Prescription for Desire (19 page)

“
Well, he walked up in here
to meet with Cannon about an hour ago looking quite scrumptious.
Not as fine as Rasheed, but …”

Even though she knew Bria
was still talking, Raven didn’t comprehend anything after
he walked up in here.
Her
heartbeat sped up, and she couldn’t breathe. Literally. What was he
doing here? Oh wait, to meet with Cannon. He sometimes met with
doctors from Doctors Unlimited if they were in the States, but it
was a rare occurrence. However, Bria had definitely said he was
here to meet with Cannon, so Armand wasn’t here to see her. Was he?
He’d stopped calling, but then again she never answered the phone.
He did say he was coming for her, but it was in the heat of the
moment because what they’d had was special. Plus, some people have
a hard time saying goodbye.

A loud beeping sound was blaring
somewhere, but Raven couldn’t figure out where through the purple
fog that was in front of her. Her mouth was dry and goose bumps
prickled all over her skin.

“
Raven? Are you
okay?”

“
Huh?” She felt arms around
her, seating her in the chair.

“
Here, drink some of your
water. It will cool you down.”

She reached for the bottle that Bria
handed to her and took a sip.

“
Is this your first time
eating today? You’re always on the go. Sometimes I don’t know who’s
worse. You or your twin.”

“
Um … no, I haven’t eaten
yet. Just a little dizzy.”

Moments later, Bria brought over the
lasagna and a teaspoon of unsulphered black strap molasses for a
natural energy booster. Raven took a few bites of her meal to
please her sister, but she was no longer hungry. She couldn’t
concentrate knowing Armand was a few doors down and she had no idea
why.

“
So, do you know why Dr.
Phillips is here?” she asked, barely able to get the words
out.

“
Well apparently he no
longer works for Doctors Unlimited. Cannon wants to hire him to
take Mom’s place. I thought you knew. You two are the main decision
makers for the practice.”

“
No. I wasn’t aware. I
thought he wanted to hire Dr. Braxton.”

“
Dr. Braxton decided he
didn’t want to merge his practice with ours.”

“
I was under the impression
when I left Argentina that Ar– Dr. Phillips was going to help open
another facility in Chile.”

“
I don’t know, but I did
overhear him tell Dad that he had two children back in St. Louis.
Dad mentioned to him the loft apartment building that me and Shelbi
used to live, but Dr. Phillips said he wanted perhaps a townhome
because of his children.”

Children? He had children
the entire time in St. Louis? Why didn’t Armand tell me he had
children?

Did he use her? Was that
the normal thing he did whenever a new female doctor came? Make
them feel special and pretend that he actually had feelings for
them when he didn’t. She wondered how many women he’d taken to the
cabin or made love to up against the sequoia tree. He certainly
knew where it was. And making out in the supply room. That probably
wasn’t a first.
Oh no, what have I gotten
myself into?
And now he’s coming here to
work because he wants to be near his children in St. Louis? Okay,
so that was commendable, but he never mentioned he had children.
Only his parents and his two sisters. And what about their mother?
Was she coming here as well?

“
Raven. Glad you’re back.”
She turned to see Cannon’s head peeking into the room. “Do you have
a minute to step into the conference room?”

“
I have a patient …” She
stopped to glance at her watch even though her stomach was churning
at what she knew her brother was about to say. “In about ten
minutes.”

“
This won’t take
long.”

“
I’ll be there in a sec.”
She took a swig of her water and pushed the chair back.

“
You feel better?” Bria
asked, standing as well.

“
I’ll be fine.”

Raven stopped by the ladies room to
check her appearance. Today she had worn a gray sheath dress with a
wide black belt, which was clenched at her waist above the flared
skirt that hit the top of the boots, stopping right below the
knees. She’d actually thought about Armand when she bought the
dress because the color reminded her of his breathtaking eyes. Now
she was mad she’d worn it. Her makeup was flawless, but she added a
little more lipstick since she did eat and drink a little bit at
lunch. She’d just had her hair roller set, so it was bouncy around
her shoulders. She realized he’d never seen it that way. While in
Argentina, she wore her natural curls because she only trusted her
hairdresser in Memphis with her hair. She may have mixed feelings
about Armand, but they weren’t going to show; she knew how to be
professional. Plus, she wanted him to see what he could no longer
have.

Moments later, she entered the
conference room. Her eyes zeroed on Armand, sitting on the right of
her father, who was at the head of the table, and Cannon was seated
on the left. They were in deep discussion with papers stacked in
front of him, but his eyes met hers briefly before being torn away
from whatever it was the elder Arrington was discussing. Her cell
phone rang in her white coat, and she almost didn’t want to
answer.

“
Hello?” she
whispered.

She listened to what the nurse was
saying, but her eyes couldn’t tear themselves away from Armand. His
broad shoulders filled out the black suit he wore. She’d never seen
him in a suit before, but it definitely fit him well. Whatever
Cannon was saying was making Armand smile. That sexy, yummy smile
that even had her mother drooling over him. At one point she’d felt
comforted and special just by seeing his smile, but now she hated
it. He was fresh shaven today, even though she sort of preferred
the five ‘o’clock shadow on him.

“
Mmmm hmmm,” she said to
the nurse from the hospital. “Keep me posted.”

“
Raven,” Cannon called, “I
need you to sign something. I know you have a patient in a few
minutes.”

“
Yes, but I have a moment.”
She went to the table and stood next to the seat by Cannon but
didn’t sit down.
Keep it together. Don’t
let him see your hands shake.

“
Hello, Father. Dr.
Phillips.” She reached across the table to shake his hand.
“Surprised to see you here.”

