CHAPTER 244: BLUFF

Dr Loma paced around the Hotel suite where she was being held, checking her watch at intervals. She had been there for almost twenty-four hours already and although it had been nice at first to be in such a deluxe environment, the thrill had steadily begun to fade.

Where was Callan? Why was he not here yet? Was he perhaps keeping her here this way because he heard she was posing to be his special person and was mad at her?

Her head snapped up when the door opened and the man who had brought her to the hotel walked in.

"I can’t remain here this way. I’ve been wasting my time here for hours without so much as an explanation. I need to get back to the hospital before my next shift. I’ll be taking my leave now," she said, heading for the door.

"I’m very sorry for the inconvenience. There has been some unforeseen circumstances. And I’ll need your assistance," he said apologetically.

"What assistance?" She asked with a slight frown.

He unlocked his phone and showed her the headline of a new station. [Multi Billionaire Ryan Harris Suffers A Heart Attack And Is Receiving Treatment In Husla General]

Her frown deepened. "What does this have to do with me?"

"He’s my boss. He’s the reason you’ve been waiting here for hours. I had no idea he was running late because he had a heart attack. And since you work at the hospital he was taken to, I need you to get back to work and take me with you so I can know how he’s doing. I also need you to connect me to Callan Quinn."

"Connect you to Callan Quinn? I don’t understand. I thought you brought me here to meet with Callan Quinn?" she asked, looking at him with a confused frown.

"No. I brought you here because you said you are closely connected to Callan Quinn. I need you to help me get in touch with him. It’s a matter of urgency," the man said patiently.

Dr Loma’s heart skipped a beat as it dawned on her that she might have walked into something she didn’t quite understand.

She forced a smile. "I’m sorry, but I think you’ve got the wrong person..." she trailed off when she realized that she wasn’t supposed to say that since she didn’t know yet what kind of situation it was, and it’d be wiser to leave there first before saying a word to him.

"What do you mean?" The man asked, narrowing his eyes.

She forced a smile then shook her head. "Never mind. Let’s get out of here first," she said, continuing to the door.

"Once again I’m sorry for wasting your time."

Dr Loma waved off the apology as they walked out of the room together.

When they got into the car the man turned to her, "If you don’t mind, could you give Callan Quinn a call to join us at the hospital?"

Dr Loma paused for a moment like she was considering his request while her mind raced, "Well, I’d love to, but first I need to understand what’s going on. I can’t just ask Callan to come without a good reason. Can you tell me what’s going on and why it’s important that he meets your boss? I’m assuming that’s why you want me to call him, am I right?" She asked, wanting to keep the conversation going until they got to the hospital so that he wouldn’t figure out that she didn’t know Callan personally.

The man nodded. "If I may ask what’s your relationship with Callan?"

She smiled coyly. "What do you think our relationship is? How did you find out about us, anyway?"

"I saw a clip of his speech at your welcome party," he revealed.

"Oh, that!" She said, rolling her eyes. "Callan was just fooling around. So? What do you want with him?"

"I’m not sure I can divulge that information to you..."

"Then I’m afraid I can’t ask Callan to come over. For all I know you want to hurt him."

The man stared at her for a moment but chose not to tell her about it. "Let’s meet with Mr Harris first, and then he can decide whether or not he wants to tell you what he wants with Callan Quinn. It’s not my place, so I won’t say anything."

"Alright then. I will decide whether or not to invite Callan over, after I’ve spoken with Mr Harris," she bluffed, satisfied with the resolution.

When they got to the hospital she asked him to wait at the reception then she left for the residents quarters to freshen up and change out of her clothes.

After doing that, she went to the changing room and put on her coat before going to the nurse’s station to inquire about Ryan Harris.

After gathering as much information as she could on his condition, she went to his room to check on him, and she met Emily standing by the glass window staring inside.

She’d heard that Emily had been there since the end of her eight hour shift and had refused to leave until he wakes up.

"Hey, Emily. Any improvement yet?" She asked, looking inside too.

"Not yet," Emily said, turning to her and wondering why she was there.

"Were you assigned to him?" Emily asked curiously.

She shook her head. "No." She looked around to be certain no one was coming then lowered her voice. "He’s somehow connected to Callan."

Emily frowned. "Really? How did you know that?" she asked, wondering if perhaps Dr Lowa truly had something to do with Callan and wasn’t just bluffing.

How else could she have known about Callan’s connection with Ryan?

"I’m close to Callan, remember? He was flying down to meet with me and Callan when he had a cardiac arrest. Anyway, since you’re here, let me know when he regains consciousness."

Emily opened her mouth to tell her that Callan wasn’t in Husla at the moment but before she could, Dr Lowa spoke again.

"I have to go for my ward round now. Catch you later," she said before walking away.

Emily tilted her head to the side as she watched her go,

Just as Emily returned her attention to Ryan, she saw him stir.

His fingers twitched slowly against the white sheet, like he was testing if his body still obeyed him.

Emily stepped closer to the glass, her pulse quickening. His eyelids fluttered once, twice—then opened halfway.

Ryan’s head shifted slightly on the pillow, and a crease formed between his brows. He tried to lift his hand but stopped when the IV line pulled. His breathing hitched—part from the discomfort, part from the awareness of the tubes and wires surrounding him.

Emily watched as he swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing slowly, painfully. She could almost feel the dryness in his throat from hours of intubation. His gaze drifted toward the door, then up toward the ceiling, and for a fleeting moment, she saw fear flicker in his eyes.

He was awake but disoriented.

Emily glanced toward the nurses’ station, ready to call for the attending physician, but her eyes stayed on him.

Taking the risk, she opened the door and stepped into the room.