“Yes. Your boyfriend is waiting out there for you now?”
“Boyfriend?” It took her a minute to realize he was referring to Andrei. “He’s not my boyfriend.” The doctor nodded with disinterest as he wrote down notes in her chart. He probably had a lot more patients to see.
“Don’t forget. Keep weight off that ankle.”
She nodded at him. He walked out of the room. She tossed her head back and closed her eyes, praying for strength. The day was turning into one of the longest days ever.
Chapter 4
Andrei
The nurse had asked Andrei if he was Victoria’s boyfriend, and he’d simply said yes. Andrei figured that would keep them from shooing him away, since he wasn’t a friend or family. He didn’t really have the right to be here, but he figured that he was the only person she had at the moment. Until he knew she was safe and taken care of, he wouldn’t leave her.
She’d came out of nowhere in the courthouse, and now he felt like he at least owed her for playing a part in here being there. He’d already called his father and updated him on the case. Now, he had the rest of the afternoon free, so he stayed there waiting for Victoria.
She didn’t seem too happy when they wheeled her out from the back, so he didn’t say anything about the boyfriend comment. The woman was probably still in some pain to.
He carried her out to the car in the wheelchair. “Should I take you home now?”
“Yes,” she said. She gave him directions to her building and sat back as he drove her given route.
“Do you have someone to help you at home?” he asked.
“No, it’s just me,” she said. “I’ll be okay. It’
s not like I have any stairs in my apartment. I’m on the first floor.”
“Well, I am going to give you my number, so you can call me if you need anything,” he said.
“That’s not necessary.”
“I know, but I’m giving it to you anyway. If you need anything, just call me on my cell number.”
“Thank you,” Victoria said, “but I’m pretty sure we can get in trouble for this.
“For exchanging numbers?”
“We are rivals in the courtroom. I doubt we’re allowed to socialize outside of there. It’s not professional.”
“There is no hard rule to say we can’t talk outside of court. Lawyers do it all the time. In fact, some lawyers are friends with prosecutors.”
“I know that, but for me. It’s a matter of ethics. I don’t want to lose my job.”
“Technically, our case is over, so there’s nothing to keep you from going out with me.”
“Going out with you?”
“That is what we’re talking about, isn’t it?”
“No! I meant socializing as friends.”
“Oh? Cause it sounds like you were arguing against going out together, which I think is a big mistake.”
“Really? A big mistake?”
This time he helped her out of the car, he at least gave her some dignity of hopping on her good foot while he took the pressure off the injured foot. He thought she would hit him if he lifted her up again.
“I can be very charming when I’m not knocking women out in hallways,” he said.