by Sonia Belier
“Yeah, yeah, everything’s fine. Just…um, wondering who invited Lorrie?”
I looked around throughout the crowded venue and my eyes immediately locked on to a tall woman with long brunette hair that was walking to our table.
“Dr. Gray, it’s nice to see you again.”
The woman that popped out of nowhere back at Paul’s condo. What the hell was she doing here?
I didn’t know what was going on but I knew that I was fuming.
Someone had a lot of explaining to do. And right now.
“Lorrie…umm, who invited you here? And to sit next to me?” Even though Paul was acting shocked, I wasn’t sure if I believed it. I mean, this was the same woman that magically appeared in his house, with his keys.
“Why are you so surprised Dr. Gray? I was offered an invite as one of your esteemed guests. You didn’t know?” She pulled out the seat that had her name plastered on it and sat down, folding her arms across her chest.
She had this look of satisfaction on her face. This look of “gotcha!” that really bugged me. I wondered if Paul noticed it too.
He pulled out my seat and motioned for me to sit. His soft hand ran over my bare shoulders and he gave them a slight pinch.
Something wasn’t right with this.
Chapter 11
Paul
The last time I saw Lorrie she was getting a kick out of passive-aggressively bothering me in my office. I don’t know how the hell she got here and I didn’t want to know. April had this look of confusion on her face and my palms started sweating.
I was baffled. Thoroughly fucking baffled.
“So Paul, why don’t you finally formally introduce me to your star student April? I’ve heard so much about her.” April shot me a look of concerned and I rubbed my hand on her leg underneath the table.
“You already know April? Well that gets rid of the awkwardness of first introductions. She’s my lady of the night. Pretty soon she’ll be operating in the hospital with me.”
“Oh wow. So that means we’ll be working together huh? I’m looking forward to it. I don’t know if Dr. Gray told you, but I’m the Med tech in his department.” There was this kind of dark ominousness to her tone. Made my skin crawl. Thankfully the catering was bringing the first meal and I figured it’d be a lot better if we all just focused on the food.
I practically shoveled food into my mouth to avoid having to say anything to Lorrie. April followed suit nodding aimlessly to Lorries probing questions.
“And April, you really do look lovely. That sapphire around your neck is probably worth a pretty penny isn’t it?” I tensed when I saw Lorrie playfully swipe her hand at April’s shoulder.
“I bought it for her. Matches her beautiful eyes. She’s the most beautiful thing in here tonight.” It was ballsy but I didn’t give a damn. I wasn’t about to let her strong arm her way into our perfect night.
“What a lucky gal she is.”
Three courses later, Lorrie stood up from the table and grabbed her purse.
“Well, I really should get going. I’d love to stay and chat more but I’m afraid Paul has got a whole line of people waiting to talk to him. I’ll catch you two later!”
After it was clear that she was long gone, April’s phony smile turned into a crippling frown. Plainly put, she looked like she wanted to punch me square in my face.
“What the fuck was that all about Paul? Do you know that woman was in your condo, with a set of your keys? She’s freaking psycho!” She gave me her best inside voice but her glaring didn’t let up. “I have a ton of questions that are gonna need answers from you, ASAP.”
“Okay okay okay, hold on for a minute.” I looked around nervously, grateful that the annoying barrage of paparazzi was thoroughly distracted by other people. “Listen April, Lorrie was Dylan’s old babysitter. She quit because the hours were too much. I thought I told you about this?”
“I don’t give a damn if you told me about this before! Why the hell is she using your name to get here?”
That was a question I really didn’t have an answer to.
“She’s crazy.”
April cut her eyes at me and sighed, “Let’s just pretend that this never happened, okay?”
“Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.”
It wasn’t exactly the perfect night I was hoping for but after chopping it up a bit with a few guests April eased back into her good mood and all was temporarily well.
I guess things couldn’t always go my way.
We rode back to April’s apartment and it took everything in me not to jump on her in the back of the limo. Just getting a look at her in that gown brought my mind back to just a few hours before.
Damn, she was perfect.
I couldn’t let Lorrie’s fucking weird stunts get in the way of this.
“We’re here Dr. Gray.” The chauffeur pulled up to April’s house and I got out and opened her door.
Walking her to the front, we stopped right underneath the street light. She was glowing. I honestly didn’t want to leave her alone.
“I had an amazing time tonight Paul. I mean, regardless of whatever strange shit happened, it was still amazing.”
I moved a few strands of hair out of her eyes.
“You were the best guest I’ve ever had.”
To hell with talking.
