by Marie Jem
<><><>
Monday morning came very quickly. There was a text message on my phone from Alex from five o’clock in the morning.
Good morning, beautiful. It was a lonely night. I should’ve packed an overnight bag. Maybe I will stay tonight. It’s closer to work from your place. I wish you would stay here on the weekends.
Laura greeted me with a huge smile on her face, extending her left hand to show me her big diamond engagement ring. She was beaming with excitement and I couldn’t be happier for her.
“Oh my God, Laura! Congratulations! I’m so happy for you,” I said as I hugged her. “That is a gorgeous rock on your finger. You must tell me all about it, detail for detail,” I told her. We decided to have lunch together that day, so she could tell me about her wonderful weekend.
I had a lot of work to complete before lunch. I didn’t want to turn down Laura. After all, we would have to celebrate her new engagement by at least having lunch together.
Taryn appeared in our department looking for Walter. She didn’t have an appointment and Walter was not expecting her. I stopped her and said, “Excuse me, Taryn, Walter is on a conference call right now. I could let him know you stopped by and I could schedule a meeting with him if you’d like,” I noted.
“That won’t be necessary Clara, I need to speak with him right away,” she called me Clara. I didn’t like to be called Clara. That was not what my parents had named me.
“It’s Claire, not Clara,” I clarified. She ignored me and barged into Walter’s office. Laura looked at me with her eyes wide. “I told you she’s evil,” she reminded me.
“I think evil is a gentle term. I can’t believe she called me Clara and then completely ignored me. I hope Walter isn’t upset that I let her slip past me like that.”
“He knows her, Claire, don’t worry. He knows what type of a person she is,” Laura assured me.
After Taryn was finished with whatever it was she needed to meet with Walter to discuss, she didn’t even look my way as she was leaving. I went into Walter’s office to apologize and explain what happened. He seemed very understanding, “You don’t have to apologize, Claire. It isn’t your fault she doesn’t follow directions,” he said genuinely.
Lunchtime came quickly and Laura and I decided to go to our usual falafel joint. She told me the whole story of how her boyfriend proposed. It sounded so romantic. As she was telling the story, I daydreamed about Alex proposing to me one day. Oh, what was I thinking? Alex was too good to be true. He was probably a part of a dream that I would soon awaken from. I wanted to tell Laura about Alex, but I held back. Maybe one day I would talk to her about him and make her promise she wouldn’t say a word to anyone at work.
We headed back to work after lunch. Laura was telling the other ladies in the office about the proposal. Her ring was very large and hard to miss, attracting attention from people. They knew that ring was not on her finger the past week. I began to open a few new work emails I had received while at lunch. I recognized the name on one of them, Mark Kohler, who was one of the surgeons that attended the last meeting.
Hello Ms. Claire,
I’m not sure if you remember me from the surgeons meeting last week, but I would like to get to know you better. Maybe we could go out to lunch together one of these days. Please contact me.
Mark Kohler, MD
Orthopedic Surgery
Downtown Memorial Hospital
I thought that was uncomfortable, especially since he worked with Alex. I wasn’t sure if I should bring it up to Alex when I spoke to him next or if I should keep it to myself and just tell that Mark character that I was already seeing someone. Thinking of Alex, a new text message arrived.
Hi beautiful, my last patient is at four and it’s just a suture removal. I will stop by at home tonight and pack my overnight bag, if that’s ok with you.
That sounds great. I can’t wait.
I was really excited about Alex staying over that night. It got very lonely and a little scary in my new place all by myself, especially in the middle of the night when my nightmares decided to pay a visit. The security was great, but it still didn’t keep the nightmares away.
Five o’clock finally struck and I was out of the office in a flash, so excited to go home and wait for Alex. He called to let me know he was going to stop by the gym on his way to burn off some steam. I thought this was a great opportunity for me to do some intense yoga. I needed that after the day I had. I kept recalling the email from Mark. I thought it would be a good idea to tell Alex because he obviously knew Mark and what kind of a person he was. I didn’t like receiving such an unprofessional, personal email at work.
