Chapter Five
Abel
December 31st, 2022
Monday’s are usually the busiest day of the week. Today, on this beautiful Wednesday, the boringest day of the week, it felt more like a Monday. Normally, we’d be closed since it’s New Year’s Eve and all, but I’m open for half a day, just to ensure my patients are well taken care of because we are closed tomorrow. I’m glad the day is finally coming to an end.
Wrapping up my current appointment has me thinking about the way I run things. I’m certain I do a great job, but I love hearing from my patients. That’s why I encourage them to leave feedback on how their visits went. It’s something I look forward to reviewing and hearing their point of view.
Pulling up the patient feedback on my iPad, I review what suggestions they’ve made that I need to work on.
Mrs. Byhman said - ‘You know, you’re cute and all, but your hands are really cold. The plus side is that they’re super soft, but sometimes that doesn’t work for me. But hey, at least you’re cute, right?’
“At least I’m cute.” I laugh, repeating what she said out loud.
That’s the only take away from her feedback I focus on.
I read a few more before I turn it off and clear off my desk.
It seems that for the most part, my patients love coming here and all think I’m a great doctor, but I need to work on my cold hands, smiling more, and making small talk.
Swallowing my laughter, I think to myself how there has never been a dull moment with any of my patients.
After everything is safely tucked away in their rightful place, I roll my chair out, take a seat behind my desk, and pull out my planner.
Running through my schedule for tomorrow, I see what my day looks like. That’s what I have an assistant for, but I like to be prepared. I have a couple of newbies coming in, that should be fun.
Grabbing a pencil, inputting the necessary notes into specific dates, I barely notice when my door swings open.
Emily, my assistant, pops her head in, looking nervous as ever. “Excuse me, Abel, you have a walk-in.” She says, dropping her head low, avoiding eye contact.
I notice she does this quite often, especially when she has to tell me something she thinks will upset me. I can never reassure her enough that she’s not bothering me. “Em, it’s fine. How many times do I have to tell you that?” I say, pushing my chair back to stand. “I welcome anyone that comes in now or later. How long have we been working together?”
Pushing the door open a little wider, she stands tall. “I know, sir, it’s just, I don’t know… You kinda intimidate me.” My eyebrows squish together.
Intimidate her?
Good, she ought to be scared of me. She has no idea the type of man I really am outside of work.
“You should never let your guard down just because you think you know someone.” She’s still not looking at me, but shakes her head yes. I’ve gone from confusion to being slightly annoyed. Pinching the bridge of my nose, I look at her and ask, “What really scares you about me, Emily?”
Pulling her bottom lip between her teeth, she finally looks up at me. “You’re a rather large man who could bench press me or kill me.” I smile because she isn’t wrong. “You walk around with a scowl on your face when you think no one is looking.” I do. “And you never talk to me besides work stuff.” We aren’t friends, why should we talk outside of work? “I don’t mean to sound like an insecure child, but I have no one. I was disowned by my family when I decided to run from an arranged marriage and make a life here in the US.”
“You’re not from the US?” Now, I feel like a piece of shit.
“No, I’m from Peru.”
“Huh. Well, Em, I’m so sorry for being such a shit boss to you. Maybe we can find a way for us to be friends as well as associates.” I say, truly meaning it. “Do you drink beer?” I blurt out before I can stop myself.
Dude, chicks don’t drink beer. I’m mentally slapping myself for that one.
Casting a look at her, I see she’s back to chewing on her bottom lip. I recognize it as a nervous gesture she does quite often around me.
She surprises me when she mumbles, “I do.”
“Great. You can come over to my bar this weekend. I’ll introduce you to the guys and we’ll go from there.” It looks like she wants to say yes at the same time she thinks she should say no.
I watch her at war with herself before she releases her lip as she says, “Sure, it could be fun.”
“Fucking-A it’ll be fun.” Shit, tone it down, Abel. “Great, sounds like a deal.”
“Solid.” She turns to leave, but I call her name. “Yes?”
“I want to know more about this arranged marriage, and who I have to kill for even suggesting something so ludicrous.”
Her face turns bright red, her soft brown eyes widen in fear. “Kill? You don’t mean that, do you, Abel?”
“I mean everything I say.” I wink at her as she scurries out of my office.
I try not to get involved in anyone else’s life, unless you’re a part of my crew, and I have my reasons. Just like Emily should be aware of her surroundings and not let her guard down because she thinks she knows someone, I do the same.
These are two different lines of work that I plan to continue doing until I no longer can.
A moment later, Emily comes back into my office with a worried look on her face.
“Is there something else, Emily?”
“I forgot to send the walk-in… In.” Shit, I forgot about that myself.
