by Tia Souders
Well, buddy, you’re wrong. She mattered every bit as much as he did, and she was every bit as skilled as a man. She’d prove it, too. She’d do her job and do it well, but in the meantime, she’d be the bane of his existence. The reason he drew his curtains shut at night and locked his door. The reason he was constantly looking over his shoulder.
Okay, maybe that was taking it a little too far. Even for her. But, whatever. He wanted to goad her? She’d hit him right back. If he stayed her patient these next six to nine months, they’d be the most miserable of his life.
It was time to phase Emmett out. Operation Patient Excommunicado was underway.
CHAPTER SIX
Emmett
Emmett stood with his heels hanging off the edge of the plastic block step and began calf raises. He hated the way his knee felt like nothing was there backing it up. Like it would collapse in on itself at any moment. Regardless, he gritted his teeth and did as he was told.
He glanced at Jinny out of the corner of his eye. She stood, one hand on her hip, chewing unusually slowly—and loudly—on a granola bar. She looked like those ridiculous llamas at the zoo.
Her brown eyes tracked his movement, watching his knee with a hawk-like gaze. The slim black pants she wore hugged her butt with perfect precision—not that he noticed. Her skin glowed like she’d gotten loads of sleep since their first session two mornings ago, or maybe it was the way she wore her hair that made her look particularly bright-eyed.
Though her dark locks were swept back from her face, when she turned to greet someone entering the gym, a small tendril escaped. It was fitting, he mused. Nothing about Jinny Kimball could be contained.
Taylor, a Puma center, smiled at her from the elliptical and inclined his head. “Hey there, Miss J.”
“Hey, Tay. How’s the ankle?” she asked, turning toward him and ignoring Emmett.
Emmett forced his eyes from her backside and focused on Taylor as he continued his blasted calf raises.
“Aw, you know. Coming along,” Taylor said.
“Keep at those toe scrunches and raises and the other stuff I showed you. Got me?”
Taylor grinned. “I gotcha.”
When Jinny turned back to Emmett, he smirked and raised a brow. “Miss J?”
She shrugged and glanced around the room as though it was no big deal, but she was trying too hard for it to look natural. She glanced down at her nails then wiped them on her pant leg. “Yeah. You know, it’s just a nickname the guys came up with. No biggie.”
“The guys?”
“Some of the guys on the team.”
Emmett contained a laugh. “You’ve gotten to know them that well? In just a few days on the job?”
Just as the words left his mouth, Davis walked in. He threw a towel over his shoulder and eyed the treadmill, but the moment he spotted Jinny, he made a beeline for her and pulled her into a giant bear hug.
Emmett paused, shuffling his feet fully onto the block, watching the exchange with a frown.
“J, you’re going to spoil me.” Davis stepped back and placed his hands on his hips, grinning at her like a fool.
“Not just you.”
“True. You better not fatten us up too much though,” he said, rubbing his stomach. “Dang, you know I can’t resist Prantl’s.”
“The burnt almond torte is heaven. Am I right?”
“It was gone is seconds. Hey, Friday, it’s my treat. Don’t eat breakfast,” Davis said with a wink.
“Deal.” Jinny flashed him the biggest smile Emmett had ever seen—one he definitely wasn’t jealous of—as Davis sauntered onto the treadmill.
When she turned back to him, she beamed. “Take a seat on the exercise ball,” she said, motioning toward it.
Once Emmett complied, she asked, “You were saying?”
A slow smirk slid over his face. He placed his hands on his hips and watched her mouth move in slow motion as she took a giant bite of a granola bar.
“Prantl’s?” he asked.
It was the best bakery in the city, famous for the burnt almond torte. It was so amazing, it could drop a grown man to his knees. If Jinny took the time to stand in line and pick up pastries from them, there was a reason. She was scheming. He just had no idea what her game was.
“Yeah,” she said, emphasizing the word while she chewed. A small spray of granola hit him in the face. He winced and picked a chunk of it from his eye. “I figured these guys deserved it, you know?”
