“Great. He does make a fantastic drink.” As she leaned back in her chair and looked around the room, Ria glanced around the room, as well.
It was about half-full, and she had seen most of the people before on previous visits. She glanced past one of the corner booths and something caught her attention. She looked back. She recognized the man; he was the Rocky-wannabe who had gotten her fired from her EMT job.
“What’s gotten into you?” Lacey asked. “Peter flirting with another customer?”
When Ria stared at her reproachfully, she had the grace to blush at her behavior, quickly dropping her eyes.
“Don’t look, but remember the guy who got me fired from Metro? He’s here,” Ria growled quietly.
Lacey laughed out loud, causing Ria to scowl at her friend.
“That’s how you refer to him, as ‘the guy that got you fired’?”
“That’s one of the more polite terms I use.”
Lacey laughed again, promptly turning her head to look at the man.
“I told you not to look!” Ria exclaimed.
Lacey quickly turned back to Ria. “Ria, you have told me over and over what happened that night. You should have just ignored his comments. The poor guy was obviously in pain, and you acted unprofessionally.” Lacey always had to give her honest opinion. She would never lose her cool with a patient. Moreover, she was right. It was an EMT’s job to soothe the patient, not insult them. Hell, if Ria had thought she could have gotten away with it, she would have strangled the obnoxious man in the back of the ambulance that night.
“Whatever you believe, you’re wrong. He thinks he’s God’s gift to women, and couldn’t believe I wasn’t interested.” Ria huffed.
“That still didn’t give you an excuse.” Lacey shrugged.
Ria knew Lacey was still pissed for being so unprofessional. She hated that her friend was working in the bar.
Ria was disappointed in herself. That ten minute ride had irrevocably changed her life, putting her back in the sights of those she had been hiding from. Lacey had given Ria an earful later that night for her behavior, telling her she should have laughed it off. Ria had taken her opinion in stride. They had remained strong friends through the years because neither of them pulled their punches, nor worried about hurting the others feelings.
She thought back to that ride to the hospital. She recalled thinking he had dozed off, that he must not be in much pain for him to be so quiet. In pain, men were usually quite vocal, while women were the more stoic.
When she had turned back from talking to the driver, she had glanced down at him. He had been staring at her with an odd expression. She had asked him if he was in pain, which had led to the jerk going into graphic detail of which part of his anatomy had been in pain. It hadn’t been her first time being propositioned in the back of the ambulance, but those patients—both male and female—had been several decades older and suffering from dementia.
She had gotten angry yet had strived to control her temper and professionalism.
“Are you on any medications?”
“Just the pleasure of seeing you bent over me.” His eyes had been glued to her breasts as she leaned over to take his blood pressure.
She had ignored his comment, rolling her eyes. Like I haven’t heard that line before, she’d thought.
She had carefully stabilized his arm while feeling his gaze watch every movement she made.
“So you’ve never seen me fight?”
“No. I usually work another run, but the EMT for this one called in tonight.” She had then picked up her clipboard, beginning her paperwork that she would hand over in the ER.
“You’ll have to come to my next fight. I’ll make sure you have a front row seat.”
Ria had looked up from her paperwork. “No, thanks. I have better things to do with my time than watch two men deliberately hurt each other. Besides, it’s going to be a while before you’ll be fighting again.”
“I guess I’ll have to find another way to stay in shape. Want to meet me after I get released from the ER?”
“Seriously?” Ria batted her eyes and pretended to swoon before straightening and bursting into laughter. “Dude, not only are you not my type, but if I was going to date a fighter, it would be the winner, not the loser.”
His demeanor had changed in an instant. Ria hadn’t needed to imagine him as an opponent, his fierce expression causing her to slide down the bench seat, farther away from him.
When they’d pulled up to the ER, she had stepped out of the ambulance, turning to offer her assistance.
“I’m fine,” he’d snapped, taking the step down.
As he had stepped out of the ambulance, she had seen the head of the hospital come out to greet him personally, solicitously ushering him inside the ER.
She followed closely behind, turning her paperwork over to the chart nurse behind the desk. Her eyes had then followed the man as he was taken into a room, and the ER doctor promptly went in to check on him. In the time she had been an EMT, she had never witnessed someone receiving such preferential treatment.
They’d received another call not long after; therefore, she had returned to the ambulance where Chase was waiting. It was over an hour before she had to return to the ER with another patient. An elderly woman had fallen in the shower, injuring her hip and hitting her head. It had taken them a while to maneuver her out of the tiny bathroom.
As she turned her paperwork in, out of the corner of her eye, she had seen the man being escorted out of the ER room with a brand new cast. His eyes avoided hers, which hadn’t concerned her, but the stern gaze of the administrator had.
The administrator had escorted him to the door, only leaving the man when he had pointedly said he needed to make a phone call as he went out the sliding doors. When the administrator had passed her again, ignoring her greeting, Ria had begun to get nervous. However, another call coming in had redirected her concern, sending her back outside.
The man was just outside the door. As she passed him, his back was to her.
“It’s Nicholas. Come and get me.” His voice had been cold and clipped. Ria had felt sorry for whoever was on the other end of the conversation.
He had then disconnected his call, and as she’d passed him, their eyes had briefly met. The cocky, flirtatious man that had entered her ambulance was gone. Ria had almost stopped to do damage control and apologize for her remark, but she truly had felt he deserved the set-down for his behavior.
“Let’s go, Ria!” Chase had yelled, turning on the siren and lights. She’d jumped in the ambulance, forgetting about apologizing in the rush to get to the emergency.
It was a mistake she would regret.
The next morning, she had been called into her office and was fired, citing her unprofessionalism. She had been dumbfounded that a man of Nicholas’s fame had resorted to having her fired because of being rejected.
She had desperately tried to explain, but her boss had been unmoved.
“I thank you for your service to our company, but we will not allow that type of behavior from any of our employees,” her boss had replied.
Ria had looked at her boss, begging for another chance. “Mr. Lyon, I’m sorry for my outburst; it was completely inappropriate.”
“Get your things and get out.”
She had quickly cleared her things and gotten out as fast as she could. She had unsuccessfully applied to the only two other ambulance companies in the city. With her bills skyrocketing and her mother’s condition worsening, she had been left with no choice other than to take the job at the bar. Her pride had taken a hit, but it was worth it when she was able to pay the rent. Nicholas Brooks might be the local idol, but to her there was nothing to admire. He was no hero.
Available Now!
Enjoy an excerpt from Sarah Brianne’s book
Nero (Made Men, #1)
Chapter One