Page 51 of Egotistical Jerk
"So it's serious then?" Christian asked.
My answer was immediate and to be honest, it freaked me out just a little. "For me, yes." I frowned at that. Because, shit, how serious could I be after a few days?
"Why do you look so worried?" he demanded. "It's a good thing, right?"
Shaking my head, I scrubbed my palm over my face. "I don't know, man. I'm concerned that I might be falling too hard, too fast, you know?"
"No such thing." His words held so much conviction, I had to wonder how he could be so sure. "There aren't a set number rules we should abide by when falling in love, Sebastian. It happens when it's supposed to happen. For some people it takes years. For others, it happens within days, sometimes even minutes."
Resting my elbows on the table and balancing my chin on my folded fingers I asked, "When in the hell did you become an expert on love?"
Christian flashed me his teeth before he looked at something over his shoulder. When his gaze returned to mine, that somber look was back. I hated it.
"That's a story for another time. Right now, I gotta go."
"It was good to hear your voice," I told him. "Think about what I said, okay?"
His nod was stiff. "I will."
Before I could tell my brother I loved him and would always be there for him, our connection was cut. With a sigh, I fell back in my chair and looked up at the ceiling. Christian was right about one thing: there were no rules when it came to matters of the heart. I just wished there were guidelines or a handbook to guide you when you told your girlfriend you've been withholding important information from her. Information that would have an impact on her career.
Yeah, if someone could give me advice on that, I'd be great.
Chapter 23
MIA
I didn't think this day could get any better.
There was a smile on my face that showed no sign of letting up as I walked into Memorial later that afternoon. The interview I'd been so worried about had gone even better than I could have dreamed. I'd been nervous as hell at first, but after a few minutes with Victoria Shaw, who looked as elegant as she sounded over the phone, my nervousness had vanished.
"Relax, Mia," she had cooed. "I'm not supposed to tell you this yet, but this interview is just a formality. The job is yours if you want it."
I'd blankly stared at her for a few seconds too long before finally finding my voice. "I'm sorry, I don't understand."
Touching the gray knot at the base of her skull, she'd smiled sweetly at me. "I can't lie, we have done some extensive background research on you, and have found that you are exactly the type of doctor we want here. You don't just care about getting results but about the actual patients, too."
"Patients are so much more than the diseases ailing their bodies," I'd blurted out.
"Yes! Yes, Mia, they are."
Victoria Shaw had smiled at me in a way that made me feel good. She'd reached into a drawer and after pulling out an envelope, she'd slid it across the shiny desk toward me. "I realize that Newlife is a lot smaller than Memorial, more intimate if you will," she'd said with a wink. "Although we cannot offer you what they can, we can give you something better. An opportunity to build a diagnostics wingyourway."
After she'd advised me that I had two weeks to think about their more-than-generous-offer, we'd said our goodbyes and I'd headed straight for Memorial with one person and one person alone at the forefront of my mind.
Sebastian.
I couldn't wait to tell him how it went. To get his input on all of it. I honestly just couldn't wait to see him. He'd become so important to me in a ridiculously short period of time. As much as it scared me, it made me feel a whole lot of something else too. Something I couldn't quite put a name to yet.
But I was getting there.
I picked up my pace and headed toward the staff elevator, my insides just about ready to burst. I had only experienced the excitement currently bubbling through my veins a few times before.
The day my dad had bought me my first bicycle—pink frame with a white basket between the handlebars—the exact one I'd wanted.
Holding my acceptance letter to Brown.
Getting the job at Memorial.
