush.

"You're looking good yourself Luis. Are you busy, do you have time to have lunch with Rosa and I?" He asked, and I thought why the hell not.

"Sure, it's been a long time since we've gotten together. You can tell me all about taking your Dr. Delicious off the market, yeah I've heard all the rumors." I teased and my friend just to see him turn a deeper shade of pink while grabbing my hand and hauling me down the hall towards the café.