What happened in Vegas: Didn't Stay In Vegas! (3 page)

The morning was bitterly cold. My cell phone
reading said minus fifteen degrees. The 680 News channel said with
the wind chill, it felt like negative thirty. I reached the
hospital at 8:00 a.m. for 8:30.

The underground
parking lot was huge and I must have circled it five times looking
for a spot where Snowball would be safe. I liked to leave her next
to a wall so there was fifty percent less chance of door dings, but
when I couldn
’
t find the optimal
space, I settled on parking her in between some of her own kind. I
sandwiched her in between a Mercedes and a BMW, convincing myself
that it was the largest spot. I was hoping their owners were as
conscientious as I was, and I wouldn
’
t come back to
scratches or dents.

I got out of
Snowball and hit her key fob to lock her doors. The underground
wasn
’
t heated, and my winter jacket was no match for the
bone chilling cold I was experiencing. I chose the stairs over the
elevator and could smell the strong stench of urine as I ascended
to the main floor. Immediately I started second guessing my choices
of Residentship at this hospital over the dismal underground
parking conditions.

My first stop
was the hospital coffee shop before going on to Personnel. I
spotted a Tim Horton
’
s. Just the aroma of
the coffee alone began settling my early morning nerves.

Ainsley, the HR
girl, had planned my entire day for me. Mundane
couldn
’
t begin to describe my first day of orientation. She
told me it would begin with introductions to staff I would be
working with closely, and then computer training followed up by a
formal introduction to the hospital CEO.

I met streams
of people, all of whose names escaped me, and I learned a computer
system with which I was already familiar, but it irked me that the
doctor who was going to be training me couldn
’
t spare ten
minutes of his valuable time to be introduced to me.

When it came time to meet up with the CEO of
the hospital, I asked to use the bathroom so I could freshen up for
my final meeting of the day. The General had a great reputation,
and as a student, I knew I wanted to end up working there after I
completed my residentship. I never met a CEO before and it was a
bit intimidating. What if he or she asked me a really hard question
that I couldn't answer? I ran a comb through my long, brown hair
and reapplied fresh lipstick and a spritz of perfume before
returning to Ainsley.

Ainsley had spent the entire day with me, so
I was beginning to feel comfortable with her. She was five-two if
she was lucky, with a bob haircut and big, brown eyes hidden behind
her black-rimmed glasses. She kept cracking jokes that were totally
not funny and then she would stop and wait for a reaction. She had
a look of expectation in her eyes that made you want to laugh just
to appease her.

Ainsley pulled
out her phone from her pocket and glanced at the time.
“
Ready?
”

Exaggerating, I
took a deep breath, shook my shoulders, rolled my head, and wiggled
my fingers, and then cracked my knuckles all in imitation of an
athlete immediately before competition.
“
Ready!
”
By now, I knew I could joke with
Ainsley but deep down in the pit of my stomach, I could feel that
uncomfortable nervous sensation of butterflies.

She led me through a dimly lit indoor tunnel
to a flashy administrative building immediately next to the
hospital. I was in uncharted territory, the shark tank, if you
will. A grandiose, well-designed building so completely separate
from the hospital, you immediately felt dissociated once you walked
inside.

The building was decorated elegantly for the
EXECUTIVES, people with big titles, making big decisions affecting
thousands of lives, while they earned obscene amounts of money.
What it always came down to for them, what they based all their
decisions on, was always how it would affect their budget. It was
never about the doctors, nurses, or staff, and most importantly,
never about the patient, although the big shots would have you
believe otherwise. I hated them.

We reached the
CEO's secretary who recognized Ainsley immediately.
“
He
’
s expecting you. You may go
in.
”

Ainsley opened the door and stepped aside. I
entered first. For a fraction of a second I noticed the beautifully
furnished office just before my gaze slammed into Chase. I
gasped.

~5~

The
damage was done. I could only control what happened
next.

Ainsley snapped her head in my direction at
the sound of the gasp. She was able to contain her composure after
my knee-jerk reaction at the sight of HIM. She eyed me with
curiosity but refrained from asking.

In her most professional demeanor, she
introduced me formally to Chase and excused herself from the office
after thanking me for the day we had together and wishing me luck
in my new role.

More than a little freaked that she was
leaving me alone with him, I grew angry with the realization that
he never bothered informing us of his position at the hospital last
night. I flashed back to Nick saying he was vying for the CEO
position. Nick could really stick his foot in it.

Frozen to my
spot, I waited for him to say something. He bowed his head and
pointed towards the vacant black leather chair placed in front of
his desk and curtly said,
“
Please.
”

I took the seat offered and crossed my arms
and legs, remaining silent. He sat opposite me, elbows planted on
his desk, fingers steepled. He was thinking, I could tell.

Chase had the biggest title, the biggest
effect on those around him, made the most money of anyone who
worked here. His dark, brooding eyes peered into mine. The
atmosphere was quiet and calm as if we were suspended underwater. I
looked directly into the most deadly eyes of the Great White
himself.

