AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Because of the whole crazy thing?” Blake asked.
Her head jerked up.
“Look, I’ve seen crazy girls. You’re not one of them.” He shrugged even as she shook her head. “And if you are, don’t you think Trent would be the best one to be with? I mean, hell, I want him to take care of me sometimes.”
Celia’s fingers pressed in even harder. “But that wouldn’t be—”
“I need to go,” Malcolm said, his eyes blank as he searched his pockets for his keys.
“What happened?” Celia asked.
Blake looked worried as well. “Did something happen to Katie?”
“She’s in the ER. That was her boss.” Malcolm shook his head. “He doesn’t know exactly what happened, but she collapsed at the office.”
Blake snatched the keys from his friend. “Let’s go. I’ll drive.”
Celia followed them out, quiet on the ride over. Celia had always been a little envious of Malcolm’s sister. Katie was never sick, and she rarely seemed to worry about anything.
When they entered the hospital, a tall, dark-haired man in a business suit gestured Malcolm over. Blake frowned over at them as they talked, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Is that her boss?” Celia asked.
“Yeah. Katie is a secretary for his financial company.” He shrugged. “He’s supposed to be some super successful guy, but really his family has a bunch of money and he just invested it or something.”
Celia studied the man, liking the calming way he was talking to Malcolm. “He seems nice, if he cared enough to go with his secretary to the hospital and even knew to call her brother.” Her aunt and uncle would have made a scene. They had a hard time dealing with stressful situations, which was why taking in Celia had been so difficult for them.
“Maybe,” Blake reluctantly agreed.
Malcolm slapped the businessman on the shoulder, then came back over to them. “It turns out it was her appendix. She’s already in surgery, and the doctors said it was caught in time. They’ll let us know once the surgery is done, but they expect everything to be fine.” He let out a breath, looking down at the phone in his hand. “I need to tell my parents. Celia, can you…” He looked up at her, concern in his eyes.
Celia waved him off. “Go call them. I’ll stay here.”
Malcolm nodded, moving off to the side.
Blake sat down heavily, his face pale. “Her appendix,” he murmured, closing his eyes.
Concerned, Celia sat next to him, her hand hovering before she gave in and patted his back.
The businessman walked over to them, nodding to Celia. “You must be Ms. Griffin’s cousin. She mentioned you were in town.”
Celia stood, feeling strange as the stand-in for Katie’s family. Katie would have hated that.
The man held out a hand. “I’m Nicholas Bryant. Ms. Griffin works for me.”
She shook his hand. “I’m Celia. Thanks for calling Malcolm.”
Nicholas reached into his pocket, fishing out a business card and handing it to her. “Now that her family is here, I need to return to the office.”
“Of course you do,” Blake muttered.
Nicholas looked down at him, but didn’t respond. He glanced over at Malcolm again. “I hope it won’t be an imposition, but if one of you could call me later with the results, I would appreciate it.”
“I will,” Celia said. She watched him nod again and stride out of the hospital.
“What a jerk,” Blake said from where he was still sitting.
Celia glanced toward the door, but the man had already disappeared. “I think he’s worried about her.”
