Chapter 11
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The drill whined like a mosquito on steroids, filling the entire break room with an ear-splitting buzz.
I leaned against the counter outside, pretending to read a laminated poster about proper hand-washing techniques while watching two security guys mount a shiny new camera directly above the bulletin board.
It wasn’t subtly angled or discreet, pointing straight at the board while another had been mounted just inside the door, giving a view of the entire room. While I was being careful about not showing it, I felt downright buoyant.
Triumphant, even. My flyers had gotten the mighty Sullivan Crowne so riled up that he’d finally approved the security upgrade we’d all known the hospital needed for years. Clearly, he didn’t like it when his ego had been challenged and bruised.
I almost grinned, but I bit it back just in time. This wasn’t quite the same as reverting to the old gowns, but the cameras were a win too. Ever since I’d started working here, even as a home care nurse who’d only occasionally come in with patients or to visit, I’d been warned to keep my eyes open.
What that meant was that on top of everything else, we always had to keep a lookout. One eye always had to be on the carts. The equipment. Our storage rooms. Every freaking drawer in the place.
Not all of it could always be locked up, and anyone could walk right in off the street at any given time. Our own safety and that of our patients had depended on our own vigilance. These cameras would certainly help with that.
Yeah, I’ll take it as a win.
One of the guys stepped back, squinting up at his work before pulling off his gloves. “That should do it.”
“It’s perfect,” the other said. “At least there’ll be no more of whatever this was.”
I smiled to myself and pushed off the counter just as a familiar voice drifted to my ears. “Well, that’s a surprise. It looks like Sullivan finally found some extra money in the budget.”
A slight burst of fear shot through me and I quickly wiped the smile off my lips before I turned to see Liana standing there.
She held a coffee cup in her hand, her eyebrows arched with open amusement.
These days, most everyone who worked here always seemed annoyed or stressed, but instead of that, she actually looked really entertained.
I snorted. “Funny how that happens, huh?”
Her mouth twitched. “Right? It’s almost like it was never actually about the money.”
I laughed, unable to help myself. “It would’ve been way cheaper to just let people sing happy birthday.”
She took a sip of her coffee. “I said something similar this morning.”
“Did you?” I grinned. “Please tell me you said it to his face.”
She smiled innocently. “I enjoy my job.”
“That’s a yes,” I said, surprised but thrilled. “How did he take it?”
She shrugged and glanced back at the security guys, watching them pack up their tools. “Ah, I think he took it about as well as you’re probably imagining he did.”
I lowered my voice and leaned closer to her. “You know, I almost feel bad about all this happening during his first month on the job.”
Liana glanced back me, that same amusement twinkling in her eyes. “Almost, but not quite?”
“Okay, no,” I admitted. “Not really. I’m sure people would’ve been much more welcoming if he wasn’t… him.”
“Him?” She laughed, the sound warm and easy.
Instantly, I liked her even more than I already had, my initial feelings about her settling into something firmer.
“Well, yeah. Him. I mean, objectively? He’d be really hot if he wasn’t such a dick.
He could’ve had at least half the women in this building wrapped around his little finger by now if he’d just smile sometimes. ”
Laughter burst out of her. “Wow.”
I shrugged, my cheeks flushing a little. “I’m just saying, he’s tall, he has a never-ending array of expensive suits, and that whole ruthless businessman thing works for some people. Just not when you’re yelling at nurses about cake.”
She shook her head, still smiling. “You’re definitely not wrong.”
“I don’t know how you’ve managed to work for him for so long,” I said, genuinely admiring her for it. “I would’ve snapped by now and become a spree killer or something.”
“Oh, I snap,” she said lightly. “I just do it internally.”
“That’s a skill I never seemed to have developed. It looks like I just go straight to baked-goods-based violence.”
She grinned. “Yeah, I heard about the cannoli.”
My eyebrows shot up. “You did?”
“Well, I was right outside his office when it happened and the door was open,” she said with a slight smirk appearing right at the very corners of her lips. “Nothing could’ve stayed secret.”
“Great,” I muttered. “Does that mean you’ve been thinking of me as the Pastry Assailant?”
