Chapter
Three
Dr. Liu’s
assistant called to say he was held up in surgery and wanted me to go ahead and
introduce myself to Vaughn Breland. I hated to admit it, but the prospect of
meeting the handsome actor jangled my nerves. In order to appear cool and professional,
I would have to put on my game face and approach him as I would any other
patient.
Still amazed at
the news of my prospective patient, I sat at
my desk and studied Vaughn Breland’s file. His injuries were extensive, but
from what I read, it appeared that Dr. Liu had done his usual marvelous job in
surgery. A knock on the door interrupted my contemplation.
“Excuse me.”
Oh, my God. This can’t be
happening. I recognized the trademark heavy baritone without even
looking up. I had just heard it a few nights before. It belonged to Devon
Burke.
"Hope you don't mind, but I asked at the nurses'
station where your office was. May come in?
I glanced up, smoothed my hair and
smiled, conscious to keep it from being too wide. “Of course, Mr. Burke. What
can I do for you?”
He entered the small office
dressed in a body-hugging black t-shirt and jeans, instantly increasing the
ambience one thousand percent, took a few steps toward the desk then paused.
Oh, he’s waiting for me to invite
him to sit. Pull yourself together. “Please, have a seat.” I pointed to a chair.
“It’s Devon. We might as well be
on a first name basis, since we’ll probably be talking to each other a lot.”
After an unsteady plop into the
chair, I managed a smile and folded my hands on top of the blotter to keep them
from shaking.
“You haven’t met Vaughn yet, but
Dr. Liu told me you’ve been assigned to his case. I need to explain a few
things to you, if you have the time right now.
“Of course. What can I do for you?”
“He wants to be transferred back
to LA., and according to Dr. Liu, that would not only be expensive but could
also be disastrous. Could you try to talk some sense into him about coming back
to Cali? He has no family there to look after him, but he has an opportunity to
stay here in Telluride for as long as it takes to get back on his feet. Will
you convince him this is the best route for him to take right now?”
The pleading look in his deep-set
dark eyes showed the concern he had for his friend. “I can only stay here for
another day, and if I don’t do everything I can to get him straight before I
leave, Shontae - my wife is going to kill me.”
“That’s right. You’re married to
Shontae Nichols, the author. I’m reading one of her books right now.”
He smiled, and it seemed as if the
entire office lit up. “Really? Which one?”
“The latest one, Standing in
the Shadows of Love.”
“Wow, what a coincidence. I’ll
have to tell her.”
“I’ve read her last three.”
“Really?” The brightness in the
office increased again when his smile widened. “She’ll be pleased to hear
that.”
“I’d be glad to talk to Mr.
Breland, but the decision is up to him. We can’t force him to stay here.”
Devon leaned forward and clasped
his hands on the edge of the desk. “Vaughn can be really stubborn, but he’ll
usually listen to reason. Today, he’s been hit with more bad news than a
brother can handle.”
“How’s that?”
“He woke up to discover that he’d
lost his custom-made car, the use of his legs for the immediate future, his
latest movie role, and possibly his looks. Normally, V is a pretty positive
guy, but this might be more than he can deal with emotionally.”
“That’s awful.” I sighed. “I can’t
promise you anything, but I’ll try my best, Mr. Burke.”
“Devon,” he insisted again with
that knee-weakening smile.
“Devon, my name is Trenyce. Are
you going back to Vaughn’s room?”
“Yes.”
“Just let him know I’ll be back to
see him before I go home this evening.”
Devon rose to his impressive
height and extended his hand across the desk. “Thanks, Trenyce. Shontae and I
really appreciate your help.”
The moment the closed the door, I
picked up the phone and dialed Penny at work. “Hi. It’s me. You’ll never
believe what happened here today.”
“Ooh, workplace gossip.” Penny
whispered. “Come on, spice up my day.
What’s going on at TMC?”
“You remember when we watched Monaco
Rain a few weeks ago?”
“Sure, that was a great picture,
and the eye candy was amazing.” Penny chuckled.
“Well, all that eye candy is here
at the medical center.”
“What!” Penny shrieked then went
back to her office whisper. “What are you talking about, Tren?”
“You can’t tell this to anybody,
do you hear me? Vaughn Breland was admitted after a horrific car accident.
Guess who’s been assigned to his case? And Devon Burke is his best friend. He
just came into my office to ask me to convince Vaughn to stay in Telluride
rather than being transported back to Los Angeles,” I babbled.
“Oh my God! And you were talking
about your job being boring. I’d give me right arm to switch places with you
right now. What are they like? Besides being drop-dead gorgeous, I mean.”
“I’ll be meeting Mr. Breland in a
few minutes.”
“I didn’t hear anything about that
accident, and I’m an entertainment television junkie.”
“The press hasn’t gotten word yet,
so please don’t be the one to tell them he’s here. I could lose my job.”
“You know I wouldn’t do that.
Well, what’s he like?”
“Devon seems so nice. He flew
here from California last night to see about his buddy.”
“And you’re on a first name basis
with him already?”
“He told me to call him that,
because we’ll most likely be talking to each other a lot.”
“Are you freakin’ kidding me?
That’s like a dream come true.”
“He’s married, Penny, but you know
what else is wild?
“There’s more?”
“His wife is Shontae Nichols, the
author of the book I’m reading right now.”
“Gee, this is crazy. St. Albert
must really like you.”
“Huh?” I’d known Penny for years
and still wasn’t able to remember all of the Catholic patron saints my best
friend seemed able to call on in an instant.
“He’s the patron saint of medical
technicians,” Penny answered, as if everyone should know this fact.
“I don’t even know if he’s going to be my patient
yet. Devon said he wants to be transported to a Los Angeles hospital, but
Vaughn has no one out there in California to take care of him”
“That’s impossible!,” Penny
insisted. “Vaughn Breland is known as a real Hollywood player. I bet there
would be women lined up around the block to give him a sponge bath, if they
knew about his accident. Heck, I’ll volunteer. Tell him I’m available day or
night. Day and night would be even better.”
“You’re
nuts. I’d better get off the phone and go to work. Just wanted to tell you
that.”
“Thanks, Tren. Make sure you call
me if anything exciting happens, and think about how you might be able to sneak
me in to see them.”
I had to laugh at that, knowing she was dead serious. “Now I
know you’re trying to get me fired. I’ll talk to you later, girl.”
You can read the final excerpt here: http://sisterscribbler.blogspot.com/2012/09/saturday-sneek-peak-8.html
1 comment:
Looking forward to reading more!
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