Page 2 of Auctioned to Dr. Daddy

I take her hand and nod at the invitation, though I’m not overly interested in seeing her later.

Stepping into the conference room, I’m met with white floors and white walls.

Red and gold accent pieces have been brought into the room, along with round tables with a white cloth draped over them. Each centerpiece contains a tall clear vase, filled up with twists of metal. It’s some kind of a contemporary display but I’ll be honest—contemporary art?

Not my favorite.

That would be my mother’s cup of tea. She’s nowhere in sight, though, despite the crowd being pretty thick right now. There are plenty of people that have dressed up in their black-tie best to come to the charity event.

I scan the crowd, looking for a familiar face—and there he is!

My younger brother, Tyler, is standing near the far side of the room wearing the expected white button-up and black coat, with a deep blue tie on.

He nods at me when I make my way over to him, the corners of his mouth twisting up at the edges. “There you are. I was wondering when you were going to show up.”

“Don’t act like I’m late. This thing doesn’t start for another twenty minutes. And considering mom didn’t call until yesterday…” I trail off a little bit, working hard to bite my tongue. Better to keep that little opinion to myself, at least while we’re out in public.

Tyler gives me a watery smile and a nod of understanding. Neither of us has the best relationship with our parents.

“Have you spoken with them yet?”

I shake my head, raking a hand through my hair.

Things have been busy at the hospital.

I haven’t had time to go and get it cut, and it’s longer than I normally wear it. I used gel to push it out of my face earlier in the day, but it’s starting to come a little undone. In hindsight, I should have put some more effort into my appearance, but I was rushed.

My shift at Mercy General, the biggest hospital in Seattle, ran a lot longer than I had been expecting.

I’m lucky to even have made it out here in time.

“I’ll get there,” I promise. I’m not in a particular rush to find either of them, honestly. “How are they?”

A waiter sweeps by with a silver tray, carrying several champagne flutes. Tyler stops the man and grabs a flute for each of us, then gives me mine.

“They’re fine. You know how mom gets with these events. She’s been hassling the staff all day.”

“She hires them to put it together. You would think she would let that actually happen, at some point,” I say, with a roll of my eyes. “That’s literally their job— they know a little bit more about it than she does.”

“She wants it perfect,” says Tyler.

I mouth the word ‘perfect’ at the same time he says it, and we both start laughing.

“Perfect like she wants St. Peter?” I ask.

Tyler makes a face. “Sure, let’s go with that. The hospital’s fine. I don’t get why they’re keeping me here.”

He’s more dismissive than he normally is, not offering up any of the dirty details that have come from working here.

“You don’t normally mind being their bouncy ball.”

“There’s normally something for me to do,” says Tyler, with a huff. “Let’s just—not talk about it right now. Look, we’ve got company anyway.”

He’s right. I can see my father, Anthony, making his way over to me.

“Hey, Dad.”

“Nathan,” says Anthony. He and my mom are the only two people that insist on calling me by my full name.

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