The Billionaire and His PA novel Chapter 10

It didn’t take Felix long to discover room 219. It was exactly where the receptionist had said it would be – on the first floor. After the short ride in the hospital’s elevator, all that he had done was walk down the hallway, staring at the silver plates above all the doors until he came across room 219.

He paused in front of Rose’s room and listened hard. There seemed to be no sound coming from the other side of the door. As he stood in front of the door, he found himself wishing that he had brought a gift along with him. A ‘Get Well Soon’ card, a salad bowl, a fluffy silk pillow, or even a large bouquet of roses. A gift in the form of a large bouquet of roses would have been very poetic for someone named Rose. He gave the door three quick raps hoping that the sound wouldn’t wake any of the two people inside if they were to have been asleep.

“Come in.” A soft, tired feminine voice that definitely wasn’t Rose’s answer.

Felix pushed the handle down and stepped inside. Immediately he was hit by how different the inside of Rose’s room was from the rest of Saint John’s hospital. Firstly, by some odd miracle, he couldn’t detect the odd blend of that chemical and fruity scent that persisted in the rest of the hospital. The inside of Rose’s room smelt like cinnamon and vanilla. Secondly, Rose’s room was filled with ‘Get Well Soon’ cards, floating displays of helium balloons, a couple of gift baskets, and large bouquets of flowers. It seemed that he wasn’t the only one that had thought bringing gifts for Rose would have been a good idea, but apparently, it would also seem that he had been the only one to not act on his idea.

The rest of the room was very much like a regular hospital room. All of the surfaces not occupied by cards, bouquets, or gift baskets were neat and clinically clean. The aquamarine-colored blinds had been pulled up to allow the warm bright sunlight to filter into the room. The sound of a school of whales wafted from a nearby Bluetooth speaker. Felix remembered Rose telling him that she couldn’t fall asleep without whale sounds in the background. Underneath the whale sounds, he could also hear a near-silent incessant beeping noise from a machine present in the room. Rose was asleep on the bed while a young woman sat beside her.

Felix didn’t have to be told that he was looking at the face of Rose’s adopted daughter, Amy. He recognized her from the numerous photos of her at various stages of her life that crowded Rose’s table. She had a crop of vibrant red hair that ended just at the nape of her neck. It looked like she hadn’t run a comb through her hair and considering her mother was lying in a hospital bed, her actions – or rather, inactions – were completely justified. Her pale skin was crowded with numerous freckles, appearing as dark splatters across her face and chubby arms. Her small upturned nose was crooked. She was still dressed in her pajamas. A dog-eared book with a peacock feather serving as a bookmark rested on her lap.

Like every other proud mother, Rose was always more than willing to talk about her beloved daughter. Anyone who had ever cared to listen knew of how Amy was a model student and was intending to study paleontology at university once she finished high school. Felix sighed at the tired look in her eyes that she tried to mask. He knew all too well what it was like being a child and having to wonder whether a relative would be fine after a heart attack.

She smiled up at him, pearly white teeth held back by silver braces. “I know you.” She stated, cocking her head to the side as she tried to place where exactly she knew him from.

“Felix Callahan.”

“Ah. Of course, the infamous Ice King.”