His Big Reveal: An Interracial BWWM Billionaire Romance (BWWM Alpha Males) (26 page)

Chapter 1

Brionna, affectionately called Bri by her colleagues, stood outside of the tall, brown stoned building. It towered over her, making her feel small. A smile crossed her plump lips. It was the beginning of a new start, one that she so desperately needed.

Desert Sun hospital hadn’t been her first choice. Nor her second or third for her residency, but it was far away from home. Home being Savannah Georgia, with all its bad memories and broken promises. She pushed the thoughts away, took in a deep breath and walked into the hospital.

Brionna Jackson was a tall woman, 5’9 in fact with long, toned legs, shapely hips and small breasts. Her skin was smooth and deep brown, ebony, as she’d often been referred to. Big, bright, brown eyes were the highlight of her face. Black, springy curls highlighted with brown were pushed up into a ponytail, which somewhat tamed the wild hair that she’d been fighting with since middle school.

“Ms. Jackson?” A man asked. His voice was deep, shocking red hair set atop his head and his blue eyes were piercing.

“Dr. Longston, I presume?” She said taking his extended hand in hers to give it a firm shake.

The man cracked a smile. “Afraid not. Dr. Longston is in a meeting, but you’ll be meeting with him shortly. I’m Andrew, but you can just call me Dr. Andy. I’m one of the neurologists here.”

Brionna’s eyes lit up. “Dr. Andrew Christy? You’re world renowned for your advancements in the field,” she said with a grin.

The man blushed. “Guilty. Let me show you around the hospital.”

Andrew showed her around the hospital leisurely, as if they were simply taking a stroll and she wasn’t about to embark on the beginning of a new life. Brionna’s field of choice had been neurological medicine, something that meant more to her because of her brother. She turned back to what Andrew was saying.

“Arizona really has grown over the years. Our doctors are determined, brilliant even,” he said as he slipped his hands into his lab coat.” What do you think?”

“I think I’m going to enjoy working here.”

“I do too. Dr. Longston should be out of his meeting soon. Once you’ve introduced yourself, you can meet up with your co-intern. I’m warning you now, Dr. Longston can be a bit of a…” The man trailed off.

“Challenge?”

“I was going to say asshole,” Andrew laughed.

Brionna shook her head, a small grin on her lips. “He can’t be that bad.”

“Our last three interns transferred to other hospitals.”

“That’s not so bad.”

“The other ones quit medicine altogether.”

Brionna shivered. “He certainly sounds...interesting. I don’t think he’ll be able to get rid of me though.”

“Let’s find out. He should be back in his office by now.”

She walked behind Andrew quickly. As they walked to Dr. Longston’s office, she bit her lip. How was it possible that she was feeling nervous now? Maybe Andrew's words had a deeper impact on her than she’d thought they would. A tall door loomed ahead, the deep, brown wood imposing to Bri. Or perhaps it was the man behind it that made her so thoroughly nervous.

Andrew tapped on the door. Words filtered through before they pushed inside. The office itself was big, all sturdy wooden furniture, a big desk and a brand new computer perched on top. Bookshelves lined the office walls, each shelf stuffed with books, decorated with knickknacks. The entire office was organized to perfection.

“Dr. Longston, this is Brionna Jackson. She’s starting with us today.”

The man behind the desk looked up. It was as if all of the air in the room had been sucked out. He had black hair, thick, wavy with streaks of grey barely starting. His grey eyes were steely, almost cold as they roamed over her lazily. His mouth was set tight, but for the briefest moment, Bri could have sworn that she’d caught a flicker of a smile, a twinkle in  his eye. It sent shivers down her body. However, just like that, he was looking at his computer again, glasses pushed back onto his nose.

“If she’s starting today, why isn’t she dressed properly?”

“Excuse?” Brionna asked, the spell quickly broken.

“Why. Are you not. Dressed. Properly?” He spoke slowly as if she were a moron.

