A Heart For Business draft 2 (2 page)

Suddenly he heard a knocking on the front door. Perhaps it was the shopping service with his delivery of groceries.  He hoped so.  He hadn’t eaten since before his health care worker quit that morning and he was starving!

Carter started to rise to answer the door but an intense stabbing pain in his ribcage reminded him that he had to stay in bed. He collapsed back against the pillows and called out “Come in!”

To his surprise a beautiful African American woman walked into the room.  She was wearing a powder blue suit and even in his injured condition, Carter couldn’t help but notice how incredibly attractive she was.

“Who the hell are you?” he growled at her.  No one from the grocery service would look so sophisticated and the disappointment of realizing that no food was coming made him lash out at her like an angry animal. 

“Vanessa Imenerse.  I heard a loud bang and I wanted to make sure you weren’t hurt.”

Carter’s eyes lit up.  “You’re a nurse! It’s about time the service sent someone to replace that nitwit I had to fire.  I’ve been waiting for hours!”

Vanessa realized his mistake and laughed softly.  “No, not
I’m a nurse
. Imenerse. I’m your new neighbor.”

Carter’s expression quickly morphed into one of annoyance.  “No, damn it!  I don’t need someone to move in. I just need someone to work here during the day until the doctor takes me off bed rest to help with the cooking, cleaning, and to give me my pills.  Now hurry up!  I’m utterly starving!  Or do I have to do everything myself!”

Carter started to get out of bed and was immediately struck by a debilitating pain in his ribs that made his face turn white as a sheet. Vanessa ran across the room and gently helped him lay back against the pillows before he passed out.

“No, don’t move.  You stay laying right there.  I’ll get your pills and make you something to eat.” Vanessa cried out, filled with concern.  She realized this man needed help or he would hurt himself even worse that he already was.  She would give him the pills and some food and then explain to him that she wasn’t who he thought she was. 

“They’re in the kitchen on the counter.” Carter said through teeth gritted against the pain. 

The floor plan of his apartment was almost exactly the same as hers, only he had a hospital bed set up in the living room, where she had a couch.  She found her way to the kitchen easily and gasped at the huge arrangement of pills that were lined up on the countertop.  She read the labels until she found the ones prescribed for pain, but the bottle said they needed to be taken with food. She opened his fridge and saw that it was practically empty. She found a can of chicken broth in the pantry, and was able to scrounge up enough vegetables, spices, and pasta to make a decent soup for him. 

She presented it on a tray, along with the medication and some toasted bread and for the first time Carter smiled and the muscles on his face seemed to relax.

Vanessa saw that when he wasn’t glaring, he was actually quite handsome, with the rugged blonde locks one usually associated with a California surfer and brilliant blue eyes. It was too bad that he didn’t smile more, but it was obvious he had been through something truly traumatic. Vanessa wondered with compassion if she might not be just as angry and mean if she’d suffered the way that he had. 

Carter slurped down the soup and gobbled down the bread like it was the most delicious food he’d ever tasted, and indeed it came close.  He was so used to having people serve his every need, it never even occurred to him to say thank you, even though he appreciated the meal more than words could say. If it hadn’t been for this beautiful nurse from heaven, he surely would have starved to death trapped in this damn bed.

When he was done he pushed the tray aside and said curtly.  “Well, aren’t you going to take the tray now so I can take a nap?”

“Well, okay, but only because you were so polite about it.” Vanessa teased with a smile. He really was a cranky son-of-bitch and she could see why the girl who had quit earlier that day couldn’t stand working for him. Vanessa realized with a grin that at least that girl had been getting paid. She was doing this for free.

“Sorry.  Thank you.” Carter said softly, and Vanessa felt her sympathy go out to him again.  She took the tray to the kitchen and by the time she returned, he was already asleep.  It had clearly been a long hard day for him and his body needed the rest to heal; or perhaps the medication had knocked him out.  Either way, she tucked his blankets around his shoulders, gently set his book back on the table beside him, and quietly left the apartment. 

That night, for the first time, Carter didn’t dream about the horrifying accident that had nearly killed him. Instead, he dreamed about the beautiful angel, with warm eyes and dark skin, who had saved him.

