Treating Mr. Billionaire

~ 38 ~

Ted stepped out of the private ward, and his steps paused upon seeing the group of men approaching. He was quick to identify the one positioned at the center as the personal patient Maria had told him about.

The squad grew closer, halting at the same time when the boss stopped his movement, his eyes meeting with the other guy. "You must have come to visit the patient inside." He voiced, his eyes wondering who the other guy by the door was.

"Obviously," was the dry response from Ted, not bothering to hide his annoyance at the situation. "What exactly happened to her?" He added, his eyes narrowing to zero in on the man's face.

Staring back at the pair of distrustful grey eyes, Jayden could easily read the obvious fact that the other guy didn't like him much. And as a matter of fact, that feeling could easily become mutual. "Asthma attack," he answered curtly, his voice monotone.

"I'm talking about what happened before that," Ted responded almost immediately, folding his arms and adjusting his posture in a threatening way. "What was she doing at your place of work in the first place that got her involved in a risk like that?"

Jayden maintained an unreadable gaze, his eyebrows pulling together in a slight frown at the man's nosiness. "Things happen." He returned flatly after a short while, intentionally keeping his responses short. Maybe the guy would get the memo and leave him alone.

Ted chuckled bitingly at the unexpected reply. "Things happen?" He questioned sarcastically, his tone dripping with contempt. "I am surprised you can say that with a straight face. Is that all you can for yourself?" He added, pointing a finger at him.

"Yeah." The simple answer was all Jayden could offer back, allowing his nonchalance to annoy the man's hostile gaze.

Ted's face tightened with displeasure and then stepped closer to Jayden to seize him by the collar. "What the hell did you do to Maria?" He gritted, his fingers digging firmly into the fabric of his shirt.

The sight of their boss being held by another person provoked the guards straight away, stepping forward to intervene but Jayden was quick to stop them with a signal of his palm, forcing them to retreat back.

His brown eyes dropped to the furious grip of the man's fingers dug into his collar, his thumb brushing against the side of his neck. "Nothing." He uttered after a minute of silence and lifted his eyes up to meet the other's glare once again. "Let go of me," he added, his command low with a touch of menace.

"The next time she gets hurt because of you," Ted paused to add more pressure into his hold, "You are going to be the one getting admitted to a fucking hospital." His threat was delivered in a harsh tone but disregarded with Jayden's amused chuckle.

"Oh, is that a threat?" His half-smirk played at the side of his lips, a hint of amusement in his eyes as he studied the infuriated expression on the man's face.

There was nothing amusing about this situation, though. Ted was holding him in a way that almost had him choking. But it was fun to see someone standing up to him since most people had always approached him while walking on eggshells.

"Be my guest then," Jayden added with his smile falling flat, allowing his fingers to travel to his collar and tearing away the grip with restrained annoyance. "A piece of information for you though, learn to keep your hands in the right places." He suggested bluntly, dusting off the handled part of his cloth as if there was dirt clinging to it.

Ted could only snarl at the comment, his hands clenching into fists and stepping back as his newly found enemy walked past him, disappearing into the nearest ward.

***

Jayden walked deeper into the hospital room, directing his steps toward the sick bed positioned near the far end of the place. He paused to watch the occupant of the bed from afar, observing the bright conversation she was having with the medical staff attending to her.