Page 52 of Egotistical Jerk
The first time Sebastian had kissed me.
And today.
By the time I stepped into the elevator and poked the number four button, I was buzzing. I couldn't even keep my damn feet still as I tapped them against the floor like an over-excitedMumble.
Bouncing on the spot as the elevator started its climb, I willed it to move faster than it ever had before. When the doors dinged on the fourth floor without stopping at any of the others first, I sent a silent thanks into the universe.
"There you are!" Bridget exclaimed the instant the shiny doors slid shut behind me. She was leaning against Gillian's desk; pestering her for her carrot cake recipe no doubt. Ever since Gillian had brought in a slice of heaven the previous week, we had all nagged her to give up the family recipe.
It was that good.
"Here I am," I chirped as I made my way to where they were standing. "Did she give it up yet?" I shoulder-bumped Bridget when I reached her and narrowed my eyes in Gillian's direction.
The older woman laughed, the sound coming from somewhere deep inside her. It sounded so genuine, I couldn't help but grin. Or perhaps my stupid good mood had something to do with my lips stretching wide.
"Over my dead body," Gillian declared on the tail end of her laugh.
"Ah, come on Gillian," I pleaded. "If you're not going to make it, you can at least provide us with the recipe so we can make it ourselves." Flashing my teeth and batting my eyelashes, I gave her my best I'm-sweet-as-freaking-sugar look.
She didn't even blink. "Oh no, missy, that doesn't work on me."
Next to me, Bridget snorted and then mumbled, "I bet I know who itdoeswork on."
"Bridget!" I hissed.
The woman standing behind the desk made a sound; something between a snort and laugh. The kind of sound that said 'yeah, so do I'. Slowly, so damn slowly, my gaze flicked to Gillian. The look on her face gave me pause.
"You know?" Yup, my voice sounded about as horrified as I felt.
Gillian waved a hand through the air like her knowing my business wasn't anything new. "Sweetie, I knew it was coming long before you did." She reached over the desk and touched my arm. "There is something I think you should—"
Before she could finish saying whatever it was she wanted to say, an alarm shrieked to life. It was so shrill and so harsh, I wanted to cover my ears.
Until my gaze landed on Gillian's flashing monitor.
Big bold red numbers blinked in quick succession. A warning. A cry for help. It took me all of three seconds to recognize the room number. Too heavy, my heart sank to the floor right as my stomach turned over on itself.
"Shit!" Was all that came out of my mouth before I started running, shoving people aside without even saying sorry. There was no time to be apologetic. Not when Mrs. DuBois was crashing.
I stormed into the room just in time to see Dr. Sandeep let go of Mrs. DuBois's wrist. Staring at Dr. Lawrence—Mary—he shook his head.
Even though my ears took in the long beep coming from the monitor beside Mrs. DuBois's bed, my brain, or rather my heart, refused to accept that this was it. I'd seen her just that morning. I had stopped by and promised to tell her all about my interview when I got back, but she was more excited about sharing the new list of baby names she'd come up with.
Oh, it hurt. My chest felt too small, my heart too big. I curled my fingers into the front of my shirt, willing the damn pain to go away. But it didn't. Wouldn't. I tried to suck in a breath, even that was painful.
But not nearly as painful as hearing Dr. Sandeep's emotionless announcement, "Time of—"
"NO!" I cried, my gaze never leaving Mrs. DuBois's lifeless body. They couldn't just call it, they hadn't even tried to bring her back.
Outraged, I surged forward and immediately hopped on to the bed. Straddling the woman I had come to care for so much, I placed one hand on top of the other and laced my fingers together before pressing the heel of my bottom palm against the center of her chest. Keeping my arms straight and my shoulders directly over my hands, I started pushing hard and fast.
"Dr. Phillips!" This coming from Dr. Sandeep. "You can't do that!"
Ignoring him, I shouted to no one in particular, "We need a damn crash cart in here.NOW."
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Dr. Sandeep coming closer. "You have to stop!" When he was close enough, he reached out to touch my arm.
I smacked him away before carrying on with the chest compressions. "Don't touch me!"