Chapter Three

The next morning Vanessa woke bright and early.  That was the bad thing about working hard her entire life; even when she had a month off for vacation, her body still couldn’t sleep in! 

She tried pretending like she wasn’t awake and pulled the covers over her head and squeezed her eyes shut tight, but it didn’t work. Her brain was wide awake and already whirling with a million different thoughts and ideas. Originally she’d planned to go sightseeing today, but she couldn’t stop thinking about her next door neighbor and worrying about who would take care of him today. 

She had learned from an online news site that his name was Carter Davis and that he’d suffered a terrible car crash just a few weeks ago. It was obvious that he couldn’t get out of bed yet to make his meals and he needed someone to monitor his medications and make sure he was taking the right ones at the right times. Even though he was a complete stranger, and a rude one at that, Vanessa couldn’t in good conscience just leave him to suffer.  With a frustrated sigh, she tossed her covers aside, got dressed in her most comfortable pair of designer jeans, put on her favorite canary yellow sweater, and switched on her laptop. 

Vanessa researched for health care services in the area and then called the one that came most highly recommend. She used her most professional voice, hoping they would think she was his secretary, since she obviously didn’t know enough personal information about him to pretend to be a relative.

“I’m sorry ma’am, but we are no longer able to provide service for Mr. Carter” came the startling reply from the other end of the line.

“What?” Vanessa cried out, feeling utterly aghast.  “You’re a healthcare agency! You’re sworn to help people who are sick or injured! You can’t refuse care!”

“That doesn’t include subjecting our employees to physical, emotional, and verbal abuse. Mr. Davis knows our policies and willfully violated them on more than one occasion. His life is not in danger, just his comfort.  He knows that we will no longer be sending employees to his home.”

Vanessa hung up the phone with a sigh of disgust, but found the same response with the next facility she called, and the one after that. It quickly became to her that her cranky neighbor had managed to get himself blacklisted from every home healthcare agency in town.

“Well, it’s not my responsibility either,” Vanessa said with a sigh as she hung up the phone for the last time. Only she knew that he thought she was his new nurse and that he’d be expecting her to arrive that day. She decided to go over and tell him the truth, right after breakfast. 

Vanessa pulled her thick hair back into a ponytail and went to the kitchen, opening all the cupboards and drawers to see what kind of supplies she had. She was pleasantly surprised to see that it was very well stocked with top quality products. Gainscorp had truly thought of everything, they must have really wanted her.

Vanessa pulled a carton of fresh eggs from the refrigerator, along with milk, butter, cheese and fresh herbs.  Humming to herself, she cracked four eggs into a bowl and began to whip them into froth while the skillet heated on the stove.

“Well, the least I can do is to make sure he gets a good breakfast since I’m going there anyway. That way he has at least one decent meal today if he can’t get anyone over there soon.”

Vanessa created a perfect omelet along with sliced fruit and buttered toast and carried it across the hall on a tray. She saw two bags of groceries had been left sitting outside the door along with a bill from the delivery service.  She hefted the heavy bags into her arms, balancing the plate between them, and knocked loudly on the door.

“Come in! It’s unlocked damn it! Come in!” Came a familiar angry bark from inside.

The plate nearly fell from the tower of bags, but she managed to balance her way through the door, somehow making it to the kitchen counter without dropping anything.

“It’s about time you got here! I’m starving and I haven’t taken any of my pills yet!” Carter growled miserably. Vanessa recognized the sound of pain in his voice from yesterday and knew that as soon as he’d had his medication his tone would soften.

“Good morning to you too.  Here I made you something. Eggs-a-la-Vanessa.”

She set the plate in front of him, along with all the pills he’d been prescribed to take with breakfast. Carter gobbled it down without a word, although she could see the relief and happiness shining in his eyes at the taste of the food. She wondered if his impoliteness came from the pain or just regular bad manners. 

“Coffee.” Carter demanded after a while, and Vanessa just crossed her arms and stared at him. 

“I’m not a waitress here to take orders.” She said matter-of-factly. “In fact, I’m not even a nurse.”

“What are you talking about?” Carter asked, choking on the last bite of his food with a shocked expression. She could tell he was a man who was used to having things go exactly as he expected.