I grabbed her by her perfect hips and gave her a deep kiss. There was really no denying where this thing was going anymore. We were way past just being student and teacher, doctor and babysitter. And it took no time.
“I know since you’re the star student and all you’ll be studying really hard for that test next week. How about you stay at my place when it’s over. For a weekend?”
“Sounds like you have yourself a deal Dr. Gray.”
The sexy look on her face when she winked was sure as hell testing my restraint. But I let her leave my grip and she walked into her building.
The ride home without April was empty and I all had was the sweet taste of her supple lips to tide me over.
When I got back to the house, another strange note was taped to my front door.
“What the hell is this? Another note?” I pulled it off the door and tried to make sense of the bizarre sentence before my eyes.
“I hope she’s worth it.”
Alright, at this point I had no fucking clue what the meaning of any of this was. And it was making me pretty pissed. I crumbled the letter and practically ripped it to shreds, shoving it in my pocket. At least Dylan was with his grandmother for a few days. With all the odd shit that was coming my way, I felt like I had to be prepared for anything.
And I didn’t want my little boy to have anything to do with that possibility.
Then the weirdest thoughts started creeping into my mind.
I started thinking of every possible person that would have it out for me. Lorrie was definitely at the top of that list.
But April?...
Nah, what the hell was I thinking?! There was no way she had it in her to do something like. My head started spinning just thinking about it.
Bed sounded like a good idea about now.
Maybe it was best I distanced myself from April. If it really was Lorrie at the heart of these notes, then I didn’t want April to be involved in any way.
I needed to protect her and Dylan.
Even if it meant never touching her skin again.
Chapter 12
April
It was a few weeks since the evening dinner and the last time I’d been alone. I didn’t know why, but lately, Paul was distant from me.
I took the residency test, passed it and was scheduled to be in his department in a week. But Paul didn’t so much as bat an eye about it. I was starting to worry that there was something bigger going on.
And little Dylan…
Paul never seemed to need a babysitter these days.
I found myself replaying everything that happened the last time I was alone with Paul. Did I say s
omething stupid? Did that Lorrie bitch have anything to do with his sudden change in behavior? All of the sudden he wasn’t Paul to me anymore. He was just “Dr. Gray”.
Honestly, I had enough of it. I spent all day pacing around the hallway outside of his office debating my next move. Enough was enough.
I nearly barged into his office and closed the door behind me. I wasn’t trying to seem forceful, but the last few days left me so uneasy, I didn’t know how else to react.
“Paul, can we talk?”
Not even budging from his paperwork to look at me, he nodded his head.
“What’s going on between us? There’s something up here. Are you okay?”
He dropped the pen on his desk and rubbed his temples. His normally handsome, chiseled face was strained with the look of stress.
“Everything is fine April, don’t worry about it.” He knew I wasn’t going to settle for that and I leaned in closer to him placing my hands rigidly on his desk. He glanced up at me and his eyes were as blue as he was probably feeling. I wanted to make that feeling go away. I hated to see him like this.
Paul pushed his chair back and walked over to his office door, locking it tight and closing the blinds.
He leaned into my body and cupped my cheeks, taking them into a deep kiss.
“Isn’t it time for office hours? What if someone comes?” The feeling of his soft skin on mine as his mouth curled up into a sly smile drove me wild.
“Office hours are strictly for April Madison right now.”
He kissed me again and trailed the soft touches up to my forehead. “Listen April, some things have been going on with me right now and I don’t want my trash to come scraping your way. Maybe I didn’t handle any of this right.” He held his head down and I lifted it right back up by his chin.
“I think it’s time we talk about what it is exactly that we even have here. I’m mean what are we Paul?” I placed my hands at my side and waited for his answer.
“Look, I think it’s pretty obvious that I’m falling for you and that this is serious but…” Why was he trying so hard to avoid eye contact with me? Why couldn’t he just look me in my face?
“But what Paul??”
“I don’t want to hurt you. I don’t want anything to hurt you. Is that so fucking bad?” He backed away from me and exhaled sharply. Maybe he was getting annoyed but he wasn’t the only one that had feelings that mattered.
“It’s not bad, but I don’t need you hiding shit from me either. What part of that don’t you understand! You need to explain to me what’s going on with Lorrie. As long as you keep me in the dark about her, this relationship is going nowhere.”
“I’m not listening to this shit anymore April. I don’t have to explain anything to you! Good fucking riddance…” With one last outburst, he grabbed his keys and stormed out the door.
Just like that.
I was standing in his office alone and confused.
