Their bonding was cut short when Bruce came outside.
“Allen! Jones! It’s almost time for service, let’s go.” Keith and Evan jumped up and buttoned their uniform shirts as they strode through the door. Damir rose to follow them, patting Matt’s shoulder as he passed.
“Glad to have you on board. See you online tonight.”
Matt waved while he scarfed down the last of his lunch. Bruce sat across from him.
“Making friends?”
Matt shrugged. “Maybe. They need someone for a game tournament.”
“Well, don’t get too close.”
Zipping up his lunchbox, Matt paused. Were these guys trouble? “Why?”
Bruce scratched at the back of his head. “As an intern, it’s not a big deal. But once you get your management job, wherever you end up, you’ll need the staff to respect and obey you. So, you can be friendly, but not friends. You get what I’m saying?”
Matt furrowed his brows and nodded. He understood what Bruce was saying, but he didn’t like it.
“Okay, good talk. I’ll see you back inside. I have you busing tables with Brad tonight until seven. Then you’re done for the day.”
“Sounds good.” The guys weren’t expecting him online until later, when Keith and Evan got home from work. He’d have plenty of time to work on his assignments.
Placing both of his lunchboxes in the management office so he wouldn’t forget them again, Matt silently fumed at Bruce. He had no one in town but his sister and her friends, and Keith, Evan, and Damir were the only guys that were anything close to his age at the restaurant. So what if they decided to game together?
By the time he got home, he realized Bruce had no way of knowing any of that. He had no idea what his chances were of getting a job at Orange Blossom anyway. What was the harm in making friends with the guys?
Rosie had only managed to get a few hours of sleep before her restless mind and plaguing guilt woke her. As his nurse, Jayden needed her to speak up, and she’d failed him. As a result, his sepsis had gone undetected until he’d had a seizure. She shuddered to think of the long-term effects. Preterm babies often suffered from lifelong learning disabilities that couldn’t be helped. Seizures could exacerbate the brain injuries … ugh. She needed a distraction.
Rolling out of bed, she threw on a pair of leggings and a big, sloppy t-shirt. Then Rosie went straight to her kitchen cabinets, taking stock of what she had on hand. She had all the ingredients she needed for brownies. Chocolate made everything better.
As she mixed her vegetable oil, vanilla, and sugar, Rosie reminded herself that she’d brought the symptoms to Dr. Yount’s attention. If she’d had the power, she would have ordered the blood cultures herself. But she didn’t. Instead, the one that did have that ability had given her the brush-off. Everyone in the Union Memorial NICU knew Dr. Yount believed nurses to be inferior, and it came across in the way she practiced medicine. But this was the first instance Rosie knew of where a patient had suffered so much because of it. How many more did theynotknow about?
She beat her eggs into the mixture, taking her frustrations out on the recipe. Then in a separate bowl, she sifted in her flour, cocoa powder, and a bit of salt to bring out the flavor. She carefully poured that bowl into the wet mixture, stirring slowly. This would be a lot easier if she had an extra set of hands. Her mind conjured up Matt, his big hands easily holding her ceramic bowl as they baked together. It gave her a warm, homey feeling. He’d help her pour the finished batter into the greased pan, and pop it in the oven. Then they could lick the extra batter from the bowl, and maybe each other …
Where the heck didthatcome from? Nope, she wasn’t lickinganything off Matt. Olivia would kill her. Clearly she needed some coffee with her brownies.
Rosie pulled her chocolate-coated finger out of her mouth with a pop. She stared at the scraped bowl and the spoon still covered in batter. Why did she have to be so attracted to a guy who clearly couldn’t stand her? Plus, he was Olivia’s little brother. Didn’t that go against a squad code somewhere? She sighed and set about washing her dishes in her stainless-steel sink. Rosie preferred to get them done as soon as possible; it was awful scrubbing dried batter out by hand.
Once the dishes were done, Rosie curled up on her couch and put up her feet. As tempting as it was, eating the entire pan of brownies would only make her clothes tighter. Rosie already had a strike against her in the dating world by being inexperienced. Guys her age didn’t want to deal with a virgin. There was no need to make it worse. She pulled out her phone and sent a message in the squad’s group text.
Rosie: Brownies coming out of the oven in ten, anyone want a snack?
Olivia: I am so regretting moving in with Jake right now.
Jade: I’m closing tonight at work. :(
Mia: I’ll bring the milk!
Rosie: I have milk, just help me eat them.
Nadia: Caleb’s over, can I bring him too?
Rosie: The more the merrier. And the fewer brownies on my hips.
Mia: Shut up, you’re gorgeous. Be right there.
True to their word, Mia, Nadia, and Caleb were knocking at her door in a heartbeat.
