Page 34 of Daddy's Double Surprise

“Yeah, alright…” Wilkinson was the first to cave, and I had never been gladder to hear a man finally break. I wasn’t proud of having to beg these men to do the right thing. No one should ever have to beg someone else to do the right thing.

Joseph reached into his inner breast pocket of his suit coat, pulled out a small notepad and a pencil, and slid them across the table. “Write the names here,” he said, indicating the notepad, but Peters leaned forward and put a hand on Wilkinson’s shoulder.

“Wait. We need to make sure we’re not going to face serious repercussions. We were just doing our jobs. Neither of us thought of those things, and we weren’t to blame if patients lied about their health histories or couldn’t tell your team they had preexisting conditions.” It was just like a snake to bite someone and then blame it on the victim. Peters’s angry stare hardened as I met his gaze.

“We can’t help what those patients might do, but I’m not planning to fire either of you.” As much as I wanted to, I knew we needed them to work the clinic hours. And they were good doctors aside from this fluke.

“I want it in writing,” Peters said bluntly, and Wilkinson’s shoulders squared.

“Yes, we should have it in writing,” he said, sucking in a deep breath and letting it out. We were finally getting somewhere with them, so I kept the train rolling.

“Good, we’ll have a contract for you ready this week.” I stood and extended my hand, hoping to put this all behind us as quickly as possible.

“Thank you, gentlemen,” Joseph added, also extending his hand. We shook on it, and the doctors left. It was frustrating that the only thing they were thinking of now was protecting themselves, but the entire industry had turned that way. Doctors cared more about their malpractice insurance and covering themselves in the event that someone sued them than how their practice affected sick people.

“Joe, get that contract ready ASAP. Call legal and tell them we need it today.” I scratched my head, wishing I could pour myself a drink and unwind. But the day was still young, and I had a lot of work to get done, patients to see. Maybe a call with Sunny would help unravel some of the tension coiled in my chest, and I could invite her to dine with me tonight.

“Sure thing, Carter. And I’ll schedule a meeting with the head of operations to discuss a policy change for incoming test subjects. We’ll get on top of the prescreening for these lower-income patients right away. You’re right. After what happened with Baker, we can’t really afford to skimp on screening.” He shook my hand before I headed out.

The whole day so far had been nothing but one stressor after another. As I walked to my car, I pulled out my phone, a little desperate to feel some relief from the tension. Sunny’s phone rang three times, and I almost hung up, figuring it would go straight to voicemail, when she answered.

“Hey, Carter,” she said, but she sounded a little glum. Her tone was mellow, not chipper like I expected.

“Sunny, how are you doing?” It was amazing to me how quickly I could push away and forget my own tension the instant I heard her tone and suspected she was down.

“Oh, it’s been a tough day.” She sighed hard. “Freya came in again. She’s finally letting me help her.” The impact of that must’ve been crushing on her. I felt the weight she was carrying from where I was all the way across the city.

“Wow, that’s really good, and it must’ve been difficult. Are you okay?”

“Yes,” she said, sounding more resolute. “I’m actually really good. I’m having dinner with Mom and Dad tonight to tell them I’m staying here and finding an apartment. And I plan to tell my father that you and I are together.”

I imagined that cute little lip of hers slithering between her teeth while she bit down. It wouldn’t be an easy thing for her to stand up to Rick. “Do you want me to be there?” The way Rick reacted when I talked to him was out of control, though Sunny was his daughter, not just a friend. He had no choice but to love and care for her. But he didn’t have to hold ties with me at all. Infact, he didn’t have to keep my secret either. He could very well use it as ammunition to hurt me, by revealing the truth to Sunny.

Though, he’d never see it as hurting her too, but I knew it would.

“No, that’s okay. I’m sure it will go smoother this time if I tell them on my own. Mom is sort of tense about it, but she knows. And Dad, well…Dad will blow up either way, but I’d rather you not get caught in the crossfire this time. Soon though…We will have a relationship with my family; it’ll just take time.”

The longer she spoke the lighter she sounded and the more I felt dread anchoring every cell in my body, weighing me down further. She was so hopeful for us, and I loved that. But Rick had a nasty temper at times, and knowing how fragile Sunny was made me fearful that he’d purposefully let things slip that he knew wouldwake her upwithout the intention of hurting her, just to get back at me.

“You okay?” she asked, and I cleared my throat.

“I’m good. I’ll be here if it gets rough and you need to talk.” Forcing a smile to my face so my words came out sounding happier, I said, “I love you, Sunny.”

“Love you too, Carter. I’ll call you later.”

Sunny hung up, but my hand continued to press the phone to my ear as I stood glued in place in the parking lot. I could never call Rick and demand he keep my secret. If I did, it would be manipulation, both of him and of Sunny. I had to let the cards fall where they may, but dammit if it didn’t shake me to my core. How was I supposed to finish my workday knowing what could happen?

23

SUNNY

When I walked in, I was calm and collected. That interaction with Freya today at the clinic shook loose some of the insecurities I had about dealing with my father’s overprotective nature. At twenty-eight, I shouldn’t have to tell him he can’t ground me or take away my phone, but to the little girl inside of me used to his shenanigans, I felt like something had finally given way in my heart. Like I was able to separate myself from his opinion of me and knew I deserved better.

We hadn’t eaten dinner as a family since I found out I was pregnant. I’d been busy with work and spending time with Carter, and Mom had avoided the topic altogether. I gathered that Dad’s reaction to Carter’s confession about me dating him had put a wedge between them too. She kept glancing at me nervously, avoiding eye contact with him. Luna was off at college missing it all.

The wait staff even seemed to sense that something wasn’t quite kosher, or maybe Dad told them not to disrupt us so we could talk. I sat stiffly on one side of the booth and Mom and Dad sat on the other side; Mom poring over the menu, Dadsighing heavily every few minutes as if he had something on his mind he wanted to bring up.

“Lots of choices,” Mom hummed, but I heard the anxious tension in her tone. Dad looked up at me as I glanced at Mom. I could cut the air with a knife. Waiting until we had our food to talk had been my plan, but this was agonizing without either of them opening up real conversation.

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