Page 104 of Ruled By Fate

“Denise is going to be furious. And you’re going to Croatia?” He sat back in his chair and frowned. “This is highly irregular, Ms. Weldon. This isn’t college. This is a competitive program at a prestigious hospital. You can’t just take a gap year.”

“I know.”

A golden glow emanated from Brie’s purse, one she was certain only she could see. As if on cue, the expression on her manager’s face started to change. He struggled for a moment before the lines on his forehead smoothed, and a blissful, vacant expression graced his features.

“Of course, you’ve been through a lot,” he said vacantly. “You should take some time off. Relax. Get your head straight. I’ll do the necessary paperwork. You are welcome back at any time. Have a lovely day, now.” He turned to his computer and started opening his files.

She slowly rose to her feet, darting doubtful glances his way. “So, is that it?”

“That’s it,” he murmured to her dreamily, inputting her information into his computer. With just a few taps to his keyboard, he placed her on leave. “Have a safe flight.”

She stared for a moment, then grabbed her purse and walked out of his office. It wasn’t until she was safely back in the hall, away from prying eyes, that she looked down into the bag. “That was you, right?”

Silence.

“Cameron, would you get out here, please? I don’t want my last memory of this place to be me walking the halls, talking to my purse like a maniac.”

In a brief golden flash, he was beside her. “Is that better?”

She nodded, then gestured back at the office. “Thank you. Thank you for that.”

“Of course.”

“I need to check on Kylie and leave a note for Rashida.”

He nodded in agreement, and they started pacing silently through the halls, pausing more times than Brie was fully aware of, letting her eyes drift wistfully over all those suspended dreams.

How long did I work just to get here?

“I’m going to miss this place,” she murmured, trailing her fingers along a desk. “I barely got to know it. I don’t even know why it’s called Daya.”

He threw her a peculiar look. “It means compassion.”

“Oh. That’s… that’s really nice.”

Her heart caught in her throat as she walked on.

He moved his hand as though to take hers but decided not to. “It’s a leave of absence, Brianna. Not a death sentence.”

She looked at him sadly, wondering if he genuinely believed that. “Of course.”

With that, every light in the hospital went out.

? ? ?

“It’s okay. It’s going to be okay. Are you okay?” Cameron asked in a panic-laced voice.

“I’m fine. Stop saying okay.” Brie hissed back in a whisper.

I am so effing far from okay.

They had both instinctively frozen, their backs pressed against the wall, his arm flung protectively across her chest. The lights were still out, casting the hall in an eerie glow from whatever laptops happened to be running on batteries. But that was the least of her problems.

“Um, Cam?”

“What is it?”

“You’re crushing me.”

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