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Chapter 4 - The Visit

The loud banging on my front door brutally woke me up the following morning. I cursed at whoever was banging on the door and glanced at my bedside clock. It was 6 am.

Who the hell was knocking on my door at 6 am?

I shoved my blankets to the side and swore to punch whoever was at the door as I crawled out of bed. While walking groggily to the door, I pulled my hair up into a messy bun and rubbed my face, trying to wake myself up.

There was another loud bang as I got to the door.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m here, shut up,” I yelled and angrily pulled open my door, ready to swear at the idiot for waking me up so early.

However, the unexpected yet familiar face on the other side made my mouth dry.

I blinked a few times, trying to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. What the hell was he doing here at 6 am? Better question, how did he know where I lived?

“You’re Keiran Collier,” I croaked. My dry throat and mouth were making it hard to speak.

“I’m glad you remembered my name because I sure as hell didn’t remember yours,” he laughed nervously, rubbing the back of your neck.

Now that I could see Keiran close up under a proper light, I could see how handsome he actually was. He had gorgeous hazel eyes as well as a defined jawline. He was tall, very tall, and built; it made me feel like a midget. However, the most handsome part about him was his smile.

Somewhere in my mind, I was comparing him to Zach. Zach’s eyes, Zach’s smile, Zach’s physic. Even though I had only met him once, Zach had left a mark on me.

While I was flooding in my thoughts, Keiran’s eyes scanned the length of my body before he quickly looked away and cleared his throat.

Fuck! I was wearing my navy blue satin nightdress that hugged my figure, and like every girl, I didn’t have a bra on under it. I quickly crossed my arms over my boobs. Unfortunately, I forgot to grab my gown in my haste to get out of bed.

This was so embarrassing.

“Umm, sorry, I shouldn’t have turned up so early. I can wait if you’d like to go get dressed.” Keiran suggested, still avoiding looking at me.

“Uhh yeah. Please come in. I will be right back” I left the door open and bolted for the bathroom.

My apartment was so small that the bathroom was the only place to get dressed privately. The living room, bedroom, and kitchen were all merged into one.

I grabbed a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt off the bathroom floor and quickly pulled them on. Keiran must think I’m such a slob. Although, it’s his fault for turning up so early.

I hurriedly fixed my face and hair before heading back out to face the guy in my apartment.

Keiran was still standing in the doorway when I got out of the bathroom.

“Umm, so what exactly are you doing here at 6 am, and how did you find me?” I asked, walking towards him.

“I’m actually here at the request of Zach. He wanted to see you. So I called Sam, and she said you’d be heading into the office soon, so I thought I could give you a lift to the hospital and then to work.” Keiran smiled.

Zach wanted to see me? Why, though?

“Zac-... I mean, Mr. Masters is still in the hospital?”

“Yeah, he is. He’s fine; they just wanted to keep him for observation. The reaction was quite bad, and if it wasn’t for you, God knows what would have happened.” Keiran’s smile faded as he looked away.

“I’m sorry I didn’t thank you properly last night. What you did for Zach, I’m really glad you were there to help him and administer the meds. Just the thought of what could have happened makes my blood run cold.” He looked down at his fingers as he spoke.

“You don’t have to thank me, Mr. Collier. I was just at the right place at the right time. I’m delighted to hear Mr. Masters is okay.” I smiled at him and received a gorgeous smile from him in return.

“Well, Zach has requested to see you. It was the first thing he asked for when he woke up this morning. I’ve spoken to Sam about you having the morning off to see Zach. Could you please be ready by 7:30? I’m just heading home to get changed, and then I’ll be back to pick you up” the bags under his eyes and stubble on his face told me he hadn’t been home since his ride to the hospital with Zach last night.

“Sure thing. I will be ready” I smiled.

“Perfect. See you soon. If I don’t come up, my driver will, so don’t freak out, okay” Keiran laughed nervously.

“Hang on,” I giggled, grabbing the little notepad I had on the counter for my grocery list.

I wrote down my number and handed it to Keiran.

“Text me when you get here. I’ll make my way down.”

He laughed and nodded before heading down the four flights of stairs. I shut the door and darted to the bathroom.

At 7:30 am on the dot, my phone pinged. I quickly chugged down the rest of my coffee and grabbed my bag before heading downstairs.

A shiny black Audi stood at the curb as I walked out of the building. Keiran was leaning against the car, scrolling through his phone. He was now wearing a three-piece suit with a trench coat on top. He was clean-shaven now and had his hair slicked back, unlike the mess he was rocking this morning.

“Nice car,” I commented as I got closer.

Keiran snickered and turned to open the back passenger door. I slide in, and Keiran shuts the door behind me, walking around to the other side to get in.

“Trevor, hospital, please,” the driver nodded, and the car purred to life.

The hospital was on the other side of town, a 20-minute drive. We sat in silence for a few minutes before Keiran cleared his throat.

“So, sorry again about this morning. I should have called instead of turning up so early.”

“That’s okay. You didn’t know what was going to be behind door number 2 when you knocked on it,” I laughed.

“I have learned my lesson. Never again, I promise” Keiran laughed with me.

“Can I ask you a question?” I bite my lip.

Keiran nodded.

“Why don’t you and Mr. Masters share the same last name?”

“Why would we share the same last name?” he looked confused.

“You told the ambulance driver you were brothers.”

Did I hear him wrong?

“Oh right! Yes, I did, didn’t I?” there was a hint of red on his cheeks.

