I closed my eyes for a second understanding what she was saying. “I can finally start over.”
“No, baby,” she corrected gently. “You already have. Go on back to work and I’ll call you later on.”
We ended the call and I slipped my phone back into my scrub jacket and stayed underneath that palm tree for another minute because I honestly didn’t trust my legs enough to walk just yet. My heart was beating so hard I could hear it in my ears, and no matter how many deep breaths I took, that smile refused to leave my face.
I finally walked away from the palm tree and walked back through the employee entrance, smiling at every person who crossed my path without even realizing I was doing it. Atransporter pushing a patient down the hallway smiled back. One of the environmental service workers held the door open for me, and I thanked him before practically floating toward the nurses’ station. I even passed this fine ass man that damn near made my heart skip a beat again. I don’t know where he was heading but this was my first time ever seeing him. He looked like businessman with money, but he also had that roughness around the edges like he wasn’t to be fucked with. When he opened his mouth to talk to one of the other guys he was with, I could see those perfect gold grills in his mouth. His arms and neck were heavily tattooed, and I instantly noticed that Patek on his wrist. His hair was cut low with a sharp tape and deep waves, and he had the thickest lashes I’d ever seen on a man but in a masculine type of way. He was wearing the shit out of that with two other guys who were dressed in street clothes, but they were equally as fine.
When we walked past each other, me and the one who looked like he was the Boss locked eyes and just as quickly as he looked, he turned his head like I wasn’t even there which made me feel self-conscious because I remembered I used to be pretty enough to turn heads. Maybe I still was, but Rome had a way of making me question myself because of all his antics. So, it was either I looked like shit, or they were heading to see his woman or something, but either way he was fine and smelled just as good.
“Navy!”
I spun around feeling like I was busted. “Huh?”
My charge nurse laughed. “You’ve been smiling ever since you came back in here.”
“Have I?” I cackled knowing damn well she saw those fine men just as I did, but she would never say.
“Girl…” She folded her arms across her chest. “Either you won the lottery or you’re reminiscing about something because you were clearly just in a daze.”
I laughed so hard I had to look away. “No to both.”
“Mhm.”
“I’m serious Natalie.”
She pointed her pen at me. “I don’t know what happened out there, but whatever it is…” She smiled. “I like this version of you. A least you’re not moping the day by anymore.”
Whew shit, if you only knew the truth,I thought. If anybody in this hospital knew the truth, they’d understand why today felt so different. “I actually came in here to ask you something.”
She leaned back in her chair. “What’s is it?”
“I know it’s last minute, but would it be okay if I took a little longer on lunch today? I don’t mind staying late to make the time back up.”
She looked down at the assignment sheet spread across her desk before slowly dragging her finger across each nurse’s name. I stood there rocking back and forth, trying not to rush her while every second felt like a minute.
Finally, she looked back up. “How much longer?”
“Maybe another hour?”
She stared at me for another second before smiling. “You know what,” she closed the clipboard and sat it on her desk. “I think we can make that work.”
The relief that washed over me almost made me hug that woman. “You just saved my life.”
She laughed again and pushed a peace of her blonde hair behind her ear. “I doubt it.”
I smiled to myself instead of saying anything else because again, she had no idea. I clocked out for lunch, grabbed my purse from my locker, and took one last look around the break room before pulling the door shut behind me while everybody else was either eating, complaining about patients, or counting down the hours until they could finally go home. Normally I'd be doing the same thing. It was like my feet barely touched the floor as Iwalked through the employee parking garage. The envelope with the cash in it was safely inside of my purse.
I unlocked my Benz, climbed inside, and tossed my purse on the passenger seat before letting out a deep breath. For a moment, I just sat there with both hands on the steering wheel, smiling like a damn fool. I couldn't remember the last time I'd been genuinely excited about something.
My first stop was the bank. I walked inside, requested the cashier's check, signed where I needed to sign, and carefully slid the nine-thousand-dollar check into the large envelope the teller handed me. I treated it like it was made out of glass, laying it flat on the passenger seat before pulling out of the parking lot.
"Lord," I mumbled, rubbing my rumbling stomach. "I’m so damn hungry."
I laughed as I cut across two lanes and pulled into the Chick-fil-A drive-thru. The line wrapped halfway around the building per usual. While inching forward, I rested my elbow on the door and looked over at the envelope again and every time I looked at it, my smile got bigger and bigger.
I didn't want to experience today by myself so without giving it another thought, I picked up my phone and pressed Tasha's name. She answered on the third ring, and before I could even open my mouth, loud music blasted through the speaker.
"What?" she yelled over the music.
