“Silver, thank God you’re here,” the head IT guy gasped when he saw me walk through the door. “We have a virus, and half of the hospital can’t use any of their computers.”
Fuck.
“What do you need me to do?” I asked.
For six and a half hours, we worked endlessly to remove the malware from computers all over the hospital.
I was dying of starvation and more than ready for a bathroom break when my work phone rang.
I ignored it twice before I finally answered it on the third try.
“Hello?” I asked impatiently.
“Jesus, what’s going on? You’re not answering any of my calls. You missed our shower talk,” she said.
I cursed under my breath. “I’m at work. There’s a virus affecting nearly fifteen hundred computers right now. I can’t talk.”
“Okay, love you,” she said.
“Love you, too.” I hung up.
Then I remembered another engagement I had today that I’d forgotten about.
Eedie.
I groaned, knowing that since I didn’t have my phone, there was only one option I could take.
I dialed the number of the only phone number besides my sister’s I knew by heart—as long as you didn’t count the pizza place on the corner.
“Dad,” I said reluctantly when he answered. “Could you relay a message to Eedie for me?”
Dad grunted. “What’s that? And why are you talking to her in the first place?”
I chose not to mention that I’d been talking to Webber at all, because that would only piss my dad off worse, and Eedie had to live with my father.
I knew how hard my dad was to deal with at the best of times. Him pissed off? Yeah, I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy.
That was the one good thing that came out of hurting my sister the way he did.
My sister didn’t have to deal with Barry Donahue’s attitude, temper, and bad moods.
If he didn’t like something, he would let everyone know it.
And anyone caught in the crosshairs of his bad mood was going to never hear the end of it.
“Can you ask her to call me at work?” I asked. “Give her this number, I’m extension two.”
“I’m not telling her anything without you telling me why you need her to call you,” he said. “Are you relaying something for her father?”
I prayed for patience before I replied. “No, I was supposed to go to the Jiu Jitsu gym today with her and I’m not going to be able to make it because I went to work.”
“Is that why you’re not answering any of my calls?” he asked.
I winced.
Of course he would try to call.
No wonder he was so argumentative right now.
