Distance is good. If I don’t have close bonds here, people can’t use me to get to my brother. They can’t turn my life upside down and ruin it. They can’t make work miserable. I won’t have to lose another person in my life I love beyond measure again. Distance is safe. And Cassidee Parker seems like the type of woman who will be everything but safe.
Five
Dee
Giggling fills the speakers before Tate clears her throat and appears on the screen in front of me, her flushed, smiling face instantly making me grin and relax. It’s amazing how just seeing my best friend calms my rioting mind and overactive imagination.
“Stop, Cody,” she says, as he leans in and buries his face in her neck, making her laugh more and say in the most disgustingly playful, and annoyed voice, “Can’t you see Dee is on, and it’s her turn with me now? You had your fill.”
Cody pulls away from her and pouts out his lips, making the most ridiculous face I’ve ever seen.
“Oh my God, I swear he’s a child sometimes. I’m sorry.” She shakes her head and turns all of her attention back to me.
I can’t help but laugh at her. Or him. “Speaking of, I’m guessing you two are alone tonight?”
“What gave it away?”
“The just had sex blush on your face, and the fact your fiancé is back there, shirtless, picking up clothes, for one.”
“Yeah… Sorry about that. He was gone for a few days, and I’m losing him again in another thirty-six hours, we were making up for lost time.” She shrugs her shoulders and her lips pull up into the smile she gets that flips my stomach in envy, yet makes me beyond happy for my best friend, my sister, basically.
“I’m so incredibly jealous you’re getting it on the regular when I’m not; I don’t want to know what you all were doing.”
“No,” she laughs, then whispers very quietly, “you don’t. You’d hate me and then you’d want it too. And as a good friend, I would never gloat over how skilled he is with his tongue.”
“Oh. My. God. Who are you and what have you done with my less forthcoming friend? I usually have to pry that shit out of you with a crowbar.”
Cody raises his head from everything he’s picking up behind Tate and smirks in that arrogant, he knows he’s good way.
“It was that good. And your timing was impeccable.”
“Clearly,” I reposition my computer so I can move from my spot, and open my refrigerator to fill my wine back up.
“A second glass?” Her eyebrow rises slightly. “Don’t you have work tomorrow too?”
“I do. This will be my last glass, Mom.” I pour my crisp, cool Moscato into my oversized glass, emptying the bottle and filling my drink to just beneath the rim. “As jealous as I am of all I just saw, I’m so happy for you.”
“You’ll find your prince, Dee. One who wants the same things out of life this time. I know it.”
I swallow a big gulp of my wine then carry it and my carefully balanced on my arm computer over to my couch, so I can curl up while I talk. “I miss him. Not so much him, but the time we spent together. And getting laid. Is that awful?”
“Yes,” Cody pipes up before appearing behind Tate. “He was a prick, we all know it and think it. You can do better Dee. Trust me. As a man, I know what it takes, he was not it.”
“Gee, thanks, Cody. Couldn’t you have sugarcoated that for me a little?”
Cody shakes his head no and shrugs a single shoulder, just as Tate elbows him in the stomach and shakes her head. “Nope, it’s not wrong. Don’t mind Cody. You two were really good together. It’s unfortunate he didn’t work out. But you are better off, living life in Rhode Island, and starting your perfect career.”
“Thank you. Both of you. I do appreciate the honesty, Cody.”
“You know I’ll always shoot straight with ya. Plus, when you get hurt, she gets mad. If she’s mad, I’m mad.”
I appreciate that about Cody. We’ve gotten along since the beginning, and he’s been incredible for her. And as much shit as we love to give each other, we’ve always been straight and honest with each other too. It works for us. “And if you’re mad, people are in trouble?”
“Exactly. You know how it goes.” He winks at me then presses a kiss to Tate’s head. “I’ll let you two talk for a while. I’m going to head over to Chase and Allie’s real fast, pick up some things I’ll need for this weekend’s Rodeo.”
