AN: Ugh... so this chapter was written in a bit of a hurry, so it hasn't been beta'd yet. . Not that I have a beta for it. Anywho, I hope you enjoy! As for my other stories, I have virtually no time or muse to write anything at all, so I'm not sure when I'll be able to update. I'm sorry! *bows*

Chapter 2

Why was it that managers or agents always seemed to drone on about nothing at all? Mine sure had that ability perfected. For over half an hour she has been yelling her head off at me. Not that I even now what she's spouting on about; I tuned her out at the very first shriek. She's probably just lecturing me for being late, or for some other stupid reason like that. Come on, like it really matters if I'm five minutes later to a press conference. It's not like they're going to go anywhere without me. Besides, who does she think she is, lecturing me? She works for me, not the other way around. And I do my job well, unlike her.

"—So you have to show up on time from now on or else you won't get any more conferences to do."

Looking up from my nonfat latte I narrowed my eyes at her. "Excuse me? Why exactly are you telling me what to do? You're not the boss of me. If you keep doing that I might just be tempted to get you fired."

The agent frowned. "Sometimes I wonder if that would be better than having to put up with you." She threw her hands up in the air, obviously frustrated. "Whatever. I don't care anymore. Just try not to be late next time, ok? I can't keep dealing with angry press officials."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll do my best." Smirking I raised my right hand and did a modified version of a salute. "After all, I live to please, your highness."

With a groan the woman stood up and walked away. As she went I was sure I heard her mumbling something like, "I hate my job."

My smirk grew and I laughed. I knew it was a bit mean, but I couldn't help it. That stupid woman had been getting on my nerves for weeks now, and she had it coming. Besides, all I did was annoy her a bit. What was the harm in that? Blinking I realized that my cell phone was ringing. I frowned. Who would be calling? I didn't have any work for the rest of the day, and I didn't have any dates. At least none that I remembered. Taking the phone out of my handbag I stared at the number readout on the front LCD screen. 3-555-092. Huh. Absolutely no idea who that was.

I tried to remember if I had given my phone number to anyone, but I kept drawing a blank. The only person I had given it to was that nurse at the Baker Hospital… My eyes widened. Could it be someone from there? Snapping the phone open I held it to my ear.

"Hello? This is Nina Oliver."

"Miss Oliver? This is Penelope Yamano, the nurse from last night. You told me to call if there was a change in Mr Simm's condition?"

Oh God. Did I want to hear this? What if he had died? Suffered some massive internal bleeding or something? I suppressed a shudder. Was she calling to tell me that I had just been upgraded from 'Bad Driver' to 'Murderer? I was more than a little tempted to hang up before she had a chance to tell me. But curiosity had always been one of my weaker points, and it was now threatening to get the better of me. What was the worst that could happen? I could be sent to prison for killing that guy, that's what could happen! Curiosity killed the cat, as the saying went. And… wait, the nurse hadn't continued to speak. Was she waiting for me to respond?

"Miss Oliver? Are you still there?"

"O-Oh, y-yes. Um… sure, go ahead. Tell me." I hadn't just said that, had I?

"Well, you'll be relieved to know that Mr Simms is out of danger. The surgery was definitely a success…"

Something told me that there was more to it than that. I mentally sighed. I had a feeling this wasn't going to end well. "But?" I prodded impatiently, tapping my long acrylic nails against the counter in front of me. My eyes slid to the Styrofoam cup still half-full of latte. The milk foam was sticking to the sides of the cup, and by now it was almost cold. Ugh… not remotely appealing.

"But," the nurse continued, her voice lowering a bit, as though she was nervous. "He still hasn't woken up yet. The doctor is a bit worried that he's in a coma."

Shit. I had put him into a coma?

"Or that he may be brain dead."

Double shit! That was even worse than a coma! At least if he was only in a coma he might wake up. If he was brain dead… I grimaced. Fuck, fuck, fuck. I was in deep trouble. I was at the top of a fifty story high-rise and I was looking down. I saw my career flash before my eyes. If word of this got out… I was doomed.

"Miss Oliver? Hello? Hello?"

I flinched at the sound of her voice on the other end of the line. "Y-yes?!" Crap. My voice sounded like a freaking cartoon character's, jumping up an octave like that. I needed to calm down. I didn't' want to attract unnecessary attention in case I was freaking out about nothing. Yes, yes, that was still a possibility. Maybe he would still wake up. I felt my body relax a fraction of an inch. Just try to keep thinking positive, Nina. Think. Positive.

"I was just asking if you were planning on stopping by today? Our resident psychiatrist says that sometimes hearing a familiar voice will help to speed up the recovery process."

"Oh." That's not what I was expecting. "Is that all?"

"Yes, miss."

