Tell me about it.She must like pain, because she’d touched her cell phone enough times that day and contemplated calling or texting Damian like they were some new couple. Self-preservation won the fight, but the fact she’d entertained pursuing him scared her. “Me neither. Thank you.”
“Good. Hey, if you’re looking to meet someone, the guy I’m seeing has a hot best friend. We could go on a double date.”
“Is his friend a staunch vegan or has he ever led a save the peacocks parade?” Brit asked, in a lighter note. Usually, the guys Lara dated were as intense about her causes as she was.
Lara threw a small piece of bread her way. “Nope. He even eats meat.”
“Promising,” she said. Sure, meeting a man open to a relationship wouldn’t hurt, but was she open to meeting someone so soon after an instacrush on Damian?
Lara lifted her chin. “Great. How about Friday?”
* * *
“Hey. You look different,”Damian’s nurse Adriana said when Brit walked in. A savvy woman in her late forties, Adriana had a lisp that only made her more adorable. “I’m digging the new hair.”
Brit shrugged. For the past four days, she’d fantasized about seeing Damian. But according to his schedule, he didn’t need her in his office until today. She cleared her throat. “Thanks.”
“The makeup too. So pretty,” Adriana said with a gentle smile.
Okay, so she had spent extra thirty minutes contouring her face and choosing the right highlighter for the occasion. Hopefully she didn’t look like she tried too hard. Insecurities swam in her tummy like sharks in the ocean. “Is Dr. Forrest here?” she asked Adriana, keeping the professional tone she maintained whenever the other nurses or assistants were around.
“Yes. You can go in his office and continue from where you left off last week. He’ll be in the hospital most of the day.”
“Sounds good,” she said.
“I have to go there myself. See you later.”
She scurried into his office and continued the task she’d been paid to perform. Maybe things weren’t as bad as they were supposed to be. He could have fired her, but instead he booked her when he was out of sight so they didn’t have to see each other. You’re overthinking. The man is a surgeon.He doesn’t need to pretend to be busy.
She glanced at his imposing heavy oak desk, and without thinking, walked up to it then sat at his leather chair. His manly scent mixed with the notes of wood and bamboo from his cologne, pushed into her nostrils and she inhaled it. When she exhaled, she touched the glass over the polished oak.
She’d thought crushing over a teacher in high school had been bad.
Now, she realized it’d been great because she took no action. Her attraction to the young science sub lasted for a few months then withered again, in a platonic bliss. Having slept with Damian only worsened her situation if compared. Memories from his lips on hers, the warmth of his body near hers haunted her common sense.
Yes, maybe the date she’d agreed on the next day wasn’t such a bad idea. A lunch in a nearby restaurant. How bad could it be?
* * *
“My personal advisorsaid I could go ahead, so now it’s up to me,” Bill said, sitting across from Damian at the trendy restaurant downtown. When Bill called him and asked if he could meet him for lunch, he couldn’t believe his luck.
He’d been nothing but frustrated for days—ever since he left Brit’s warm bed and kind heart. She wasn’t scheduled to come in until today, but he hadn’t seen her because he’d been at the hospital in surgeries for most of the morning. “And what can I do to get you on board?”
Bill played with the fork in his fingers, brushing his filet dish aside. “You know your assistant. The one you took to the party.”
“Brit.”
“Yes, her.”
His gut clenched. “What about her?”
“I like her a lot. I think she should join us in this project.”
Join them? Brit’s helping out was temporary, and he doubted she’d be into long term work opportunities with him. Especially after they slept together. “But she’s not part of the medical field, and doesn’t have any experience in this type of venture.”
“Well, she’s got experienced making women look prettier, right? And she seems like a very loyal young lady. We’ll find a good position for her. She’ll learn fast,” Bill said, waving him off, like this was the type of decision he made in his sleep.
Why on Earth would Bill want Brit to work closely with them on the project? As the investor, he wouldn’t be as involved as Damian. A mix of curiosity and jealousy added to the acid spreading into his stomach. “Why do you really believe her presence is essential?”