Daisy assessed the man striding through the door. He wore a blue button up with a white lab coat and carried a black bag with him. He smiled at her good naturedly until his eyes fell onto Jenny. His smile morphed into a sardonic smirk.
"So, you are here."
Jenny shifted her legs to face the intruder. She grinned and brought her hand up under her chin. She put her elbow on the chair's armrest and leaned towards him.
"Of course I am," she cooed. "You really should have answered your phone."
"I was in the middle of something." Daisy couldn't help but feel there was a history between the two. She felt the tension in the air as the man continued toward the bed, and she shifted awkwardly. He was looking at her with a reassuring smile.
"Good evening. I bet you have a lot of questions. First, I want to tell you congratulations for coming back from the brink of death!" He stuck both of his fists out before lifting his thumbs straight into the air. "Good job!"
Jenny smacked his arm and he danced away from her assault. Daisy could tell from the way they behaved that they were close. The man only laughed at Jenny's beating. He set the bag on the table next to the bed and opened the clasp. He pulled out a stethoscope and thermometer.
"You say the meanest things," Jenny exclaimed.
"No, I don't! I just speak the truth!" Daisy smiled at his jovial demeanor while Jenny scowled. He laid the stethoscope over his shoulder and leaned into Daisy. "I am Dr. Edmund Blaireau. Most people call me Dr. Ed. I was the surgeon who took that bullet out of your shoulder and patched you up." Daisy's hand went to where the bullet had ripped through her.
"You said I was close to death?" Dr. Ed nodded and began examining her.
"Yep! You needed a lot of blood after bleeding so much. We even had to delay the surgery until we got a whole bag in you. Say 'ahh'." Pushed her tongue down with a depression stick he pulled from his bag and shined a light into her mouth.
"But don't worry too much. The bullet hit a bone and lodged in your chest without hitting anything vital. You were lucky it didn't hit your heart! It came only a few centimeters away! Breath in deeply." He placed the end of the stethoscope onto her back. Daisy inhaled a gulp of air as he listened.
"It also missed your lungs! Of course, you will probably find it hard to breath for a while."
"Why is that?" Daisy was confused because although she was in pain, she was breathing just fine.
"You mean I didn't take your breath away when I walked through the door?" Dr. Ed stared at her with an innocent look on his face. Daisy's lips twitched at his ridiculous statement. Jenny expelled a huff of disbelief and groaned.
"Ed, I can not believe you just said that," she said.
"What?" He grinned at Jenny, unfazed by her disdain. "You're just jealous." He put his tools back in his bag and looked at the IV bag. "You are almost done with this bag. I'm going to disconnect the tube, but for now, I am going to leave the needle in. Has anyone ever told you that you are a hard stick?" Daisy nodded. "You should drink more water."
"I am sorry, next time I get shot I'll be sure to hydrate before you get to me." Dr. Ed stilled and then let out a loud belly laugh, doubling over as he chortled. Even Jenny snickered before she remembered herself.
"Oh, that was unexpected." He wiped tears of mirth from his eyes. "Anyway, you have a cathe in right now. I am going to have a nurse come by and remove it later, so don't worry about getting up until after that is out." Daisy blushed and nodded.
"I'll take my leave then." Dr. Ed snatched up his bag and shot Jenny a quick glare before making a quick exit. From the time he entered the room and exited, it couldn't have been more than ten minutes. Daisy's head spun from the speed he examined her.
"Is he always like that?" Daisy looked over to Jenny who was doing her best not to laugh. Soon she cleared her throat and put on a serious expression.
"Pretty much. Now," Jenny clapped her hands together, "how do you know my brother?"
"I'm sorry, who is your brother?"
"You mean…" Jenny frowned in shock. "You mean you don't know?"
"Well, I don't think I've been in my right mind to make the introductions." Daisy gave a wry smile and touched her shoulder again. Jasper hadn't told Jenny what had happened, but she thought from the way that he behaved toward Daisy that he knew her. Whatever had happened, she was safe from just about everything. Jasper never took responsibility unless he was serious.
"Hmm," Jenny scanned the patient and grinned. She was going to have fun teasing her brother later. "Well, far be it for me to make those introductions! I'll just let him introduce himself later." Jenny's curiosity flared. "But, seriously, what happened to you? My brother hates asking me for favors." Jenny could see Daisy tense up at her question. "You don't have to tell me. I am just curious." Jenny was about to get up but stopped when Daisy started to speak.
"Do I seem gullible to you?" Daisy held herself tightly. Jenny could see that she was doing her best to keep it together. Even so, a tear still welled up and slipped out. Daisy turned her head away and wiped her face.
"I don't know you well enough to know that for sure." Jenny's voice deepened and she reached out. She slid her hand over Daisy's. Daisy turned her face, but Jenny could see the defiance in her reddened eyes. "But I know that you are a strong person. Not many people could survive what you did."
"That didn't happen because of anything I did." Daisy whispered. "The only reason I am alive is due to sheer luck. If your brother hadn't found me…" Daisy shook her head. She frowned and steeled herself. As devastating as being betrayed was, she needed to find a way to take back her power.
"I need to find out what is happening. I trusted the wrong people and now I am paying for it." Jenny's eyes filled with sympathy.
"Realizing trust is misplaced can be painful." Jenny thought of her own circumstances and could understand a little of the pain Daisy was going through.
"My fiancé shot me." Daisy announced. "He and my childhood best friend plotted together to steal my company." Her voice broke and her shoulders shook. "I trusted them. Even after someone told me, I wanted to trust them, but he shot me the moment he found out I knew."
Jenny didn't know what else to do, so she moved to the edge of the bed and held her arms out to Daisy. With everything that had happened, Daisy gave into the momentary support of a practical stranger and fell into her arms. A torrent of tears broke through, and she allowed herself to cry her eyes out. Daisy knew that she would have to address what had happened, but for now, she needed to let go of this emotion. She hated feeling the pain from their betrayal. People thought she was ruthless, but she made sure that the decisions made for her business were never unnecessarily cruel.
Soon, she lifted her head from Jenny's shoulder. The couture dress was drenched with salty tears and snot. Jenny grabbed some tissue from the nightstand and handed it to her, gently helping her move strands of hair back from her face. Daisy blew her nose into the tissue and used another to wipe the tears away.
"The important thing is that you are still alive, dear." Jenny grabbed Daisy's hands and waited for her to lift her head. After meeting her eyes, Jenny began to grin viciously. "A dead woman can't get revenge."
At that moment, the door to the bedroom opened again. Daisy and Jenny both turned their heads to face the new intruder. Daisy recognized him from the desert. Back then, she couldn't tell what color his hair was because it was so dark. Now she realized that his hair was pitch black. He filled the doorway. She had seen magazines with body builders on the covers and had always thought they looked impossible. The man standing before her could have given those guys a run for their money. Yet as he walked toward the bed, his steps were silent. She could feel the predatory grace of his aura.
Then she recognized him.
"Jasper?" Her eyes widened in astonishment. "You're Jasper Indigo, President of Cobalt Incorporated." She caught her breath and buried her head in her hands. Jenny looked from her brother to Daisy.
"I'm guessing you do know each other?" Daisy thought back to the jerk who came to her office to try and force her to sell Rapt Media. Of all the people who could have found her, it was the one man she wanted nothing to do with.