The CEO (13 page)

After spraying bleach on the front door, I took a hot shower. I went into the living room in my pajamas and took care of some work on my laptop. I heard a loud thump outside my front door and it nearly scared the piss out of me. I looked out of the peep hole and what I discovered was horrible.

“Oh my god, Kieran!” I yelled, yanking the door open and charging down the stairs.

My brother was lying on my steps, bleeding profusely from his nose and mouth—
barely
clinging to life. “Who did this to you?” I screamed, but he didn’t respond.

I placed his head back down on the steps gently and ran inside to grab my phone. I called the cops and they were at my house in seconds, although it felt like hours.

“Ma’am, do you know who might have done this to him?” the tall blonde officer asked.

“No, he’d been calling my cell phone all night, but I was busy. I finally came home and there was blood on the handle of my door.”

“Blood? Did you wash it off?”

“Yes, I didn’t want that shit on my door.”

“Ma’am, please watch your tone.”

“Listen, I don’t have time for this…officer Jeffrey. I’m tired. My brother arrived on my steps nearly dead. I just want to get to the hospital and make sure he doesn’t die tonight. So dust, black light, whatever the hell it is you need to do, go for it. Just lock my door when you’re done.”

I ran back inside to get my keys after I found out what hospital he was being transported to.

I flew to Mount Sinai Hospital and ran to the receptionist desk. “Excuse me, I’m looking for my brother, Kieran Quinn.”

The nurse tapped the keys on the computer as fast as she could and looked at me with a puzzled look on her face. “I’m sorry miss, there is no one here by that name.”

“What do you mean? I saw the ambulance pick him up in front of my eyes. I spoke with Officer Jeffrey.”

“Ma’am no one new has arrived here in the past hour.”

Where the hell could my brother be?
Frantic, I called my dad for help. “Dad it’s me. Kieran is in trouble!”

Two hours later, we finally found my brother. Mount Sinai was full, and he had been rerouted to Memorial Hospital.

“Sheila, do you know who could have done this?” asked Dad.

“No, Dad. I have no clue. He had called me several times, but I ignored it, thinking he was up to his normal shenanigans.”

“Oh, Sheila. You should have answered and made sure.”

“Dad I know. I usually do, and it’s normally nothing.”

“Well obviously this time it was something, Sheila!”

I could see the fury burning in my dad’s eyes. One thing we always promised each other as a family was to be there for one another no matter what. Apparently my one screw up may have cost my baby brother his life.

I looked over at my brother’s body; he looked so calm, so peaceful. His dark hair was slicked straight behind his head, his eyes had black and blue rings surrounding them, and he had a huge gash on his upper lip. It tore me up inside to see him like this, whether he deserved it or not.

I grabbed his hand and squeezed it as tight as I could, hoping he’d wake up, but he didn’t.

A brunette woman in a long white lab coat came into the room, and that feeling in the pit of my stomach returned. “Hi, I’m Dr. Lazario. Are you Kieran’s father and sister?”

“Yes,” we answered simultaneously.

“Kieran is one lucky guy, all things considered. He didn’t have any broken bones, but the MRI did show that he had a brain hemorrhage. Do you know what kind of drugs he’s on?”

“He was recently addicted to both cocaine and heroin,” I responded.

“I see. Well his toxicology reports haven’t come back yet, but by the small bruises and puncture wounds on his arms, I could have easily guessed heroin.”

“So do you believe he over dosed?” Dad questioned.

“Yes, I’m just not exactly sure if he’ll wake up or not tonight, though. There didn’t seem to be a lot of damage in his brain, so with modern medicine he may just pull through.”

“Thank you doc, please keep us informed,” Dad replied.

“As soon as I receive the results, you’ll be the first to know,” she responded, then exited the room.

The tension in the air was thick between my father and me. He didn’t say another word to me. I picked up my phone and noticed I’d never read the texts my brother had sent me.

Keiran (1): Eila, I’m in trouble.