“Drive safe, Babe,” Tate says, and tilts her head back for a kiss. “We’ll be off by the time you get home.”
“Take your time.” He kisses her lips gently, smiling against them before he pulls back to look at me. “Take it easy out there, Dee.”
“Thanks, Cody, good luck this weekend.” He is still as crazy as when he met my best friend, but now that they’re getting married, and I know him better, I love watching him ride and I’m invested in his success.
“I don’t need luck,” he answers easily, as he pulls his shirt on then gives me a little wave before he strides out of the room. “I’ll be home soon,” he calls out, before the distinct sound of their garage door opening and closing sounds in the distance.
“You do realize I love our Skypes when he’s home, right? Like, I know he’s yours, and as your best friend I shouldn’t be saying this, but he’s still hot. Like, fifteen out of ten hot.”
Tate giggles. “I know he is. And I’ll forgive you, but only because I’m very secure with what he and I have.”
I take another sip of my wine and nod. “You should be. The man is head over heels for you. It’s obvious.”
“I’m pretty head over heels for him, too.”
“You lucky bitch,” I say jokingly. “I really do envy you.”
“Again, you’ll find yours someday. Especially working with all those doctors out there. Hot guys with nice bodies, who are really freaking smart. Sound pretty perfect to me.”
“Ugh… Don’t remind me of them.” I close my eyes, regretting it immediately as I picture Dr. Alexander and let out a groan of irritation.
“Uh oh. What, or should I say who, did I accidentally remind you of?”
“Doctors…”
“Well, you do work in a hospital. Is it all doctors, or just one?”
“Obviously. But there is one doctor I’m thinking of in particular.” I open my eyes and glance toward the camera on my computer, trying to convey all my thoughts and feelings via Wi-Fi with one single look.
“Tell me more. Who is it?”
“His name is Dr. Nathan Alexander. He’s an ortho doc here. And he is an asshole. A gorgeous, rude, asshole.”
I watch Tate pick up her phone and see her fingers start to fly over her screen, and know she’s doing the exact same thing I did when we looked up Cody.
“Damn, Dee.” She slides her finger up the screen, clearly finding what she was looking for. “Why is me reminding you of this a bad thing?” She turns her phone around and shows me his staff picture from the hospital website.
I let out another groan and lift my glass to take another sip. “Because he’s an asshole. A massive one.”
“A sexy one. What makes him an asshole?”
With my cheek resting on my hand, and my legs tucked under me on my couch, I go into detail about my run-ins with Dr. Alexander. I share everything I can, from how good he looks, to how rude he is, even how I can’t stand the asshole, but can’t help but want to run into him again and again.
“He sounds like Dr. Desirable to me. A quick and fun hookup who would let you live on the wild side. You know how well that worked out in my life.”
“It’s more like Dr. Undesirable. He is insufferable, Tate. He made me feel small and incompetent today. Even though I held my ground, no man’s little head is worth that.”
“Even if it could be an amazing, skilled night?”
“Even if it could be amazing and skilled…”
She sets her phone down and glances at his picture once more before she shuts the screen off and looks at me with the most sympathet
ic eyes. “Seriously, Dee. If you need to get some, get some. It can even be with Dr. Undesirable. But don’t let this guy throw you off. He may be the sexiest doctor I’ve ever seen, but I don’t want to have to fly out there and kick his ass either. Because nobody gets to hurt my best friend.”
“I know. I won’t let him throw me off. I just need to avoid Dr. Desirable as much as possible.”
“I thought we were calling him Dr. Undesirable?”
“Well, like you said, he’s the sexiest doctor I’ve ever seen too. I can look and fantasize, right? I just won’t touch.”
“Atta girl. You should unwind tonight. Take some time for you, enjoy your wine, but not too much of it, and to process everything you’re thinking and feeling. Start tomorrow fresh with Dr. D as only a figment of your wildest fantasies.”
