“I was driving near the park and suddenly you were just there. I looked away for a moment and then felt a thump. Apparently you flew through the air. You hit your head on the pavement and blacked out. I’ve never been so terrified. I thought you were dead.”
He said the entire story with zero emotion in his voice, as if he were discussing the weather. She didn’t know if he was doing it like that so not to upset her, or if he was just a cold-hearted jerk. How could anyone talk about hitting another human being so emotionlessly?
She tried to figure out what she would’ve been doing in the road. She wasn’t a careless person, and she didn’t jump out in front of oncoming traffic.
“I didn’t do this on purpose, if that’s what you’re thinking,” she finally snapped as he continued to look at her with the same expression, the one that she was really starting to hate.
“I don’t know if it was intentional, or not, but the accident has caused a lot of unnecessary stress for you and my family, so we need to get things straightened out as quickly as possible. Look, I can see how badly you’re hurting right now. We’ll finish this discussion after you’ve gotten some rest.”
Cassie gaped at him in a bit of awe. He was so used to having his own way that he spoke as if she’d be happy to agree with anything he said. What irritated her the most was that he was right. She was exhausted and finding it difficult to keep her eyes open, let alone concentrate on the conversation.
She had a feeling she’d need her brain functioning at full speed if she had any chance of matching him in a verbal battle. On top of everything else, her body was starting to ache beyond what she could handle and she really needed some more pain medication but she didn’t want to admit her discomfort in front of him.
“That will be fine,” she said, dismissing him. She adjusted herself and felt red-hot pain shoot down her legs at the slight movement. She couldn’t prevent the wince that overtook her features.
“You need some more pain medicine,” he said and strode to the door, calling to her nurse, who immediately showed up and went over to a table to get some medicine ready.
“I’m fine,” she said through clenched teeth. If she opened her mouth any wider, she knew her teeth would chatter together, giving her away.
Max couldn’t figure out what was wrong with her. She was the most stubborn, frustrating, irritating woman he’d ever had the displeasure of having to deal with. She didn’t want to admit her pain, though it was obvious she was ready to pass out. She had backbone - that was for sure.
His gut clenched when he thought about the moment his car slammed into her. When she lifted into the air, it was like time paused and everything moved in slow motion. He felt the bile rise in his throat, even thinking about the moment her delicate body fell to the ground and he’d spotted the blood oozing out of her in several places.
He wouldn’t leave her alone until he was assured she’d be okay. He didn’t know if she’d purposely jumped in front of his car or not, but he would get to the bottom of it. No matter what, though, he had hit her, and he was responsible for making sure she walked out of the hospital much more intact than how she’d come in.
He watched the nurse administer the pain meds through her I.V. and then smiled, watching her eyes droop as the medicine did its job.
“I’ll see you soon,” he said before he stepped through the door. He paused once he was out of sight. He wanted to turn around and go right back in, but forced himself to start moving forward. He wasn’t going to form any emotional bonds with the woman. Once he knew she’d be okay he’d never have to see her again.
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.
“I’m perfectly fine on my own. I will leave here in a few days and I have a comfortable apartment, where I can take care of myself,” she said a bit huffily. She was cringing when she thought about climbing up and down the stairs to her apartment. They still hadn’t fixed the elevator. Of course, her place may not be a problem much longer since she didn’t have a job. It wasn’t like a barista position was hard to fill on a moment’s notice.
“You’re obviously not okay to take care of yourself. You don’t even know how to cross a street without getting hit by a car,” he said, some of his cool demeanor slipping. “For someone who is very lucky to still be alive you’re quite ungrateful.”
As Max finished speaking, Cassie felt her temper rising. He hit her with his car and then had the nerve to lecture her about being careless. She counted to ten in her head, realized it wasn’t enough, and kept counting. When she hit a hundred and still felt like tearing into him, she thought it would be better if she sat there and glared instead of speaking. Getting in a verbal battle with him wasn’t going to do either of them any good.