Chapter 36 His Confidante
Emma kept her eyes on Zoe, who was resting on the bed, and she softly ran her fingers through her hair. Zoe had been sleeping ever since they got to the hospital safely. When a doctor inquired about her father, Emma thought about calling Ezra, but she hesitated, not wanting to disturb him. He was a celebrity, and they had both decided to keep this under wraps until the right time. She held Zoe’s hand while she slept peacefully.
"Your daughter is doing well, Miss Facer," said the doctor, who looked to be in his early 30s. He was holding a file and wore a friendly smile. "You don’t need to worry about anything at all."
"Really?" Emma lifted her head to look at him.
"Yes, Miss Facer. Zoella is just resting. She’ll be discharged tonight."
Emma let out a sigh and looked at the doctor again. "How much do I owe for the hospital bill? Should I pay at the counter?"
While he was looking through the files, the doctor chuckled. "No, Miss Facer. Mrs. Mayberry has already taken care of it."
Emma was taken aback. She looked up at the doctor again. "Mrs. Mayberry?"
"This is her family hospital, so there’s no need to worry." He put the files away and turned to Zoe. "Just make sure to bring her back right away if anything happens after she’s discharged."
"Thank you, doctor," Emma replied.
"Well, I’ll leave you now. I have other patients to attend to." He gave her one last smile before turning and walking away.
Emma took another look at Zoe. Then, her head dropped onto the desk. The jar was empty. Emma stood up and reached for the jar. "I’ll be right back, sweetheart," she whispered, then stepped out of the room and closed the door behind her. Emma stepped into the hallway where patients and nurses in uniforms were moving about, she stopped one of the nurses. "Excuse me, where can I find the tap?" The nurse pointed to a corner. "Thank you," she said and the nurse turned to leave.
She made her way to the tap, and someone bumped into her.
"Oh, I'm so sorry! I wasn't really paying attention."
Luckily, she managed to catch the jar before it hit the ground, saving it from shattering. "I apologize as well; my focus was all over the place," Emma replied. She gasped softly when she turned to see who she had collided with. "You," she exclaimed, recognizing the gorgeous woman she had met at the mansion during Ezra's grandmother's birthday celebration. "Miss..." Emma struggled to remember her name.
"Heather Walls," the woman said, removing her sunglasses. She looked as stylish as ever, even in a hospital. "I’m a bit hurt that you don’t recall my name, but I certainly remember yours, Miss Facer." Of course, she did. The only reason could be that after the party, Heather had looked Emma up after noticing how close Winter was to her. Plus, she had heard a little from Scott about Emma's brief fling with Ezra three years ago.
"I truly apologize. I had a lot on my mind. How silly of me to forget the name of such a classy lady."
"Apology accepted. What brings you here? Are you unwell? You do look a bit pale."
Emma nodded. "Yeah, I’ve got the flu, but the doctor says I’ll be fine." There was no way she could explain, "Oh, I brought Ezra's daughter in for a checkup after she almost drowned in the pool a few hours ago." Even without anyone telling her, Emma sensed that Heather and Ezra had a history. She could see that Heather still had feelings for him based on how she looked at him during the party. "What about you? Are you feeling sick?"
Heather chuckled. "No. I came to see my sick father. Maybe we could catch up over some wine and biscuits when we’re both free and chat about—“
Emma immediately interrupted her. “Designing your clothes?”
“Yes. That. Also boys. Ezra Queen in particular. I'm very interested to learn how much his employees fear him.”
"You must be familiar with the monika then."
Heather nodded. “The cold, handsome devil. When I heard it, it brought back memories of my teenage years. Ezra was a sweet guy. Had always been. Did you know that we used to date? From high school sweetheart to college sweetheart?”
Everyone could tell, of course. That much was obvious. “Really?”
“Yes. He became the cold man he is now, and I kind of wonder what or who caused that.” Heather's words caused Emma to feel guilty right away. “In the past, he would do anything—I mean, anything to see me happy, but now he doesn't even want to look at me. He hates me now.” Heather took a deep breath and gave Emma another glance. “I think I am talking too much.”
