Page 15 of Dr. Brandt

“Always, Cam.”

“See ya, Laney,” I said with a laugh, seeing that damn devious look of hers. There was no doubt in my mind Elena was bound to spill her guts to the guys’ wives when they got together.

Whatever, I was clearly obsessed. I felt like I’d been catapulted back in time, my feelings for Jessa as fresh and real as ever.

There was a reason fate brought us back together after all these years. That had to be it. Fate was at work here, and perhaps some karma, which was the part I wasn’t exactly excited about.

My phone rang as I started my car and buckled up. The display on my dash showed the call was coming from my secretary, which confused me because I was sure she would’ve been scrambling around at this time, gathering her things and heading out the door for the night.

“Sup, Janice,” I said, backing out and following Collin to the stoplight down the street from his driveway.

“Dr. Brandt?” she said with some hesitation in her voice.

“Janice? You don’t sound well. Everything okay?”

“I understand it’s after-hours with you being on call and all…” she trailed off.

“You also understand that I will never be upset when you ring my phone at any hour,” I reassured my seemingly upset secretary. “What’s going on?”

“Dr. Brandt,” she repeated my name, “there is a woman here in tears, begging me to contact you, and—”

What the fuck? “Do you need to call security? Or have me call security to have her removed?”

“No,” she said.

“I’m confused,” I said, pulling the car over so I could figure this out.

Just as I wondered if Janice was being robbed at gunpoint or something, I heard a soft, familiar voice in the background that made my heart skip a beat.

Jessa. As much as I gladly embraced the idea that she was in my office, I instantly wondered why. How the fuck was this happening? Fate was at play, and with a smile on my face, I wondered if my Jessa had been fighting a mental battle over me since she saw me last, just like I had been doing on my end about her. What a beautiful ending to this lonely chapter in my life. Jessa was back and in my office, looking for me.

“What’s the name of the woman?” I asked with a smile in my voice, giddy as fuck.

“Jessica Stein,” she said softly. “She is here with her fiancé and her son. She says she knows you and that you are her last hope for her son, and she doesn’t know what else to do.”

My giddiness came to an abrupt halt. This wasn’t exactly the reunion I’d imagined, but at least it was something.

I thought back to Jessa’s daring and bold personality, remembering how she was fearless in getting what she wanted. But her son? What could’ve happened to bring her to my office for her son?

I went into emergency mode. “Janice, if it’s an emergency, she needs to have her son seen in the ER.”

I watched Collin’s car do a U-turn and saw him pull behind me in my rearview mirror.

“She understands,” Janice said. “She was hoping to meet with you, though. She said if you turn her son away, she’s just going to fly back to New York tonight.”

“Okay, I’m totally confused,” I said, pinching the bridge of my nose. “Jessica Stein is a good friend of mine. Can you give her my cell number and have her call me? I’ll handle this from here.”

“Everything okay?” Collin questioned as he approached my window. I raised a finger to politely ask him to hold on while I worked to end the call with my secretary, who seemed just as confused as I was.

I hung up, rolled down my window, and looked at Collin. “A friend of mine randomly showed up at my office needing help, and I might have to head over there. She’s going to call, and I’ll have more information in a second.”

Collin’s forehead creased with curiosity. “Do you think that is a good idea? I mean, you know her well?”

He went into chief neurosurgeon mode, and I knew why. This was entirely out of the norm, and it probably seemed like I was about to offer a favor because I wanted to get laid or something.

Jessa wasn’t the type to do rude shit, though. If she was trying to contact me out of desperation, that was something on another level. I was not a man who questioned a mother’s instinct to protect their children.

I answered the phone as soon as the New York area code showed up on the incoming call screen.

---