New Beginnings (9 page)

“Franklin? H-e-l-l-o?”  Sandy waved her hands in front of him to get his attention.  He’d seemed to have drifted off in mid-sentence.  Men were so easily distracted.  She was starting to think something was wrong with her that she couldn’t even keep the attention of
a man for more than ten minutes.

Franklin was
embarrassed when he thought that he’d been caught ogling her but was relieved that he hadn’t been. “Sorry, I drifted off for a second.  Anyway, I’ve known Jason a long time.  In all that time he’s never dated anyone like Vicky before.  Vicky seems like a warm and sweet person.  The women he dated were all so cold and most likely couldn’t be bothered to paint their own toenails let alone change a diaper.   Add to the equation that Jason was always a workaholic and I just assumed his kids would be raised by ‘a nanny’.”

Sandy chuckled to herself,
“Hmmm…well what about you? I would have expected your children would be raised by the nanny too.”

“What
?  You think all of us rich guys can’t be bothered to take care of our own children? Well, you would be wrong.  Not that I’m ever going to have any but, if I were I’d definitely be a hands on dad.”

Franklin had tried to hide it but Sandy saw a quick glimmer of pain in hi
s eyes.  She wondered where it had come from.  At any rate, she felt a desire to comfort him. “Well, it sounds like your fiancée would be a lucky woman to have you as the father of her children if you ever changed your mind.”

All of a sudden the limo lurched forward causing
Sandy to fall into Franklin’s arms head first.  He caught her so that she wouldn’t fall to the floor.  At the same time, Sandy grabbed a hold of the front collar of Franklin’s jacket.  When she looked up, she was staring directly into his eyes.  They weren’t the vulnerable eyes of the man she’d just been speaking with.  They were eyes of a man filled with desire. 

Franklin lowered his head to kiss her and Sandy closed her eyes waiting for his lips to brush up against hers.  His touch was light as a feather.  She moved her arms around his neck in preparation for a deeper kiss
as Franklin held her body just a little bit tighter.

The driver rolled down the dividing window to make sure they were fine.
“Sorry folks, I didn’t mean to jazz the car on ya.”

They both jumped at the sound of the driver’s voice.  Sandy was the first to pull away.

“I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean for that to happen.” For just a moment Franklin looked like the loneliest person in the world before he put the blank mask back onto his face.

“No apologies necessary Franklin.  Neither one of us planned it.” Sandy reached out and squeezed his hand “And
...If you didn’t have a fiancé, I might have even been tempted to go just a little bit further.”

Before Franklin could respond to Sandy
, the car stopped in front of their hotel and the valet driver opened their door.

Ryan Carter finally made it to First Methodist Hospital.  He’d gone over this time and time again in his head.   He was taking a big risk.  He could lose everything if the press got wind of what he was doing here.  Vicky knew him as Ryan Lee and that is the assumed name he’d use for this purpose.  Of course, he knew by now that she was aware of his real identity.  No matter.  He knew he could be a real bastard and sometimes even he wondered if he had a soul.  Ryan had a weak spot when it came to children.  He could never willingly sit by and let a child die if he could do something about it; even if they were strangers.  So, as much as he tried to quell his conscience and ignore this situation he definitely knew he couldn’t allow possibly his only child, his own daughter, to die if he could do something to stop it.

Ryan hated hospitals. 
They were so cold.  This one was no different.  There just never seemed to be any color or any life to these places.  How did doctors expect for patients to get better in this environment.  The antiseptic smell didn’t quite cover up the sick smell.  Every direction you turned was white.  White walls, white floors, white sheets, white uniforms everything was just WHITE.  He needed to donate his blood and get the hell out before he suffocated.  He’d called earlier to get information on where he needed to go and what he needed to do as a donor.  So, when Ryan stepped up to the nurse’s station he knew he needed to ask for Angel’s doctor.  “Excuse me? I’m Mr. Ryan Lee.  I’m looking for Dr. Daniel Franks. I’m here on behalf of Angel Martin.”

The nurse
who Ryan spoke to looked down at her paperwork and typed something into her computer.  Everyone was aware of the Angel Martin case.  The whole hospital was hoping and praying that a match was found soon.  Her chances of survival were really starting to look bleak.  So many people had come to get tested on behalf of the little girl and so far no match had been found.  “Here you are Mr. Lee.  I see you in the system now.  However, there are still a couple of forms we’ll need for you to complete.”

The nurse handed Ryan a clip board
with the documents and a pen so that he could complete the forms. “I’ll let Mr. Franks know that you are here.  Hopefully, you’ll be the match that Angel needs. That poor little girl has been through so much today.” 

Ryan
smiled before accepting the documents and headed over to the seating area to fill them out.  While he was completing the remaining paperwork, he was oblivious to the reporter who had quietly walked into the area. 

The reporter
walked over to the nurse’s station, “Hello, I’m hoping you can help me.  Can you tell me where Jason Rutherford’s press conference is going to be held?”

“Oh, yes I can.  It’s going to be in the Governor’s room.  Unfortunately, you can’t reach it from here.  You’ll need to go back out those doors drive down to the main entrance
.  Once you go inside it’s the second room on your right.  You can’t miss it.”

The reporter winked at her making the nurse blush “Thanks.”

As the reporter turned to walk out of the room he was surprised to see Senator Ryan Carter in the sitting area.  He turned back around to ask the nurse about him.

“I’m sorry is that gentleman over there Senator Ryan Carter?” The reporter then pointed in the direction of Ryan. Ryan was so engrossed in completing his paperwork that he was oblivious to the scrutiny.

