A/N: Happy birthday to me! Happy birthday to me! It's my birthday so you get a chaaaap-terrrr~ Happy birthday to me! Let's hope 25 treats me well, lol!
P.S. Sorry it's a tad short!
Wednesday Afternoon
Two days. It's been two whole days since I've had to sit in this office in complete, excruciating silence. And it's been absolute torture. Don't get me wrong—there have been times when Dr. Shore and I would work without speaking to each other for much longer than this. But that, at least, was a mutual understanding and not me being, essentially, frozen out.
I 'v e wracked my brains these last couple of days as to what could have possibly caused that warm smile into a cold glance, and the only thing I could think of is that I did more than toe the line with my flirtatious comment. I must have straight up demolished it. And now I was paying the well-deserved consequences. Choking back a groan, I dropped my head into my hands. I was definitely going to have to apologize.
I spared a brief glance through my fingers to the man sitting at the desk across the room. He was leaning back in his seat, tapping a pen to the corner of his mouth as he reviewed the folder that rested in his lap. His eyes flicked up to the computer screen in front of him, and I squeezed mine shut, heart racing.
Just apologize, it's not that hard! Get up from your seat, walk over to him, and say sorry! I balled my hands into fists and thumped them against my forehead. God, if only it were that easy. If only I weren't ridiculously embarrassed by my faux-pas.
I snuck another peek. He had resumed his previous position. He's not a scary man! What's the worst he could do, bite you? I couldn't hold back the groan this time. That was a bad, bad, bad joke.
So focused on my floundering, I was startled when the office phone rang, slamming my palms onto the keyboard as I sat up straight in response. I grabbed the receiver, silently cursing whomever was on the other end.
"Dr. Cullen's office, how may I help you?"
A voice rasped over the line. "Miss Swan."
"Ah, Dolores. To what do I owe the pleasure of hearing your lovely voice?"
There was the distinct sound of a scoff, and I could only imagine the accompanying eye roll. "Mr. Schuyler's looking for you."
"He is?"
I wondered what for when my eye caught the date and time on the bottom left of my computer screen. Wed, 2:17 p.m. Shit. I jumped up from my seat.
"Thank—" It was then I registered the droning sound of a dial tone, "—you."
I slammed the phone back into its cradle and looked over to Carlisle. Throughout all of the commotion, he hadn't moved a muscle. Not even to send an inquisitive look. I pushed that to the back of my mind as I threw out an apologetic explanation.
"So sorry, Dr. Cullen! I've gotta go, but I'll be back shortly!"
Without looking up from his file, a single nod was all he gave in acknowledgment. I tried not to dwell on that as I left my office and made my way to the hospital director.
It was just past 2:20 when I finally made it to Chad's door. Not wanting to incur his wrath even more, I rapped a quick 'Shave and a Haircut' on his door to indicate my presence. The answering, in tune 'You're late!' gave a hint to his mood. I sighed in relief. I was fine.
Even so, I tentatively opened his door with a sheepish smile. "Hey..."
My heart dropped at the sight of him sitting behind his desk, elbows resting on the rich, mahogany wood and fingers steepled. On the desk in front of him rested a wooden tray which held an old, China tea set, complete with two sets of saucers and teacups. Next to the tea set was a delicate, glass sugar bowl filled to the brim with sugar cubes. He gestured stiffly to the seat in front of him.
"Sit."
I lowered myself into the plush armchair across from him, the worn leather creaking under my weight. Chad wordlessly distributed the cups and saucers and then poured tea for us both. He left my cup half full, and I filled the other half with milk before dropping in two cubes. I gave it a few stirs with the teaspoon and then took a delicate sip, letting the sweetened tea warm me from the inside out. Relaxed, I leaned back in my seat.
"What's going on, Chadmeister?"
His eyebrow raised as he fixed his own tea.
"I feel like I should be asking you the same question. You're never late for our weekly tea."
"I know. I've just been...distracted."
"Oh?"
"Not to the point where it affects my work," I assured him. "But I can't deny that it's really been nagging me as of late."
"You know you can always come to me if you have any issues."
I nodded and took a sip, wholly unprepared for his next question.
"How is our new celebrity treating you?"
I spluttered. "I'm sorry, our new what?"
"You haven't heard? Apparently all of the nurses, and even some doctors, are fawning over the prestigious Doctor Cullen. He seems to have quite the way with everyone in the hospital."
"Oh yeah, he's a real prince charming."
"Now, now, that sounded oddly sarcastic. What? He hasn't been able to get in your good graces?"
"No, it's nothing like that. It's just—" I paused to take a sip and collect my thoughts. That pretty much confirmed it, then. I absolutely made him uncomfortable. I shifted in my seat, bringing my feet up to tuck them under me in a cross-legged position. "I think I might have messed up a little bit."
"Briar..." There was a warning to me in his voice that had me going on the defense.
"It's not anything bad, I promise! I may be just made a little teeny, tiny advance, maybe..?" My voice became smaller at the end, petering out.
"Briar Rose!"
"Not the full name, please," I winced.
"That is completely unacceptable behavior! What on earth were you thinking?" He held up his palm to stop whatever response I had geared. "No need to respond. I already know you weren't. All action and no thought. I swear, you become more and more like your mother each day."
"I'm telling you, it wasn't that bad! It's just been a little tense, is all."
"Briar, I need you to listen to me very carefully. If he decides to hire a new transcriptionist or, god forbid, report you for harassment, I will not be able to help you." A pointed look told me to keep my mouth shut. "Now, thankfully, he doesn't seem like that type of person, but you need to find a way to fix this. Immediately."
"Don't you think I know that? Why do you think I've been so distracted?"
"How long have you let this go on?"
"Three days?"
"Three—you couldn't have at least waited for him to settle in?!" He leaned forward on his elbows again, but this time he used his fingers to rub at his temples. "Why are all the women in my life so hell-bent on sending me to an early grave?"
"At least Mom beat you to that one, eh?"
He gave me a stern look from under his lashes.
"And yet, here she is in you, giving me the same amount of grief. If not more."
I shrugged, taking a big gulp of my now cold tea. "What can I say? It runs in the family."
"Briar, I need to make sure you understand the gravity of the situation. This is not something to take lightly. You cannot put off addressing this as you so oft love to do. Have I made myself clear?"
"Crystal, Chadster."
"Good." He flicked his eyes to the watch on his wrist. "I apologize. I have to cut this week's meeting short. I've got a conference call to attend."
I downed the rest of my tea and deposited both my cup and the saucer on the tray before getting up. "As always, thank you for the tea. I'll talk to you later?"
"Sure."
He had already started fiddling with his computer so I turned and made my way to the door. I had it half open when he stopped me.
"Don't forget what we spoke about. And until you get it sorted, would you please, for the love of god, refer to me properly."
I offered a thumbs-up. "I'm on it, Uncle Chad."
"That's not exactly what—"
I shut the door behind me, effectively cutting him off. I sighed deeply, thoughts of how to apologize to Carlisle floating around in my head as I walked to the elevators. Ideally, the best time to do it would be the next time I see him. I spotted a head of familiar, blond hair down the hall and did an abrupt about-face.
Perhaps the apology can wait until tomorrow.