Keiran (2): Please, r u home?

Keiran (3): Everything is getting dark, they’re after me…help!

Dammit Keiran, what did you get yourself into?

Dad and I stayed the entire night at the hospital with my brother. He tested positive for both coke and heroin, which wasn’t a huge surprise to say the least. He was still in a coma, but seemed stable otherwise.

I had to get back to the office, so Dad told me he’d stay behind and keep me updated on Kieran’s condition.

I stopped by the local coffee shop after I ran home and changed out of my pajamas. I ordered the largest cup of coffee I could, with a double shot of espresso. I knew the weak coffee at the office wouldn’t get me through the day.

“Sheila, are you all right? You look like crap,” Ryan said.

“No, my stupid brother is in a coma.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. What happened to him?”

“Drugs. The usual.”

“Wow. Well if you need anything, let me know.”

“I will, Ryan. Right now, I need to focus on Quinn National; my dad can handle my brother.”

I sat at my desk and stared at my computer. I had no desire to work on anything, but I had to force myself to be productive. I checked my email and had a message from my lawyer.

FROM: LAWRENCE SHUMAN

SUBJECT: URGENT

SHEILA,

I’VE GOT GOOD NEWS AND SOME BAD NEWS. THE GOOD NEWS IS NEITHER OF THE INJURED EMPLOYEES IS SUING YOU DIRECTLY. THEY ARE BOTH CLAIMING WORKMAN’S COMP SO THEY CAN GET PAID FOR THEIR LEAVE. I NEED YOU TO FILL OUT AND SIGN THE DOCUMENTS ATTACHED TO THIS EMAIL AND FAX THEM BACK TO ME AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. IF WE DON’T GET THEM SOME MONEY SOON, I’M AFRAID WE WILL GET SUED.

THE BAD NEWS IS THE COMPANY’S INSURANCE PREMIUM WILL NOW GO THROUGH THE ROOF. WE NEED TO MAKE SURE OUR ASSES ARE COVERED, AND ALSO TRY NOT TO LET SOMETHING LIKE THIS HAPPEN AGAIN.

TAKE CARE,

-LAWRENCE

Great! Good news all around today. Fuck I need a drink.

I texted John to meet me at Sam’s so we both could unwind. He told me that his day hadn’t gone so well either.

“So Sheila, what’s going on?”

“My stupid brother is in a coma. I’m almost certain he mixed some shit together that he wasn’t supposed to, fucked with the wrong people, and got his ass knocked out.”

“Ouch. Sorry to hear that,” he responded, placing the full beer bottle up to his lips.

“Yeah. So what’s your bad news?”

“I didn’t get the position, which sucks. I would have made some decent money at this place.”

“That sucks. Do you have any more interviews this week?”

“Tomorrow, actually,” he said with a hopeful tone.

“That’s great news,” I said, taking a sip of my dry martini.

“Yeah, I heard the boss is a real hard ass, but I hope to charm them.”

“You’ll be fine. Hey, let’s get out of here,” I said, chugging the last sip of my drink.

“Hello?” I said, after slipping my bra straps back over my shoulder as I placed my phone on speaker.

“Sheila, its Dad. Kieran is awake, come quickly.”

If only you knew Dad.

“I’ll be right there.”

“Everything okay?” John questioned from the opposite side of his bed, with his sheet barely covering his lap.

“Well my brother’s awakened from his coma, as I’m sure you heard.”

“That’s great!”

“Thanks. Well good luck with your interview tomorrow. Hopefully this job is promising for you.”

“Thanks.”

After redressing myself, I grabbed my purse and ran out the door.

I walked into my brother’s hospital room and his eyes lit up once he saw my face. “E-E-Eila,” he stuttered. He was trying so hard to speak but the connection between his brain and his lips wasn’t quite functioning properly yet.

I walked over to him and gave him a hug. Even though he was a royal pain in my ass, I was happy that he was awake. “Kieran, I’m sorry.”

“No, not fault.”