The Arrangement (unenhanced Edition) by AnnaRCase (books to read now .txt) 📖

 Amberleigh stood frozen on the threshold of the master suite.  Leo gave the billionaire another shake before he felt for a pulse on his friend’s neck.  To Amber, it was like watching a fucking bad movie, disconnected and in another world entirely. At least until Leo turned to look at her and the fear was clear in his eyes. But when he spoke, his words came out strong and unwavering.

                “I can’t wake him up. And his breathing is too slow. Help me move him to the floor.”

                Amber snapped out of her daze and ran across the room where Leo was already grabbing Grayson under the shoulders. She grabbed his limp legs and helped Leo heave the dead weight onto the floor.  He was solid and heavy as fuck. Grayson didn’t so much as twitch or move. Still. Almost lifeless if not for the rise and fall of his chest.

                “Maybe we should move him to the bed instead?” she suggested.

                Leo was already down on his knees arranging his friend on the floor. He shook his head at her request and was typing something into his smartwatch.

                “No. He has a pulse. But he’s only breathing like six times a minute, only half of what he should be. And if he stops breathing or I lose his pulse, I’ll need a hard surface for CPR…”

                “Fuck. Are you calling an ambulance? What the hell happened to him Leo?”

                Amber felt helpless. She just stood there on the verge of panic, while Leo was holding it together and taking charge.  It turned out Leo was calling Dr. Gainey and he answered her questions indirectly by speaking to the doctor. Leo must have had a wireless earpiece in his ear, as Amberleigh only heard one side of the conversation.

                “Sorry to call you so late, but it’s an emergency. Grayson has overdosed I’m pretty sure.  He’s had a lot of alcohol and he took his Ativan too….yes he’s only breathing about six a minute and he has a steady pulse…yes… he vomited too…. Ok, I’ll turn him on his side then… Yes he feels a bit clammy…ok…if he gets worse before you arrive, I’ll call an ambulance….CPR …No I don’t think it was intentional…I’ll check how many are in the bottle…”

                Amber was already searching for the bottle glad to be of some use after all. She found it in his medicine cabinet and dumped the pills into her hand quickly. The bottle was filled a week ago according to the label with sixty pills, prescribed at two a day as needed. Her hand shook and few fell in the sink, but there were fifty pills still in that bottle. Grayson hadn’t taken more than he should’ve or so it appeared. She quickly looked over the other pills in his stash and none of those bottles were empty either. So far Leo’s theory of an accidental overdose seemed accurate.

                On her way out of the bathroom, Amberleigh grabbed a wet towel .She also snatched a pillow off his bed to place under Grayson’s head if need be. In her absence, Leo had pulled off hisown  t-shirt and was wiping the vomit off his friend. He had already turned Grayson on his side to keep his airway free and from choking on his own vomit. As per the advice of his physician Dr. Gainey. But Leo was no longer on the phone, his sole focus at his friend lying motionless on the cold, marble floor at his feet.               

                 Amberleigh kneeled down next to the unconscious man and took over the job of cleaning the bile off Grayson with the plush, monogramed towel. Together she and Leo stripped off the billionaire’s soiled shirt. He certainly didn’t smell so nice and elegant at the moment.  Leo kept counting his friends breaths and pulse. He was not shitting around, his face focused and concentrated.

                “How long before Dr. Gainey will get here?” she asked.

                She couldn’t help but wonder where the fuck Mr. Duvall was. She hadn’t seen the butler in hours, in fact all day. She didn’t realize he actually took days off, but it figured the time they could use an extra pair of hands to deal with this precarious situation, the butler would be out painting the town. Not that she could imagine him smiling or doing anything remotely that resembled having a good time.

                “Twenty minutes,” informed Leo, “Until then we watch him and do what we need to.”

                Fuck, twenty minutes felt like a fuckin lifetime right now!  If Leo were to count her pulse right now, it’d be off the fucking charts. Grayson looked so fucking fragile, helpless, small. A taste of what lie ahead in his fucked up future. The only thing clear in this scary as fuck situation was the way she felt about the man barely breathing beneath her fingertips . She was in far too deep to just walk away. To abandon him and Leo. She loved both of the men in this room and there was no use fucking denying it any longer. And she didn’t want to lose either of them.

                Leo was truly fucking amazing, keeping his head while she wanted to scream. She knew without a doubt the chef would give his friend mouth to mouth  even though Grayson smelled,  and probably tasted, like he’d spent a night in The Rabbit Hole and been left passed out in a puddle of his own puke the alleyway. Hopefully, it wouldn’t come to that. Dr. Gainey would get his ass here and know what the fuck to do to make the billionaire all better.

                Amberleigh realized she’d been unconsciously running her fingers through Grayson’s hair when Leo gave her a half-hearted smile, “Good some stimulation may do him some good. Keep it up.”

                “I feel pretty fucking helpless right now. And pretty guilty.”

                 Leo rubbed her arm, “Don’t do that Amber. Don’t blame yourself for this. It was his choice to drink. He knew too much alcohol could be deadly with the benzo he’s on. This isn’t your fault.”

                “Well is there one of those Narcan kits here?”