Aching for His Discretion (The Discretion Dynasty #1)

22. Teegan

Chapter twenty-two

Teegan

G oing over to the salad bar, I looked at the sad and healthy options before me as Beverly picked up a yogurt parfait. Hospital food wasn’t always the worst, but... we all have our good and bad days. Today was, unfortunately, one of those bad days, and I felt stuck with a salad and a bowl of fruit for lunch.

“How has your OB/GYN rotation been so far?” she asked as we sat in the sitting area of the cafeteria, and I sighed.

“Fun and stressful… kinda sad it’ll be over in the next week or so,” I muttered, and she nodded.

“Haven’t heard from Alec lately, huh?” she asked, plucking a grape from my bowl, and I felt my heart skip a beat as vivid memories from just a few days ago tried to resurface.

“No, still haven’t.”

She nodded, and we continued making a bit of small talk as we finished our lunches. I still had a reasonable amount of time before returning to the clinic, and Beverly was almost done with her break when miraculously—

“Your attention, please. Level two trauma alert, ETA now. Your attention, please. Level two trauma alert, ETA now,” we heard over the loudspeaker.

Beverly looked over to me and whined. “Come with, please! I don’t want to get yelled at by the trauma surgeon without some emotional support to back me up.” She pouted, and I laughed as I nodded.

We quickly stood up and went over to the trauma bay. Upon entering, as usual, it was highly chaotic, and I did my best to stay in the corner as Beverly stood by the foot of the bed, waiting for any instruction.

It looked to be a woman in her mid-forties who suffered from a seizure, ultimately causing her to fall down some steps, leaving her arm broken and her neck unstable. She was having trouble breathing, and the attending quickly performed a tracheostomy with his residents after ordering Beverly to help stabilize the woman’s head. Afterward, she was put in a neck brace, and eventually, the orthopedic resident helped reset her bones that were out of place.

Noticing the time was beginning to fly, I waved goodbye to Beverly, who gave me a wave back before continuing to help the nurse. Walking toward the elevator, I pushed the button and waited.

“Lovely to see you again, Ms. Monroe...” I heard beside me and looked over my shoulder only to stare directly at Alec’s father.

I gulped softly, nodded my head in respect, and responded, “You as well, Dr. Harrington.”

The doors opened, and we both stepped in as the air began to thicken.

“Most likely… you and your classmates have noticed the recent disappearance of my son,” he muttered.

I looked over at him. “Is he okay?” I asked, feeling sympathy for his situation.

He didn’t say anything for a moment, but then he sighed. Reaching up to his face, he massaged his temples.

“Kidnappers... if you want to call them that. They sent me photos of him beaten up, a request of $750,000 cash, and for me to resign,” he muttered and shook his head.

I bit my lip as I, unfortunately, already knew the circumstances he was in.

He looked over at me, giving me a small smile. “I know I shouldn’t be telling you this sort of information, Ms. Monroe. But I don’t know, I have a feeling you’d probably be a good person to talk to,” he responded, and a slight blush rose to my face as the elevator doors opened to the OB/GYN floor.

Stepping out, I looked back at Dr. Harrington to see he was still staring at me. I was itching to get out of there but I didn’t want to abruptly leave as he was being vulnerable towards me.

“I hope you’ll be able to find Alec soon, Dr. Harrington,” I said softly, and he gave me a small grin as the doors began to close.

“I hope so too, Teegan.”

Finishing up the last of my charting for the day, I glanced at the clock to see it was already six PM. Taking a sip of coffee, I jumped as I heard something drop beside me. Looking over, I saw Dr. Woods sitting in the chair. The thing he dropped on the floor was his bag.

“What are you doing here still? Go home,” he muttered, and I laughed as I turned the computer off.

“I had to finish up your charts and mine, Dr. Woods. I want you to go home, too. You’ve been in the OR all day. You need a break, too, you know,” I said, smiling, and he shook his head.

“It’s because you didn’t want to be in the OR today with me. Much rather be in the clinic,” he said, sulking.

I stood up. Shaking my head, I leaned against the table. “I was in clinic today because my schedule tells me I need to do things other than being in the operating room.”

“Not gonna happen. You get one or two more days of this, and for the rest of your rotation, I want you in that operating room starting at five AM. If not in the operating room, you’re just going to have to stick with me. Let the other residents look after these other medical students. If I have to go through these rotations with them every month, best believe I’m gonna steal the best one they have. Got it?” he replied, and I giggled as I pushed myself off the desk and walked away.

