Page 34 of Rude Boss' Secret Baby
I placed my hand on her knee. “Stop fighting me and answer my question. What’s going on? What happened?”
“Who is this?” the woman asked.
I answered her without moving my eyes away from Leslie. “Trey Cataline. Now, is someone going to answer me? Or, do I need to track down a doctor?”
Leslie’s eyes searched mine before she sighed. “It’s my daughter, Aurora. She’s having an allergic reaction to something, but they don’t know what.”
I nodded. “Have they tried medication? An Epi-pen?”
Her friend scoffed. “Uh, yeah. I’m pretty sure the doctors have already tried those avenues before they rolled the girl downstairs to run some tests. They have to sedate her first.”
Leslie hissed. “Suri, cut it out.”
I stood to my feet. “What kind of an allergic reaction?”
Leslie leaned back in her chair and sighed. “That’s the issue. They think that whatever she’s having a reaction to is lodged somewhere in her system. Possibly her throat or her lungs. She’s having tests run so they can figure out exactly what’s going on.”
I chewed on the inside of my cheek. “How long has she been in—”
Then, Leslie started crying again. “I don’t know how I’m ever going to pay for this, Suri. I haven’t filled out my insurance stuff. I just started this job. I’ve drained my savings account for this townhouse, and I just bought groceries, and my credit card is maxed out, and I—”
I couldn’t take it any longer. “Stop!”
Her friend, Suri, slowly stood to her feet. “If you’re going to continue to be this way, you can exit the same way you came. You’ve already overstepped your lines as a boss; don’t make me throw you out a window because you’re upsetting my best friend further. Got it?”
The tall, slender woman staring up at me had the most striking hazel eyes I’d ever seen on someone, and they were filled with the kind of determination that almost made me jealous. It had been a long time since I’d considered anyone a friend, much less had someone who defended me with the kind of fervor she showed for Leslie.
“She’s lucky to have you,” I said, trying to calm my voice.
Suri blinked. “Well, thank you. I know she is.”
I turned my attention back to Leslie before I crouched down. “I’ll make sure this is taken care of, all right?”
Leslie’s watery eyes met my own. “What?”
I placed my hand on her knee and squeezed softly. “Don’t worry about money. We’ll figure it out, okay? So long as I can prove that you were under my employ before this happened, I’ll make sure the insurance covers what they should. And whatever else is left, I can handle.”
Her jaw dropped open in shock. “Trey, I can’t let you—”
A pronounced voice interrupted us. “Leslie Popovich?”
She shot to her feet. “That’s me?”
I stood and turned around to find a black man in a white coat standing behind us. “May I speak with you privately, please?”
Leslie drew in a broken breath. “Whatever you can say, you can say it in front of Suri and my—”
I peeked down at her and watched her swallow hard. “—Trey. It’s okay.”
The doctor shook his head slowly. “I’m afraid I can’t do that. Could you follow me, please?”
I stepped to the forefront. “You heard what the woman said, and you’ll do everything in your power to abide by what she’s asking of you. And in the meantime, I want to get Aurora in a private room. You can bill me for the expense, or however that works.”
The doctor blinked. “Uh-huh. Right.”
I tilted my head. “Or, I can fly my doctors in and have them use the equipment here and bypass you completely. Aurora will need a private room where she’s comfortable and can get some rest, and I have a doctor I keep on-call if your staff here at the hospital is spread thin as it is. So, take your pick, and we can go from there. But I can assure you, I’m much more productive when people aren’t fighting me over stupid shit.”
The room was completely silent as the doctor and I stared off. I heard Suri gasp behind me as Leslie placed her hand on my back, gripping her robe as she searched the doctor’s face. I had no idea what the hell was going on, but I knew one thing was for certain: Leslie and her daughter deserved the best, and I was in a financial position to give it to them.