“
Well, Dr. Arrington, I
told you one day I would move back to the States so I could be near
my loved ones.”

“
Yes, I do remember. I just
thought you meant years from now.”

He smiled. “That was the original
plan, but plans and priorities change. Once you realize what your
true passion and desire is, you go after it, you know.” The side of
his lip rose in that perfect smile she knew all too well, and for a
second she believed that he was talking about her.

“
Of course, Dr. Phillips.”
She turned toward Cannon. “What am I signing?”

“
Contracts. Dr. Phillips is
buying into the practice.”

“
What?”

“
Just like we discussed
with Dr. Braxton,” Cannon said with a shrug and a puzzled look.
“Nothing different. We keep the name. You and I are still the
majority owners, along with Dad, and the overall decision makers.
It’s the exact contract we all went over with our attorney last
week.”

How on earth did Armand have that much
money to buy into the practice? Arrington Family Specialists was
worth millions thanks to their father. Just to buy into it was no
chump change. Doctors Unlimited doctors didn’t make that much,
considering the apartment and meals were a part of the deal. Had he
hit the lottery? She knew she’d agreed to let Cannon handle the
hiring for the new primary care physician, but that’s when she
thought it was Dr. Braxton. While Armand was an excellent doctor,
she didn’t know if she could work with him.

“
Just making sure.” She
reached for the pen, struggling to control her hand, which was
about to tremble. Was she actually about to work with Armand again?
Except, this time she’d be his superior even though no one at the
practice really treated her and Cannon any different now that
they’d officially taken over. She quickly scribbled her name, said
a speedy congrats to Armand, mentioned she had a patient waiting,
and skedaddled out of the conference room.

After she met with the patient, Raven
hightailed it to her office, shut the door, and placed her head on
her desk. What on earth was happening?

*****

Armand tapped on the door that read
“Dr. Raven Arrington, MD”. He wasn’t sure what to make of her cold
stare earlier, considering he was the one who should’ve been giving
the cold shoulder. She’d blown him off by not answering or
returning any of his phone calls. He didn’t want her to think he
had stalker tendencies, so he’d stopped after the tenth one. When
Cannon called with the offer to work with their family practice
instead of going to Chile, he assumed Raven was aware. When they
were in the bathtub in Buenos Aires, she’d mentioned that she and
Cannon made all of the final decisions. He was rather surprised
that she wasn’t even aware he was buying into the
practice.

It was after hours and he was about to
leave, along with the receptionist who had gone over some other
paperwork and schedule plans with him. Instead, he decided to stay
back and set up his office since his belongings were in the car.
The receptionist, Gracie, told him to let Dr. Raven know because
she was still there doing paperwork in her office.

He heard a soft, “Come in,” and pushed
the door open to see Raven at her desk going through a few folders
and checking her monitor. Apparently, she had some expectant
mothers at the hospital.

“
You’re on call?” he asked,
motioning his head toward the screen.

“
I’m always on call. What
can I do for you, Dr. Phillips?”

“
I see. So we’re back to
that, Raven.” He sat in the chair in front of her desk as her face
scrunched up.

“
We agreed to leave Buenos
Aires in Buenos Aires.”

“
No … I told you I loved
you and was coming for you. Did you not remember that? Do you not
remember crying in my arms the last time I made love to you? You
told me how much you were going to miss me, and I made you a
promise. I
never
break my promises.”

“
Armand … this isn’t the
time nor place for this conversation.” Her eyes glanced back to the
screen.

“
I understand. Name the
time and place and I’ll be there.”

Chapter
Thirteen

Raven couldn’t believe she was
actually at home waiting for Armand. She’d honestly thought she’d
never see him again, but there he was today in her practice, which
he now owned a percentage of. A very small percent, but it was his
nonetheless.

After delivering a baby that evening,
she’d finally made it home around ten o’clock. She’d told Armand
earlier that she’d call when she got home, but that it might be
late. He’d told her he didn’t care, and he was staying at the
Peabody. He was in town for the next few days taking care of
business. He wasn’t officially starting at the practice for another
two weeks.

The doorbell chimed around midnight.
Sahara’s ears perked up, and she barked, running toward the door.
She picked up the dog and opened the door to see Armand standing on
the other side, holding a bouquet of red roses.

He petted the dog’s head.
“So you must be Sahara. Heard a lot about you.” The dog wagged her
tail.
What a traitor
, Raven thought, putting her down. She playfully scratched at
Armand’s jeans before darting off.

“
She has a lot of energy
for midnight,” he said, handing Raven the roses.

“
Sahara is always hyper
when company comes. She was asleep before you arrived.”

“
Well … can I come
in?”

Raven didn’t answer, but instead
stepped aside, and he passed through as his fresh scent gently
touched her nose. He smelled and looked divine in a pair of jeans
and a light blue sweater under a black leather coat. It was early
April in Memphis with warm days and cool nights.

She led them into the living area of
her home. Sitting on the couch, she motioned for him to sit in the
opposite love seat. She placed the bouquet of roses on the coffee
table.

He glanced at her gesture and rested
his eyes on her. “Why didn’t you return any of my phone
calls?”

“
Because I thought it was
best, and I still do. Especially now that we’re working together
again. I don’t date doctors that I work with. What you and I had
was an out of town fling. Nothing more.”

“
Really?”

“
And why are you back in
the States so soon, anyway?” Of course, she knew the real reason,
but she wasn’t going to tell him. She wanted to see how long he was
going to omit the fact that he’d already had children. He could’ve
easily told her when she was going on and on about the fact that he
deserved to have his own flesh and blood children, which she
couldn’t give him.
He just should’ve been
honest and maybe I would’ve given us a chance.
“I thought you were going to Chile.”