Bri scoffed. “I actually start tomorrow, but I was told to come over and introduce myself today.”

“What for? I’ll see you in less than twenty-four hours. And if you’re not out there helping, you’re really just kind of a hinderance aren’t you?”

Bri blew out a heavy breath of air as she tried to calm herself. She counted backwards from ten. When she no longer felt like punching him in the face, she smiled.

“Perhaps we started out on the wrong foot,” she said as she stepped forward, hand extended, “I’m Brionna Jackson, from Georgia.”

“I’m Dr. Declan Longston and I’m very busy,” he grumbled, ignoring her hand completely.

She let the hand drop. Her nails began to dig into her palms. Glancing  over at Andrew, she saw him trying to stifle a chuckle. She raised one eyebrow. He cleared his throat.

“Well, I can see you’re busy. I suppose I’ll just come back tomorrow,” she said as she turned on her heels to leave.

“Wait,” Declan called after her, “I want to ask you a few questions. Sit,” he pointed to a big, black chair in front of his desk.

Bri was outraged. What was this man’s problem? First he doesn’t even want her there, then he does. And telling her to sit? She wasn’t a dog and didn’t respond well to orders.

“Sit,” he repeated as if reading her mind, his eyes narrowed.

Bri sucked in a breath, shook her head as she walked around the chair and sat down heavily. She sat her bag in her lap, folding her hands over it as she’d seen her mother do so many times before. Waiting, she tried to keep from fidgeting as he continued to stare at his computer, almost oblivious that she was still there. The woman gripped her purse a little harder. What was his problem?

“Andrew, I can take it from here. Close the door behind you,” the man said without so much as looking up.

Bri turned in her chair quickly. Her eyes locked on to his as if to say ‘don’t leave me alone with him!’ Andrew gave a sheepish grin, his eyes obviously saying ‘sorry, can’t help you,’ before he disappeared out of the door. Brionna sighed. Staring back at Declan, she cleared her throat.

“You said you wanted to ask me some questions?”

“Dysarthria, dysphagia, tremors of the head and arms, a rusty ring around the cornea accompanied with psychosis.”

“Excuse me?” Brionna asked, cocking one eyebrow.

“Are you deaf?”

“No, I just…”

Declan sighed. “Do I need to repeat myself? What are these symptoms indicative of?”

Brionna fought back hard against the urge to say something smart. This man could make her life hell for the next five years if he wanted to. She thought back to what he’d said.

“That’s easy. Wilson’s disease.”

“Treatment? Prognosis?”

“Zinc, which has no serious side effects. There are other medicines, but they have more side effects. Tetrathiomolybdate isn’t approved by the FDA yet, but studies are promising. With a proper diet and considering that it’s onset was later in life, prognosis is a normal, healthy life.”

Declan stared at her until she became uncomfortable and began to shift in her seat. When he spoke, it wasn’t the praise she’d been expecting. “You’re right. Too easy.”

He stood from the desk. That was when she noticed his height. She could tell that even in heels the man would tower over her. He wasn’t wiry, or even thin, but she could almost make out the muscles beneath his clothes. He wore a white button down, black slacks, expensive shoes. As he paced, he glanced at his, his arms behind his back.

“Headaches, vision loss, nausea, vomiting, that gets progressively worse.”

“Could be a few things,” she said, “but it seems to me that it would be pituitary tumors.”

“Chronic headaches, dementia, seizures, blood clots?”

“Antiphospholipid syndrome.”

The man threw more questions at her. Each one she answered faster than the next. When he seemed to run out of hypothetical  cases, he ran a hand through his hair.

Declan stopped, stared at her. She held her head up a little higher, stared back at him. A small smile twitched at the corner of his mouth once more.
He’s impressed,
she thought to herself.

“Come back tomorrow. Wear scrubs,” he said as he opened the door to his office.

