Filthy Doctor(42)

Chapter 9: Megan

When I opened my eyes I wasn't looking at my ceiling at home. The room I was in was clinically white and a chemical smell pinched my nose. I turned my head and realized I was in the hospital.

Brian sat on a chair, elbows on his knees, hands in his hair.

"Brian?"

When he looked up there were worry lines on his face but he looked relieved and then his eyes smiled at me. I knew that we'd been getting stuck lately and the last to interactions weren't friendly ones, but I was so happy to see him now. And I was relieved that he looked happy to see me, too. I shouldn't have felt that way, but I did.

"What happened?" I put my hands on my belly, suddenly terrified that I was here because something was wrong with the baby.

"The baby is fine," Brian said, his voice calm and gentle. "They did scans and checks and everything and the baby - a boy - is completely healthy."

Relief washed through me and I sagged on the pillow. If something happened to the baby...

"What happened?" I asked again.

"You collapsed at the Fall shoot."

I raised a hand to my head. "The shoot. Shit." Lisa had been so mad, God knew if I still had a job after that.

"Don't worry about that, I organized a replacement for you."

"You did?"

He nodded. "It pays to be the big boss. The doctor says you're overworked. You need to take it easy from now on. No more long hours for you."

I shook my head. "I can't take it slower. I need the money." I had to take care of the baby somehow.

"When are you going to understand that I'll help you? I'll be there for you. I've got this, and I have more than enough money to take care of you."

I wanted to argue again, reject his offer, but the truth was that the idea of not having to worry was damn attractive right now. I had been a ball of tension since I'd found out I was pregnant. The idea that I would be able to relax for a change sounded heavenly.

A doctor in a white coat walked in and looked at my chart before looking at me.

"You gave us a scare, Miss Philips," he said. "But luckily everything is still going well. You just need to take it slow. I recommend bed rest. At least six hours a day."

I sat up. "I can't!"

He shook his head. "You're going to have to if you want to have this baby and stay healthy. Your job is too stressful and that's not good for you or for the baby at this point."

My dad walked in through the door. "Oh, honey, you're awake. I was so worried."

The doctor looked at my dad. "She's doing just fine. If it wasn't for the father bringing her in so quickly she might have been off worse."

I looked at Brian. He looked at me. The tension grew. My dad laughed.

"That's not the father!" He clapped Brian on the shoulder. "If he was the baby's father I would have to acquire a shotgun." He laughed. Brian laughed, too, but it was forced. I chuckled nervously. The doctor wasn't amused. A moment later he left.

"How are you feeling?" my dad asked me.

"I'm okay. I'm just tired."

"She's had a bit of a spell, overworked herself, what with the pregnancy and all."

Tom sat on the edge of the bed. The bed was narrow and felt trapped but I didn't ask him to move.

"I guess you know now," he said to Brian. "I'm going to be a grandfather. I didn't want to say anything at the office... you know. These things can come across wrong."

Brian nodded. "I can imagine."

He looked at me again and it felt like everything that was said was loaded with double meaning now. I felt sick. I wanted to throw up. I wasn't sure if it was panic or morning sickness.

"Hundreds of thousands of dollars for an MBA at one of the best schools in the country just to be a mom, eh?" He nudged me and I smiled, trying to look like it was funny. I really wasn't. "Kids these days. But accidents happen."

I knew my dad supported me, but I had a feeling it was just because he didn't know who the real father was. Brian seemed uncomfortable on his chair. My dad's phone rang and he stepped out of the room to answer it. Brian glanced at the door where he'd walked through and then at me.

"If he finds out he's going to kill me."

I swallowed and nodded. Brian was right. If my dad found out he was the father he was definitely going to kill him. Kill him and disown me, or something equally serious. I took a deep breath and let it out in a shudder.

"I don't know what to do."

"Let's just take this one day at a time, okay?"

