Page 58 of The Executive Assistant

“Stop trying to get rid of us,” Brooke teased me, making me laugh.

I sniffled and wiped away the rest of my tears, holding myself together for now. Honestly, I was getting too tired to even cry anymore. Even if Cameron didn’t visit meagain before I was discharged, I was still so grateful for what he did.

I hoped that he would let me thank him.

“Before we go, I’ll flag down the nurse and let her know that you’re awake,” Emilia said, squeezing my arm before heading out of the room to hunt down the nurse.

Brooke turned to me with a gentle expression on her face. “It’ll all be okay. No matter what happens.”

I breathed in deeply and nodded. “Thank you.”

“As for Cameron…I think you should tell him how you truly feel the next time that you see him.”

Cold fear filled my chest. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“It’s something you need to do. You’ve obviously fallen in love with him, Alison. You should tell him so that he at least knows,” Brooke replied. “Maybe you can salvage the relationship.”

Was that true? Was I in love with Cameron?

I thought of his laugh. I thought of the way we sat in the bath together in the hotel, his gentle hands massaging my shoulders. I thought of him sitting by my side all night.

My heart ached, because I knew it was true — Ididlove him.

But could I really repair what had broken between us? I was afraid of hoping for too much. What if he didn’t care that I loved him? What if that still wasn’t enough?

I couldn’t bear having my heart broken all over again.

“I’ll think about it,” I said.

Brooke gave me one more hug before Emilia walked into the room with a middle-aged, dark-haired nurse on her heels. The nurse picked up my chart and smiled at me. “Welcome back, honey.” She noted my vitals before checking me over. “Any head pain?”

I shook my head. “Just my knees and my left shoulder.”

“We can rule out head trauma then,” the nurse said. “Luckily, it seemed like you fell in a way where your knees hit the ground first before your side. Way better than falling straight forward or back.”

“They said I passed out from exhaustion.”

The nurse nodded. “Dr. Adams is finishing up with another patient right now, but he’ll be here soon to tell you everything you need to know and answer any questions.”

“Okay,” I said before looking over at my friends. “Thank you for visiting me.”

Emilia and Brooke hugged me goodbye. As they left, they told me to get better soon. Once the nurse stepped out, I sank back into the pillows, my eyelids feeling heavy.

Approaching footsteps roused me out of the half-asleep state that I was in. I opened my eyes just as a doctor who looked to be in his late thirties strode into the room.

Dr. Adams paused. “Sorry. Were you trying to sleep?”

I offered him a polite smile and shook my head. “Just resting.”

He smiled back and grabbed my chart, looking over what was noted by the nurse. “Vitals look good. No serious pain or head trauma. We did a blood panel. Nothing serious, but it looks like your immune system is compromised. Are you dealing with a lot of stress?”

“You could say that,” I replied. “I work a lot. And…” I hesitated. “I recently went through a breakup.”

Dr. Adams nodded as he set my chart down and approached my bedside. “I spoke with the man who called for help for you. He told me that you tend to overwork yourself and that you hadn’t been eating or sleeping much lately.”

In the past, I would’ve been annoyed that Cameron ratted me out to the doctor, but now all I could hear was that he cared enough to let the doctor know what was going on. I hadn’t even spoken to Cameron about my sleep and appetite, but he knew me well enough to be able to tell just from being around me.

He probably saw all the half-eaten food in my trash can too, or caught me taking quick power naps throughout the workday to keep myself going. He knew the signs, and I stupidly ignored them because I was so heartbroken.

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