Chapter ten #2
And the woman standing in front me might just be the reason I finally let it go.
***
“If you’re looking for a clean food source, this is the one I recommend.” Seth takes a bag of food off the shelf in the reception area, handing it to one of our clients.
“This the best thing I can feed him?” The young woman looks down at her bulldog puppy, who’s currently slobbering all over the floor.
“Absolutely.”
Her face falls when she sees the price tag. “It’s really expensive, though.”
Wrapping his arm around her shoulder, he leads her over to the counter to pay. I cannot believe this asshole. “You can’t put a price on your puppy’s health, right?”
She nods nervously before handing the bag to Victoria so she can ring her up. “Right…”
“Great!” Seth beams. “Then we’ll see you back next month for Sparky’s next set of vaccines,” he says brightly before disappearing down the hall.
Shaking my head, I follow behind. When I catch up to him, I lower my voice so only he can hear. “You know that shit you just gave her isn’t the best food we carry.”
“So? We make the best commission off that brand, Dr. Sheppard.” He flashes his creepy smile as we pass a few of the technicians on the way to his office. Once we step inside, I close the door behind us. He sighs and says, “If you’ll excuse me, I’m busy.”
Did he really just dismiss me?
“You’re worried about commission? What about that dog’s health and longevity? What about that young girl’s bank account?”
Seth rolls his eyes as he drops into the chair behind his desk. “This is a business, Parker. Or have you forgotten that?”
“Of course not. But at the end of the day, we have to do what’s best for the owners and their pets.”
“No. At the end of the day, we have to keep the doors open.” He shakes his head. “Seems to me someone isn’t ready to take on the practice after all.”
I glare at the man sitting across from me, knowing in my bones that he’s the piece of scum I always thought he was. “You’re a piece of shit.”
Okay, Parker. That was a bit direct.
Seth leans back in his chair, smirking. “Takes one to know one.”
Oooh. Good come back, Seth.
I shake my head, buttoning up my lab coat and resisting the urge to throw his stapler at him. “No, because I would never do what you just did to that poor girl out there.”
He waves me off. “Again, it doesn’t seem like you’re ready to run things around here if you wouldn’t do what’s best for the practice.”
Someone knocks on the door, interrupting the tongue-lashing I was about to give him.
“If you could get that, that’d be great.” Seth smiles up at me like I’m his fucking butler.
Clenching my teeth, I open the door to find Robert O’Neil standing there, looking between us with his usual no-bullshit expression.
“Gentlemen,” he greets us, looking back and forth between me and Seth, who’s now standing behind his desk.
“Robert. How can I help you?”
“We’re having a staff meeting in ten minutes. I need you both present.” Without further explanation, he storms off, no cane in sight.
He’s been back at work for a week, and things have returned to normal for the most part. However, there’ve been moments where I’ve noticed him watching me from the corner of my eye, or he’ll come up and ask me a question about a case, almost like he’s testing me. And maybe he is.
I know I broke the trust he had in me by lying to him about Cashlynn, and I don’t blame him for watching me more closely now.
But I’ll be keeping an eye on him, too—because the more I’ve learned about their relationship as father and daughter, the more protective I’ve become of her.
My father never would have discouraged me from doing what makes me happy and chasing my dreams. He had his faults, but I guess when it was time for me to start figuring out what to do with my life, he’d learned from his mistakes with Dallas and Penn.
I got the father who believed in me and praised me every time I accomplished something I put my mind to and succeeded—which I always did.
I had this obsession with being perfect.
But over the years, I wonder if that praise for being driven, for never wanting to make mistakes, is what’s made my failed relationship with Sasha haunt me for so long.
“That was your cue to leave my office,” Seth snaps, pulling me back to the present.
I shoot him a glare before turning and heading down the hallway, where the rest of the staff has already gathered. A quick glance at the clock confirms that it’s lunchtime—the brief window each day when the doors are locked and there are no appointments on the schedule.
Robert clears his throat loudly, commanding everyone’s attention. “Thank you all for making time for this. I didn’t want this to wait until our Monday meeting because I need to be truthful with all of you about something very important.”
Murmurs ripple through the room.
Truthful? My chest tightens. Is he going to explain what he and Beth were discussing that day I overheard them? Fuck. Is he sick? Is he about to tell the entire staff before he tells his daughter?
“My fall three weeks ago was eye-opening, to say the least. Lucky for me, I didn’t break anything, but it was a wakeup call—a reminder that I’m not getting any younger.
” A few of the staff chuckle nervously. “With that being said, today I am formally announcing that in three months, I will be retiring from Carrington Cove Animal Hospital.”
Holy shit. He’s really doing it.
This is really happening.
Everyone starts to speak amongst themselves, but Robert clears his throat again and they fall silent. I glance over at Seth, who has his arms crossed over his chest, beaming like he just won the fucking lottery.
“As you know, we have two very capable doctors here, Dr. Sheppard and Dr. Brown, both of whom I believe would do great things leading this practice. But only one name can be the sole owner, so in three months’ time, I will announce my choice of who will replace me as the head doctor.”
Seth and I lock eyes, and he’s already smirking like it’s a done deal.
Robert steps up to me, offering his hand. “You know what’s at stake here, right, Parker?”
“Of course, sir,” I say, gripping his hand firmly.