“Go home, Dr. Woods. You’ve had a long day.”

“I’m serious, Monroe. I need you in the OR. I don’t want anyone else,” he said again, and I sent him a wave and responded before heading to the elevator.

“I’ll think about it.”

Upon exiting the hospital, I smiled as I approached the gorgeous man waiting by his car. He was on the phone, and as I neared him, he looked me up and down before pulling me into his embrace. Placing a kiss on my lips, I jumped as his hand lowered and squeezed my bum. He ended the call, and spoke as he pulled away.

“ You look so fucking sexy, Tesoro …” he muttered, and I pouted as a blush rose to my face.

“I’ve been up since six AM. I know I have bags under my eyes, and my hair is beginning to look crazy...”

“All the more reason to find you even more attractive,” he muttered, placing a small kiss on my neck before he whispered, “Let’s get you home, hmm? We both know the cat is waiting.”

“Aww... I really think Grayson is starting to grow on you.”

“Yeah, like some sort of fungus that won’t go away, is clingy and always hungry.”

I gasped at his description, and he gave me a look.

“Even though everything you said is absolutely true… he isn’t a fungus! He’s cute.”

“Sure,” he responded, opening the door for me, and I smiled as I sat. He closed the door, and I watched as he walked over to the driver’s side. However, my smile faltered slightly when I caught a glimpse of someone watching us from across the street.

Dr. Harrington.

Talking on the phone with one hand, holding a coffee in the other, his expression remained completely stoic. He most likely saw the entire interaction, and just as Alec was angry with Levi’s presence, Dr. Harrington didn’t seem too thrilled that I was with him.

Thankfully, Levi had entered the car, and we were already on the way to my apartment.

My heart rate slowly decreased as I sat back against the seat. That was... strange, to say the least, but even so, I decided to let it go. He was obviously going through something traumatic with his son missing, and I could only wish him the best.

Upon arriving at my apartment, we greeted Mr. John before ascending the steps and going over to my door. Once I opened it, I laughed as Levi already held his hands out as if it was an invitation for Grayson to jump into his arms.

“See... you both love each other,” I cooed.

Levi didn’t say anything as he entered the apartment, allowing Grayson to snuggle into his chest.

“He’s still too clingy,” he muttered.

I gave him a look. “Says the guy who held his hands out for the little kitty to jump into.”

“I had to be prepared,” he reasoned, and I nodded.

“Sure you did.”

He sent me a small glare, hearing me let out a fit of giggles as I walked into the bathroom to take a shower. After I finished, I sat on the bed combing my hair as I’d gotten dressed in a pair of grey tights and a lavender long-sleeve shirt.

Hearing a knock at my door, I looked up to see Levi walking in without Grayson. He bent down to my level, and I let out a sigh as he placed a kiss on my lips. After a moment, he pulled away, and I blurted out the first thing that was on my mind.

“Do you want to have kids?” I asked.

He furrowed his eyebrows as he crouched to be at eye level with me.

“Tesoro... forgive me, but you’ve caught me a bit off guard,” he muttered, and I blushed as I looked anywhere but his eyes.

“Well... you know I’m on my OB/GYN rotation, and we’ve been delivering many babies. I always thought I wanted to have children, but my brothers told me I probably wouldn’t be a good mother, putting my career first and all. And, I don’t know… I just wanted to ask if you had ever thought about it.”

“I’ll fucking kill them…” he muttered in his all too attractive language before he let out an irritated sigh. “Tesoro, you’d better not ever repeat what you’ve just told me. You are the most intelligent, caring, and loving woman in the world. You would be the absolute best mother, guaranteed. Don’t listen to what those idiots have to say,” he said, pushing my hair behind my ear, and I nodded.

“As for me, I want children… both girls and boys. Less than six or seven.” He shrugged, and I choked on my spit.

“Seven?!” I asked in shock, and he chuckled as he shook his head.

“I’m kidding, Tesoro. Two or three is probably the sweet spot.”

I nodded. “Have you thought of any names?” I asked, and he sighed as he rubbed my knee.

“Unfortunately, Tesoro, I am not an over-planner or thinker such as yourself. So no, they hadn’t crossed my mind. Do you have any names in mind?”

“Silas for a boy and Eden for a girl,” I whispered, slightly embarrassed that I already had them in mind, and he smiled.

“Their names are beautiful... and if you don’t have to study,” he replied, leaning into my ear, and I flinched as he whispered seductively, “we could always start practicing now.”