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Justine’s brown eyes connected with his, and she placed her hand on top of his shorts and gently stroked. “I think I understand. Any rules?”
“None,” Mark responded swiftly as he helped her out of her shirt.
***
Mark cursed as he sped down the hallway, knowing Rob was probably going to kill him for being late, but he couldn’t help it. Justine had been quite the pistol, and they had just finished with round 4 by the time Mark had realized that he was late.
He began a stream of curse words as he ran around the room grabbing his stuff before he quickly ushered her out. He dropped the keys off with the manager and gave Justine a quick wink before he flew out the door.
He skidded to a halt in front of the hospital and switched off the ignition as he reached in the bag for his baseball cap and sunglasses. He slipped on his leather jacket and put on his disguise which frankly wasn’t much of one, but it was the best they could do. He looked left and right before making his way to the back door.
He knocked twice before the door opened. He took off his glasses, so the person could see him, and they wordlessly let him through.
The nurse who had opened the door for him led him brusquely down a dimly lit fluorescent hallway, and Mark found himself wondering why hospitals had an odd pungent sort of smell that clung to the walls. They made a series of turns, the nurse never once stopping to make sure that he was keeping up. He got the sense that this nurse didn’t like him very much.
The nurse finally stopped in front of the children’s ward. He took out what looked like a pager and pressed a button.
“Dr. McAndrews will be here shortly,” the nurse announced. Mark had his nose pressed against the glass as he took in the sight of all those children lying on their beds looking very miserable.
He felt a deep aching sadness. Kids shouldn’t be locked up inside a room; they should be outside playing, screaming, running around and just living.
He tried to shake off the feeling because he knew that this was a PR stunt, but suddenly he felt like he didn’t want it to be. He just wanted to go in there and make those kids smile.
“Nurse Russ, I’ll take it from here,” a smooth voice announced a while later. Mark ignored the voice thinking it was probably some snooty doctor who would look down at him for choosing to be an athlete and waste their time while they were busy saving lives. Most doctors had a superiority complex.
He heard the sounds of receding footsteps, so he figured he’d better turn around and acknowledge the doctors presence, lest have Rob hammer into him about being rude…again.
He turned around fully prepared to get a holier than thou lecture, but he was stunned speechless when he took in the sight of Jenny standing in front of him writing on a clipboard.
Jenny
Another athlete here for a PR stunt, she thought to herself as she scribbled furiously. She’d just give him a quick tour, pretend to be shocked that the press found out and be on her way. It really wasn’t bad for the hospital to be honest, it gave them exposure, and a lot of people wanted to donate afterwards. She just wished for once that one of these athletes who came strolling through here looking to save their image, would actually try to save lives.
“Mr. Hummel.” She lifted her eyes from the keyboard, and she blinked as she took in the sight of the guy in front of her. Those piercing green eyes, that shaggy blonde hair, and that tattoo peeking out from underneath the hem of his shirt.
“Mark?” she queried.
“Hey, Jen.”
“It’s so good to see you again.” Jenny’s mouth split into a warm grin. “How are you?”
“I’m fine, thanks.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked rather chagrined, as if he’d been caught doing something he shouldn’t. “What about you? I see you got that transfer you wanted.”
When she met him, she’d put in an application for the children’s ward, but it hadn’t been processed yet even though she’d proven herself to be one of the most competent doctors they’d had in years, especially given that she was also the youngest doctor here.
“Yeah, and you, I’ve seen you on TV a few times, you’re a big NBA star now.”
Mark forced out a chuckle. “Yeah, yeah.”
“I’ve been meaning to go to one of your games, but I’m afraid I haven’t had the chance,” she said apologetically.
“Don’t worry about it.”
“Well,” she self-consciously straightened her coat and adopted a more professional tone. “Let me show you around and explain what we do here.”
She began her tour of the hospital as Mark followed behind, pausing every now and again to ask questions. Jenny was pleasantly surprised to find that it seemed like he did have a genuine interest in what they did beyond what they could do for his image.
He even asked about donating so the kids could have an indoor playground, because they looked miserable. It had been one of their biggest issues with the board because they didn’t have enough donors, and playgrounds were considered a luxury.