“Good.” He leans in and lowers his voice. “And let me make one thing clear—being engaged to my daughter doesn’t mean a damn thing. If anything, it means you’ve got even more to prove.”
I swallow hard, willing my voice to stay steady. “Yes sir.”
Robert nods once, releasing my hand. “Then I expect to see the doctor I’ve been mentoring for the past six years over the next three months, and hopefully, someone even better than that.”
He turns away and walks over to Seth, probably to give him a similar speech.
But my insides are twisting.
This is my chance. This is what I’ve been wanting since I moved back home to work at this hospital.
I just hope I can hold it all together long enough to make my dream a reality.
Because chasing dreams is fucking exhausting.
***
Hours later, with the weight of the day pressing on me, I finally walk through the front door. I plop down onto the couch, kicking my feet up on the coffee table and stretching my toes out, trying to relieve the ache in my feet.
“I didn’t hear you come home,” Cashlynn says from behind me. She’s fresh from the shower, dragging a towel over her wet hair.
Fuck, I want to dirty her up just looking at her.
I haven’t allowed myself to think about that kiss for days because I’ve been buried in my work. Thank God it’s Friday.
“I just got in,” I say gruffly, leaning back and closing my eyes.
She steps closer and pushes my hair back from my face. “You look exhausted.”
“Well, I’m trying to show your father that he can trust me—with you and his practice—so yeah…I’m beat.”
She nods and heads toward the kitchen, pressing a few buttons on the microwave to heat up my dinner.
The smell of enchiladas wafts through the air, and my stomach growls.
She did the same thing last night, had a home-cooked meal waiting for me when I got home after a long shift.
Gotta admit—that’s a detail of this arrangement I don’t hate.
“When he told me he was going to announce his retirement, I was afraid this might happen.”
“What might happen?”
“You running yourself ragged,” she says as the microwave beeps. A moment later, she sets the plate of food in front of me and hands me a fork.
“Thank you.” I take a bite of the chicken enchiladas as she sits down next to me. “I have to show him how bad I want this, Cashlynn. If I don’t give it my all, I’ll regret it.”
She props her elbow on the back of the couch, resting her head on her hand. “I get it, but I also know my father. He’s the kind of man that will find a fault in anything.”
“Believe me, I know.”
“But he also isn’t impressed by flashy showmanship. You’re an amazing doctor, Parker,” she says, reaching out and placing her free hand on my forearm.
“How do you know that?”
Her lips curve into a small smile. “My father has talked about you a lot, remember?”
I nod, taking another bite of my dinner. “But this is different.”
“No, it’s not. He doesn’t need you to show off. He just needs to see that you care.”
I think back to the many conversations I’ve had with Dr. O’Neil over the years. “Maybe you’re right.”
“I know I am. But if it helps, I can keep talking you up to him any chance I get.”
“That might do more harm than good. Remember, he thinks I’m the man fucking his daughter.” As soon as the words leave my lips, I regret them. But when I turn to look at Cashlynn, she’s licking her lips and glancing down at mine.
“True,” she says softly.
Needing to steer clear of the tension I just created, I take another bite of my dinner. “This is really good, by the way. Thanks.”
She pushes herself up off the couch, bending over right in front of me to run the towel over her hair again before twisting it up and on top of her head.
Jesus Christ. Why was that so sexy?
“My pleasure,” she says with a wink, sauntering back down the hallway, giving my dick a chance to deflate.
I reach for the remote, intent on watching some mindless TV, but when I hit the power button, nothing happens. “What the hell?”
I bang the remote against my hand a few times and then try to turn it on again, but still no luck. Setting my plate on the coffee table, I grab new batteries from the drawer and try again—nothing. Then I see it—the TV cord dangling next to the outlet, unplugged.
“Mother fucker,” I grumble, apparently louder than I intended. Cashlynn reappears from the hallway.
“What’s wrong?”
I gesture at the black screen. “The TV? Really, Cashlynn?”
Her lips curl up like she’s fighting a smile, but she shrugs. “I told you…”
“What kind of human does that?”
“Well, you barely watch it anyway, and again—”
I hold up my hand. “Okay, this has to stop.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s driving me nuts!”
“I’m sorry, but this is what I do!”
“Not while you’re living with me, it isn’t.”
We stand there, staring at each other, but Cashlynn shocks me further when she says, “Fine, then I’ll play you for it.”
“What?”
She steps further into the living room until there’s only a few inches separating us. “Are you scared?”
“You want to play rock, paper, scissors to decide if you get to keep unplugging my appliances?”
She nods. “Yup.”
I huff out a laugh despite myself and hold up my fist. “You’re on.”
“One,” she says.
“Two.”
“Three,” we say in unison as I throw up fire—again—and she dishes out a closed fist, showing rock.
“When are you going to learn?” I ask her a little too smugly, but then she opens her fist above my spirit fingers and makes a whooshing sound. “Did you just…”
“That’s a water balloon,” she says, smirking. And then she hits me with a confession. “You’re not the only one who’s watched Friends.”
With a triumphant arch of her brow, she turns and walks back toward her room. “Looks like the appliances stay unplugged, Parker!” she calls out over her shoulder.
And I’m left standing there, flabbergasted and rock-hard.
Fuck. This woman might be the reason I have myself committed.
Or she might be the one who was undoubtedly made for me.