“I think I might. You’ll keep me updated on how Cody does this weekend?”
She nods her head. “Always. I love you and miss you, Dee.”
“I love you too. I’ll text you in the morning. Have fun with Cody tonight.”
“Oh, I will.” She grins wide, making me roll my eyes and chuckle in return.
“Bye, Tate.”
“Bye, Dee.”
After we end our call, I shift my computer onto the table and think about shutting it, then launch my old friend, Google, instead. One little search won’t hurt anyone. And maybe, just maybe, a little wild fantasy and wine will get him out of my system. Then I’ll be able to start the workday, fresh and ready, tomorrow.
****
Nate
I lift the chilled glass to my lips and take a drink of my beer before I set it down and get back to the case notes I need to finish up before morning. I close out of one patient’s file and open another; typing in my notes from the day and the thoughts I had for everything regarding their care before moving on to the next file again. With a single glance at the new name, my fingers stop moving over the keyboard and memories, and the same irritation I had this afternoon, wash over me.
Mr. Kent.
Cassidee Parker.
The woman is irritating, argumentative—and a trouble I don’t need—but she’s also stunning. My body reacts to her in a way it hasn’t involuntary reacted to a woman since I was young, and incapable of controlling my own sex drive. This is a fact that makes her even more irritating. She shouldn’t be able to get under my skin like this, and yet, she is.
With a bit more energy than I’d like to admit to, I refocus my mind on Mr. Kent’s case. Fifty-five and on his second full knee reconstruction. He will push his recovery as far as he possibly can. He already has. It is precisely what has ended him up in the hospital and needing my services again.
He will easily bully his therapist into pushing too hard, too fast, again.
The thought burrows into the forefront of my mind, and naturally, drags her right along with it. She is new to this, that’s obvious. And he is a slick, rich businessman. He will finagle himself into getting his way with her and she won’t even know what hit her.
The thought both concerns me for my patient, and for her. As much as I don’t think she is ready, and as much as I don’t want her on my mind, I’m not the asshole she thinks I am. Not entirely, at least.
Sure, I’m an asshole at work.
Sure, I keep my distance and maintain a level of professionalism most don’t care to have. And yeah, maybe those same people would say my behavior isn’t professionalism, it’s cold arrogance. Whatever. That doesn’t concern me.
I don’t want to see the man who has paid me, again, to fix him getting hurt, again; I don’t want him convincing her he needs to work harder so he needs me again.
Contrary to what I’m sure she thinks of me, I don’t want her getting worked over by a professional player. She may irritate the fuck out of me, but I don’t want her losing her job before she has a chance to learn and get going. Not that I’ll tell her that anytime, ever.
And you don’t want to have to stop seeing her in the halls, either.
The thought lodges itself in my mind. Again, it’s not something I can control. And I’m not entirely sure why, or what makes her different.
But I guess it’s true enough, as long as nobody else is here to witness me admitting it to myself. As long as I maintain a level of distance, standoffishness with her at work, admitting it will never come back to bite me in the ass.
Six
Nate
It’s been four days. Four fast-paced, long days since I ran into Cassidee Parker, new PT specialist, outside Mr. Kent’s room. I’ve timed my rounds to avoid her since April is still on vacation, and I’ve only caught glimpses in passing on occasion. I know which other patients of mine are on her service, and I’ve managed to avoid those run-ins too.
So far, she is doing wonderfully with Mr. Kent. From what I hear, she’s even put him in his place a few times. She has earned his respect, and I feel comfortable discharging him today knowing he agreed to, and swears he will follow, her course of therapy over the next month at least. I’ve gone over her notes. I’ve gone over her supervisor’s notes; everything Cassidee has done has been top-notch work neither her supervisor, nor I, would change a thing about.
It’s hard to admit, but she has garnered my respect as a professional already. I gave her very little credit at the start of this week. I undercut her education, and her ability. I won’t make the mistake again. I still don’t want to run into her, but that’s due to my suddenly immature, riotous body reacting like a pubescent teenage boy again than anything else.