Emmett hummed a noncommittal response. “What about this guy? I’m your patient, not Davis.” The burning sensation in his chest was stupid. But it took effort to buy pastries for the other guys, and not him. Being jealous of a dessert was preposterous, yet he couldn’t help himself.
“Actually”—Jinny raised a finger and took another massive bite—“I am working with Tay. We’re strengthening his ankle after a sprain.”
“Tay?” Okay, now this was getting ridiculous.
More granola hit him in the face, and Emmett grunted. “Do you eat during all your therapy sessions?”
Jinny shrugged. “I’m a busy gal. Gotta take lunch when I can get it.”
“It’s ten a.m.”
“I have low sugar.” She huffed.
“I think it’s cute,” Emmett said, knowing she’d take the bait.
He watched the internal war in her head. She stopped chewing and her eyes narrowed. “What’s cute?”
“The way you eat so vigorously. I mean, most women try to be all dainty about it. Small bites, small portions. But you,” he said, “you don’t care what other people think. You get all into it. Huge bites with your big chompers going a mile a minute. You don’t even pause to swallow before you talk. Heck, I don’t even know if you breathe. I’ve always thought a girl with a voracious appetite was sexy. Now, you’ve just proved my theory.” He winked and watched with satisfaction as her gaze hardened and her face flushed.
When she stomped off to the nearest trash can and chucked the granola bar inside, he chuckled under his breath.
Emmett one. Jinny zero.
∞∞∞
Jinny
The granola bar on Wednesday may have been a fail, but she’d seen the look on his face. Prantl’s got to him. Men were ruled by their stomachs. That and the little nickname, Miss J. It had a nice ring to it. To think all it took was Dean calling her “J” all day yesterday at the gym, and it caught on like wildfire, just as she had hoped. Okay, maybe that wasn’t all it took. Dean would get the last of their mom’s cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning this year. The jerk.
Ever since they were kids, they’d fought over the last roll. Jinny had yet to figure out why her mother never made a double batch. It only solidified her suspicion that she secretly enjoyed their brother-sister feuds.
Regardless, the sacrifice was worth it.
She took Emmett back to an exam room. It was Friday—a whole new day. Another chance to irritate him.
They had already run through all their flexion and extension exercises for the day, as well as some minor strengthening and muscle building. His knee was still fairly acute in the third week, so they were limited. That left NMES and therapeutic massage. Blech.
She instructed him to sit on the exam table with his legs hanging freely over the edge. With understated confidence, Jinny adhered the three circular electrode pads above his knee and the larger one on his quad.
“You’ll probably be familiar with this. I know they did some neuromuscular stimulation with you last week before you came to me, but I’m going to order it five times a week for the time being. So you’ll need to come in every day. Your therapy is only three times a week, but the NMES has proven to be really effective, so on the in-between days, you’ll be in and out. Some discomfort is normal, but let me know if it’s too much.”
“Can’t bear to be away from me, huh?” Emmett asked.
Jinny rolled her eyes.
“I realize you’ll do anything to get me in here every day, but you can just come
out and ask. You don’t need to make excus—” Emmett yelped and practically leapt off the table as Jinny turned the dial on the machine.
“Oops. Sorry.” With a grin, she adjusted to the correct stimulation.
∞∞∞
Jinny swallowed the last of her apple—her breakfast—then glanced at the clock and stood. She swore Emmett liked to be her first appointment of the day because he enjoyed starting her off on the wrong foot. Little did he know, he was doing her a favor. She liked getting his appointment over with. The remainder of her Monday would be a breeze.
Jinny pulled open the drawer of her desk and removed the pack of bubble gum she bought on her way to work. She opened the package and popped a chunk in her mouth. Watermelon. Her favorite. She hadn’t had this stuff in years because her mother told her it would rot her teeth out.
Today, watermelon Bazooka was her weapon of choice. Her ally in the cold war.
She unwrapped three more pieces and stuffed them in her mouth until both cheeks were full. Her jaw ached as she chewed and the sugars in the gum gave way to soft, juicy goodness. Satisfied with herself, she smoothed the front of her blue silk blouse and headed to the door.