Ready for this
challenge I stated,
“
You should have said
what you do for a living.
”

“You never
asked.
”
Chase's tone was low and challenging.

“You
didn
’
t think it was important to mention, after you knew I
accepted a residency position here?
”
I glared at
him.

“It was hardly
a wise move. You never would have rented from me if you
knew.
”
His eyes never leaving mine.

“No, I
wouldn
’
t have. You should have found someone
else,
”
I scolded.

“I wanted
you,
”
he fired back at me. This sent chills up my spine. I
was stunned with suspicion that he might like me.

Our conversation hit a pause. I chose not to
ask him why he wanted me as a tenant; I feared my suspicion would
be confirmed. He rose and started pacing. My intimidation
increased.

I glanced down
at his shoes. He was wearing a different pair of gold. He had more
than one pair. I got mad at my loss in concentration. I stopped
looking at him and readjusted my sitting position and waited for
him to say more. He continued.
“
What I do during the
day has nothing to do with you renting my loft.
”

“Bullshit,
”
I spat.
“
It
’
s a
conflict of interest, bordering on manipulation.
”

“You
’
re overreacting, save
it for your work.
”

What a condescending prick! How dare he
accuse me of overreacting. He knew what buttons to push to make me
angry.

I went straight
for the door and snarled,
“
Hardly. Good day,
Chase!
”
I was angry at myself, because I let him know he
got to me.

“You too,
Chanel.
”
His voice remained calm, unaffected. He followed
me. I didn
’
t see him do this, but I felt him close behind.
His spicy cologne was distracting. I swooned for a fraction of a
second, as though caught in an imaginary wave. I fought the sexual
attraction I was feeling and left his office closing the door
behind me. Enigmatic and powerful, he was never to be
underestimated.

~6~

When
Snowball and I got home I texted Nick:

Chanel: Code grey!

I knew when he
got this message he would come right over, so I jumped in the
shower to rid myself of all the hospital microorganisms that
somehow manages to find their way on my body while
I
’
m there. I bought a new shower head which made the
water hit all my tense muscles in just the right spots. I could
have stayed in their for ages, but I knew if I
didn
’
t get ready soon, Nick would try joining me in the
shower declaring a code purple from sex deprivation, he always
claimed sperm build up turned his balls purple.

Our friendship
had great benefits, on so many occasions. After sex, we always
swore we would never do it again. When either one of us went on
extended bouts of what we diagnosed as
‘
Anorsexia
’
our definition: undernourishment of
sexual needs. Having sex with Nick was a great way to release pent
up sexual energy before getting sexually frustrated. We were doing
each other a favour.

Dressed in my
worn, flannel, pyjama
’
s, I found Nick
already waiting for me on my sofa. He was dressed for comfort in a
black Nike track outfit and socks. He had used his own key to get
into my apartment, which I always encouraged.

He had two Vodka coolers poured and two veal
sandwiches topped with a spicy tomato sauce waiting for me. He
appeared to be listening to an old episode of Friends and doing
something on his phone when I walked in. He looked up at me and
immediately turned off the television so I could have his undivided
attention.

I sat next to
him and started divulging immediately,
“
Did you know who
we met last night at the Paddock?
”

Nick half
smiled, half snickered,
“
Yes... I was there,
remember.
”

“You can cork
the sarcasm, save it for a boyfriend,
”
I said
sarcastically. I shook my head mildly irritated with him,
“
No, seriously. Did you know who Chase
is?
”
Haven
’
t you ever seen him
before?
”

“Well,
”
he paused.
“
I guess he
looked a little familiar. Who is he?
”
Nick took a bite of
his sandwich.

“He
’
s
‘
just
’
the CEO of the
General.
”

Nick looked at
me a little awestruck,
“
Why
didn
’
t he mention it to us when we told him where we were
going to work?
”

“Exactly! Why
didn
’
t he? When I found out, the first thing I thought was
you told him you wanted to be CEO! If I wasn
’
t so freaked out
I probably would have laughed. Count on you to stick your foot in
it.
”

“How did you
find out? What happened?
”

Now I knew I
really had his attention,
“
I was orienting with
Ainsley today from HR and at the end of the day she said she was
going to take me to the CEO. When she introduced us, she left me
alone with him. Oh my God, I was standing like an idiot in his
office in complete shock. I asked him why he
didn
’
t disclose his position at the hospital when we met at
the bar, and he said it was because he wanted me to sign the lease.
I told him, he can
’
t be my landlord and
my boss. It
’
s just,
it
’
s just wrong, I stammered. I left his office in a
huff.
”

“So what are
you going to do?
”

I rolled my
eyes and took a huge sip of my cooler,
“
If I knew what I
was going to do I wouldn
’
t have called a code!
What should I do?
”

Just then, the
buzzer to my door went off. Nick looked at me,
“
Are you
expecting someone?
”

“No.
”
I glanced down at what I was wearing
and then back up to him,
“
I
can
’
t answer the door, not looking like this. You,
answer!
”
I ordered.