Obsession With My EX-wife

Chapter 14: Zoey's Interruption

It suddenly occurred to Catherine that all of Leonard's gentle kindness was a ruse. She realized that he was only helping her so that he could force her to let her guard down. Her face turned red, and she growled at him: "No matter what you do, you will not get what you want. I will never trust you again, nor could I ever love you like I used to." 

When Leonard heard this, he paused, and after a moment's thought, he asked, "Why not? I have no ulterior motive. I just want to win your heart back." Leonard lowered his head, and he gently applied for the medicine. "Is that so wrong?"

If Catherine had heard that in the past, she would have been incredibly happy, but that train had passed. She looked at Leonard, and she felt a little dizzy. She suddenly didn't know what to do or what to believe - and she didn't know if he was telling the truth.

There was a knock on the door then - Knock! Knock! Knock! - and they both jumped a little. Catherine pulled her foot back, pushed Leonard away, and said, "It's impossible. Just leave, and don't waste any more time trying to win me over."

Leonard stood up and looked at Catherine, but she refused to look at him. Finally, he said, "Okay," and he turned around and left.

***

Zoey hadn't expected there to be anyone in the office except for Catherine, and she was startled when she saw Leonard walk out. She quickly got over her shock, though, and when Catherine invited her in, she remembered why she was there and entered. And once she was inside, she closed the door behind her.

Leonard frowned as the door closed in his face. "Women," he muttered unhappily. Leonard's assistant had been waiting for him at the nurses' station, and when he saw him, he walked over and said, "President, the company just called me and said that one of our business partners had come over..." 

"Don't worry about that," Leonard said, cutting his assistant off mid-sentence. "Check up on the woman who was bothering Catherine and look into her husband too. She had no right to bad-mouth Catherine!" 

"I'll get on it," the assistant said. "Shall we go back to the company?"

"Okay," Leonard replied. 

***

Catherine looked at Zoey and said, "What's the matter?"

Zoey handed Catherine a file and said, "Dr. Winston, we need to talk about the patient that was admitted yesterday. The family of the patient wants to schedule the surgery." 

Catherine: "Okay. I will look into it and talk to the family in person. You can leave now." 

Zoey hesitated for a moment, and then she said, "Dr. Winston, can I ask you a question?"

Catherine: "Sure. Shoot." 

Zoey: "That man that just left… He's handsome. Is he your boyfriend?"

Catherine: "Nope. He was just helping a damsel in distress."

Zoey: You must have a crush on him, though?"

Catherine: "Nope. I have no interest in him. Now, unless you came here for a legitimate, work-related reason, I suggest you mosey along."

Zoey's face turned red, and she said, "You're always giving me a hard time." 

Catherine sighed. She knew that Zoey had a boyfriend. "I'm sorry if you feel that way," she said. "I do have a lot of work, though. It is nothing personal."

 Zoey: "Okay. I understand..."

Catherine nodded to Zoey, and then she began to review the file that she'd been given. After an awkward moment of silence, Zoey quietly left Catherine's office without saying another word.

Thankfully, Leonard left Catherine alone for the rest of the day, and she was able to get a significant amount of work done. After work, though, she found him waiting for her in the parking lot. "What the Hell are you doing here?" she asked.

"I'll tell you in a second," Leonard replied, "but you need to come with me." Catherine planned to ignore Leonard, but he grabbed her hand. She didn't know it, but he had received the results of his assistant's investigation.  

Catherine's first reaction was to shake off his hand, but he was too strong. So, when he wouldn't let her go, she shouted at him: "Leonard, what do you want now?" 

Instead of answering, Leonard pulled her back into the hospital. He dragged her into the elevator, and then he pressed the numbered button for the floor where the director's office was. All the while, Catherine glared at Leonard. She was thinking – He is so shameless. He promised that if I helped his Grandpa, he wouldn't harass me! 

Catherine looked Leonard in the eyes and said, "Why do you keep doing this to me? We are divorced, remember? You divorced me, and you hurt me, and now I don't want anything more to do with you. Why can't you get that through your thick skull? 

"You can't keep showing up at my place of employment like this, and eventually, it will cost me my job! Is that what you want? Can't you stop annoying me? I decided that I want to stay away from you, and I'm not going to change my mind. It would be best if you moved on. That shouldn't be hard for someone like you, and there are many women in this world. Most of them better than me. Can't you see that?

"When we were married, you ignored my feelings for you. Can't you do the same with your feelings for me?"

Leonard clenched and unclenched his hands as Catherine spoke, and with each word she vomited up, his ire rose incrementally.