by Amelia Fox
“I’ll pay you a nice salary, don’t worry. $1000 a night seems fair.”
Dr Julian made his billions as the best heart surgeon in the world. He’s cool, handsome, and warm. He’s also manlier than any guy Emily has ever met. She knows that he would never be interested in her.
That is, until he starts to pay close attention to her. She stumbles upon his peculiar secret. Dr Julian wants to combine business and pleasure. Emily might just be the woman to turn his wild fantasies into a steamy reality.
“I’ll be your patient, doctor.”
Don’t eat an apple a day – you don’t want to keep this doctor away!
Chapter 1
I watched as his big manly hands stirred the coffee.
I was lost to the world again. Dr Julian was taking me away from reality and sending me into a schoolgirl daydream. He was talking to another nurse who was clutching a clipboard and nodding frantically. He gave orders with a gentle smile and his strong forearm tensed slightly with every stir of his coffee. I drifted off as I imagined running my hand up and down his hard biceps.
“Emily,” a voice startled me. “Paging Doctor Daydream.”
The stern head nurse, Jill, waved her hand in front of me. I readjusted my focus to her sour face, suddenly frustrated that I couldn’t drool over Dr Julian anymore. I sighed. Will he ever notice me? No, I guess not. I may be a big lady but I’m practically invisible to gorgeous men like him.
“Yes, Jill?” I asked, with my best attempt at a smile.
“Go do your rounds already,” she said. “And take these bedpans with you.”
What was I doing here? It was a thought that had been running through my head for a while now. This is not what I expected from nursing. I felt like a maid. Although a maid would probably get paid more. Not only that, but it was dangerously dull. I was at risk of overdosing from boredom. Oh, well. Just suck it up. I could still watch Dr Julian delicately stir coffee with that hunky arm of his.
Jill thrust the bedpans into my arms. Still in a haze, with the flourescent lights stinging my eyes, I turned quickly on my heels. I spun around too fast and collided with an empty gurney. Oh damn. I flew over the bed like the world’s worst pole vaulter. Bedpans flew up into the air and crashed to the floor with a resounding clatter. I hit the floor with a thud. Luckily my big ass provided a cushion.
Everyone was looking at me. Doctor Julian was looking at me. Great. Now he noticed me. I flushed a deep red and scurried to collect the bedpans. This is your life, Emily.
“Here, let me help you with those.” A deep voice said above me.
“No, no,” I said. “Thank you but -”.
My words halted to a stop as I gazed up at Doctor Julian. He set his clipboard down and moved close to me, allowing me to properly study his face. I was immediately sucked into his eyes. They were bourbon orbs of fire, exuding warmth and softening his rugged face. His jaw bristled with dark stubble which matched the jet black colour of his swept back hair.
The years had been kind to him but I guessed he was in his late thirties. He possessed an air of old-school masculinity that I had never seen in any other guy. His muscles tugged at the fabric of his white jacket. It looked as if he had years of competitive sporting experience and knew how to build stuff out of wood.
Oh, I’d let him give me a doctor’s exam any day, I thought as a tingle ran through my midsection.
“Come on, Emily,” he said. “I’ll take these up with you.”
How did he know my name? I was about to ask but stopped myself. I could have slapped myself for being so stupid. Of course, it was on my name tag. Stop looking into things too deeply. He’s only being polite.
“One of those days?” He asked.
“One of those years.” I said.
“Well, stick with it, Emily,” he said with a chuckle. “I can tell you are a good nurse. You’ve got good eyes.”
With that he turned and left, leaving me in a puddle of nervous lady hormones. Actually one of the bedpans was dripping. Brilliant.
* * *
I ran into the bathroom to splash some water on my face. I needed to wake up. Doctor Julian had spoken to me. He told me that I had good eyes. I looked at my eyes in the mirror. Did he really think that? They looked just like normal eyes but a bit more tired. And they were surrounded by chubby cheeks. Ugh. I always hated my body. Clothes never look good on me. Even expensive ones. And this nurse uniform definitely doesn’t look good on me. It clings to my body in all the wrong places.
I went to tend to my patients. I was primarily working in the ward that dealt with kidney failure. There weren’t a lot of laughs there. All of the patients were hooked up to machines. I hadn’t managed to foster a relationship with pretty much any of them. I guess I had spent too much of my childhood watching medical dramas. I had expected the hospital to be like a social club for sick people. I had expected laughing and joking and blossoming friendships in spite of the debilitating illness everywhere.
Actually, there was one patient who I enjoyed speaking with. She had been on the ward for a month. Her name was Sandra. She was an eighty-five year old woman who was permanently hooked up to a dialysis machine. Despite her condition, she was always cheerful and made me feel appreciated. It was her who made my schoolgirl obsession over Doctor Julian even deeper.
“Emily, honey,” she said. “You do know who you were just flirting with, don’t you?”
“Flirting?” I asked. “No, we weren’t flirting. He was just being nice.”
“I saw the way he was looking at you. I’m sure he likes you.”
“Oh, I wish,” I said, plumping her pillow. “He must be married.”
“He’s not.” She said.
“And how do you know that?”
“I have my sources, dear.”
Sandra reached for a magazine on her bedside table. She threw it down at the foot of her bed. It was the latest issue of Forbes. Dr Julian was on the cover. He had a serious look on his face with the slightest hint of a smile. He was wearing a well-fitted blazer and a white linen shirt open at the collar. In big bold letters the magazine proclaimed Billionaire Miracle Man.