She chuckled. “There are worse legacies.”
“True.”
We started walking down the hall together, our footsteps falling into sync. A nurse passed us and gave Liana a quick smile, then glanced at me and smirked. I just wasn’t quite sure why.
Liana stopped walking when she reached the hallway that led to the Great Office of Power and turned to me. “Hey, are you free this evening?”
I frowned, mentally running through my schedule and coming up empty. “Uh, I think so?”
“Cool,” she said. “Quick follow-up. How do you feel about non-birthday cakes?”
I grinned, a little intrigued by this line of questioning. “I’m a big fan. Why?”
“Would you be a sweetheart and come help me and my fiancé choose a cake?” she asked, sounding hopeful.
My eyebrows shot up. “You want me to come help you choose your wedding cake?”
“I’ve never been so stressed about cake in my life, so yes. I would really appreciate it if you could come help us taste since apparently, it will bring us a lot of joy if chosen correctly and a lot of misery if not.”
I laughed. “I have the night off and I really do like cake, so I guess that makes me uniquely qualified.”
Her shoulders visibly relaxed. “Thank God. Meet me at the Lucky Bakes bakery at seven?”
“Seven it is,” I said, smiling. “I’ll be sure to bring my extremely professional baking opinions.”
She grinned. “That’s all I’m asking.”
We parted ways after that, and I walked to my car later on feeling lighter than I had in days. My workplace was still a battlefield, my boss was still a tyrant, and I was one security camera away from unemployment, but still.
Cake with a new friend wasn’t a bad way to spend a night.
I drove home with the windows down, letting the evening air clear the hospital and Sullivan Crowne out of my head. Once I got to my apartment, I kicked off my shoes and checked on my houseplant, which had lived to fight another day.
Satisfied it wasn’t going to stage a rebellion and die on me, I headed for the bathroom and grabbed a quick shower. After, I changed into jeans and a comfortable, soft sweater. Then I swiped some mascara onto my lashes and called it a day.
Happily, this wasn’t a date and I didn’t have to try to impress anyone, so I wasn’t stressed and I didn’t have to make a fuss. This is great. This is why I like new friends more than new boys.
Liana was easy to talk to, warm without being nosy, and funny without even trying.
It was also nice, or maybe comforting was the more accurate term, to have found someone at the hospital who knew Sullivan well and didn’t seem terrified of him.
She’d said she’d worked with him for years and she’d busted into his office like they were old friends.
Never hurts to have an ally like that.
At six forty-five, I grabbed my jacket and headed out, humming along to the radio as I drove. The bakery Liana had asked me to meet her at was one of those trendy places with a brick exterior, big windows, and warm light spilling out onto the sidewalk.
I’d been wanting to check it out for ages, and I was happy to do it while helping a new friend make some decisions for her big day. I climbed out of the car and walked up to the bakery, my mouth already watering at the thought of tiers of frosting and tiny forks.
When I reached the sidewalk, I spotted Liana through the window.
She was standing near the counter laughing with someone and my gaze swept automatically to that side, curious about her fiancé.
The man she was with wore a tailored coat, his sandy hair perfectly in place and his posture militarily rigid even in a bakery after hours.
Sullivan Crowne. What the… Logically, I knew it was him, but my brain refused to process it at first. No. Nope. That makes no sense.
It couldn’t be him and yet, when I took another step closer to the glass, he reached for a fork and Liana slapped his hand away, smiling and rolling her eyes when he said something.
He smirked, that infuriating, confident smirk I’d seen in the conference room, and my stomach dropped so hard, I was surprised it didn’t crack the sidewalk.
“Oh,” I whispered.
Oh shit.
Sullivan Crowne, my sworn enemy, was my new friend’s fiancé, and I’d promised to go cake tasting with them. As I stared at the scene unfolding in front of me, the two of them laughing and clearly joking around with one another, I felt dizzy, betrayed, and hilariously doomed.
It felt like I’d been dropped into an alternate version of reality, but I’d promised her I’d be here. Which meant I now had to choose between flaking on a girl I truly liked or spending the evening with the absolute worst person in the world.
I just had no idea which would be worse.