Page 30 of Dr. Aster
“Thank you,” Jake said as we quietly focused on our dinner.
This sucked so fucking bad for Jake and his family. I knew there were reasons we all went through hardships in life, but I never understood why people—good people—had to go through this. They were so young.
It just fucking sucked, and I understood why Mickie wanted to shy away from this field. I knew she’d be excellent in it, and we could use more in this specialty in our field of work, but it certainly wasn’t for the faint of heart.
Ash’s mom had died of the same affliction, but her mother’s cancer was caught too late. The event was traumatic for Ash and her father, and they barely survived the loss—but they did survive it. Knowing that, I wanted Ash to focus on how she and her dad felt after her mother’s passing. We had better odds than her mother did because Ash’s cancer was in the early stages, so there was a much bigger chance of sparing Jake and their two small children the same grief Ash had experienced.
As soon as that was in her mind in my office that day, Ash’s entire demeanor changed, and she was ready to hit the battlefield and wage war against this cancer.
“You guys hear about the new human resources approach they’re going to implement to onboard new staff?” Sam asked.
“A memo came through last week, but I’ve been so damn busy that I haven’t looked at it,” I said.
“Yeah, I guess we all have to sign waivers for our cars in the parking structure now,” Sam said with a laugh.
“What?” I said, pushing my finished plate to the side and taking a sip of wine. I looked at Jake, “Let me guess, your brother came up with that one?”
Jake grinned. “Jim probably doesn’t even know the board passed that. The small stuff stays off the top floors of Mitchell and Associates,” he said while Collin rolled his eyes.
“Jim prides himself on knowing every little bullshit detail people try to slide under his nose.”
“Only when Monroe sniffs it out,” Jake added. “Other than that, Jim’s gotten softer these days. He’s a family man now.”
I grinned, “Hard to imagine James Mitchell as a family man, but the role suits him.”
“Truth,” Collin added. “And we can all let Jimmy slide on this shenanigan from the HR department. I mean, that asshole, Schmidt, is the reason they had to do this. He sued the hospital and fucking won because a freak hailstorm ruined the paint on his Lamborghini. He was in the uncovered portion of the parking structure, so I don’t know how that’s anyone’s fault but his own. Idiot.”
“I have no idea how he won that case,” I said.
“Only an idiot drives their Lambo to work,” Collin said.
“You used to drive yours to work, dickhead,” Jake said, prompting Collin to look at him in fake horror.
“Never!” Collin protested. “You are the one who couldn’t wait to bring yours out. You drove it everywhere, every day. Everyone knows a Lambo isn’t a daily driver. Come on, man.”
Jake laughed loudly for the first time, making all of us join in. Jake and Collin were always the funniest guys to be around, so it was nice to hear a little of their usual goofy banter.
As the conversation went on, my eyes roamed around the room, and I couldn’t believe what the fuck—or who the fuck—they landed on.
Mickie sat in a lively conversation with an older gentleman and two women at a table in the corner. Her eyes glittered from where I sat, watching her talk to the man. She was obviously telling the truth when she said she was meeting up with her dad, and the other two ladies must’ve been her mother and maybe a sister.
He gave off major coach vibes, even from across the room. He wore a white polo shirt with a college team logo on his left breast, which was a dead giveaway that this man was into that shit. Her mom was strikingly beautiful, with pin-straight hair parted down the middle that barely reached the top of her shoulders. She sat perfectly straight, and from what I could read, the woman had to be a lawyer or something. She had sharp facial features and delicately sipped her wine while looking at the blonde woman beside Mickie. I could only see the back of the blonde’s head, so I couldn’t tell if it was a sister or a friend, but it was apparent she was around Mickie’s age.
As I discreetly spied on Mickie’s table from across the room, I found myself both amused and intrigued to see this personal side of her, which I was sure she’d probably never share with me.
I watched her mannerisms, noticing that she seemed a bit of a daddy’s girl because every time he said something, her face lit up like a little girl at Christmas. When the table erupted into laughter, I smiled, seeing Mickie’s contagious and positively beautiful smile.
I was intrigued by the scene because my family dynamic was nothing like Mickie’s. They seemed informal, casual, animated, and fun, whereas mine was the polar opposite. I had to admit that it would be nice if my family could ever loosen up a little and actually enjoy each other’s company.
My eyes roamed back to Mickie, and I couldn’t handle it anymore. It was time I introduced myself to her family—you know, the handsome doctor she worked with that she was most likely telling them all about?
Without considering the scene I would create by ditching my friends without explanation and showing up unannounced at Mickie’s table, I got up and walked across the restaurant on a mission.
Chapter Twelve
Mickie
It was always nice when my family got together, and even though I thought I’d be too tired to enjoy catching up with everyone because of how much I was working, I felt more awake than I had in weeks.