She leads me to her desk in the lobby where a few seniors are playing a game of checkers and another one is sipping a cup of coffee. The three of them are having an animated argument about the best places to fish around here.
She reaches into the bottom drawer and pulls out a first aid kit. She cleans my hands despite me telling her I can do it, then applies ointment on them. She’s just finished patching me up when the phone on her desk rings.
“Is there somewhere I could get changed?” I ask, gesturing to my messy scrubs.
“Go to the employee lounge. Last door on the right,” she says before she reaches for the phone. She answers the call smoothly like there’s no chaos going on around her.
I take my bag and limp to the employee lounge.
As soon as I step into the lounge, the hair on the back of my neck stands on end. I’m not alone. There’s someone here with me.
I pick up the soft sound of clothes rustling as I round a row of lockers. I spot the hottest doctor I’ve ever seen. His back is to me, but even from here, I can see he’s dressed in work boots and light blue scrubs and no shirt. He’s broad with big shoulders, muscles bunching in his back. He’s huge, easily twice my size.
When I make a squeak, he turns around to face me. Holy pecs, he is built. He looks like he escaped from one of those lumberjack calendars with his hairy chest and damp, golden skin.
I can’t help wondering what it would be like to run my tongue across his abs, circle his belly button, and touch the happy trail disappearing into the top of his pants. He has strong thighs that lead to a prominent bulge that cannot be hidden. Heck, his pants look two sizes too small, and all it does is make me tingle all over.
Something flashes in his gaze as awareness arcs between us. The electricity crackles, heat coiling low in my belly. I imagine for a moment what it would be like if he pushed me up against this row of lockers and kissed me. If he caged me in with his strength and glared down at me the way he’s glaring now.
He clears his throat, drawing my attention to his bushy beard. It looks so soft and well kept. I want to pet it. Would that be weird? Definitely weird, I decide.
I give myself a little shake as my brain finally realizes what those blue scrubs mean. He’s not just anybody here in the employee lounge. He’s the doctor. The doctor I’m supposed to be working closely with.
I force myself to paste on a smile that I don’t feel. All I feel is disappointment that I’ll never get to know what that big beard feels like between my thighs.
“I’m thrilled to meet you,” I say.
“Thanks,” he says like it’s a question.
I step forward and hold out my bandaged hand to him. “I’m excited to be working with you.”
He snorts, “I don’t think we’re working on the same team here.”
My smile freezes in place, and I go stone still. My heart rate speeds up as anger floods my veins. Normally, I can hold my tongue and remain professional no matter what the setting is or what’s happening.
But right now, I’m furious. I’m so angry at myself for being so attracted to another guy that’s clearly a jerk. “Don’t be one of those arrogant assholes who think you’re above me. There are no small jobs in medicine. Every single person is a vital part of the care team.”
He says, “You don’t understand–”
I’m not interested in letting him finish whatever lame excuse he was going to offer me. I put my hands on my hips, ignoring the way it hurts my palms. “I’ve known dozens of doctors like you. You think just because you’re good looking and went to medical school that you’re the important person in the room. Well, newsflash, you’re not.”
I swear he almost smirks at me as he says, “I never said I was the most important person in the room.”
I glare at him, his amusement only making me angrier. “The patient is always the most important person in the room.”
The smirk on his face finally blossoms into a full on grin. “Well, now that you’ve put me in my place, how about dinner tonight?”
I blink, getting whiplash from his sudden change in topic. I didn’t expect him to ask me out despite the heat between us. Even if we weren’t working together closely, I’m not interested in someone with as much ego as he has. “I don’t go out with people I work with.”
He steps closer, leaning into my space. When he speaks, his breath caresses my face. He smells like mint and pine and earth, like home. “But you’re attracted to me.”
Like the articulate medical professional I am, I snap back, “Am not.”
The door to the employee lounge creaks open and I instantly take a step away from the lumberjack doctor who’s arrogant and climb-him-hot at the same time.
Lauren steps around the lockers and focuses on me. “Are you ready to meet Dr. Banks?”
“I already have.” I glare at the man in front of me.
