The Love Triangle (BWWM Romance) (43 page)

Chapter Three – Ciara

She knew it was going to take a while, but the wait was ridiculous. They had been asked questions about everything from birth to work and she was frustrated. She had a very small window before she had to get her Dad back home and she had to get to work. When they arrived, there had been a full lobby, people crammed into every nook of the room. The woman at the desk had even mentioned they may not get to them before the morning was over, and she had to stop herself from exploding.

She looked over at her Daddy and smiled at him as she patted his arm. He had been doing so well lately. He never complained about the cancer medication he was on, or mentioned the round of chemo he’d had when his insurance was intact. He never complained about anything. He had been the one constant in her life, him and her mother, until she passed away. She had been a wonderful woman; she was the lead in the church choir and had even been talked to about a record deal once, but she would never leave her home or her family. Her death had been a great tragedy for the family and a blow that had left her father frail and sad.

It was 5 years ago when the accident had happened. She had been driving home one evening from the market and had been hit by an oncoming car. The paperwork all blamed the bad weather that night, but the driver had been drinking. The police simply said the driver had not been intoxicated, merely had a glass of wine or two with dinner. Nothing could ever fill the void that her mother’s death had left her with. Ciara missed her so much. Antoine had only been a toddler when she died, never having enough time to know and love his grandmother.

She looked over at her father again. He was reading a magazine found on a table beside the chairs. He had been affected the most. He had always been the life of the party, the comedian, but after her death, a part of him had shut down. He livened up with Antoine from time to time, but the luster surrounding him had faded. Then two years ago, he had been diagnosed with cancer and initially, he had fought hard, but now he seemed content to just exist. She was always the one pushing him to try harder, to want more. She had forced him to go to the clinic, but she needed him, needed his wisdom as she raised her son. She had lost her mother and she refused to give up on him, despite what the doctors said.

He had stage three cancer. It was a rare form of blood cancer and there wasn’t as much information out there about it as there was for other forms. They medicated him, kept him comfortable, but it was inoperable and could only be “managed.”She knew his life was shortened, but she would fight, even if he didn’t want to anymore. She sighed once more and walked up to the window to check her status.

“Hello again, could you tell me how many more people are before us? I’m pretty sure we are close to the top now.” She gave the nurse a smile, hoping it would help her make some progress.

“Yeah, okay, so I told you once before you have to wait. I can’t tell everyone how close to the top they are, so you will just have to be patient, ma’am.” The nurse looked over her glasses disapprovingly.

“I understand that, I am just asking because it seems we were moved down the list or something, the last few people who have gone back were here after us.” She crossed her arms, somehow hoping that would calm her down.

“Ma’am, I'm going to need you to go have a seat and wait your turn.” The lady shut the sliding window in her face once again.

She felt the heat rush through her and she knew she needed to calm down but she couldn’t resist. She knocked loudly on the window until the rude receptionist opened it again.

“Listen,ma’am, you’re going to have to leave. Perhaps next time when you come you won’t be in such a mood.” Before she could shut the window again, Ciara grabbed the glass with her hands.

If she was being forced out, she would leave an impression. “I don’t know what your problem is, lady, but all I did was ask a question, you don’t have to be so damn rude. Everyone here comes up to ask something and no matter who it is, you are just so nasty to them. I hope you’re proud of yourself for hurting people in a place where you’re supposed to help.” She yelled it slightly, just loud enough to make her point.

Ciara glanced up and saw him there; he was tall, taller than most men. He had black hair and dark eyes and was obviously in charge. His sculpted features and perfectly proportioned body, drew her to him. She saw his half smile before it disappeared. He moved to the reception desk.

“What seems to be the problem, Leanna?” He spoke directly to the woman who had been so rude to her.

She was obviously startled as she jumped and responded. “Dr. Baker! Oh, nothing is wrong at all. It seems this young woman was upset and I simply cannot help her.” She tsk tsked under her tongue and Ciara was even more infuriated.

She watched his eyes twitch slightly as he listened to the rude receptionist’s explanation. She could tell he didn’t fully believe everything she was telling him, so she took a chance to speak up, at least for her father’s sake.

“Dr. …uh Baker is it? What she is telling you is not true, she is telling me I have to leave when I’ve been here since the doors opened this morning. I was simply asking where we were on the list and she started raising her voice at me.”

“Well I never.” The receptionist grabbed at her chest as though she was shocked and Ciara rolled her eyes. She wasn’t nearly as good an actor as she thought.

“Let’s do this, I will personally see you, Miss….”

“Jones, Ciara Jones.”

She was frozen for a second. He was giving her a half smile and for a second she started to blush. She quickly put the notion out of her head and went over to get her father by the arm and walk him over to the door. He met them there with a smile and held the door for them as they made their way to the back of the office. He smelled like aftershave and leather. She scrunched up her face, what the hell made her think about that? They settled into a room and he left them to go get their paperwork.

Eventually he came back and Ciara stood back as he examined her father. This gave her an opportunity to look him over once more. His hair was wavy and he was built. Not her usual type, but he was gorgeous and he had the most amazing eyes. She hadn’t really looked at, or appreciated, a man’s looks in a long time. He stood back and directed his attention to them both.

“Mr. Jones, you really need to be seeing a specialist. I have your records from county and the blood cancer is not something you can cure, but I am sure you know all of that already.”