This wasn't so bad. Not nearly as bad as I thought it was. She hadn't sounded like she was blaming me for what happened to him. But… wait, a familiar voice? Why the hell would she call me? I had only met the guy the night before, and that had only been for a few seconds before he had passed out! If he did remember my voice, I doubt it would do him any good anyway. Why would he want to hear the voice of the woman who had put him in the hospital in the first place? Ugh… this was not going well… But I couldn't just say no. That would be suspicious. Oh, I know what to do!

"I'm at work right now, and I don't know if I can get away. Isn't there anyone else you can call? Family, maybe?"

"None that we could find. Mr Simms's closest relations aren't living in the country at the moment."

Damn. I had so thought I was off the hook. I could still use the 'I'm at work, leave me alone' excuse, but I kind of felt sorry for him. His family was in another country, and obviously the nurse couldn't come up with anyone else to call other than myself. Was he alone in Japan? I felt a twinge of something stir in my chest. He was just like me… I sighed. I just couldn't bring myself to say no, not after hearing that.

"Alright," I murmured. "I'll come as soon as I can. I have to finish work first, but I'll be by after. When do visiting hours end?"

I could almost hear the smile in her voice when she replied, "At five."

"Very well, I'll make sure to come before then." I paused, trying to remember her name. What had she said it was? P… P something. No good, I couldn't remember. Last name? Yakano? Yamaka? Yamano? Yeah, that seemed right. "Thank you for your call, Miss Yamano."

When I arrived at his room I hesitated before entering. In my left hand I held a bouquet of irises. I don't know what had brought it on, but on the way I had gotten the sudden urge to take him some flowers. At the store the saleswoman had said that these purple and white irises were very popular among people who sent them as get well gifts. Somehow I wasn't sure they were the most appropriate, but at least they were pretty and they smelled nice. Maybe they would even be able to help to relieve some of the stuffiness that seemed to accumulate in all hospital rooms.

I looked up from the flowers and back to the door. I blinked once, than twice. Why was I just standing here? I should go in and get it over with. I had a date for that evening, with a nice guy from work. All right, so he really wasn't that nice of a guy. He was some sleazy producer who was directing a movie I really wanted to star in. Given that tiny little detail, the moment he asked me out I knew I couldn't refuse. Not if I wanted a chance at staring in the movie at least.

I looked down at my watch. 3:00. Two more hours before visiting time was over with. And three hours after that I had the date. I wasn't really looking forward to the latter, but I knew that prolonging this visit wasn't going to help me in any way. Taking a deep breath I forced my free hand to reach out for the doorknob, forced it to twist the circular object, and push the door open. I then forced my feet to walk into the room. My eyes flitted from one side to the other appreciatively. The room wasn't so bad. Bright, and not exactly cheerful, but it was bigger than I thought it would be, and it didn't smell too bad. It would do, I decided.

Each step I took led me closer to the bed and I felt my heartbeat increase. By the time I reached the bed my heart felt like it was doing double time and I was sweating. Great, was I having a heart attack now from stress? Calm down. I needed to calm down. I took another deep, wavering breath, attempting to slow my heart rate down.

After about ten of those I started to feel more like myself. That was much better. Walking over to the window I winced as the only sound was the echoing of my high heels on the linoleum floor. Why did they make shoes that made so much noise? Couldn't they make shoes that looked pretty and were quiet? I was definitely going to write the manufacturer a note about that. Well, probably make my agent write it, but at least I thought of it.

I narrowed my eyes at the closed blinds. The overhead fluorescent lights may have provided light to the room, but why were these blinds closed? It made the room seem a bit… depressing. Placing the flowers down on the table in front of the window I reached out and snatched hold of the blinds, sliding them to one side to let in the sun. My lips turned upward at the corners. That was much better. Now if only…

"Hmph. I wish these things opened. How pathetic. And they call this a good room," I complained. "I'll have to have a talk with them about that too."

I sighed as I stared out the window. Why was I even bothering to talk? It wasn't like the guy could hear me. He was dead to the world. Not literally, but even so, could people hear things while they were that unconscious? I wasn't so sure. Guess it wouldn't hurt to try though. What did I have to lose?

"I don't really see the point in this, but whatever. I would have come earlier, but my agent kept bugging me. She's such a pain." I huffed, "Seriously, what does it matter if I'm five minutes late? Will the world end or something? She needs to relax and learn how to have fun in life." Not forgetting that the last time I had 'fun' was when I was out driving last night. Another mysterious chest twinge. " She just doesn't seem to understand that I don't want to live my life at her pace. Would you want to?"

I wasn't expecting an answer of any kind, so when I heard a groan coming from the vicinity of the bed I almost jumped right out of my skin. And, although I'm not remotely proud to admit it, I let out a shriek. Whirling around I saw that indeed, I hadn't imagined the groan, because black eyes were staring at me from a too-pale face. Shit.