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He looks me up and down; I feel like he can see right through my clothes. “I always get what I'm promised. Consider this your first strike for lying to me.” He bites my ear softly and walks to Andrei's side. Heat ravages my lower belly at his mild display of affection for me. Did he just bite me again? I’m once again left gaping after him.
Trying to collect myself, I grab the folder with the NDA and start to read it. This is not the first time I’ve read one of these. Everything looks good; there’s nothing that will come to bite me in the ass later. Just normal things like all personal information will be kept confidential. I continue to skim and find nothing out of the ordinary. I sign at the bottom and extend the folder back out to him when I finish. “Here you go. All done. Now, are you going to tell me why you’re here?”
The bell chimes again before they can say anything, letting us know someone else is here. That's strange. I’m confused when I turn and see a woman walking in. I wasn't expecting anyone else tonight; my last patient had canceled. She’s about five feet tall with golden brown hair that rests on her shoulders and frames her angel-like face that looks more scared than angelic. I make my way toward her, then extend my hand to her arm in a comforting and welcoming gesture.
“Hi, can I help you with something?” She looks at me but doesn't say anything. What is wrong with her? The nearness is enough to show her pale skin with dark marks under her eyes. With my hand on her shoulder, I give her a little squeeze and move in closer.
“Love, are you okay? We’re closed at the moment, but I don’t mind helping you. Just tell me if everything’s all right?” I say in a low, calming voice that usually works on my patients that are too afraid to speak. She still doesn't say anything, and I'm beginning to worry. This poor girl doesn’t look well. I hear footsteps approaching, and suddenly, Andrei is next to me.
“It's okay, Elena; you can trust her.” She sighs in relief and runs to hug him. The moment his arms wrap around her, she starts to cry. “It’s okay, baby, I'm here. Shhhh, don't cry.” I’m in shock, stunned at the captivating sight before me. Andrei is hugging Elena with one arm and caressing her hair with the other. He looks at me, pleading with his eyes.
My doctor instincts kick in, and I move into action. Walking around them slowly so as not to startle her, I go to the lunchroom and grab a water bottle. She looks a bit dehydrated. When I walk back to them and clear my throat, she looks at me. I’m taken aback by the sadness and fear in her eyes. I’m sure that she is the reason why they're here. She looks so young. What is she doing with them? Deciding it’s not my business, I step closer to them and hand her the water bottle.
“Hi, Elena. My name is Sophia. Please take a seat and drink some water. You look a bit dehydrated.” Her hands reflexively go to her stomach. Realization dawns on me; I know why she’s here. I take care of pregnant women all the time, and touching their stomachs to protect them is a basic instinct. The mention of dehydration made her start worrying about the baby. By the way she’s clinging to Andrei; I’m guessing that is his girlfriend, at least I hope she is.
“Please take a seat, Elena. You and the baby are safe here. No need to be scared of me.” She looks up at Andrei for confirmation, for what I’m hoping is that things will be safe with me and not that she needs his permission for her to sit. He kisses the top of her head and nods. She walks toward the chair with relief in her eyes. I’m glad she wanted to make sure she was safe because I don’t know how I would deal with Andrei being that controlling.
“Sophia?” Andrei calling my name brings my attention back to them, but that wasn't Andrei's voice. It was Maxim. Did he use my name and not one of those infuriating Russian nicknames? Why do I feel disappointed about that? Before I get a chance to go back into my head, Maxim flips me around and whispers, “Please, come to the back with me. We need to talk.” He grabs my hand and hauls me to the back room.
Wait, did he just say please? He ushers me inside and closes the door behind me. Then walks right past me and paces the room. Something is wrong, and he doesn’t know how to tell me. I’ll probably hate myself for this later. Walking up to him, I grab the hand on his face and pull it down.
“Please stop. I call a truce for right now. Talk to me.” Yes, I’m worried, but he doesn’t need to know that. He doesn't say anything. His silence starts to get my blood boiling. “I’ve signed the NDA. I won’t judge. Please talk to me, Maxim.” His eyes meet mine, and my breath escapes me from the intensity of his gaze. Looking down, I follow his gaze and blush because our hands are still connected. When I attempt to release it, his grip hardens, sending my heart into overdrive. He releases a long breath before speaking.
“That girl outside is the daughter of Marcos Antonelli. He is the Capo of the outfit here in Miami.” I’m confused, and it must show on my face as he explains. “Capo means boss. I brought her here because, as you guessed, she’s pregnant. It’s frowned upon for a boss's daughter to get pregnant without being married first.” Why do I feel like he used frowned upon to not frighten me? “I’m not going to go into heavy detail. Just know that a doctor hasn’t seen her.”
When I know he’s done talking, I begin to set some boundaries and get a few answers from him. “Let's make an agreement. I don’t want or need to know about your life's dark, twisted part. I’ll be there when you need a doctor. We will discuss our arrangement in depth later. Right now, what matters is that poor girl outside. I do have a few questions about her before I examine her.” He nods in understanding. “How old is she?”
“Twenty-one.” Wow, so young.
“To be a hundred percent sure, is the baby's father Andrei?”
“Yes.”
“How old is Andrei?”
“Twenty-four.”
“All right, let's do this.”
I turn around to examine her, but Maxim pulls me closer to him and says, “Thank you.”
“Uh, it’s no problem.” He releases my hand, and I almost run out the door, not sure how to act. This day just keeps getting weird by the moment. First, he said, please. And now, thank you.
Maybe he’s not as bad as he wants people to think.
Putting that thought aside, I go get Elena since I want to examine her alone, but I don’t know if she or Andrei will be okay with that. I’ll have to ask them and see what they would like. Making my way over to the couple, I find Elena resting her head on Andrei's shoulder, and he’s staring down at her with admiration. I feel bad to disturb their peaceful moment, but the sour puss, aka Maxim, has to go and ruin it as he snaps, “Can we please get done with this? I have stuff to do.” He is back to his old asshole self.
“I’m ready for you, Elena. Would you like to come alone, or do you want Andrei to accompany you?”
Without any hesitation, she gestures toward Andrei and whispers, “I would like him to be with me.” It’s the first time that I hear her voice. She has a soft tone with a little bit of an Italian accent.
“That’s perfect. Let’s go.” I wait for them to get up and reach me before taking them to the examination room. I also see Maxim walk my way. “Oh, no.” I point at him. “If you think you’re going inside with us, you're mistaken. This is private. Do us all a favor, and sit your ass back down and wait.” To my surprise, he does what he is told. I look at Andrei, daring him to say otherwise, but he's smart and keeps silent. He seems amused, while Elena seems grateful. I wonder what this poor girl has seen or been through to give me that stare. I usher them inside.
“Please lie down on the bed.” After she lies down, I lift her shirt and go through the motions of examining her belly. I put the jelly on her lower abdomen and bring the ultrasound transducer down and move it around. After a few minutes of searching, I find the baby. Pointing at the monitor, I ask them, “Do you guys see the baby?”
They both look at me, confused. The baby is tiny and can’t be seen well. That reaction is common among first-time parents. Making it easier, I tap on the screen where the baby is.
“That is your baby.”
