Alpha Billionaire Series

MARK

Four months later...

In a brief moment between my morning patients and my lunch break, I sat down and opened my email. My colleague and Chicago still wanted me to work on that women’s health initiative committee and reminded me of the presentation at the upcoming obstetrics conference.

“Fuck” I said as I read the email. I totally forgot that I had agreed to attend that and sit on one of the panels. It was going to be a long weekend in Chicago.RêAd lat𝙚St chapters at Novel(D)ra/ma.Org Only

A place I thought I never needed to go to again. A place I thought I would avoid simply because Brooke was there somewhere.

As I read through the email and checked the details, I realized I wouldn't have to accidentally run into Brooke at the hospita The conference was taking place at a hotel conference center. I quickly typed up a response and sent a cc email to my office manager with an attached note asking her to please make the appropriate arrangements.

After lunch, I did my patient rounds in the maternity ward. I pretty much had the rest of the afternoon open. I was on call for labor and delivery for the rest of the evening, but I didn't expect any of my patients to come through today and the colleagues I was covering for said that there was the potential of only one or two.

When I didn't get any calls in to catch babies by dinner time, I called Peyton to see if a previous invitation for dinner was stil available. I didn't feel like eating alone, and Karen was a good cook.

When I pulled into the drive at their house, I noticed there was another car already parked. Karen answered the doorbell an chastised me for not having my standard bottle of wine.

“I always count on you to bring the wine for dinner.”

“I'm on call tonight and I can't drink; I explained.

“That's never stopped you before from bringing the rest of us something to drink."

“Do you need me to turn around and go buy a bottle of wine before you let me in? Is that my entry fee? Is that the only reason why you only ever invite me over for dinner?” I teased.

“Now you're just overreacting. Howard and Peyton are upstairs. I'll give you a holler when everything's ready.”

Itook the stairs to the home's bonus room where both Howard and Peyton had game controllers in their hands and were yelling at the television. I sat back and watched as the small character avatars they'd selected attempted to push each other out of a designated fighting ring.

“I thought video games were for kids," I said sarcastically as I joined them.

“Video games are for anybody who plays.” Howard paused as he shifted his whole body along with his controller. “Don’t tell me you didn't play when you were younger”

“I played video games all the time. I don't have the time to do it now’

“That's because you don't have a game console,” Peyton said. “I paid good money for this thing. The kids just left it. I might as well use it”

“What do you do in your spare time if you don't just sit around and play games?” Howard asked.

Ishrugged. “I don't have spare time.’

“That's bullshit and you know it,” Howard countered.

“Between work and completing the renovations on my house, I'm lucky if I have time to read a book or keep up on the latest obstetrics articles."

“Now see, that's a life choice,” Howard said. He groaned. The video game made a wah wah wah sound as his character died. “Your turn,” he said as he handed me the control.

Itook the controller and quickly flipped through the choices of avatars. I played plenty of video games. I just didn't do it at home. I picked an obnoxious green lizard man and entered the ring against Peyton's blue-haired little girl.

“You have a hobby, that's why you don't play video games.” Howard continued the conversation.

“What hobbies?” I asked. My focus stayed on the game.

“Working on your house, obviously."

I didn’t consider the work I did mostly on weekends as a hobby. Maybe he was right. Maybe it was a hobby.

“Hobbies are good,” Peyton said. “You don't want to burn out from working too much. But Mark here doesn’t know...” His words were choppy as he focused more on the game than on the conversation. “Mark doesn’t know how to have a good work-life balance. He's Mr. All or nothing”

“I wouldn't say that” I grunted and shifted. My green lizard man rushed in and slid behind the blue-haired little girl. With a twist of my wrist, I did a thumb-finger-button combination that had my lizard lifting her off the ground and slamming her back down.

“Oh, you're playing dirty” Peyton complained.

“I'm playing as if I remembered how to do the controls,” I countered.

“You sure you don't play games at home like this?” Howard asked. “Those are the moves only an expert would use."

“I don’t want to have time for video games. I've been getting ready for a conference.’

“See, I told you he doesn't have work-life balance. What conference is it this time?

“It's a woman's health initiative in obstetrics.”

“You don't sound thrilled to be going” Peyton said.

“I pretty much forgot I committed to going and received a confirmation email this morning. I'm not exactly looking forward t it. I'd much rather... ahh" I grunted as my character was shoved back to the edge of the fight ring and one toe was out of bounds. I lost. I dropped the game controller on the coffee table in front of us.

“So close,” I commented.

“What about this conference?” Howard asked as he picked up the game controller.

“I forgot I told his colleague I was going to help him with the presentation and that I was available to sit on a panel. I'l be uf there for a long weekend.’

“Where are you going? Maybe the sights will more than make up for the location?

“I'l be up in Chicago."

Howard shuttered. “Burr. Chicago in the winter. I do not envy you."

“Brooke is still in Chicago,” Peyton added. “Maybe you should look her up. Karen is upset she isn't coming home for Thanksgiving. Something about not having time off from work.”

I grunted noncommittally. I was definitely not going to be looking Brooke up, no matter how much her parents might want me to.

Karen called up the stairs and said that dinner was ready. Peyton was the first one out of the room.

“Hey, before I forget,” Howard stopped me. “You remember Mimi, right?”

“Yeah,” I nodded.

“I just wanted to let you know that we've been seeing each other”

“Good for you." I patted him on the shoulder.

“I wanted you to hear it from me and not find out from Karen, or some other surprising way. You know, to make sure I wasn't stepping on toes or anything. I know Mimi thought there might be something brewing between the two of you over the summer”

There had never been anything brewing between us, but if that was her delusion...

“Howard, I'm glad the two of you have managed to get together. I always thought you were a much better match for her. I would never have made her happy the way she deserves to be happy. In this case, I think the better man won." In this case, I would have handed Mimi and her attention over to Howard back when we first met. Back before things had fallen apart between me and Brooke.

Maybe had I been more honest with my friends, that my affections were actively elsewhere, Mimi never would have tried to slip her claws into me. She and Howard could have gotten together months earlier.

“Glad to hear that." He said as he headed down the stairs.

I paused and let my gaze drift over the family portrait hanging over the sofa. It had been taken some time in the past five years or so. Brooke looked young, but it was easy to see the beautiful woman she would become in her smiling face. I needed to do something to exorcise Brooke from my memory. I didn't necessarily want to forget about her, but I wouldn't mind forgetting how I had felt about her. By the time I joined everyone in the dining room, Howard was sitting in Brooke's ol place. I felt a twinge of regret. I hadn't realized how difficult it was to get over someone, I had never had a difficult time before. Then again, I hadn't really admitted to myself the extent of my feelings for Brooke.

Had I been honest with myself over what I was feeling for her and had I said something to her at any point while we were together, maybe I wouldn't still feel this way. Thoughts of Brooke made me sad, happy and angry all at once. I don’t know when I realized I had fallen in love with her, but it had been too late to make a difference.