by Lisa Eugene
CHAPTER THREE
Brad stood and rounded his desk when Nurse Bennett was shown into his office. He ignored the warning glare that Bea sent him behind her back and offered her a chair at his desk. The first thing that struck him was the paleness of her face. Her skin was alabaster white, natural and unblemished. He didn’t know where the thought came from but he immediately wondered if her entire body was that smooth, creamy complexion. Her hair was very dark and a beautiful fall of shiny silk. It would be beautiful fanned out over the transparent glow of her nakedness.
Clearing his throat, he sank back into his leather chair and watched her gaze dart about the room, landing everywhere but on him. He now noticed a faint shadow of fatigue beneath her amber eyes and that she twitched her lips nervously. Tearing his gaze away, he folded his hands on top of the desk and leaned forward.
“I understand it’s before the start of your shift. Thank you for coming. I—”
“Where’s Nurse Wall?” she asked abruptly, her gaze now landing on his face.
He blinked, taken aback. He wasn’t used to being interrupted. “She’s not here. I want to
ask—”
“Well, where is she?”
Brad jerked his wide shoulders, irritation starting to bloom. “I don’t know where the hell she is. She’s not here!”
“She called. Said we needed to talk. I didn’t know I was meeting with you alone. I mean…I…I…assumed…”
He watched her trail off awkwardly and couldn’t help the smile that tugged at the corner of his lips. Again he noticed her gaze zero in on his lips before it flew to the other side of the room. He could tell she was worrying her fingers in her lap, and he didn’t think it was possible but her complexion whitened further, a beautiful contrast to the dark hair.
“I don’t bite, Nurse Bennett. Are you afraid to be alone with me?”
The worrying of her fingers halted and she swallowed convulsively. She shook her head, but her gaze strayed far from his face. Taking a deep breath, he blew it out and pushed his fingers through his hair. Their last meeting had been hostile. He’d been in a blind rage, and she’d been the unfortunate recipient of his turbulent emotions. He owed her an apology.
“Things went badly last night. I am—”
“Wait! Before you start, I insist that you hear me out.” She bolted up from her chair, her body rigid and determined.
“Insist?” He frowned.
The golden eyes latched on to his and he felt like he’d been struck by a force that vibrated down to his toes. Frowning at the unexpected sensation, he watched her lips pout stubbornly. “If you are going to lodge a complaint, then I insist on having a—”
“Complaint?”
“Yes. Last night, Nurse Wall said—”
“Nurse Wall does not make my decisions for me. Sit down, Nurse Bennett!”
“I’d rather stand.”
He scowled, feeling anger move over him like a dark cloud. This spit-fire was starting to piss him off again. He leaned back in his chair and let his gaze rove over her standing figure. She stood stock still, her features stubbornly pinched, and her small hands fisted at her sides. From what he could tell of her body under the ugly nurse’s uniform, she was thin, but there were hints of feminine curves. Her appearance was prudish and her attire severe. The dress looked starched stiff with buttons that marched all the way up to her neck. He drummed his fingers on the arm of his chair, wondering why she dressed like the mother superior of an abbey. Most of the nurses wore comfortable multi-colored scrubs. He also wondered fleetingly if there was a chastity belt protecting her virginity.
Mary had lauded the dark haired nurse who’d taken excellent care of her grandfather, had said that Chloe was attentive and kind to him. She’d praised her as an excellent nurse. He continued to slowly scrub his chin. That opinion had been very different from Nurse Wall’s. The supervisor had enthusiastically encouraged her termination when he’d spoken to her this afternoon. He’d disagreed and had to put his foot down to exclude Nurse Wall from this meeting. He wondered about the animosity.
“Sit down!”
“I just don’t think it’s fair—”
“Is it always your nature to be so contrary?”
Her chin lifted fractionally, and the gold in her eyes glowed translucent fire. Brad pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to shake the strange effect she had on him. He felt his stress quickly mount. This was not going well.