After an hour of yoga I felt so refreshed. I took a shower, dried and styled my hair and put on a pair of lounge pants and a camisole and waited for Alex. The phone rang just then and it was Alex. “Hi baby, I’m on my way. I just wanted to know if you’d like me to pick up something to eat,” he asked.
“No, no, please don’t. We have a lot of leftovers from yesterday’s lunch. Let’s not let it go to waste,” I said. Alex agreed and was at my door less than thirty minutes later. He looked exceptionally great, in his basketball shorts and t-shirt tight around his muscles. He wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed me as if he hadn’t seen me in weeks.
“It feels so good to hold you, Claire. I had a very exhausting day in the OR. I’m so glad I can spend the evening with you. How was your day?” he asked.
“I, uh, I guess I had an interesting day as well,” I replied. I told Alex about Laura and her engagement. I told him how Taryn barged into Walter’s office that morning, calling me by the wrong name and not even apologizing. I told him about Mark Kohler sending me that flirtatious email, which made me very uncomfortable. Alex looked just as uncomfortable as I had when I opened that email.
“The audacity of that bastard. Claire, stay far away from that man because he’s a womanizer and a pervert. He has no respect for women at all. I knew he would do this because of something he said to me about you after that meeting. He kept telling me how hot he thought you were and how he wanted to…you know. He’s sick, Claire. Please stay away from him. I can say something to him if you’d like,” he offered.
“No, Alex, please don’t. I will respond to the email very professionally. I will handle it myself,” I said.
“Okay, baby,” he agreed. “So Taryn called you Clara, huh?” he laughed.
“It’s not funny, Alex. She’s mean and evil,” I added. Alex laughed again.
“She’s weird, but I don’t know about mean or evil. She’s just different from the rest of us, I guess. Don’t let her get to you, baby. It’s just the way she is,” he clarified. “I’m happy about your friend Laura, she sounds like a nice girl,” he added.
I warmed the food and we sat down and enjoyed it with a glass of wine. His cooking tasted even better as leftovers. After we finished eating and cleaned up, we went outside on the veranda to enjoy the view and the beautiful weather. Alex held me from behind with his arms around my waist. “Will you stay at my place this weekend, Claire?” he asked. “I promise not to do anything to make you feel uncomfortable. I really enjoy your company,” he confessed.
“Sure, I will stay with you this weekend,” I told him. It was getting late and we had to go to bed. Alex didn’t want to sleep in the guest bedroom and promised to be on his best behavior if I let him sleep in my bed. I thought it would be worth a try. He changed into his Burberry pajama pants, sitting low on his waist, shirtless. “Uh, do you always sleep without a shirt, Alex?” I asked.
“I do, but if it makes you uncomfortable, I can put on a shirt,” he said.
“No, that’s okay…that’s totally okay with me.” I said gazing at his perfect body.
We crawled into bed, Alex pulling me close to him until my head rested on his chest. He kissed my hair and whispered, “Goodnight, baby. Sweet dreams,” and before I knew it, I was out like a light bulb.
<><><>
It was
n’t even five in the morning when Alex’s alarm went off. He groaned and complained a little, gave me a kiss and jumped out of bed and into the shower. I went in and out of sleep, knowing I would have to get out of bed an hour after he did. Alex, dressed in his scrubs, sat on my bed for a few minutes and ran his fingers through my hair, “I should be out of the OR by one today, maybe we could meet for lunch. The rest of my day is at the clinic,” he said as he leaned down and kissed me. “Bye, beautiful. Miss you already,” he said and stood up and headed out to work.
I ended up sleeping in an extra fifteen minutes, so traffic was pretty bad for me. I was a little late to work, but fortunately there weren’t any issues at work that morning. Laura had taken care of a few things that needed my attention, so I was very grateful for that. I decided to respond to Mark’s email in a very professional manner and let him know I was not interested in getting to know him better.
