Page 19 of Platinum Pressure

I relaxed slightly.

“Yeah. I’ve got a few things to get in order before the surgery next week.”

He nodded and opened the driver's side door for me. “The money should hit your account by Thursday. Here’s your gate opener and keys.” He reached into his pocket and retrieved the items connected to a silver key ring.

“Thank you.” I grabbed my keychain out of my purse and looped the additional keys on.

“Fa sho. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

I nodded and climbed into the seat. Seddrick waited until I was securely inside before he closed the door.

I enjoyed the chivalrous nature Seddrick brought when we talked. He made me feel safe, but in a different way than what I felt when I was with Platinum. Platinum was every girl’s dream, and there was more to him than money and good looks. A part of me wanted to throw caution to the wind and explore him, but I couldn’t.

I shouldn’t.

I wouldn’t.

Right . . .

Bright lights greeted me first. Then unfamiliar voices around me became clearer.

“That’s him . . .” one voice whispered.

“Girl, he’s fine as hell. I can’t believe we got in here,” another added.

I wanted to jump up and figure out what the fuck was going on, but my body was heavy and numb at the same time. Not only that, but my vision was still hazy. The energy it took to open my eyes was hard as hell.

I was supposed to be in a private room with high security clearance, so the unfamiliar voices pissed me off because I’d met everyone assigned to my care before I went under anesthesia. What was the point of paying for discretion if random hoes could be in the room while I slept? I was under the influence of heavy drugs, and who knew what they could have done to my unconscious body? Hoes were weird these days, and I put nothing past nobody.

My eyes finally adjusted to the lighting as I turned my gaze to the intruders. Both wore pink scrubs with white hospital grade masks on their faces. They were lucky my vision wasn’t clear enough to read their badges to find out their names to report them.

“He’s waking up! Oh my goodness! Hi, Platinum.” One of them squealed in a low tone. She was slightly taller than the other.

“H-hi, P-Platinum. Can we have your autograph? We’re huge fans. My boys look up to you like you’re their idol. It would mean the world to them if you could sign a football for them or something. I have a small souvenir football in my purse, or you can sign my undershirt.” The other one spoke quickly.

I took a deep breath and cleared my throat. Even with my throat dry and irritated, I prepared to cuss the bitches out like they rightfully deserved.

Then the room door slid open, and a familiar voice beat me to it.

“Who are y’all?” Meadow’s voice was calm and clear as her scent filled the room. My body instantly relaxed—as if my body knew I was no longer in danger. My person was here.

The women eyed her for a moment and brought their gazes back to me.

“Like my sister was saying, our kids are huge fans and would love an autograph from you.”

“Maybe we could FaceTime them really quick⁠—”

“I know good and got damn well you dumbass bitches aren’t harassing a patient freshly out of surgery.”

“Watch your mouth,” the taller woman spat out to Meadow with disgust laced in her words.

Meadow chuckled. “No. You watch yours. Not only have you two snuck into a private room without the right credentials, but you also harassed a patient while he is under the influence of mind-altering drugs. Your actions are disgusting. I’m going to get both of your badge numbers and will report you both to the board of directors and the hospital and the board of nursing at the state level.”

“We didn’t even do nothing,” the shorter woman protested.

“Okay, wait. Let’s all calm down. There’s no reason you should threaten our license to nurse over something as simple as an autograph⁠—”

Meadow cut off the taller woman with a raise of her hand. Meadow’s aura was unmatched. She was a natural leader and protector. She saw two predators surrounding me and stepped in without missing a beat. I admired her even more now.