“There’ll be no complaint, Nurse Bennett. Not from me anyway. I won’t be recommending your discharge,” he said mildly and saw her stiff shoulders relax. “Now sit.” He took a deep breath. “Please.”
At that, she perched tentatively on the very edge of her seat, and he had to refrain from displaying his full annoyance.
“I did not bring you here to discuss your position,” he repeated. “Mary, Mr. Barkley’s granddaughter, spoke highly of you. I’m afraid I owe you an apology for my behavior last night.” She gave a barely perceptible nod and he continued, pulling at the suddenly constraining collar of his silk tie.
“Then why—” she started with a frown, and he held up a hand to stop her.
“Please. Allow me a moment of quiet,” he said, exasperated, and thought he saw a small smile sneak to her lips.
Brad leaned back in his chair. “I simply need to have my curiosity assuaged. I have a few more questions about Mr. Barkley and Mr. Prescott.”
Her forehead pleated with a frown and she opened her mouth to speak. He held up his hand again and continued, “Mr. Prescott died two weeks ago. He was Dr. Lipson’s patient.”
A dull sadness filtered into her eyes, and he checked the sympathy that squeezed his chest.
“You said Mr. Barkley was confused, as was Mr. Prescott, I understand. Was there anything unusual about Mr. Prescott’s behavior? Did he have any complaints or symptoms before he coded?”
The frown on her face deepened and she nodded. “He…he had a baseline dementia as well, and tended to sundown. He was confused right before he coded. He just seemed off somehow. That was all in my report.”
“I read your reports,” Brad said, and noticed her brow rise. Mr. Prescott’s dementia tended to worsen in the evening, when the sun was going down, but it had gotten significantly better while in the hospital. Before he coded, he’d become acutely confused and agitated. Chloe’s nursing log had been excellent, documenting the events of the evening, his activity, his intake and output, his mental status, and his physical exam. His vital signs had been stable up to him coding. Nothing had indicated his imminent death. But he was an old man, well into his eighties, and his death had been deemed age related. Just like Mr. Barkley.
Brad drummed his fingers on his desk, a niggling concern weaving through his brain that he couldn’t suppress. He needed to give this case further scrutiny and intended to request the full medical files from the records department.
“Anything unusual that you may not have mentioned?”
He watched her purse her lips, trying to remember. His gaze latched on and he couldn’t comprehend why he found the action fascinating.
“Just that he felt he had water in his ears. Like he was swimming, he said. But I didn’t think anything of it.”
Brad shifted his weight in his chair and nodded.
“Did Mr. Barkley or Mr. Prescott consume anything unusual?”
“No. Just their usual evening meals. Neither had food brought in from outside the hospital.” Her brows furrowed. “Why are you asking these questions? Something is wrong, isn’t there? I’ve been thinking the same thing.”
Brad stared across the desk at Nurse Bennett. He’d anticipated this question. He was concerned because two patients who were relatively healthy had both died abruptly after experiencing acute confusion. The elderly didn’t always mount a typical response to infections or toxins, and something might have been missed. He worried they might have picked up something in the hospital. Brad sighed. He supposed he was also looking for some closure for hi
mself. He told her about his concerns and watched her forehead again pleat with a concern.
“I hope you figure it out. This could be devastating if it affects more patients.” She tilted her head and stared at him thoughtfully. “Would a toxin or infection cause an increase in liver enzymes?”
“They could. As in the case of viral hepatitis A, you see an increase in the liver enzymes. Why?”
“I remember Mr. Barkley had a transient increase in his liver enzymes.”
Brad nodded thoughtfully, now remembering that one of Mr. Barkley’s blood tests had revealed the spike. He hadn’t thought much of it because two days later, the blood work returned to normal, and clinically Mr. Barkley looked fine. He’d reasoned it as a lab error.
He stared at Chloe, impressed that she’d remembered. He thought about what Mr. Barkley’s granddaughter had said.
“Mary spoke highly of you. She really liked you.”
“I liked her too.” She hesitated, then said softly, “I’m sorry about Mr. Barkley. You seemed very upset.”
