5. Doc
“ H old still. I will extend your punishment if you squirm again,” Daddy warns.
Holding my breath, I make sure to stay as still as possible as Daddy slides the catheter into my urethra. “You could have just spanked me again—harder even.”
“I did that, or did you forget already?” he replies mildly.
I bite my lip to prevent myself from saying something too snarky. My already stinging ass won’t forgive me if I end up owing Daddy more marks.
“You need to learn a little humility, Baby,” he says as he tapes the collection bag to my leg.
“I wasn’t wrong, Daddy,” I protest. “You know we could have handled it. He wasn’t stable enough to be moved.
They got lucky. What if he died on the way to the hospital?
Who would have been blamed? Me! They would have accused me of preventing him from getting the help he needed for too long.
Which would have been bullshit, if she fucking listened and didn’t let her emotions get in the way. ”
“Enough.” Daddy’s voice is firm, and I clamp my lips together. He pulls my pants back up and removes his gloves, before leading us both to the sink to wash our hands.
I’d say something snarky about not having done anything so my hands aren’t dirty, but I know when to push, and this is not the time.
“You’re going to apologize to Dr. Ranlen, and you’re going to make it an actual apology, Baby. I won’t be with you, but James will, and don’t think he won’t tell me if you try to get around apologizing.”
When Daddy turns away to grab the hand towel, I roll my eyes. I know how to apologize when I’m wrong, I just wasn’t in this instance.
Daddy dries my hands, then reaches up and grabs me by the back of the neck, dragging me down so he can kiss me.
“You’re amazing, Baby, and I love you, but sometimes your ego gets in your way.
I know you have a problem because other doctors look down on you, but use that and put yourself in Dr. Ranlen’s shoes. ”
Sighing, I lean against my Daddy, soaking up his comfort, and accepting that he’s right. I might not like it, and hate that she didn’t trust me, but…I also can’t say I’d react any differently in the same position.
Daddy hugs me tightly, before pulling back and kissing me again. “Come on, you don’t want to keep Dr. Ranlen waiting. Especially since you only have a small window to get Emilio moved.”
Following Daddy out of the bathroom, we go back into my office, where Kail and James are waiting for us.
“About time,” James says sarcastically from where he’s sitting at my desk.
“Sorry,” Daddy replies. “We had some things to discuss. He’s all yours now.”
“I’m not an object to be passed around,” I grumble.
“Yes, you are,” James replies.
Ignoring him, I turn to Kail. “How’s Ten doing?”
“Fine. The same. Have you decided when we’re going to bring him around yet?”
“Probably not until after we get Emilio moved and settled. I want to be here for when Tennant wakes up fully, and there’s going to be enough commotion, so it’s probably a good idea to keep him under for a bit longer.
Plus, the longer his incision has to heal, the better.
I will kill him if he hurts himself more than necessary. ”
James laughs. “Might as well keep him sedated until he’s completely healed then, Doc. You know how Ten is.”
If I thought Cristian and Hollis would let me get away with it, I would. There are some things I’d rather not deal with. And an irritated, injured Tennant is one of those things.
“Are you two ready to go? I’d like to get this over with.”
“Sure are, we were just waiting on you.” James stands and heads to the door, while Kail catches Soren up to speed on Tennant as they trade off.
I’d rather not leave my Daddy, but Kail is my first assistant for a reason, and he's more than capable of helping to smooth out my rough edges.
T he small office Sarah leads us to is boring and uninspired, and if I had to spend any time in here on a daily basis, I’d probably ask James to shoot me. Prestigious position as hospital administrator or not, nothing is worth such shabby accommodations.
“I didn’t realize you didn’t tell your Boss anything,” I say mildly as I sit across from her. “Rather uncomfortable position to be in.”
She has the decency to wince. “I’m sorry. Things have been a little…stressful here, as you could imagine. I know Allesandro well enough to know if he understood just how dire things were with Lio, he would have compromised his own health to be here. I couldn’t allow that.”
I understand that, as I’d do the same if I was in her position.
“Yes, well, you can explain that to him, because I’m pretty sure he already hates me. I’d rather not add fuel to that fire.”
“Shall we discuss how we’re going to move Lio?” she asks. “It’s a…delicate situation.”
Swallowing my pride, I shift in my seat, barely holding back my discomfort as the bag taped to my leg suddenly feels heavy and noticeable. I know it’s all in my head, but the reminder of my predicament makes this next part easier.
“First, I need to say something. I’m sorry that I made it seem like you didn’t know what you were doing.
That was not my intention. I know you’re a great doctor, and my comments weren’t an insult to you.
” I grimace, hoping that doesn’t sound as stiff as I think it does.
“I don’t trust other doctors easily, and that’s no excuse, just a fact.
