Billionaire's Escort

"CONNOR! That's an order not a request!" Chief yelled as he grabbed my arm and yanked me off the porch. "Get your ass off the porch and let the guys get in there and fight the damn fire!"

"No, no, no!" I yelled as I flailed against the Chief's grip. "Let me go! Let me go!

"QUINN!"

Chief Riley pushed me to the ground and stood over me daring me to get up. The next thing I knew, I was rubbing my elbow and cursing as a warm wet tongue bathed my face. I shook my head and opened my eyes to find myself face to face with Tesla, my big yellow Lab. She was frantically licking my face as her tail wagged a mile a minute. Her breath was terrible, and I threw up a hand to stop the onslaught.

"Get back, girl," I grumbled as I gently pushed her away from my face. "I don't need a bath right now."

Tesla sat down and began softly whining and pawing at me as I leaned against the bed and held my head in my hands. I felt like crying, but like many, many times before this, the tears wouldn't come.

I looked up at the clock and realized I had to be at the station in two hours. That would give me just enough time to take Tesla for a run, make coffee, and grab a hot shower before I had to face another day of fighting Chicago fires.

"C'mon, girl," I said as I patted my dog on her head and smiled down at her. I was rewarded with a furious tail thumping on the floor as I said, "Let's go for a run."

Chapter Two

Alex

"Miss Pierce, did you hear me?" the formidable brunette woman said as she gripped a clip board and looked over the top of her cat eye glasses. She was dressed in a stiff, navy suit under which she wore a cream colored blouse buttoned up to her neck, and on her feet were sensible pumps, the kind that looked professional but could be worn all day without pain. She was a sensible woman who didn't have time for nursing students who didn't pay attention.

"Yes, Mrs. Rikka, I heard you," I said as I stepped forward and received my security badge and locker number. "Thank you, ma'am."

"Miss Pierce, I'm going to recommend that while you're here at Chicago General, you pay closer attention when people speak to you," she said, narrowing her eyes. "If you are not going to listen, then there is absolutely no point in you being here. Am I understood?"

"Yes, ma'am," I nodded as my face turned red with shame. I'd been listening until my best friend, Liz Baker, had elbowed me and asked if I'd brought my lunch. Now I was worried that I'd incurred the wrath of our nursing supervisor, Mrs. Fran Rikka, and that I'd pay a heavy price for it the rest of the year.

"Old bitch," Liz muttered under her breath as she flipped her flaming red ponytail and wrinkled her nose as if she'd smelled something bad. "She doesn't need to be dressing us down on the first day."

"Well, I wasn't listening to her," I admitted.

"Alex, you're going to need to grow a backbone, babe," Liz said as she slipped her arm through mine and pulled me down the hall toward the cafeteria. "Otherwise they're going to eat you alive!"

"I just think it's better to follow the rules and be polite," I said defensively. "I don't see what's wrong with that!"

"There's nothing wrong with that," Liz replied as she looked over the lunch offerings. "It's just that you do it so often that I think you forget that sometimes it's good to raise a little hell."

"I don't feel the need to raise hell like you do, Liz," I said, looking at her sideways. Liz had been my best friend since we were ten, when she'd waltzed into my elementary school, looked around and chosen me as her lifelong best friend. She was wild where I was calm, mouthy whereas I was polite, and rebellious whereas I was a definite rule follower. I calmed her and she, well, she got me into more trouble than I could imagine.

"I'll take the burger, fries, and a bowl of chili...please," Liz said to the woman behind the counter then looked at me and flashed a big cheesy grin. "Happy now?"

"Oh, Liz, you're a piece of work," I said, shaking my head. I turned to the lunch lady and said, "Salad, a bowl of chicken soup, and a wheat roll, please."

"Gross," Liz said as she made another face. She had the most animated face I'd ever known and was always shaping and reshaping herself to fit some new idea of who she thought she should be. It was entertaining, but sometimes I worried that Liz really didn't have any idea who she was.

"Do you think Rikka will hold today against me?" I asked once we were seated at a table near the window so Liz could watch people pass by. I loved the fact that I'd be able to observe the doctors and nurses as they worked on patients and then relaxed over lunch. I wanted to soak up as much about the hospital as I could, and the cafeteria was an excellent place to do it.

"Seriously doubt it," she said as she crammed two catsup-covered fries into her mouth and chewed. "Hey, look at that guy. Do you think he's homeless or just a hipster whose mom didn't do his laundry this week?"

"Liz! That's so mean!" I laughed before turning and looking at the young guy crossing the street and adding, "Definitely hipster. He's got a messenger bag slung over his shoulder. Homeless guys always use grocery sacks to carry their stuff."

"Hmmm, yeah, you're right," Liz nodded as she watched the boy cross the street. "He's cute, then."

"Elizabeth Marie Baker! You are incorrigible!" I laughed as I speared some lettuce and stuffed it my mouth. I chewed for a few moments then said, "I wonder who we'll be working with."

"I hope I get the ER," Liz said with her mouth full of burger. "I want to meet a handsome doctor who will sweep me off my feet and meet me in the broom closet for a scandalous rendezvous."

"Liz, is there ever a moment when men are not part of the equation for you?" I laughed already knowing the answer.