Oops. Almost forgot weapon numero dos.
She doubled back around and snatched the perfume she brought from home. It had been a gag gift from Callie a couple years back. It was called Bleeding Heart, came in a red bottle in the shape of an anatomical heart, and smelled every bit as hideous as it looked.
She uncapped it and doused herself. She rubbed it into every pore until her eyes watered and her nose burned. Who needed sinus cavities?
Now she was ready.
She marched out to the waiting room to call Emmett back.
When she got there, she called his name over the wad of gum, proud of herself for only dribbling the slightest bit of drool in the process. Then she did a double-take.
A lithe blonde sat beside him. She stared up at Emmett in adoration, batting her eyelashes and touching the v-neck of his t-shirt in reverence. She had that large-eyed, sunken cheeked, starved model look. When he leaned down and whispered something into her ear, she chuckled, swatting at his arm. It was a miracle her limbs didn’t snap like a twig.
Jinny had to stop herself from gagging. She wondered if he’d even heard her call his name, when he finally stood and turned.
Crossing her arms over her chest, she blew a bubble as she watched him approach, smirk in place. She inwardly fist-bumped herself when the bubble grew to be the size of her face and blocked the view of his ugly mug. It popped obnoxiously just as he came to a stop in front of her.
She sucked it back in and chewed the gum like a piece of tough steak. When he smirked, she grimaced and spun on her heel, heading straight for the fitness room.
In the hallway, they passed Jamal, the team’s starting center. “What up, Miss J?”
Jinny smiled and greeted him as they passed. Then Damion exited the bathroom and inclined his head. “Miss J, my favorite person. Looking beautiful, as usual.”
“Thanks, hun,” she said, shooting him her sweetest smile before she turned to Emmett and let it wither and die on her lips. “It’s so cute how your little sleepover bled into your therapy appointment. I’m surprised she isn’t still wearing her unicorn jammies. What is she, ten?”
“She’s twenty, and—”
“Let me guess,” Jinny purred between chomps. “A model? An aspiring actress?”
Emmett chuckled.
“So, what number is she on your list of conquests?” Jinny asked.
“Wouldn’t you like to know.”
She clenched her jaw. The only reason she wanted to know was for medical and professional purposes only. Of course she didn’t want to know for personal reasons. What Emmett did in his free time was his business.
She instructed him to start his first set of stretches as a fresh wave of inspiration hit. “I’ll be right back,” she said, then hurried to the bathroom.
She opened the cabinet across from the sink. The one she noticed the cleaning crew dipping into at the end of the day. Her eyes scanned the shelves, and she smiled as she homed in on the huge, yellow rubber gloves. Bingo.
She snatched them up and slid them on as she made her way back to the fitness room. Emmett sat on the bench doing toe raises. When his wandering gaze stopped at her gloves, he arched his brow.
Two of his teammates were already working out. Perfect.
“What’s with the gloves?” he asked.
“It’s for my protection.”
“Protection?” he asked, sounding amused.
Before she could answer, Gabe walked in. He smiled at Jinny, then frowned as he drew closer and took in the gloves. His pace slowed.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
Jinny smiled. “Oh yeah, sure. You know, I just don’t want to contract anything,” she stage-whispered.
Gabe’s eyes shifted to Emmett. “Contract anything?”
Jinny waved her hand toward him. “Apparently, he’s been around town quite a bit lately. I saw him scratching.” Jinny widened her eyes and whistled, pointing her index finger in a downward motion. “I’m sure it’s nothing to be worried about, but I’m not taking any chances. You can never be too careful.”
Gabe cringed and took a giant step away from Emmett, forcing Jinny to bite back a laugh.
“Be sure to bleach everything when he’s done, yeah?”
“Absolutely.” Jinny nodded solemnly.
Gabe sniffed the air around them. “Actually, did you spray some disinfectant already? I smell something—”
“Oh, no.” Jinny batted a hand at him. “That’s just this new perfume I tried out. I read an article about how the scent of dirt has therapeutic effects.”