I’ve been looked down on many times by our colleagues, because I don’t work in a hospital or at a regular clinic.
I’m not a forerunner in our field, and well, I suppose I get a bit testy over it. ”
She raises a brow. “A bit? You questioned my decisions, and I could have lost someone very close to me because of it.”
I wince, hoping my regret over the situation shows on my face.
Kail doesn’t say anything, or elbow me, and neither does James, so maybe I’m not fucking this up completely.
“That wasn’t my intention, and never would be.
As I said, I’ve been there and know how it feels.
I will say, I need you to trust me more.
Yes, I made a stupid joke in the moment that didn’t go over well, but I do know what I’m doing.
So does my staff. The way we handle stress in that office is through sarcasm.
I realize you don’t know us, but we wouldn’t have let him die.
“I might not have all this,” I gesture to the office, and hospital in general, “but I do have connections. One of the best trauma surgeons is a former med school classmate, and we have…a mutual understanding.” More like I saved Murry’s ass, and that of his sister, and now we use each other to our advantage.
“I wasn’t kidding about the collapsed lung thing.
We have dealt with that on our own before, and until De Luca was blown up recently, he lived good as new.
“But if I’d had Emilio’s full prognosis, I would have called my contact, and he would have come with a minion or two to help us.
I was testy because I was wrist deep in the guts of one of my best friends.
Had you explained what you were seeing, I would have had a different tune when I assured you that we could handle it, but I thought I was doing you a favor by allowing you to work on him…
I was wrong. We were both too close to our patients. ”
Her steely gray gaze burns a hole into mine and I swallow, hoping she’s not about to kick us out, and insist on taking Emilio back to the Martelli mansion. Cristian would kill me if I fucked up our relationship with the Martellis.
“Don’t let it happen again,” she finally says.
“You’re right in that we need to trust each other.
With how large our Families are, there will be more instances in which we’re both needed.
We have to be able to work together. But I won’t hesitate to put you in check if you ever disrespect me and my choices again. ”
I choose my words very carefully, as I can’t promise that, but…
“I promise to listen more closely. Though, maybe the sharing of information needs to be more open. I didn’t know what was going on because I wasn’t the one treating him.
If I was, I would have had Murry called in to assist. The hospital will never be my first choice, and I need you to respect that.
Any additional assistance can come to us—if not, then we don’t need them.
We’re better than these germ infested cesspools.
Once Cristian renovates my office, nothing will be beyond our abilities. ”
She doesn’t look as convinced. “I was a bit…highly strung in the situation, and yes, I didn’t communicate the dire state he was in. That’s something we’ll have to work on. I won’t agree to no hospital, though. My people are good at their jobs.”
“So are mine,” I cut in, earning a withering glare from her. “You’ll see when we have Emilio back at the house. I have no problem calling in experts, but hospitals ask too many questions.”
She grimaces, unable to argue with that point. “Yes, moving Lio will be…a finely tuned dance, as we are essentially breaking him out against the advice of all his doctors.”
I roll my eyes. “I know how that goes. But we got this.”
“I won’t be undermined or insulted,” she warns.
I huff. “This is where the trust starts, Sarah. I gave you my word that I’ll listen to you; and you’ll actually communicate your needs more, before rushing someone off to this place.
Or did you want to punish me? My Daddy already spanked me for being caustic, but my ass can handle more strikes.
” Said ass seems to protest as I have to shift in my seat again, the deep bruising across the flesh of my backside and thighs not the most pleasant to sit on.
“Or would you like to see how he’s…teaching me some humility? ”
I’d rather not have Kail and James know my current predicament, but it wouldn’t be a good punishment if it didn’t stick with me.
“That’s…unnecessary,” Sarah says slowly. “Let’s work on how to get Lio out of here. I’m sure everyone will rest easier once he’s somewhere they can access him.”
“I hope you’re right. I thought your Boss was going to kill me when I couldn’t answer his questions.”
“I am sorry about that. He’s rather protective of his Boys. Lio having his heart makes the situation even more fragile.”
Sure, we’ll go with that. He’s lucky I didn’t drug him and knock his ass out at the same time I was administering the antibiotics.
Leaning forward, ignoring the way the movement creates a full bladder sensation, and my cheeks heat because the need to pee is real. Hopefully, no one asks why I’m so squirmy.
Dr. Ranlen and I begin outlining a plan for not only breaking Emilio out of the hospital, but also his continued care.
That she’s no longer glaring at me with those steely eyes of hers is hopefully promising that we can once again be friends.
I don’t have many of those in this profession, outside my staff and Daddy.
Having her around has been nice, and I’d like to keep her, especially since untangling our Families isn’t going to be as easy as the Bosses think.
Good thing I don’t have to be part of that conversation.