Brian put his hand on my leg and rubbed it up and down. It was the first time he'd touched me since that night on the terrace and the touch was warm and welcome and it felt like it was long overdue. I couldn't rely on it, though. I had to remember who I was and what was a reality. I didn't expect Brian to give up his career for something like this. I had to keep in mind that I was going to raise this baby all by myself, that Brian would be introduced as a family friend, if anything and my happiness would from now on always be last on the list.

The baby, Brian, my dad, their happiness had to come first.

Chapter 10: Brian

She was a typical model - tall and leggy with a waist the span of my hand and poofy lips. Her name was Amanda. She wasn't much of an intellectual challenge - the conversation at the dinner table had been drab, but I wasn't with her tonight for her mind. I wanted sex, some kind of release. I'd been edgy for a while now and I needed to get rid of it. I just needed to be able to think straight.

She wore a wine red dress with an open back and a scoop neck that showed too much cleavage and it would probably hit any other woman on the knee but it only covered her ass and other important bits.

"I'm so glad you were available tonight," she said with a purr. She looked at me like she knew what she was going to have for dessert. It irritated me when women were like this, but once again, I wasn't with her for anything else than what she would offer me sexually. If I even started to compare her to someone like Megan I would be put off by her and send her home, but I couldn't keep putting my life on hold for a woman that was determined on pushing me out of her life.

I wanted to give Megan everything she needed, everything she wanted. She was the kind of woman that deserved more than just sex and money and provision. Someone like her deserved to be loved and lately I'd been starting to think that was something I would be able to give her, too. But if she didn't want it I wasn't going to force myself on her. I wasn't going to expect her to return my sentiment if she just wasn't interested.

"After the Fall shoot I thought I wasn't going to model again, but that kind of life is just impossible to get away from, you know? I was born to do it."

I stepped into the elevator with Amanda, irritated with her, trying to smile and pretend like I wanted her company. She'd been talking about her career as a model almost the whole evening. If I had to hear anything else about how she was good at what she did or cut out for the job or looked good in everything I was going to throw her out on the street.

When we got to the penthouse suite someone stood in front my door. The brown hair, the hands on her back, I didn't need to see her face to know who it was. When she turned around her eyes fell on Amanda and she looked the woman up and down. Amada returned the favor, looking at Megan like she was something the cat dragged in. Megan looked like she was upset. There were new lines on her face, worry lines, tiredness, that hadn't been there before. A woman her age shouldn't look like that.

"Are you okay?" I asked, stepping away from Amanda and toward Megan.

"I'm fine," she said. She really wasn't. I turned to Amanda.

"I'm sorry, Amanda." Not sweetheart, like I'd been calling her all night. Not in front of Megan. Amanda frowned. "I'm going to have to call you a cab."

Her mouth opened in disbelief. "You're kicking me out? For that?" She pointed at Megan.

"Don't be rude," I scolded her. In that one sentence, I realized two things. One, I was able to throw about my single, carefree life for Megan in a heartbeat and not feel bad or torn about it at all. And two, I cared for Megan a lot more than I'd been willing to admit. I had a model on my doorstep, a woman that would be able to give me the night of my life, and all I could think about doing was taking care of Megan, the beautiful woman who was pregnant with my child.

Amanda scoffed at Megan and turned, walking away with hips swaying. When she the elevator doors opened she stepped inside and turned around with a look on her face that told me she was righteously pissed.

"I'm sorry to ruin your night," Megan said. "I didn't realize you were with someone."

I shook my head. "Don't be sorry. What's wrong?"

Her eyes welled up with tears and she pressed her thumb and forefinger against her eyelids, trying to stop the tears. She wasn't wearing any make-up, she was dressed in slacks and a t-shirt and she was pregnant, and she was still the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen.

"I didn't have anywhere else to go. My friends are all upstate where I studied. My dad and I had a fight and he's so mad at me."

I stepped closer to her, slowly, trying not to scare her. She leaned into me when I was close enough and I wrapped my arms around her. That barrier of anger and regret between us was finally broken. We stood like that, holding onto each other, for the longest time before I pulled back. I unlocked my door and switched on the lights.