Big Bad Daddy

Big Bad Daddy Midlife Bad Boys Series Lauren Wood Copyright © 2023 by Lauren Wood All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Contents 1. Mavis 2. Charles 3. Mavis 4. Charles 5. Mavis 6. Charles 7. Mavis 8. Charles 9. Mavis 10. Charles 11. Mavis 12. Charles 13. Mavis 14. Charles 15. Mavis 16. Charles 17. Mavis 18. Charles 19. Mavis 20. Charles 21. Mavis 22. Charles 23. Mavis 24. Charles 25. Mavis 26. Charles 27. Mavis 28. Charles Hot Doctor & Fake Fiancée (Sneak Peak) Chapter 1 Also by Lauren Wood About the Author Exclusive Offer 1 Mavis I looked to the clock, clicking the pen in my hand over and over again. I swear it was like the clock just didn't want to move. It was teasing me, lying to me, was it broken? I wanted it to be broken, just so that it meant it was time for me to leave. I'd been here for 18 hours, and this was the 3rd shift like it in the last three days. I was burned out and all I wanted to do was go home. “Nurse, can you help me with the patient in 11?” I told the doctor I would be right there, and he gave me a look that said that he wanted me there right now. Doctor Carson was the type of guy that expected what he said to be done immediately. No questions asked, just do it. He didn't care that I only had ten minutes left on my shift. That's not how it worked. The only choice I had was to go as quickly as I could so that when I got back, maybe the shift would have changed and I finally would be able to get out of here. The hospital was starting to fill up, and I knew that I would be dragged in for longer if I didn't get out of here quickly. I'd already seen the next shift coming in, and I was hopeful that it wouldn't be long until I was out of there. At least the next shift had arrived, and they couldn't try to keep me for that. Doctor Carson had no problem asking me to stay longer if it suited him in any way. Room 11 was a first-time mother who had a long time to go. She was only dilated a couple of centimeters, which meant that for her first time, she was probably going to be here for a while. I tried to explain that to her before, but every little contraction made her so sure that she was going to have the baby any moment. For her sake, I wished that was true, but me, as well as many of the other people there, knew that she was in for a long night. The doctor never came back into the room, even though he was supposed to be helping me. Instead, he took off in the other direction as soon as he sent me in there. Miss Keller wanted some ice chips and food and everything else that she was not supposed to have. I gave her some ice chips, asked her again if there was anybody I could call for her, and told her that if she needed anything else to just ring the button. I knew that it wouldn't be long before she wanted something else, but hopefully, I wouldn't be there. I wasn't one to shirk my duties, but by the end of the week, I was pretty much useless. All I liked to focus on was getting home, and when I got back to the clock that was in front of the nursing station, I was able to gather up my things and leave before I was sent to do anything else. “Hold the door!” I saw Kristen racing toward the elevator and held it open for her. She worked in the emergency room and we both worked the same shift. We'd been friends for years, went to college together, and now she would commiserate over their crazy patients in the ER, and I would tell her about all the pretty babies that were born on the 3rd floor with me. While I had worked in the ER for some time, there was nothing better to me than my job in labor and delivery. It was where I always wanted to work in a hospital, and it was just as good as I thought it would be. Granted, I didn't like Dr. Carson and there were a few more doctors that I couldn't stand on the floor, but meeting the new life brought into the world was something unique that I didn't think I would ever be able to get used to. It wasn't something that got old. We talked on the way down to the parking garage, and I asked her what she was doing on my floor. Apparently, there had been an emergency that turned out to be a labor. I hadn't heard anything new about someone on the floor, so I listened to her explain the car accident and the premature labor. I sent up a quiet prayer, hoping that everything would work out the way it was supposed to. While it was great to bring new life into the world, it was crushing when it was gone before it even started. Part of me wanted to stay, just to see if I could save the baby, but I knew that there were just as many people capable there to do it. If I didn't get out of the hospital now, I never would. It was hard though, knowing that someone might need my help and I wouldn't be there. It didn't matter that there were other nurses and