Page 49 of Auctioned to Dr. Daddy

“So, you are going to buy the place,” says Tyler. “That means you’ve got a lot of say on the things that go on. Convince the Director to let me transfer in fully. I’ll pitch a few extra zeros on the final check, make it worth his while.”

I laugh. “Trust me, Ty. I'm already making it worth his while.”

The night goes well, and it goes even better when I get back to the suite. There have been no issues with Tabitha, who’s already in bed, and Demi is more than happy to stay the weekend. By Monday morning I’m more set than ever on, well, all of my decisions.

“You’re sure you don’t mind me coming back after my shift?” Demi asks, hovering at the door.

“I’d be offended if you didn’t,” I tell her. “And I’ll have to do karaoke with Tabitha alone. You promised her that she wouldn’t have to be the only one listening to me ruin songs.”

“Just double checking,” says Demi. She braces a hand on my shoulder and kisses me, a press of lips to the corner of my mouth, to the underside of my jaw. “Have a good day.”

And then she’s gone, and I’m heading back in to get breakfast made before Tabitha wakes up. I’ve barely gotten the pan on the stove to heat up when there’s a knock on the door. Figuring that it’s Demi coming back for something, I head to it and open the door without checking out the peephole first.

“What did you— Mom?” I pull back.

“Nathan.” She steps in around me, looking over the suite. “Did you forget how to clean after you moved out?”

“What are you doing here?” I ask her.

“Did you think that I would let you poach Tyler and not come by?” Rose says.

“Poach him?” I close the door, going to shut off the top burner and shove the oil-filled pan to the back. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“I got a call from the Director of Mercy General last night, with a formal request that Tyler stay on in full at his hospital,” says Rose. She plants both hands on her hips and gives me the best I’m your very unhappy mother stare that she can manage. “I know you had something to do with that.”

Normally, I let that cow me. It seems important enough to argue back though, and I turn, waggling my spatula at her. “I didn’t ask Tyler to stay, Mom. He asked me.”

“Bullshit. He would hate working for you.”

“He’s not working for me. He’s working for Director Smith. And in a few months, he’ll be working for Alistair,” I point out. “I don’t plan on having anything to do with being the head of the institution. I’m just funding it.”

“Tyler—”

“Doesn’t want to go to Texas,” I interrupt her, setting the spatula down and speaking a bit more gently. “I know that you and I have had our differences over the years, Mom, but I’m not doing this to spite you.”

Rose purses her lips together.

“You and Dad have a great house. I’ve got one. We’ve got settled lives. Tyler’s getting older, and he’s tired of not having any of that. He wants the same roots that we’ve got,” I explain. “And it’s not something that he’s going to get if he keeps working for you or Dad. I know it. You know it. Tyler knows it too. That’s why he asked for the transfer.”

My mother’s frown deepens. She looks fit to keep arguing for a moment, and then she shakes her head. “I knew he would want to stop working for us eventually. I just don’t know why he didn’t tell us first. Or at all!”

“Because he doesn’t want either of you to be disappointed with him,” I say. “So he just opted out.”

Rose gives a heavy sigh. I can see the disappointment on her face. Our family has always had a line of tension running through it. We’re a lot of big names with a lot of big personalities.

But at the end of the day, Rose is a good mother. She wants both of her children to be happy, so she doesn’t chase after it much. It helps that Tabitha comes into the room, eyes wide. “Grammy!”

Rose turns and catches Tabitha who was rocketing toward her. “Look how big you’ve gotten, Tabby!”

“Big enough for horses,” says Tabitha, throwing her arms around Rose’s neck. “Demi says so!”

Rose is like a shark that’s just scented blood in the water. She turns to look at me, her brows raised in question. “And who’s Demi?”

I wince.

“Daddy’s new friend. She’s nice. I like her lots,” Tabitha says.

“Well,” says Rose. “I would love to meet this new friend of your Daddy’s sometime.”

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