His Virgin
By: Nikki ChaseI shoot her a dirty look. I’m not in the mood for any of her shenanigans today.
Don’t get me wrong, I love how fun Katie is. That’s why we hang out a lot since we were in nursing school together, and also why we decided to get an apartment together.
Turns out she sucks as a roommate; she’s messy, loud, and makes a habit of bringing home a carousel of men into her room—a different one every weekend.
But she’s my best friend, and my surrogate family. The only family I have, other than Jack.
“What happened? You look like you want to stab those potatoes to death.” Katie drops her plastic tray on the table and pulls out the chair across from me, the metal legs dragging noisily against the linoleum floor. She ignores the annoyed stares of other hospital workers around us in the cafeteria.
“An asshole happened,” I say curtly as I impale another piece of potato with my fork and put it in my mouth.
“Oh, that’s right. I heard you met Caine Foster.”
“Yeah.”
I’m not surprised Katie knows his name. Apparently, I’m the only person in the entire hospital who hadn’t heard about that guy. Caine Foster, everybody says, his name always mentioned in full and in a voice full of admiration.
“Tell me all about it.” Katie picks up her ham and cheese sandwich and looks at me with anticipation.
“There’s nothing to tell. An asshole came. He was rude. That’s all.”
“Damn. Everybody else is raving about how hot he is and how lucky you are to have talked to him. And here you are, acting like it was nothing.”
“It was nothing.” I shrug.
“Yeah, sure. That’s why you’re fuming. Because it was nothing.” Katie takes a big bite of her sandwich and raises her eyebrows.
“Okay, fine. It wasn’t nothing. He was condescending and entitled. He acted like he’s superior. He treated me like an idiot.” The red-hot anger in my chest flares up again, the fire kindled by Katie’s comment. Now I remember all the infuriating things he said, the words I’ve been trying to forget all day.
Good girl. Like I’m his damn dog.
“Well, he is superior, if you think about it. Let's see. Caine Foster is rich, hot, and he practically holds Dr. Pratt’s balls in his hands. In what way is he not superior?”
“Why would he have Dr. Pratt’s… Why would he have anything to do with Dr. Pratt?”
“Oh, Daisy. You sweet summer child. You can't even say balls.” Katie grins. “It's not even technically a bad word. Even kids say balls all the time. Hell, they play with balls.”
I grimace. “That's...disturbing.”
“What? That kids play with balls?” The grin on Katie’s face widens.
“You know exactly what I mean.”
“Oh, Daisy!” Katie gasps and places a hand over her mouth. “Honestly, that is nasty. Get your mind out of the gutter, young lady.”
I give Katie a flat stare. With impatience, I ask, “What's the connection between the Chief of Medicine and the asshole?”
“You're no fun today.” Katie sighs. In a low, gossipy tone, she says, “The hospital got into big debt when we built the new wing, which was Dr. Pratt's idea. We almost had to abandon the project halfway through because the construction ended up costing way more than expected. The Foster family bailed us out.”
“That's crazy, that a family can be that rich.”
“Right?”
I nod. “I feel bad for Dr. Pratt now.” I know how it feels to be chained down by debt and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.
“Why? It's not like he has to pay them back. They saved his ass.”
“Yeah. And now they own his ass.” I know how debts work. They're never free.
“I guess,” Katie admits. “But all he has to do is give them preferential treatment occasionally, when they need medical attention. It's a small price to pay for a new hospital wing, don't you think?”
“No, he just sold the dignity of the entire hospital. Now we have to do what they say, no matter how crazy the request, or how rude they are.”
Katie narrows her eyes at me. “What exactly did Caine Foster ask you to do?”
I pause, hesitant. I know Katie’s not going to get it. She had to be there to see it for herself to get it.