“I’ve known him and his family since I started my career. We were…close.” He echoed her words from last night and she nodded understanding.
He watched Chloe across the desk. She seemed a little more relaxed, if you could call it that. Her twitching and fidgeting had stopped, but her body remained tense and perched on the edge of the seat. He’d been impressed with her nurse’s notes. She knew her stuff. From what he’d gathered, she was a very competent nurse. Nurse Wall had argued strenuously that she lacked respect for authority. He’d witnessed her defiance and vaguely wondered what it would be like to tame her stubborn streak, to command her bursts of boldness in other ways.
“Are you done? May I go?”
His gaze zoomed in on her luminous eyes, holding the moment for a few heartbeats. She looked away suddenly and he planted the scowl back on his face. He noticed the only time she ever looked at him directly was when she addressed him in anger. He’d have thought that now she knew he wasn’t lodging a complaint, she’d be less choleric. He glanced at his watch.
“Your shift doesn’t start for fifteen more minutes.”
She hesitated, then said, “I…I haven’t eaten. I was going to grab a quick bite before work.”
He stared for a protracted moment, suddenly reluctant to let her leave. “Do you like turkey?”
She adopted a blank look, confused. “What?”
“Turkey. Do you eat turkey?”
He smiled when she frowned and nodded, then reached into his desk and withdrew the sandwich Bea had gotten him.
She caught her lip between her teeth and the effect sent a jolt right to his groin, surprising him. She was not his type at all. Confusion was plain on her face as she stared at the sandwich before looking up.
“No, thanks. Really, I…I couldn’t.”
He leaned his elbows on his desk and balanced his chin on his knuckles. “Well, I have a few more questions. Please, indulge me.”
A smile tilted his lips as she shot him a wary glance. He opened the foil and passed her half of the sandwich, then took the other half for himself, suddenly feeling hungry.
“My secretary is always trying to feed me. She thinks it will improve my disposition.” He took a bite and pointed to his drawer. “There’s a small restaurant in there.”
He saw a hint of her first real smile and suddenly wanted to see it in full bloom. It didn’t seem to be something she did very often. He nodded at her untouched sandwich and she pulled her chair closer to the desk, leaned over and took a bite, leaving a distracting smear of mayonnaise on the edge of her bottom lip. Before he could stop himself, he leaned over and passed his thumb over the plump flesh, cleaning away the smudge. Pulling away, he realized his finger had lingered longer than necessary.
“Mayo…” he explained, and had the sudden urge to suck on his thumb. Instead, he watched her dark lashes fan down and a soft blush spread across her cheeks. Beautiful. She was a beautiful girl. He found her expressive face very compelling and couldn’t help absorbing every nuance.
She was plain by his standards, but her remarkable feature was her radiant brown and gold eyes. They, combined with her high cheekbones and pouty lips, made her face uniquely appealing. And the beautiful cascade of dark hair that fell onto her back framed that lovely face. He could clearly imagine that hair wrapped around his fist. Chiding himself for his wayward thoughts, he bobbed his chin at her bandaged forearm.
“How’s your arm?”
“Better, thank you.”
He smiled, his eyes eagerly returning to her face.
“How long have you been at WMH?”
“Two years.”
“I’d never seen you before last night.”
“I work the night shift. You usually make rounds after I leave.”
“Too bad. The nurses love me.” He winked, teasing.
She smiled wide then and it was as stunning as petals unfurling to their full magnificence.
“They do, right?” he prodded in humor, fully aware of his reputation.
“Ah…well. I plead the fifth.”
He affected surprise and chuckled, happy to see her coming out of her shell.
“I’ll leave it to you to start my fan club then.”
He saw her gaze drift towards his lips again and couldn’t help but smile. Even with her puritanical appearance and reserved demeanor, her furtive glances gave her away. What was she thinking?
“Would you like something to drink?”
She nodded towards his desk. “What else do you have in your drawers?” She suddenly looked up, their gazes locked and the smile vanished from her face.