“Uh, okay,” Gabe said, eyeing her like she was crazy.
It was perfect, really. She’d kill two birds with one stone—nauseate Emmett and turn off Gabe (who seemed a little more interested than she’d like) all with one go.
The corners of Emmett’s mouth curled into a smile, and she couldn’t help herself. She smiled back until their eyes met, then she forced a frown and barked, “Leg raises.”
She felt a touch on her arm and leapt in the air, caught off guard.
“So, did you watch that movie I told you about?” Gabe asked.
She had been preoccupied with pretending she wasn’t watching Emmett perform leg raises like a champ to notice him return to her side. And she definitely was not noting the way the muscles in his core contracted and released while he worked.
“The movie?” she asked, distracted. Then the words clicked, and she turned her attention back to Gabe. Apparently, he was not to be deterred by her scent. “Oh, yeah. I totally loved it.”
He nudged her again in the arm. “I knew you’d like it.”
She noted the contact. Two touches in one minute. He wanted to show her he was into her. Abort, abort!
“I mean, it was okay,” she amended.
“You know, I think the sequel comes out Friday night. We should go see it together. We could even leave after work, grab a bite to eat, then see the late show?”
Jinny bit her lip. It wasn’t that she didn’t like Gabe, per se. He was handsome enough, if you liked the surfer-blond, blue-eyed thing. And he seemed pretty genuine. But she wasn’t interested. Even if she were into him, dating a coworker at her brand-new job seemed unwise. But she also didn’t want to turn him down in front of Emmett. Who knew what he’d make of that. He’d probably accuse her of professing her undying love for him.
She folded her arms over her chest. “Um. Maybe. I need to check with Callie first—I can’t remember if I was supposed to meet up with her Friday night. But if I’m free…”
Spoiler alert, she wouldn’t be free.
“Sounds great. And, hey, we could even double with her and Dean if you want.”
Crap. She hadn’t thought about that. He’d probably ask Dean when he saw him.
She opened her mouth to come up wit
h another excuse, something to deter him, when Emmett interrupted them. “Hey, Jinny, I think it’s time for me to do the standing toe raises.”
“Oh, right.” Jinny flashed Gabe an apologetic smile, then hooked a thumb toward where Emmett stood. “Catch you later.”
She followed Emmett to the exercise ball as Gabe moved on to speak with Davis. Once they were out of earshot, Emmett turned to her. “You’re welcome.”
“For what?”
“Saving you from having to say yes to a boring dinner and movie date with soul surfer over there.”
Jinny glared. “I happen to like Gabe. He’s nice.” Liar, liar pants on fire.
Emmett yawned.
“What? Nice means boring?” she asked in challenge.
“Hey, if you wanna go on a date with that snooze fest, don’t let me stop you. Please, march right on over there, and tell him you’ll go see his lame movie.”
Jinny put her hands on her hips, the rubber gloves squeaking with the movement. The wad of gum in her cheek was starting to hurt her teeth.
“Fine, I will.”
She wanted to spin on her heel and do it. She needed to, but she couldn’t make her feet work.
When Emmett smirked, Jinny huffed and waved to the exercise ball. “Just start your calf raises, would you?”
“Nice touch with the perfume, by the way.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said, but her lips betrayed her snark by quirking into a smile.
“You know, I kind of like it,” he said, moving in close.
He dipped his head down as if breathing her in, and Jinny’s pulse jumped in response.
Glancing to see if Gabe was watching, she turned back to him and hissed, “Stop it.”
He laughed as he stepped away and began the exercise. She observed while chewing her gum as loudly as she could, cracking it in between chomps. If she dislocated her jaw, it’d be worth it. She was the queen of gum snapping. She drove Dean wild when they were kids, so she had a lot of practice. She’d spent hours perfecting her technique. It was all in how you rolled the wad of gum with your tongue to get the optimum amount of air pockets. Chemical warfare had nothing on her gum-cracking capability.
