Page 7 of Tyrant

Chapter 4

Tabitha

Tuesday…

I returned from the bathroom to be greeted by a bouquet containing two flowers I was deathly allergic to – bourbon rose and mugwort. I could smell the sweetness of the bourbon rose as I quickly picked up the hotel phone and called for someone before I returned to the bathroom. Earlier, the front desk had called to say there was a bouquet for me. I told them to deliver it while I took a shower as I didn’t want to be late for my date. Had I known this was the bouquet, I would have told them to return it or throw it out.

But by the time I reached the bathroom, my throat had started to constrict, and I could hardly breathe. I crawled out of the bathroom when someone entered the room. Unable to speak and in a state of utter agony, I was curled up on the floor and this might have caused the prompt reaction from the staff. I wasn’t certain what happened, but the hotel’s medical team arrived within minutes, and I was given a shot of epinephrine and oxygen. Soon after, I was transported to the hospital and immediately admitted.

This hadn’t happened in a while and Linda had ensure me that the hotel was aware of my allergy. My own EpiPen was inside my handbag, but I had been unable to reach it. This was the reason I didn’t travel as much as I wanted to because I was unable to control many things around me, especially this kind of allergen exposure.

I spent most of the day sleeping as I usually do after an allergy attack and awoke sometime after seven in the evening. They kept me overnight and I was set to be discharged the following morning. The hotel concierge checked in on me and apologized for the flowers that were sent to my room. Apparently, they were sent from the date I was supposed to meet.

I found it strange that he would send me these flowers where my information would have told him of my allergy. Being too weak to do anything about it now, I made a mental note to have Linda double check the profile she inputted on the dating site to make sure this was addressed. This was a deadly allergy, and I could have died, there was no way she would have left it off my profile.

After supper, I dosed off again and was awoken by someone caressing my shoulder.

It was the nurse. “Someone is here to see you.”

Zakhar

The second time was not the charm, but I was pissed enough to want an explanation. Earlier she’d left a message that she would be on time, and she was looking forward to meeting me. So what happened? This prompted me to call the hotel front desk and enquire about her. The desk clerk was reluctant to give me any information on the phone, therefore there was one thing I needed to do.

The hotel lobby was spacious and smelled like the ocean. I met the concierge as soon as I walked up the front desk.

“Mr. Mikhailov will you be checking into your suite?”

The penthouse suite was permanently reserved for me whenever needed and I perhaps would need it tonight. Something told me that I shouldn’t leave the hotel without answers, therefore I responded with a nod of assent.

“About a guest you have here. She was supposed to meet me for lunch, but she never showed.”

The clerk looked surprised and asked in a soft voice. “You were the one who called earlier?”

“Yes.”

It was the concierge who answered. “My apologies Sir, Miss Desher has been rushed to the hospital a few minutes ago.”

I was taken aback. “Are you certain? I received a message from her that she would be on time.”

“I sent the message to the restaurant on her behalf,” the clerk responded.

This was unexpected. “Would you be so kind as to inform me of what happened?”

The manager looked at me sharply. “The bouquet you sent her, she’s deathly allergic.”

Nathan. That was the only explanation. I would have to deal with him later but for now I was concerned that her health was my responsibility. It would have been futile to find excuses and to explain about my assistant to the concierge, I apologized and asked which hospital she was taken to.

I was never one to have much urgency about any situation until this moment. Being calm and taking prepared action has always been my modus operandi. Tabitha not showing had sprung me into action of which am yet to discover why. A stranger was having me act out of character and I was unable to stop it now.

My brother had always been the careless one in the family. But today would prove that I made mistakes as well, though technically Nathan did. But I would be damned if a woman I was supposed to meet died on my watch. I dismissed my driver and guard and took the steering wheel, driving at top speed to the hospital. As soon as I walked up to the entrance of the hospital building three doctors met me.

“Mr. Mikhailov. We understand you have a friend in our care. We assure you we are doing all that is necessary to ensure her comfort.”

Being a sponsor of this facility has afforded my family much recognition and the best health care in the region. The Concierge must have informed them of my arrival which made it easier for me to get to her room. When I arrived, she was asleep, and I was advised to not disturb her. I went to speak with the superintendent about financial matters, after which he took me to the new children’s clinic. I returned to the ward a couple of hours later and a nurse went to inform her of my arrival, returning moments later.

“You may go in now Sir,” she said, motioning towards the door.

The room seemed empty when I entered, but the adjoining bathroom door was ajar. There was a window on the left wall which showed the lawn below and I walked over and waited. The room was like any typical hospital room with a bed, a night table, and a chair by the bed. I was pleased that they had given her a private room instead of a shared space. I turned at the sound of someone leaving the bathroom and came face to face with the woman from yesterday.

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