“Oh, right, send them in.”
The rest of the day comes and goes. Before Emily leaves, she pokes her head in my office. “Should I get the address from you now or-” She lets her words trail off. I realize we’ve never exchanged phone numbers. It’s not something I normally do, but my mama raised me right. I should have put workplace rules aside when it came to Emily, especially with the information she just shared with me.
There was no way for me to know she was all alone, but clearly the signs were there. The biting of her lip, the worried expression when she thinks she’s done something wrong, how I never see her talk to anyone, and nobody ever comes to visit her… Fucking all of it. I’m gonna make it my business to find out all that I can. Even if that means tracking down her family.
It fucking blew my mind when she said she was all alone. After today, she’ll never be alone again. All the guys, especially Capone, will soon become a part of her life. Brothers she never knew she needed, with the exception of Capone.
I know she has a crush on him from the few times he’s popped up to the job with motorcycle club business. She never once questioned me, just had those googly eyes most girls get around Capone, and asked how we knew each other. “Gimme your phone, Em.” I say, holding out my hand while she fetches her phone from her pocket. Capone would definitely appreciate her outfit even though it’s a uniform. He has a thing for women in uniform.
“Here you go. The code is one-zero-two-five.” She says, and I recognize the date.
Capone’s birthday? How or when did she find that out? Instead of asking her, I silently punch it in, waiting for the phone to unlock before I save my number. I give myself a call from her phone so I can save her number. “There, I’ll text you the address. Call me if you get lost or anything.”
Her hand wraps around the phone, almost scared to take it back like I put a virus on it. “Thanks. Abel, are you sure about this?”
“Emily, don’t. I’m very upset with myself because it took this long to do this. It just doesn’t sit right with me and I’m gonna fix that.” I promise, surprising my own damn self.
I can tell by the smile on her face that she’s a little happier. “Okay, Abel, if you insist.” She answers, pocketing her phone. “What time should I be ready or whatever?” Her shyness is so adorable, but I want to know how fierce she can really get when the Phoenix inside is awakened.
“Be ready for seven o’clock. The party doesn't really get started until much later, but I want to introduce you to everyone.” She perks a little.
“Cool. Okay, well, I’m gonna go home and get a little studying done before then.”
“Studying, are you in school?”
“Yeah, I’m actually in nursing school.” She smiles, hugging herself.
“Yeah?” She shakes her head yes. “That's amazing. How long do you have left? What kind of nurse do you want to be?”
I’m not sure how long we talked, but I learned some things about her favorite food, which is Chinese. She absolutely loves to dance and is in her second year of nursing school. At the rate she’s going, she’ll graduate at the top of her class.
“There’s so much more to tell, but I’m not trying to bore you to death with my life story.” She laughs, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. I’ve decided I won’t dig unless she tells me otherwise. “I’m sorry if I come off as shy and sheepish around you, but I’ve been… Hurt, badly before, and I keep my guard up.” So much for wondering what happened to her.
“I completely understand that. No need to go into detail. All in due time, right?” She simply nods, stands up and pushes the chair back under my desk.
“Well, I’d better get out of here.” I take a moment to admire her simple beauty. Caramel-colored, long brown hair with striking, honey-tinted eyes, threatening to pull you into their endless sea of warmth on a fine summer day. High, rosie cheeks that look so good when they flush a deep shade of red. Thick-framed, black glasses that perch on top of a cute, button nose.
She’s any man with a working set of eyes, dream come true.
I love all women, but there’s just something about a brown-skinned beauty that calls to my inner wolf.
And I’ve been answering whenever the call comes through.
“Yeah, we both better put a move on, but Em, I must warn you.” She stops, mid-stride towards the door.
Turning around to face me with a worried look on her face she asks, “Warn me?” her body begins to shake and I immediately recant what I said.
“Let me rephrase that, who I am at work versus who I am outside are two totally different people. Here, I have to be professional and keep things cordial with members of the staff. But when I’m with my crew… I’m a ruthless man.”
I watch her face twitch, the hint of a smile mixed with laughter on the horizon right before it bubbles up and out past her lips. Glad for the sudden change in atmosphere. “You, a ruthless man… I had no idea.” She says, rolling her eyes. “Your inked hands and skin under those scrubs didn’t give nothing away, Abel.” She says in a mocking tone. She really surprised the shit out of me by coming around my desk and placing a kiss on top of my head. “I’ll call you when I’m en route.”
“Yeah, yeah, get outta here.” Just by opening up a little bit, I feel better about her. I don’t think she was ever a threat, but I can never be too sure.
Grabbing my things, I hit the light switch and leave.
I’m ready for some fun.