Brionna guessed that was the end of the questions. She stood up, smoothed her skirt, before she walked past him. Their bodies brushed very briefly. It was enough to make a shiver pass through her body. He closed the door behind her.

Andrew was waiting in the hall for her. “What’d he say?”

“Come back tomorrow. Wear scrubs,” she said imitating his voice when they were well out of earshot.

Andrew didn’t laugh like she’d expected. Instead, he looked surprised. “He really said that?”

“Yeah. Why? Is it a big deal?”

“You’re the first person I know of that he’s told to come back. Usually he says ‘you’ll be gone in a week.’”

“That’s just cruel.”

Andrew shrugged. “That’s how Declan operates. Come on, let’s meet your co-intern.”

Bri’s co-intern happened to be a very handsome guy named Mack. He was  thin with golden blond hair and a mischievous smile. He wore blue scrubs, standard at the hospital.

“Mack Tamlin, it’s nice to meet you,” he said as they shook hands. “I heard you’re top of your class at Morehouse.”

Bri grinned. “Top three. There are some brilliant minds at that school.”

“Well,” he said giving her an appraising smile, “I look forward to working with you.”

Ending the tour of the hospital with Mack at least had saved her mood. He seemed pleasant enough and from what she could tell, smart too. Declan however, was another story. The man had a moody energy to him that was at once dominating and scary. Still. she wondered why whenever she thought back to their encounter that she couldn’t help but to shiver as if in anticipation. There was something about him that she couldn’t put her finger on.

“Well,” Andrew said as they walked to the entrance doors, “we’ll see you back here bright and early.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” she said as she walked from the building.

***

She meant that. There was nervousness in the pit of her belly, but she’d wanted this for a long time. Her footsteps echoed as her heels tapped along the concrete parking garage to her beat up Taurus. She slid behind the wheel, blasting the air as soon as she was inside. As she drove away, her mind wandered once more to Declan, his piercing grey eyes and the challenge she knew she was in for tomorrow.

The thoughts kept her company as she drove home. When she pulled up to her apartment, she realized that she was already a little exhausted. She’d just stepped off of a plane the day before, found a place, signed a contract. Her mother paid for the apartment now and there was a little saved up from her college days that she knew she could fall back on.

She stepped inside of her place. It was small, a one bedroom that was already furnished. It wasn’t the greatest place to live, but it was close to the hospital and pest free. She dumped her purse onto a chair before walking into the kitchen. Opening the fridge, she pulled out a beer before she popped off the cap and took a swig. It was only late afternoon, but she wanted to be in bed early. There was no way she was going to be late to her first day and risk the wrath of Doctor Declan.

Brionna tidied everything up, called her mom, said goodnight to her brother and was in bed by nine. She shut off the light, set three alarms, then shut her eyes. No matter how tightly she closed them, however, she couldn’t relax. Energy coursed through her body. Tomorrow was special to her, the start of everything that she’d worked so hard for. Bri forced herself to calm down, to get some sleep. A smile stayed on her lips as she dropped off.

The next morning started out badly. She should have known that it was only going to get worse from there. Her first two alarms didn’t bother going off, or perhaps she’d been in too deep of a sleep to hear them. Either way, she was now running around the apartment in a panic looking for her purse and shoes. The place was a mess of tossed about clothes, empty luggage and discarded moving boxes.

Finally, she found her purse, slipped into her sneakers and dashed out of the door. When she pulled into the hospital's parking garage, the red lights on her dash flashed 5:52. She hopped out of the car, twisted her hair into a bun and jogged to the elevators. The hospital was still a maze that she had to navigate, but she was choosing to approach one problem at a time.

As she waited for the elevator, she jabbed her finger against the button again and again as if her impatience would hurry it along. She stepped inside. A hand gripped the door just as it was almost closed making her sigh in exasperation. A man stepped inside, adjusting his maroon colored tie as he stood beside her.

“Good morning, Ms. Jackson.”