His lips teetered in a half smile. He knew what she’d meant, but the fact that she’d made the slip and their brains had detoured along the same path stirred his cock to life. Interesting. So…she’d been wondering what was in my drawers…Though the utter look of mortification on her face was enough to redirect his derailed train of thought. He searched for something to say, seeing that she was ready to bolt.
“I…I have to go. My shift is starting. I don’t want to be late.” She rose from her seat.
“Wait!” He pushed up from his chair just as the phone on his desk rang.
Thinking it was Bea, he hit the speaker button. He wanted to tell her to call Nurse Wall to inform her that Chloe was still in her meeting and would be a few minutes late.
“Brad, darling! You left so quickly last night, you horny beast!” The sultry voice oozed out of the speaker and Brad felt his gut clench.
Oh, fuck…
He slapped the speaker button on his phone like he was squashing an irritating bug, effectively cutting off Diane’s voice. He cursed again under his breath, promising to kill his secretary. Already Chloe had reached the door and was pulling it open.
He quickly followed her into the hall, right past Bea’s desk.
“Chloe, wait!”
She turned and pivoted at the steely command of his voice, her eyes wide and round.
He stopped directly in front of her, his tall body dwarfing hers, and for the life of him couldn’t think of a damn thing to say. He looked into those beautiful, startled eyes and the words gathered in his throat as she stole every breath away.
“Thank you for coming in early,” he said at length, hearing the hollowness ring through his voice. It wasn’t as though she’d been given a choice.
She nodded, then turned and fled the office, leaving him standing there, scratching his chin and wondering what the hell was wrong with him.
It was the distinctive cluck of a tongue that caused him to turn and glare furiously at his secretary. Bea, apparently seeing the storm on his face, had the good sense to bite back whatever barb was ready on her tongue. Brad marched over to her desk, and bracing his palms on it, leaned in angrily.
“I told you not to put anyone through to me!”
Bea did the head snakey thing that he hated and held up an index finger. “No, you didn’t! You said not
to put Angelique through. I don’t recall you saying anything about Diane.”
“Do not play the innocent with me! You know I don’t want to talk to her! Plus, Nurse Bennett was in the room.”
“Diane kept asking me what you were doing Saturday night! She wanted to know if you’re seeing anyone. How am I supposed to know? I’m not your tramp-tracker? Don’t blame me for the mess you’ve gotten yourself into!”
Brad forked his fingers through his hair and growled angrily. “You’re…you’re…” Oh, how he wanted to say the word ‘fired’! He clenched his hands at his side.
Bea smiled innocently and blinked her long dark lashes dramatically. “Please, put me out of my misery.”
“You’re…you’re… a pain in the ass!”
“Ditto. I don’t know why you’re so upset. That nurse seems like a nice girl. Not your type at all. You interested in her?”
“Of course not!”
“Then why are you chasing her? I’ve never seen you chase a woman.”
Brad stood erect. “I was not chasing her,” he said through clenched teeth. “And stop doing that head snakey thing!”
Her dark eyes popped open wide and she shook her head in confusion. “What head snakey thing?”
Brad fumed. “This!” He did a horrible demonstration and threw his arms up in exasperation as Bea erupted into laughter. He figured he looked much like a pecking chicken. “Don’t you have work to do?” he tossed over his shoulder, heading into his office.
“I’ve got better things to do than watch you chasing after some woman. At least she had the good sense to run.”
Brad ignored her and slammed the door, cocooning himself in his office. He had created a mess. He needed to break up with Diane. She’d become way too clingy and demanding, and he was definitely not looking for a long term relationship—or any relationship, other than sexual. Plus, he didn’t have the kind of feelings for her that she desired. He was too engrossed in his career and, at this point in his life, had no interest in commitments or distractions. Occasional interludes with willing partners were perfect for him. From the beginning, he’d told Diane their relationship was only physical, and she’d agreed to that arrangement, seeming to enjoy the costly trinkets and gifts she received. Now things were different. She’d become stifling and needy. He’d told her repeatedly not to call him at work.