“No. It is okay.”
"You work for him. I guess I should ask since I've heard he favors you over the rest of his staff.”
“No. I don’t think that is—”
“Do you think he is seeing someone? At the office.”
“Err. Not that I've heard of, but if he's seeing someone, wouldn't that information already be available online?”
“True. It's just that he is—” Heather’s phone began to ring. “Oh. Excuse me.” She answered the phone. “Yes. Daddy, I've arrived at the hospital. I will be right there.” She hung up the phone and gave Emma a quick look. "We should talk later. I have a catalog with your contact information on it. I will give you a call then. Bye for now, Miss Facer.”
“Bye.” She watched until Heather vanished from view, then made her way to the tap to get water into the jar. She stopped at the vending machine for some snacks on the way back. Zoe was fiddling with her fingers when Emma walked into the room. “You are awake.” Emma smiled, approaching the table to set the jar down.
“Yes. Emma.”
Emma turned to look at the child. “Are you feeling okay?”
Zoe nodded. “Just hungry.”
"I had a feeling you'd say that. I bought some snacks for you. You will eat proper food when you get home tonight.” Emma poured some water into a cup and approached her. She placed the cup of water on the table next to Zoe and gave her one of the snacks to munch on. "I'm glad to hear you're doing well, baby. Please let me know if you experience any pain. Okay?”
Zoe smiled. “Okay.”
Heather placed her bag on the sofa and took off her coat. She then approached her dad, who was lying on the bed with a remote in his hand. "I told you that watching this type of movie would spike your blood pressure. You know, you’re the first guy your age I’ve seen who’s so into horror films."
Her dad paused the movie to smile at her. "If you like it as much as I do, you’ll really enjoy it. They say that if you get used to watching horror movies without getting scared, it makes you braver in the dark."
"Daddy, nobody says that." Heather sighed. "How’s your health?"
"As you can see, I’m not dead."
"I asked you not to use that word anymore. It’s really strong."
"Not happening, kiddo. I won’t kick the bucket until I’m over 100. You know, the Walls have really long lifespans. Your great-grandma passed away at 110."
"You say that all the time. My ears are about to fall off. I hear you, Daddy. So get ready and heal up fast so we can get back to our father-daughter tradition. You wouldn’t have been misdiagnosed with high blood pressure again if you had just listened to me and stopped arguing with your son. Four times this year already. And the year isn’t even over yet."
He raised from the bed to sit up comfortably and tossed the remote onto the table. "So, tell me, how was your trip today? Did you manage to talk to him?"
Heather sighed. "Not at all. It feels like he’s intentionally ignoring me. When I went to his penthouse, he wasn’t there. I called Aunt Josie, but she was out at a party. I even called Scott to ask about Ezra, but he’s also clueless.”
"Have you looked in his office?"
"Daddy, Ezra doesn't work on the weekends. His "rest day" is Saturday.”
“Then it appears that he has already moved on from you, so I suppose it is time for you to find a good man and do the same.”
Heather took a seat on the sofa once more. Her arms were crossed over her chest. “It's not as simple as you made it seem. I'm still in love with Ezra Queen. He was my first love and is the only person I have ever loved.”
“Then where does the other boy stand? That Shawn guy?”
“You mean Scott?”
“Yes. Scott. I thought he was your love. When you were in college, I recall you frequently discussing how he made you feel. You told me everything; don't forget that.”
"Daddy, I don't like Scott as much as I like Ezra. With Scott, everything feels toxic, but I feel safe with Ezra.”
Her father gave a gentle head nod. “In order to get this boy back, what steps are you planning to take? Because, believe me, men get annoyed if a woman they don't want to see keeps dropping by.”
"Daddy, I'm not sure yet, but I can't give up. I must convince Ezra that there is no other woman for him but me. I've got to get back to being his confidante. I won't feel at ease until then."