“My name is Vanessa Imenerse.  I’m a corporate executive.  I just moved into the apartment across the hall. The only reason I came over yesterday was because I heard a crash, and the only reason I stayed was because I saw you really needed the help.”

“So what are you doing here now?” Carter asked, his voice sounding terse. His face was flushed bright pink, and Vanessa wondered if it was from embarrassment or anger and correctly guessed that it was both. 

“I came to tell you that you’ll have to find a nursing agency to send someone over, but the task won’t be easy. I tried to help you by making a few calls this morning, but it seems your charming personality has gotten you quite the reputation. Good luck.”

“What about you?  Can’t you do it?”   

“I’m not a nurse; I’m an executive administer. Actually, in four weeks I might be a CEO if I decide to accept the position.”

“Let’s hope you’re a better executive then you are a neighbor.” Carter snapped.  His disappointment and fear turning him back into a sullen child. “If you don’t do this, no one else will, or are you too stupid and selfish to see that?”

“Goodbye.” Vanessa said gently, without any indication his words had any effect on her.  “Take good care of yourself and be a lot nicer to the next person who walks through this door to help you. She might not be as compassionate or forgiving as I am.”

Vanessa turned towards the door and walked out, leaving Carter utterly alone once more. 

The hours of the morning dragged on for him. He tried to read and watch television, but nothing held any interest for him. All he could think about was his beautiful new neighbor and how much he hoped she would come back.  He realized that of course she wouldn’t. Why would she? He’d been such a jerk to her.

It had been bad enough when he’d been mean to the health care workers who had quit one after the other. He had found a perverse kind of joy in making them hate him. After all, he had come to hate himself.  He couldn’t even do the one thing that had made feel like his life had any meaning; his work.  Without that; he was truly nothing. Making the nurses shout out their hatred of him gave him an odd sense of joy, because he was able to hear aloud from their lips the way he felt about himself. 

As the sun grew high in the sky Carter Davis became acutely aware that he was hungry and that his pain medications would be wearing off soon. He did the exercises the doctor had shown him to strengthen his muscles and help his ribs and organs heal, knowing that he would need to gather the strength to take care of himself now.

Gritting his breath against the inevitable pain, Carter took a deep breath and prepared to try and get out of bed. Just at that moment the front door opened and in swept Vanessa, holding a tray of sandwiches in one hand and his mail in the other.

“Oh, thank heaven it’s you!” Carter said, and his eyes shining with relief.

“Well, that’s a much better welcome than any of the others I’ve received so far.” Vanessa smiled, and Carter couldn’t help but notice how the whole room seemed to light up when she did.  She set the food and mail down on a tray in front of him and began to open the bottles of pills that had been prescribed for noon and set them on his tray.

Carter tucked into the food immediately and said sullenly “I didn’t think you were coming back.”

“Neither did I, but lucky for you I was just coming back from a walk around the neighborhood when I saw the mailman struggling to fit all your mail into your overstuffed mailbox. He was about to take it all out and return it to the post office, so I offered to bring it up to you.”

“And the mailman just handed over all my private mail to some stranger?” Carter growled.

“Well, I may have indicated that it was my mail by flashing my key for our floor. My thumb just accidentally covered over that my address is for apartment B, while yours is for apartment A. At any rate, you’re welcome for the effort. I could have just let him take all to the post office and you could have found some other way to get your mail.”

“You’re right. I’m sorry.  Thank you for my mail and for this lunch.  You should be a professional chef instead of an executive.” Carter said sincerely and Vanessa instantly forgave him his rudeness. It felt good to have someone compliment her cooking.  It was a hobby she truly enjoyed and took great pride in doing well. Her ex-boyfriend Trevor had never appreciated it, much like the words monogamy or respect. He was always telling what she should wear, who she should talk to, and what clothes she should wear.  He hated her job at Winn Inc. because he couldn’t control her there and resented every moment she was at work.  He gave her an ultimatum to quit her job or they were through, so she broke up with him, but even then he kept calling her.  It was part of the reason she was eager to leave Chicago and start someplace new.  She wanted to be free to devote herself to her career without being harassed by a man she never should have gotten involved with in the first place. She had a feeling New York was the perfect place.