Dr. Kohler,
If you need assistance with anything work related, I could ask my boss, Walter Wells if I could assist your department in my free time. Otherwise, I am unavailable for any personal arrangements.
Thank you,
Claire Morgan, MHA
Administrative Assistant to
Mr. Walter Wells, CEO
Downtown Memorial Hospital
I was confident that email would keep him away. I thought about how I would have responded if that email were from Alex instead of Mark. Alex was different. He was very charismatic, not creepy like Mark.
Laura had a meeting for a few hours through lunch and wouldn’t return until after two o’clock, so I decided to text Alex and let him know I wouldn’t be able to make it to lunch, since I’d be covering for Laura.
Hey, that’s ok. Actually, I have to take care of something as well. I’ll see you tonight?
Sure, that sounds great. I’ve been meaning to ask you when your birthday is.
September 1st. And when is yours?
November 11. Hmmm, yours is coming up. What do you want for your birthday?
I want you, Claire.
I’m serious. Please tell me, it will make it much easier for me to shop for you.
I’m serious too. Claire, please, I really don’t want anything. I’m happy with everything that I already have, especially you.
Ok, we will discuss this in person later.
Miss you.
Alex seemed to have something on his mind. Sometimes, when I would be speaking to him, I knew his mind was elsewhere. I knew it was something unpleasant because he had an unhappy look on his face before I asked him if he could come back to reality. I knew he didn’t like to talk about it, whatever it was, but I was getting more and more curious.
I didn’t hear from Alex until much later that evening. He apologized that he hadn’t called, but he had gotten busy at the clinic and was given a few more patients than he was scheduled to see.
“I just left work. I’m going to pick up my clothes for tomorrow and I will be there soon, that is if you still want me to stay,” he said.
“Of course I want you to stay. I will make pasta for dinner. I hope you like pasta. It’s one of the few things I can make,” I said.
“I’m sure it’s going to be delicious. I’ll see you in a bit. Miss you,” he added.
“Miss you too,” I hung up the phone and started to make dinner. Kathy called to thank me for Sunday’s get together. She mentioned me how much she liked Alex and how she hadn’t seen me so happy in a very long time.
“He really likes you, Claire. You better keep him,” she said. I finished making the pasta and tossed a salad and waited for Alex. I lay down on the couch and turned on the television while I waited for Alex to arrive. I must have dozed off when the phone rang. It was the guard at the front gate letting me know that Alex had arrived.
I opened the front door and waited for Alex to park his car. He smiled when he saw me with the door open. He held his duffle bag in one hand and flowers in the other hand.
“Hey, beautiful. I thought you might need new ones. The old ones are wilting,” he said as he kissed me and walked inside.
“Thank you, Alex. What have I done to deserve you?” I asked, smiling. “I was thinking about giving you one of the front gate remotes. That way when you come over, you don’t have to stop and speak with the guard, you can just open the resident gate and drive up here,” I told him.
He smiled, “Sounds good, and I will give you my secret code to open my gate,” he said. “It smells so good in here. I’m starving, baby,” he said as he put his arms around me and started kissing my neck, my ear lobes, and finally my lips. I pushed him away.
“Hey, I’m off the menu, remember?” I asked.
He laughed, “I keep forgetting I can’t have the best thing on the dessert menu,” he frowned.
During dinner, I told Alex about my reply to Mark’s email.
“Why, Claire Morgan, I didn’t think you had it in you to tear him a new one professionally. No wonder he was in a bad mood today,” he laughed.
“He was?” I asked. “How was he acting?”
“He was just being a jerk to the nurses when I walked by the nurses station. I guess that’s how he reacts when he’s rejected by the most beautiful woman he’s ever asked out,” he grinned.
