Chapter 16

ARTHUR

I got home late Thursday night and peeked in Mia’s room.

Even in the dim light, I could see she had a bluish tint to her skin and lips.

I ran into the room and to her bedside.

Her rapid and labored breathing hurt my heart.

"Mia? Sweetheart?"

She feebly opened her eyes. “Daddy?” She sounded scared.

“How are you feeling, pumpkin?”

“I don’t feel too good.”

I put my hand on her forehead. She was running a slight fever.

Mia was sick, no doubt about it. I called my chauffeur and told him to get here right away.

“We’re going to take you to the hospital, sweetie. Just to be on the safe side.”

“Okay,” my daughter said weekly.

It was easy not to think about Mia’s congenital heart disease because she’s been okay for so long. Maybe this was just a cold or the flu, but I had a feeling she was seriously ill, and I wasn’t taking any chances.

We rushed to the hospital, and Mia was admitted to the ICU.

I stopped all my work for this and stayed by Mia’s side every day.

I sat in the ugly, uncomfortable, plastic hospital chair. My mind buzzed with worry. The beeping of the monitors were a constant reminder of Mia's fragile state.

I found myself wishing that Doris was in the hospital with me. I could picture us looking over my daughter’s bedside together.

But I didn’t call Doris. I knew, well, hoped, Doris was thinking about me like I was her. Maybe she was wondering why I didn’t call.

But it was too soon to introduce Doris to Mia, and I didn’t want to stress Mia anymore while she was sick.

Over and over, Mia called out for her mother in her sleep. The nurse told me this was normal, but it broke my heart even further.

Desperate, I ask Nathan to contact Mia’s biological mother, Cathy, but Cathy was busy with her world tour. She was in Poland and then Asia.

I tried not to be angry that Cathy refused to rush back to the United States to see Mia.

I got it. She had obligations.

I knew Cathy trusted me to give Mia everything she needed, and there was nothing Cathy could do for Mia medically, even if Cathy were here, but it made me mad.

Still, I wished to give Mia everything. I wished I could wave a magic wand over my precious daughter and make her well.

The fact that Cathy wouldn’t come gave me a headache.

I know it wasn't that Cathy cared so much about the money she made on tour. It was that Cathy cared more about being on stage and her fans than anything else.

This was the reason she abandoned Mia.

This was the reason Cathy wasn’t here now.

Which, strangely, just makes me think of Doris again.

I bet Doris would come if I asked her. She seemed so giving.

I’ve got nothing but money, but I felt so helpless sitting here at Mia's side.

When Mia was awake, she tried to be brave. My beautiful girl.

I barely ate or slept. Never in my life had I felt so powerless.

If my daughter died, I didn’t know what I’d do.

I put my elbows on my knees and my face in my hands.

Facing this, Mia’s frailty, the possibility, even slightly, that she might die…

It made all my fame and fortune seem meaningless.

I vowed that if Mia’s surgery went well, I would stop focusing on business and focus on the things that were really important to me.

I’d focus on love.

DORIS

I walked down the HR business corridor of the hospital dragging my feet. I knew I said I'd take the errand job for the hospital, but now I was beginning to regret it.

When I get to the HR department, the woman was exceptionally nice. I found out the job was actually a "go-fer" job usually held by teenagers, and they wanted someone full-time for the overnight shift, with no exceptions.

The pay is okay, but taking that job was ridiculous. No, thank you. I politely declined.

Now that I had a great temp job, I didn't need it. I didn't need to do anything to please Dr. John Enoch.

Although I would love to please Arthur. Unfortunately, I hadn't heard from him.

I stopped in the ladies' room on the way out of the hospital and heard someone from HR talking about me! I couldn't believe it.

The HR person says she can't believe I turned the job down because she heard that John got me that job so he'd have me here at night, and it was all part of his plan to seduce me and then make me his trophy wife!

As the HR secretary continued to say how much she would like to be a doctor’s wife, I just shook my head. I thought John was doing something nice for me, but this just seemed manipulative.

My last job wasn’t the best, but I did a great job at it. Maybe it wasn’t something important like a life-saving doctor, but it meant a lot to me.

Just like this new temp job does, I like using my skills and training.

Just as important, I like making my own money. I don’t want to be dependent on anyone for support.

I hope that John isn’t mad that I turned down the errand job. He’s still Noah’s doctor.

If he’s not a total jerk, it should make Enoch feel that I’m different from other women who pretend to like someone but really only want their status.

Hopefully, he'll see that I'm sensible, strong, and independent. But at this point, I can’t care too much what he thinks.

Because I knew Nathan said my new job was only a temp job, I continued to send resumes to as many places as I could.

Unfortunately, no decent company contacted me for an interview. I got a few spam emails for janitor jobs in Alaska and things like that, but nothing remotely as good as where I worked now.

I began to dread the day my temp job would end.

Then one day, I finally got an interview opportunity from Cushman & Wakefield.

I could hardly believe it. Cushman & Wakefield were the big-time. They really were international and considered one of the top five companies in real estate.

I bought a new suit for the interview.

I was nervous, but I met with HR, and I managed to nail it. I prepared, and I think I got the sense that HR was also very optimistic about me.

The next morning, I got an email from HR that said she was sure I would go on to the next level to meet with the hiring manager for my new team.

I did a happy dance. I was so excited.

But after lunch, I got another email that I was suddenly eliminated from the possibility of the job and not to bother thinking about coming in for a follow-up interview.

What?

How did things turn around for the worse so fast?

“This feels really wrong,” I said to myself.

I texted Nina and told her what happened.

Nina agreed with me that was indeed very strange, and Nina suggested that I go in person to the HR person I interviewed with to find out what happened.