Her work this week should, at least, allow me to view her on a more professional level and show her more professional courtesy than I did days ago.
I should probably apologize, too.
I round the corner into Mr. Kent’s open room, knocking as I walk in, then finish spreading the sanitizer over my hands.
“Well, Mr. Kent, are you ready to—” I stop in my tracks and look up when I realize I’m talking over the other occupant in the room.
Of course.
It’s none other than Cassidee Parker standing beside Mr. Kent’s bed, going over her workout regimen with him.
A look of irritation flashes over her face before she shoots me a look and directs her full attention to Mr. Kent. “As I was saying,” she clears her throat, making it known I interrupted her, “I have scheduled your follow-up appointments with the clinic we share patients with. While I won’t be working with you directly, I will personally keep track of your progress. And I promise, Mr. Kent, if you start pushing too hard I will get personally involved. We’ve already come too far together for you to ruin the hard work you’ve put in now.”
Her blatant disregard for my presence in here irritates me, and I find I want to address it with her.
“You got it, Dee,” Mr. Kent replies, smiling wide at her. I can see it all over his face, he’s looking at her, taking her every smile, laugh, her figure in just like I can’t seem to help but do, too; that frustrates the hell out of me even more.
“A word, Miss Parker?” I stare her down, jaw clenched, as she raises a brow in my direction.
“One moment, Dr. Alexander. I have one last page to go over with Mr. Kent so we can get him out of here.”
She watches me briefly, waiting for me to challenge her, before she continues with her spiel. I lean against the wall, arms folded over my chest, my own eyes slightly higher while I watch and listen to her.
The defiance she shows is infuriating and sexy. The soft side she turns on with Mr. Kent, where she is sweet as honey, is awe-inspiring. I’m getting to see her at work. She’s fierce when she has to be, determined, but the compassion she approaches him with is easily what swayed him to listen. Well, that and her looks. He’s a red-blooded male, same as me, after all.
“Do you have any more questions, Mr. Kent?” She smiles at him and waits patiently for her answer.
“If I get hurt again, can I request you as my therapist?” He laughs it off, but the look in his eyes tells me h
e’s serious as a heart attack right now.
“Now, Mr. Kent, if you get hurt again, you’ll be taking my services away from people who genuinely need my help. That wouldn’t be fair. You shouldn’t sustain further injury if you adhere to my protocol. And, in all honesty, I don’t choose my patients. My supervisor assigns them to me, and if you came back in, she’d think I’m inept and would likely question me. You wouldn’t want that, would you?”
She has him dead to rights.
“No, I wouldn’t want that. You’ve been so good to me. And you will be personally overseeing my care with the new therapist, checking in, right?”
“I will, same as Dr. Alexander, I presume…” Now her eyes shift back to me, boring into mine, imploring me to back her up. I wish I could throw her under the bus, just because she is under my skin again, but she’s right.
“Yes, I will be monitoring you, too. We will get to my discharge orders as soon as I have a word with Miss Parker.”
I turn on my heel and step out of Mr. Kent’s room, taking a deep, steadying breath before I feel her right behind me.
“Is there a problem, Dr. Alexander?” Her tone conveys her own irritation. Rightfully so, this time. But now that she’s worked her way under my skin, any plan I had of apologizing has flown right out the window.
“Shouldn’t you already be in with Tray Desmond?”
“My supervisor is handling his care today. Is that okay with you?” Her arms cross over her chest, mirroring mine, and her lips tug into the slightest of scowls.
“Should I take that to mean you messed up?”
“No, you should not. You should take it as her giving me a break because I haven’t had lunch yet today, and she would like me to take thirty before I see the next patient. Is that okay with you?”
Yes, of course.
“Only if you aren’t harming any of my patients and being punished.”
Doctor Desirable: A Hero Club Novel Page 3