“I lied. Zach and me, we aren’t brothers, well, not in the conventionally sense anyway. We’re best friends/business partners. I’ve known Zach my entire life. When he started his business, Zach didn’t have much money; we both didn’t. It took us three years of saving every cent we had so that the bank would give us a loan. Now, the bank is begging us to give them money” the smirk on Keiran’s face told me how proud he was of their achievements.

“Your parents didn’t help you?” I tilted my head, now more curious about their story.

“It was complicated with our parents. For our fathers, us starting this business was more like a right of passage. Our way of proving how capable we were. Guess we succeeded,” Keiran winked at me.

“Your parents must be very proud. Good job,” I smiled, trying to hide the redness on my cheeks.

What was wrong with me? Keiran was just another rich, handsome guy. I knew better than to let some wealthy, handsome guy awaken feelings in me.

“What about you? Always aspired to be a maid, or is this just temporary?”

There it was. The question I always dreaded being asked. Even though I memorized a perfect story, I was still nervous about answering it.

“It’s temporary, hopefully. My parents racked up a lot of debt, and after they passed away, the bank seized everything. I was left homeless and destitute. I couldn’t pay for further studies and didn’t want to face the people in town, so I packed up and moved. I was fortunate to bump into Sam and Crystal when I got here. Some day in the future, hopefully, I will have enough money to go to school and make something of myself.” I gave Keiran a tight smile and looked down at my fingers.

Before he could say anything, the car slowed down and stopped in front of a big white building.

The big red letters in front of the building read “West Seattle Hospital.”

“Were here, sir,” Trevor called out.

“Thank you, Trevor,” Keiran called out and got out of the car.

He quickly walked around the car and opened the door for me.

“Such a gentleman,” I snickered.

“My momma raised a gentleman,” he laughed and motioned towards the entrance.

Keiran led me through the clinical hallways of the hospital. Memories of my past flooded my mind.

The smell of antiseptic, the beeping machines… It felt like home.

Keiran stopped in front of a room and motioned for me to go first. I poked my head around the corner and found Zach sitting up, drinking something in a cup on his bed. As soon as he saw me, Zach’s face lit up with a dazzling smile. I felt my heart skip a beat at how happy he was to see me.

“Look who I found” Keiran walked past me and placed the black bag he brought on the bed.

“Stacey, I see you’ve met Keiran” Zach got up and put his cup on the table.

“Yes, I have. You are lucky to have such an amazing friend. How are you feeling, Mr. Masters?”

“Thanks to you, I’m alive and feeling great.” Zach got up and walked over to me.

“How do you thank someone that’s saved your life?”

Zach stood right in front of me, his dazzling gray eyes filled with gratitude.

I swallowed loudly. “I-... You-.. you don’t have to thank me, Mr. Masters. Honestly, all I did was administer an Epipen.”

“And that Epipen was what saved my life. Stop being so humble. How can I repay you?” Zach took another step closer.

My heart rate picked up, and my mouth dried up. Why was I so sensitive to Zach? I was a strong independent female. I couldn’t let some guy I had just met make me woozy inside. I knew better than to let handsome, smooth-talking guys walk into my life.

I took a step back and created some distance between Zach and me. Zach arched his eyebrow at my movement but didn’t say anything.

“Fine. Saving your life was fate. Me being there at the right time, it was fate intervening. So let’s leave it at that. You don’t owe me anything. I’m just glad you’re okay.”

An emotion flashed across Zach’s eyes. His face had a look I couldn’t decipher.

Fate. You are right. Fate did intervene.” Zach whispered.

“What?” I asked, confused.

“Zach, you want to get changed? Doc said you can go home today,” Keiran interrupted us.

The emotion still lingered on Zach’s face, his glassy eyes searching mine. He looked torn about something, but I couldn’t figure out what it was.

“Zach,” Keiran called again.

Zach nodded, his eyes not leaving mine. “Yeah, this hospital gown is so uncomfortable.”

“I bet it is. The medics did a good job destroying your clothes last night.” Keiran pulled out the clothes he had brought in the bag.

“It-..it wasn’t the medics. I cut off Zach’s clothes” I bite my lip to suppress a laugh while looking at my fingers. I could feel the heat rise on my face.

“Wow, that’s one way to get a guy out of his clothes,” Keiran laughed.

“Watch it, Keiran. She was only trying to help,” Zach growled.

Keiran smirked and shook his head like he was enjoying some inside joke.

“I’m really sorry about your shirt Mr. Masters. I promise I will replace it,” I quickly blurted.

“Forget about the shirt. How will you erase all the bare skin you got to see?” Keiran snickered.

My cheeks felt hotter than before. This was worse than Keiran seeing me in my satin nightie this morning.

Come on, Stace, keep it together. You’ve seen hundreds of people naked while trying to save their life. Zach is no different.

“I was just trying to help. I won’t tell anyone about what I saw. I promise.” I looked at my fingers, trying to hide my embarrassment.

A low growl echoed through the room. I looked up to see Zach glaring at Keiran. If looks could kill, Keiran would be six feet under the ground.

LEAVE. HER. ALONE!” Zach hissed.

You could see the fear in Keiran’s eyes once he realized Zach was being serious.

“Hey man, I was just joking. Calm down.” Keiran raised his hands, surrendering.

Zach’s posture didn’t change. His tensed body was shaking a little.

“Zach, are you okay? You’re shaking. Are you cold?” I subconsciously reached out to touch his skin.

“Shit, you’re hot!” I shrieked as soon as my hand touched his skin.

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