The nurse had to stand up and practically strain her neck as she looked over her station to see who the reporter was referring to.  

“Oh no, I’m sorry that gentleman over there is Ryan Lee.  Not Ryan Carter.”
Soon after she answered his question her phone rang and the nurse’s attention shifted back to her work.

The reporter was pretty confident that that was Senator Ryan Carter.  He decided to walk over and get
a closer look.  He pretended to want a drink of water from the fountain as it was just a couple of feet from the man.  While bending over, pretending to drink from the fountain, he looked over and was able to confirm that the man he saw was indeed Senator Ryan Carter.  He smelled a story.  First, why was he here and secondly, why was he using an alias? Was it a coincidence that two of Minnesota’s most powerful men were here in the same hospital in Atlanta?  Oh yeah, there was a story here and he was determined to find out just what it could be.

Sandy finally made it to her room.  She’d left Franklin downstairs in the lobby after they’d checked into the hotel with a promise to meet back up at five o’clock.  She needed to get to her room and decompress.  Between the dire reality of Angel’s situation and her confusing feelings toward Franklin, she just needed a moment to herself.  Sandy dropped her bags onto the floor, right next to the door, then went over and plopped onto the bed.  After she’d kicked off her shoes, she lay back, and stared at the ceiling before closing her eyes.  The moment she closed her eyes images of the kiss she’d shared with Franklin surfaced.  Sandy couldn’t believe how that kiss with him made her feel. Although it was brief, the kiss sent a volt that sliced through her entire body.  His lips had barely touched hers but when he tightened his hold on her, her entire body went up in flames.  She had to admit to herself that she was very attracted to him.  She knew she needed to get control because the man was engaged.  Sandy was a lot of things but she’d never knowingly date someone who she knew was in a committed relationship. 

She
only had a couple of hours before it was time to meet Franklin in the lobby so she needed to pull it together.  She was going to try and grab a shower and maybe even a quick nap before they headed back over to the hospital.   As Sandy rose from the bed her cell phone rang.  She ran over to the table where she’d thrown it when she walked into the room and grabbed it.  After looking at the caller i.d. she saw that it was Joshua. 

“Hello.”

“Hey beautiful” Of course Joshua sounded as sexy as ever.  The sound of his voice just didn’t create the typical excitement in her as it usually did.

Sandy
sighed and closed her eyes.  If nothing else, this ordeal was starting to put things into perspective.  Life was too short to spend it playing games.

“Hello Joshua.”

“You don’t sound excited to hear from me.  I’ve been texting you all day.”

“I’ve been pretty busy and I
just haven’t had time to text you back.”

“Well, I heard you left work early today with Mr. Roth.  What’s up with that?”

“So, is that why you called me to ask about Franklin?”

“
Franklin? So, you’re on a first name basis with him now?”

Sandy was so frustrated she could scream.  Had she really wasted all this time on Joshua?

“What I call Franklin is really none of your business now is it?  So, if that is all you called me for….”

“Wait, don’t hang up.  Actually that is not the reason for my call
.  I’m just a little frustrated and I…
miss you
.  Let me start over.  Can we do that?  Let me take you to dinner tonight.  I’ve made a reservation for La Belle Vie.  I know it’s one of your favorites.”

What was it with men?
She’d tried to get Joshua to take her anyplace over the last couple of years to no avail.  Now that he thinks someone else is interested, now he wants to wine and dine her. 

“Joshua, I can’t make it tonight.  I’ve got other plans.”

Joshua wasn’t used to being turned down.  He didn’t know what game she was playing but it was pissing him off “What plans?  Are they with
Franklin
?”

“Joshua
what is it? Why do you keep asking me about Franklin?  What if my plans were with him? YOU decided you didn’t want to be in a committed relationship remember? YOU decided we should just enjoy our time together when we were together and not ask questions we didn’t really want answers to when we weren’t.  You can’t have it both ways.”

“Well, well, we
ll, so you are going for the upgrade.  But, the CFO? Do you honestly think a man like him would be interested in a lowly customer service manager like you? You’d never fit in that elite women’s circle no matter how many designer outfits you wear.”

“
Are you serious right now?  You know you’re being a bastard right? I can’t believe I allowed you to breathe the same air as me.  I am not a girl Joshua.  I am a full grown woman and those mind games you’re trying to play, won’t work.  There is
nothing
you could say to me that would ever break my spirit and make me think less of myself.   I’m proud of who I am and what I do.  You on the other hand, are just a scared little boy who hides behind having multiple women to make you temporarily feel better about yourself.  Well guess what, I’m done.  You might want to hire a therapist for that.”  Sandy almost broke her phone hanging up on him. 

She was so angry she was shaking wit
h rage.  Where the hell was the mini bar when you needed one?  Over to her left, right next to the t.v. was salvation; the mini-bar.  Oh yes, there was going to be a slight change of plans.  Sandy was going to have a drink, maybe even two, and then take a shower.

However, i
f Franklin were honest with himself he’d admit that he really did enjoy that kiss.  That’s why it bothered him so much.  For just a brief moment she made him forget everything else that was going on around him.  It was nice to forget for a while and just feel.  It had been a long time since he’d been in that space and not walking on egg shells wondering if this or that was the right thing to do.

Franklin took a look at his watch and noted the time.  He finished his drink and decided
Sandy was off limits.  Now that that was settled in his mind, he’d better get to his room and check in with the office before they had to head back to the hospital.  Although, he was still a little wound up he felt a little better for the clarity and focus.