“Yes,” she chimed in. “We know all of that, the bigger issue we have going on right now is that his insurance is out and well, he needs his medication, but I… that is, we simply can’t afford it anymore.”

“Do you get any type of retirement, social security or any of that, Mr. Jones?” At his shake of the head, the doctor sat back, lost in thought for a second. “Let’s get some new labs while you’re here, and I’ll make a few calls. Let me see what I can do for you.” He stood once more.

He turned abruptly and ran into her, startling her for a second. She looked up into his eyes and felt something stir deep down. She cleared her throat and they separated quickly, both affected by the other.

They made their way over to the lab where she left him and walked around the lobby for a second. Maybe this doctor could help, it certainly couldn’t hurt to let him look into it. She knew the prognosis wasn’t great, but she had to keep trying, and keep praying. She saw the doctor standing in the doorway motioning for her to come and she shuffled her way towards him. He walked along the corridor until they were back in the room from before.

“Miss Jones, I just wanted to talk to you for a sec while we were waiting for your father. You do know his prognosis, don’t you? At this point all we can do is keep him comfortable.” He folded his arms in front of him.

“Yes, I am aware. The medications keep him feeling normal, I know it’s not “curing” him or anything, I just want him to be himself for as long as possible, that’s all.”

“Do you have any help at home? For when things get bad?” He glanced up at her and his gaze lingered on her face for a second.

“No, no, I don’t have anyone really,” she whispered and sat down in the chair beside the bed.

“You need a support system as well. This is not something that only affects the patient, it affects the entire family.” He walked over to her chair. “I made a few calls, I may have a contact who can help with the medication.” He scribbled down the phone number and handed it to her.

She took the sheet, and glanced at the number. “Who should I ask for?”

He smiled slightly, “He's expecting your call.” He paused. “I took the liberty of setting up a meeting for tonight, 7:30. Meet him at the coffee shop on Main. I thought it would be good for you to go meet him and set things up.” He opened the door. “I look forward to speaking with you again soon, Miss Jones.” He left her standing there.

She sighed. It was definitely unorthodox, but it was worth trying. She made her way back out to find her father chatting happily with an elderly woman. She rolled her eyes slightly. He never turned down the chance to chat up a stranger.

“Come on, Daddy, let’s go home.” She led him to the car and the two of them did their usual prayer before starting it up to go. Fortunately, it started on the first try.

Chapter Four – Derek

He smiled to himself as he settled into his office chair. It had been an eventful day. His case load had tripled, but he met her. Ciara Jones was an enigma to him. She was a combination of sweetness and fire when she was tested. It was her fire he had been drawn to from the beginning, when he had overheard her fighting with the receptionist out front. She had been a ball of fire and he was amused by her. When they had settled in with her father, she had become soft and concerned. He felt the unusual need to comfort her as she went through the issues she would soon be facing.

He smiled at his attempt to be funny. He had given her his cell number and the “meeting” tonight was with him. He could have simply asked her to go out with him, but he knew her reaction would have been to say no. She was careful about everything she said and did, he could tell that about her quickly as well. Part of him wasn’t even sure why he wanted to go out with her. He knew his issues would most likely keep him from ever meeting anyone on a serious level until he addressed them. He knew he should have let her go without a word, but he couldn’t, something about her was special.

True, her caramel skin and curvy body were obvious pluses, but he was attracted to more than just that. She was determined to help her father and he admired her tenacity. He glanced up at the clock before closing the paperwork in front of him. He needed to go home and shower, possibly sneak in a nap, albeit interrupted, before he met her. That is, if she even showed up. He had a feeling she would. The situation wasn’t an entire hoax, he did have a bag full of samples to give her and he wanted to help keep her father comfortable for a while longer yet.

He gathered up his things and set off for home. He made his way across town with ease and pulled into his penthouse. He loved to drive, the way the air felt on his face. It was one of the few things he could do that he found calming. He was almost inside when his phone rang. It was his mother and he knew better than to ignore it.

“Hello, Mom, yes I know. I called Alex this afternoon. Yes, okay, Mom, I have to go but I’ll call back later.”

He hung up and smiled. His sister Jaqueline was pregnant and they wanted to throw her a party. Somehow, every time one of his sisters was pregnant, they invited their ever-single brother along for the fun of it. He took quick strides into the bathroom and turned on the water to shower. He glanced at his reflection in the mirror. He was only 33, still in good shape. There was time for him to settle down. He definitely needed more sleep. He hopped in the steaming water and thought about the night ahead.

Chapter Six - Ciara

Nothing ever went quickly in her day. That day was no exception. She was scrambling around trying to get things done since it was her day off. Antoine had a project to work on and she had laundry. Not to mention her meeting at 7:30. She was frantically trying to get everything lined up and get there on time. She took another look at the clock on the wall.

Twenty minutes later, she had tucked Antoine in with her father watching a movie and she changed into something more suited to the appointment. She had teased and played with her hair until it was laying just right. She grabbed her bag and headed out to the car. She said a prayer and tried the car and nothing happened. She was angry and stressed, but another 15 minutes went by and the car finally started. She would be on time, but not early as she had originally planned. She pulled into the coffee shop and made her way inside. It suddenly occurred to her she wasn’t even sure who to look for. She dug around in her purse to find the number to call and when she did she heard him answer.