He walked down the hallway, pushing her firmly from his mind and forcing himself to focus on business. He had time to figure out the mess later.
Chapter Two
Cassie would wake up throughout the day but only for minutes at a time. She would guzzle some water and try to eat what the nurse put before her, but she still was in a lot of pain and would quickly fall back to sleep into blessed oblivion, only to wake up too quickly. She finally fell into a deep sleep about ten that evening and didn’t wake until morning.
As she opened her eyes, she moved around experimentally and realized she felt better. The achiness throughout her body was still there but her head wasn’t pounding and she found that she had her appetite back. She was starving, in fact. She pushed the button on her bed, raising herself into a sitting position and waited patiently for the nurse to arrive.
“Are you going to stay awake for a while longer this morning?” the nurse asked as she stepped into the room. She was carrying a tray that had the most delicious aroma’s coming from it. Cassie was more than happy to see her.
“That smells so good,” Cassie said with a large grin. She turned her body too quickly and realized she wasn’t as well as she’d first thought. It wasn’t quite as bad but enough that she knew she’d better take it easy. She was hopeful she could eat a good meal and then talk the nurse into letting her shower. She could imagine what she looked like, and she was sure she’d frighten small children. “I just realized I’ve never asked your name,” Cassie said with some embarrassment. She wasn’t normally so self-absorbed.
“You’ve been quite pre-occupied, dear. My name is Sally,” she said in her usual kind voice. She took Cassie’s stats while she gulped down her meal of oatmeal, toast, and fresh fruit. It was the best thing she could ever remember tasting. She was disappointed when she wasn’t able to finish it.
“You haven’t been able to eat solids in over a week, so don’t be worried about it. You’ve done well. I’ll bring you a snack in a couple of hours. You’re going to want smaller meals more often to get your body used to eating again,” Sally told her before removing the tray.
Cassie didn’t want to sleep any longer. She wanted to get out of bed. “Can I please take a shower?” Cassie pled with Sally.
“Are you feeling any dizziness right now?”
“None at all,” Cassie told her. She wouldn’t admit it if she was.
“I think we could try it today but I want to take you to the bathroom in a wheelchair and I want you to use the seat. It’s not going to do your body any good if you fall and hit your head,” Sally said. Cassie didn’t even try to argue. She was too relieved to have gotten her wish. Sally helped her from the bed and into the bathroom.
The hot water cascading down her sore muscles was the greatest feeling she could have ever imagined. It was pure heaven and she groaned in disappointment when Sally told her she’d had enough and helped her back to her room. She didn’t realize how much the excursion had worn her out until she laid back down. She closed her eyes for a moment and didn’t wake until much later, when the sun was starting to set in the sky.
As Cassie was finishing her supper, which was unlike any hospital food she’d ever heard of, there was a knock on her door. She turned her head, expectantly. She was a bit upset with herself that she was hoping it was Max. She didn’t need to start wishing for him to come see her.
As if her imagination could conjure him up, in he stepped. She took a deep breath and scolded herself as she felt her heartbeat speed up. Max looked at her while the treacherous machine hooked up to her heart gave her reaction to him away. She turned from him and glared at the beeping machine, trying to will her heart-beat to slow down.
“I…uh…just got back from the bathroom,” she said, trying to explain her rapidly beating heart. He raised his brow but didn’t call her on the lie, which she was grateful for. She berated herself for the stupid excuse. She didn’t know if she was more embarrassed he might think she was unnerved by him, or exhausted from a small walk. Oh well, she thought, there was nothing she could do about it.
“How are you feeling?” he asked as he stepped up next to the bed. He was dressed in well-worn jeans that hugged him in all the right places, and an old Stanford Sweatshirt. He looked good and she felt even more frumpy in her paper-thin hospital gown.
“I’m feeling a bit better. You really don’t need to stop in and check on me,” she said. She then noticed the bouquet of flowers in his hand. He handed them to her and she stared at them, a bit stunned. She’d never received flowers before and the gesture made her tear up. She could smell the sweet scent filling the air. She tried to snap out of her trance. She knew Max was a player and he gave flowers without it meaning anything to him. She couldn’t let it affect her.
“Thank you, Mr. Anderson. They’re beautiful,” she told him in a shockingly composed voice. “You really shouldn’t have.”
“It was my pleasure.” The way he spoke sent tingles through her body. No wonder women swooned at his feet. He was certainly swoon-worthy. She wished he would just go away. She wasn’t at her best. His voice was like warm honey, and his shining blue eyes seemed to see straight into her soul. She could feel the heat infuse her cheeks. The dang monitor was beeping faster, the longer he stared at her - and his lips turned up at the sound. He knew his effect on her and he was thoroughly enjoying himself.
She’d been starting to feel better but the longer he stood next to her bed the higher her blood pressure shot up. She was starting to hope for unconsciousness once again.
“Well, thanks again for the flowers, but I’m really quite tired so…” she started.
“The staff said you don’t have any family or friends in the city. They said you recently moved here?” he interrupted, his expression never changing. “They’ve also informed me you will be unable to care for yourself for at least a few weeks once you’re released,” he finished, never breaking his stare. It was almost as if he was daring her to argue with him. She was in no way afraid to go head to head with the gorgeous billionaire.
Cassie thought back over her conversation with the nurse and how much she’d revealed about her circumstances. She should’ve known the staff would report all she said back to Max and his family. It wasn’t like she was the one footing the bill. She didn’t like to feel vulnerable and didn’t like him knowing she was anything less than a strong and independent woman.