Chapter 5

"Are you sure you're going to be fine on your own if not, I can dump this outing that Zara and Lauren are forcing me to and we can watch reruns of Brooklyn nine-nine?" Hazel asked, her forehead wrinkled in concern. It was two weeks since Oliver was discharged and she had moved in with him. She had barely left his side except to go to work and now her best friends was dragging her out.

"Hazel, I'm fine. I've gotten used to my wheelchair and besides, I'm going to call Nate and the guys over and we're going to play poker. " He waved her off. Oliver was coping better with the changes in their lives than Hazel, she kept worrying about him and was scared to leave him alone.

"Are you really sure? Like really really sure?" She squatted in front of him and grabbed his hand.

"Gosh, I already said I'm fine. Hazel, you deserve this, no, you need this outing. You're starting to turn into a new mom, with the way you keep hovering over me like I'm a baby." He grimaced at the thought and Hazel laughed.

"You're right. Who's a big boy? You're a big boy!" She said in a baby voice, pinching his cheeks. Oliver slapped her hand away and she stood.

"Well, how do I look?" She twirled around and Oliver whistled. She had put in a lot of effort with her outfit and looks. She was dressed in a gray-colored long-sleeved crop top, black high-waist miniskirt, and knee-high boots. She had done light makeup and her hair was up in a stylish messy bun.

"Damn girl, you look fine." He drawled his words and Hazel giggled.

"Thanks, Ollie, you're the best." She kissed his cheek and left.

Her cab driver was very efficient and she got to the club in record time. Her friends were already seated at their regular table. She strutted to the table, taking her time to flip her hair and acting like she was some supermodel or influencer.

" Hey ladies, how are you guys doing?" She flashed a grin at them, suddenly feeling like her old self. Her booming voice got their attention and they stopped their conversation to stare at her. Zara, the chronic hippie with purple hair, multi piercings, and a preppy smile, and Lauren, with her mousy brown hair, glasses, and shy smile. They were quite an odd pair but they were her best friends and she wouldn't trade them for anything.

"Hi, Hazel. Good to see you back from the dead." Zara ran her eyes through her body and winked in appreciation.

"Hey Hazel, how's Oliver?" Lauren asked with a little blush on her cheeks as she mentioned Oliver's name, Zara and Hazel shared a look.

"Oliver's fine, Lauren, and yes, Zara, I'm back from the dead, if being dead means taking care of my handicapped brother, then yes, I've been dead and I think I'll continue to be dead." She said rolling her eyes. Zara raised her hand in surrender.

"Wow, hold on, I was just joking with you. I know you have been busy with Ollie, we understand and we're very proud of you. Oliver is lucky to have a sibling like you. I can't imagine any of mine doing half of what you've done. They would have probably abandoned me at a shelter immediately after I got discharged." Zara said, hissing at the thought.

" True." Hazel agreed with her, they burst into laughter.

"Okay, time for shots!" Zara said and the others whooped, she beckoned over a waiter and ordered a round of shots, the shots came and they drank. Zara dragged Hazel and Lauren to the dance floor and they rocked their bodies to the energetic beat of Cardio B's WAP.

In the middle of Zara's twerk, she noticed some guy's eyes on Hazel and tapped her.

"Hey Hazel, at 9 o'clock, VIP session, don't look immediately but some hunk has been eye fucking you for a while now." Zara winked at her and gave her a cunning smile.

Hazel waited for a minute or two then followed her directions, she almost tumbled over when she saw who was staring at her.

"What the hell is Zachary McKinley doing here?"

*************

Zachary wanted to be anywhere but here, the past few weeks had been hectic, from his father's stroke to him taking over the company, he barely had time to sleep. He leaned back on his chair and ran his index finger around his glass of whiskey, observing the maniac crowd. His eyes settled on a blonde with the slickest curves he had ever seen, something about her felt familiar but he couldn't pinpoint what it was. He tried to look away but she was like a spell that entranced him and held him down, his eyes seemed to follow every move she made. Her dancing was awful but he didn't ever want her to stop dancing. She whirled around and their eyes met, he saw the shock in her eyes, although it was only there for a split second before it switched to a glare. He suddenly remembered why he knew her from, Hazel Chandler, how could he forget her, she had been haunting his dreams since he met her.

A light tap on the back of his head jolted him out of his trance.

"Dude, are you even here?" Logan teased, he took a large gulp of his drink then set the glass down on the table and gave his friend a hard stare.

"I'm fine. Just thinking about my dad and work." Zachary avoided Logan's eyes, he didn't want to see the pitiful look he was giving him. It was bad enough that he had to bear the looks from Paige and his employees, he didn't want it from his friend as well.

"Shit, sorry man. What are the doctors saying about his condition?" Logan asked concerned. There was the pity that Zachary didn't want.

"It was a minor heart attack, they're keeping him under check, in case he gets another heart attack. My stepmother has been going on a rampage to change his diet and lifestyle." Zachary couldn't help but smile at the thought and Logan laughed.

"Trust your stepmother to decide to burn all your dad's junk food. She'll be dragging him to her yoga class before the end of the week." He said. Zachary turned his head back to the dance floor to search for his spitfire but couldn't find her there, he roamed his eyes around the club searching for her.

"What's wrong?" Logan noticed his actions and asked.

" Nothing, I thought I saw someone I knew, I guess I was wrong. How's the marketing strategy for the Princeton project?" Zachary turned the conversation back to that of work and Logan's face turned serious.