“If you don’t grab him, I will.” Sandra said with a wink.
“You kidder,” I said. “Can I look at this?”
“Be my guest.”
I flipped through the article. My hands were sweaty and my heart was beating faster. Had I really just spoken to this guy? Was Doctor Julian really a billionaire? If so, what was he doing working here?
The article was comprehensive. It detailed how the hunky doctor had made his billions as one of the best heart surgeons in the world. His other accomplishments were intimidating. He had established ten major charities and invested in five major businesses, which all had a charitable angle. As well as being sex on legs, this guy was a goddamn saint. There was no way in hell he would ever be interested in me.
“Keeping up to date with current affairs, nurse?” A gravelly voice asked.
I looked up from the magazine. Doctor Julian was standing in the doorway smiling. And there I was completely absorbed in the magazine that had his face on the cover. My cheeks burned hot. The doctor gave me a naughty little wink and went on his way. Oh jeez. Maybe the sexy doctor would need to operate on me because I was going to have a heart attack.
Chapter 2
My lunchbreak, which was actually closer to dinner, was spent as it always was. I ate yogurt with granola, sipped a diet Coke, and tinkered with my latest medical paper. It didn’t matter how much diet food I ate, I never seemed to be able to shift my weight. This thought always distracted me from the important task of refining my research paper. Well, I guess it wasn’t that it important. Writing the papers gave me an excuse not to talk to people.
As I looked away from my work and fantasized about the snack machine, I caught the scent of citrus bodywash waft up my nostrils. Someone was leaning over me from behind. Please don’t be him. I turned and saw Doctor Julian above me. Seriously? What was h
appening today? Why was the hot doctor I loved to salivate over suddenly taking so much interest in me? I guess I had the incident in the morning to thank. My mother always said that every cloud has a silver lining. My silver lining was made up of bedpans.
“What’s the thesis?” He purred.
“Um, huh?” I said, eloquently. “What?”
“The paper you’re working on,” he said. “What is it about?”
“Ah, it’s a metastudy,” I said. “Urinalysis in athletes.”
“Sexy.” He crooned.
“Um, excuse me?” I said, feeling my cheeks burn.
“The subject matter. Quite exciting stuff.”
Of course he wasn’t calling me sexy. I needed to calm down. My heartbeat was going too fast. Maybe he could tell just by looking at me. After all, it was his area of expertise. I turned to get a better look at him. His mouth slowly matched the smile in his eyes. His grin sent waves of aching pleasure through me.
I was intoxicated by his gaze. It was a look that I wasn’t used to seeing. Of course, I’d seen handsome men in movies give this look to the lead actress. But I was no lead actress. It was a look that said I’m going to pick you up, slam you into the wall, kiss you, and ravage you. I felt like a little girl swooning over a popstar.
I told myself to get grip. Guys this gorgeous can have their pick of any woman on earth. He was not looking at me in a flirtatious way at all. He was just being polite and I was doing some hardcore wishing.
“Wait a minute,” he said. “You’re Emily Evans? The Emily Evans?”
“What do you mean the Emily Evans?” I giggled. “And yes, that’s me.”
“I’ve read your papers,” he said. “All of them. I’m a huge fan.”
“Come on. Seriously?”
“Yes. Seriously. You have one of the most sophisticated styles of medical writing I have seen in a long time. I love your arguments and the subject matter is always so interesting.”
“Oh, wow,” I didn’t know what to say. “I never imagined anyone actually read my papers.”
“How old are you?” He interrogated. “I imagined Emily Evans was in her fifties.”
“I’ve just turned twenty-one.”
“I don’t believe it for one second,” he said. “We’ve got lots to discuss.”
“We do?”
“Yes. And I could use your help.”
“Help with what?”
“What does your evening schedule look like for the rest of the week?”
“I clock off at nine.”
“Okay, great,” he said. “Come see me in my office when you finish. I want to book you out for this week. I’ll pay you a nice salary, don’t worry. $1000 a night seems fair.”
He gave me a dazzling smile. I couldn’t respond. He had incapacitated me with those dazzling eyes. I just nodded slightly and watched him stride away, feeling terribly confused.
* * *
As the day wore on, I became more and more angry about Doctor Julian’s display of arrogance. He’ll book me out, will he? Don’t worry? He’ll pay me a nice salary? Who did he think he is? What did he think I am? His words were innocent on the surface but the meaning behind them was deeply offensive. He just assumed that I would have no evening plans for a whole week. He assumed I needed his money. He also assumed that I didn’t get tired or I might actually value my time for rest. I was going to give him a piece of my mind.
When it came time to leave, I put my sweater over my uniform, trying to hide my curves, and stormed up to his office. I’ll show him, I thought. He’s obviously so used to getting exactly what he wants, when he wants. All he has to do is flaunt his money and he gets it. Well not this time. I didn’t care how rich he was. He needed to buy some manners.
I knocked aggressively on his office door and didn’t wait for a response. I went straight in. I put my hands on my hips and got ready to tell him exactly what I thought. He was on the phone. He didn’t even lift his eyes to look at me. He just put a finger up to signal that I should wait. That made me even madder.
The Curvy Nurse and the Billionaire Doctor is available on Amazon now.
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