“By the way, we weren’t finished discussing what you wanted for your birthday. I know, I know…what do you buy for a man who has everything, right?” I asked.
“I do have everything, Claire. The most important thing is that I have you. You seem to be able to tolerate me quite well,” he chuckled. “We are going out Saturday night. Be sure to pack your dancing shoes when you come over for the weekend,” he smiled.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“No questions. Just wear something short and hot,” he commanded as he kissed me. I wasn’t going to ask any questions. I was excited that we’d be going dancing because it was one of my favorite things to do. “Let’s carpool to work on Friday. I don’t have to be there until eight or so and I’m only going to see patients in the clinic most of the day. That way we can go straight to my place afterwards,” he shared his idea.
“That’s not a good idea, Alex. I don’t want anyone to see us going to work together. What will they think?” I asked.
“Claire, please, nobody will see. I will park at the medical plaza across the street. Honestly, I don’t care if anyone sees. People are allowed to carpool. What’s it to them?” he asked, irritated.
I gave him a long kiss on his lips, which seemed to calm him down. “Fine, we will carpool. Don’t get your boxers in a knot, okay?” I kidded. Alex started to tickle me and scooped me up, carrying me up the stairs to my bedroom and continued to tickle me. “Alex, please stop, I hate to be tickled,” but he continued to tickle me. “Please, please stop tickling me,” I begged.
“Okay, sorry baby, I didn’t know you hated to be tickled. You’re really funny when you’re laughing and almost crying at the same time,” he joked. Alex’s face turned serious. He lifted up my chin with his thumb and slowly leaned down and pressed his lips against mine softly. His kisses moved down my chin to my neck, then my ear lobes. His lips made their way to my lips again and this time his kisses were firmer, his tongue moving against mine. My mind wanted to push him away, but my body refused.
He lay me down on the bed without his lips leaving mine. His hands were everywhere, under my top, on my breasts. I grabbed his hands and removed him so he would get the message. “Sorry, I got carried away,” he stopped. “You’re just very difficult to resist,” he admitted. “I’m just going to take a cold shower now,” he said as he headed toward the bathroom.
“Alex, it’s not that I don’t want to take it to the next level. I just need some time. I don’t think I’m ready,” I admitted.
“Claire, you don’t have to explain. We’ve talked about this before. I’ve already promised that I would never do anything that you’re not ready for,” he clarified. “Okay?” he smiled as he gave me quick peck on
the lips and headed to take that cold shower.
I took a shower in the guest bathroom while Alex was using my shower. I wanted to wash my hair, so I didn’t have to worry about it in the morning. I dried my hair, brushed my teeth and headed for bed. Alex was already in bed, shirtless. Oh, the sleepover business was probably not a good idea. Alex just held me, and buried his nose in my hair, “Mm, you smell so good. Goodnight, baby,” he said, kissing my shoulder.
“Goodnight, Alex,” I responded.
<><><>
I was running again, as fast as I could. The white van was parked up the way and began getting closer and closer as I approached it. I tried so hard to run past it. The shadow was chasing me. The faster I ran, the faster it followed. The side door of the van slid open and the pair of hands tried to grab me. I was grabbed from behind as I collapsed.
“Claire, Claire, it’s okay, I’m here.” It was Alex. I had awakened screaming again, soaking in sweat.
“I’m sorry, Alex,” I said as I got up to change into something dry. I crawled back into bed, unable to stop the tears from building up. Alex pulled me close to him, “Shh, it’s okay, don’t cry. Nobody’s going to hurt you, I promise,” he said, kissing my forehead.
I looked at the time and it was three o’clock in the morning. My heart was beating so fast it was going to take a while for it to slow down to a normal rate. I somehow drifted back into sleep shortly after I calmed down.
Alex wanted to carpool, since he would be leaving my place the same time as I did, but I declined. “We will carpool on Friday, Alex. I promise,” I said, putting a damper on his morning.
