Never meet your heroes

CAMILLA

~•~

I fought hard to swallow my saliva. He was the definition of "breathtakingly gorgeous"! You know when you think that you have seen the most beautiful thing on Earth, and you just want to rush to it, hold it and tell it how beautiful it is? That was how I felt when I looked at him.

His brunette hair matched his beard, and his lips stayed in the middle of it all; pale red and lush. His streamlined jaw, high-rise cheekbones, and well-groomed eyebrows made him look like something...or someone straight out of a magazine cover.

Speaking of magazines, I suddenly realized that I had seen his face somewhere. Of course, he wasn't seated in a wheelchair in a sweatshirt and joggers, but his face was too familiar to miss.

I could have said Vogue, but he didn't seem like a model to me.

"Mr. Ivan, this is Camilla Theodore."

I jerked up when I suddenly remembered that there was someone behind me after all. I stood straight, cleared my throat, and held my purse firmly. His eyes moved from the elderly man walking towards him, over to me.

My cheeks suddenly began to burn, and I could swear they had turned crimson red.

As the butler rolled the wheelchair over to me. Mister Ivan's eyes didn't leave my body. Not even for a split second. An unpleasant chill ran down my spine.

I immediately became overly self-conscious. I wish someone had told me that my patient was going to be a super hot man in his thirties, and not an Italian and rude fifty-five-year-old - as I had already assumed - I would have dressed better.

Now, I was in black suit trousers and a carton-colored shirt. I had not even bothered to style my hair and it just flew all over my shoulders.

His eyes looked over at me, with a heavy lack of enthusiasm. He didn't seem one-tenth thrilled with me, as I was thrilled with him. He looked at me as though I did not deserve to be in his presence.

Maybe he wasn't wrong. I mean, I would never have had a reason to step into New Haven, if it wasn't for him, but it still didn't mean anything.

"Camilla Theodore, this is mister Ivan Holloway, and he..."

"Holy shit." I dropped the words right there, in front of both of them. My eyes widened immediately, I was supposed to say that to myself! Not to him!

Heavens! A doctor who swears and curses out loud in the presence of her patient!

Jeez, Camilla. How delightful. Remind me why I had not lost my license again.

But what other choice did I have? It was Ivan Holloway!

THE IVAN HOLLOWAY

Holloway empire. The second largest organization in the United States, and the fifth largest in the world!

I had seen his face on Forbes and the news more times than I cared to count!

And Tehilah? He was my sister's idol. Tehilah was into real estate herself, and this man, the man I was standing in front of, owned the largest and most successful real estate company in the United States of America.

What kind of luck had smiled upon me today?

The butler feigned a cough, and it was only then I realized that I had been staring at mister Ivan, and with my mouth wide open.

I closed it immediately and cleared my throat. I adjusted my stance while trying to not scream my head off, and stretched my hand out to him, for a handshake.

"A pleasure to meet you, mister Ivan."

I noticed how he looked down at the hand, and back up at my face. He did not say a word, nor did he accept my handshake.

I also knew he was not mute, cause his deep baritone had graced my ears a few minutes ago.

He wasn't interested in speaking to me. I respected that and kept my distance myself.

The butler stood straight, let go of the hands of the wheelchair, and stared at me.

"And I am Antonio Galvarez, as you already know. I am his butler, in charge of his welfare. If there's anything you need to know concerning his treatment, I'll be the one to tell you. I'm guessing you would need a history of a report from other doctors?"

I cast him a confused look, before shaking my head and bringing myself back to the present.

Other doctors?

Thankfully, I didn't say that out loud. I cleared my throat and adjusted the collar of my shirt before I spoke.

"Yes, of course. Very important."

"Excuse me." He spoke, before walking into the house, leaving me alone with the definition of success, himself.

I looked around the room one last time. Every piece of furniture in it, even down to the baby elephant at the top of a shelf, screamed riches to me. I had just walked into my dream life.

"I'm guessing he did not tell you this would be a waste of time." Ivan finally spoke again.

Although I was grateful that whatever was wrong with him had not temporarily affected his speech, the mockery and spite in his voice made my insides curl.

I looked away from the baby elephant and focused my gaze on him.

"Sorry?" I asked, unsure of what to make of what he had just said.

He scoffed and eyed me.

"You're here. It's a waste of time."

I stood straight and folded my arms in front of my chest.

"I doubt that sir. I don't think he would have called me here if he didn't want you to be better."

"And you think YOU can make me better?" He asked. The taunting emphasis he placed on the "you" caused me to frown. This man was underestimating me way too much.

"Yes. I know I can, if you would just let me help, and give me the answers I need to my questions..."

He interrupted my sentence with a bitter laugh, and I was forced to hold my lower lip with my teeth, in order not to say something extremely disrespectful.

"You're going to ask me questions like the rest of them? I don't get it. what's it with you shrinks and feeling like you have the questions that would lead me to find the answers I need. There is nothing you're going to ask me that I do not ask myself every day. And if I had the answers, you wouldn't be on my carpet, talking to me about how you can make me a better person because the truth is that you can't." He spat out.

I could see the irritation etched in his blue eyes.

He leaned back into the wheelchair and stroked his beards gently. I fought hard to keep a straight face, even though I wanted to break down and scream at him for being such a harsh jerk face.

I knew he was hurting. Under the veil he had carefully hidden his emotions in, I could see the hurt. And I could only wonder what had happened to him.

"I suggest you turn around and walk out that door. I do not know if you have other things to do with your time, but I have better things to do with mine." He continued, pointing towards the door.

Oh. So he thought he was tough, didn't he? Well, he was just about to see exactly what Camilla Theodore was made of.

Fuck! To think I have a sister who looks up to this jerkface!

It made me sick, and I frowned.

You know how the saying goes, "never meet your heroes.