It took me a minute, but I walked out accepting that it was probably over between me and Paul. Or at least, we’d be on a very long hiatus. I walked through the med school parking lot, to my car.
There was that long bed of brown hair again, standing right next to my car.
“Lorrie? Can I help you with something?” She was the last person I wanted to see right now.
“Hi there April. No, you can’t help me with anything. But I can help you actually.” She leaned her arms in to give me a hug and I gave her one, begrudgingly. I had already made my mind up about Lorrie. She was strange and untrustworthy. And somehow wherever she was, trouble was not too far behind her.
“Help me? I don’t need help with anything. I’m actually trying to get home, so if you’ll excuse me.” I tried to nudge past her to get into my car but she blocked the doorway. A knowing smile made its way across her face.
“It’s about Paul Gray, isn’t it? He seems to have gotten you all worked up little lady.”
“…”
“Nothing to say? I hit the nail on the head didn’t I?” She put an arm around my shoulder. Normally I would’ve pushed her off and cursed her out. But I was already so down in the dumps that I didn’t see any harm in entertaining her. Maybe I would even get to the bottom of what exactly her business with Paul really was.
“Since you’re so persistent on trying to figure out what’s up with me, Paul’s been giving me the silent treatment since the evening dinner. I haven’t seen Dylan or even really talked to him since then.” Her sharp eyebrows raised at my admission.
“Oh, really? Well that’s really not unlike Dr. Gray.” She moved her hand front to back, scrutinizing her manicure.
“What do you mean?” Lorrie sounded like she knew more about him than I did. Though it pissed me off to admit it.
“Paul Gray is hot and cold April. You only get the level of success that man has by being absolutely ruthless. Cutting your losses and striving for the top. By any means necessary. Did it never occur to you that it’s pretty odd that a Cardiac Surgeon became a billionaire? That never struck you as odd?”
She had a good point. And I knew that first hand. “Glory mission” anyone?
Suddenly I regretted moving as fast with Paul as I did. I started to regret everything. Not being able to resist his perfectly sculpted body or his handsome chiseled face. Falling for the mesmerizing sound of his voice.
The pit of regret in my stomach was so deep.
“Honestly, I never thought about it. But I guess you’re right. Still, I’m sure that Paul means well at the end of the day. I don’t think he’d ever do anything to hurt me.”
Her voice was shrill when she gave out a condescending laugh. “Don’t get too close to the fire. You might get burned.”
With that, she awkwardly walked away from my car, swaying her hips back and forth like nothing happened.
I got in my car and drove back to my apartment.
My thoughts were all over the place the whole way there.
Lorrie had it out for Paul, I just knew it. There was no way she was doing anything with the intention of helping me. She didn’t even know me.
Double agent with ulterior motives.
That’s exactly what she was.
Judy laid on the sofa when I got back to the apartment. Flipping through magazines and watching TV, she was too preoccupied with entertainment to notice my distress.
And I was thankful.
I didn’t need to rehash all of the shit that was spinning in my mind.
“Hey April, don’t think you’re gonna walk in the house and not say hi to me. What’s on your brain girl?!”
Guess I was wrong.
She leaped up from the sofa and plunged into me with a firm embrace.
“Hi Judy.” My voice was so monotone. Cringy. Like I was turning emo or something.
Judy frowned and touched my forehead. “Are you sick? Do I need to take you to a doctor? What the hell is up?”
“Nothing, nothing. I’m just worried about doing hospital rotations soon. That’s all. Don’t worry about it Judes. Besides, that Maury re-run you’re watching seems way more interesting than me.”
“You know what? You’re right. That guy’s girlfriend just found out he cheated on her with four different girls.” She gave me a pat on the back and bounced back over to the sofa to watch TV.
Hospital rotations…right. I’d be stuck in the Cardiac Department at UCLA medical center with Paul. I was so excited about it a few weeks ago. But now the thought was just really awkward. I couldn’t even really look him in the face anymore. How the hell was I supposed to practice operating with him?
Dragging my feet to my room, I laid on my bed in a puddle of my shitty emotions. Life went from climbing up, to skyrocketing down.
Two weeks later
Today was my first day at the medical center and the first day I’d see Paul since we had that terrible argument. I was half looking forward to it and half dreading it. I didn’t know what to expect. The anticipation was driving me insane.
<
br /> Chapter 13
Paul
Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting.
That was the glamorous surgery that was on the agenda today. And I wasn’t doing it alone.
Since April passed the test a few weeks back, she got the coveted residency that everyone in her class wanted.
It was going to be downright fucking weird.
I distanced myself from her as much as I could since the dinner. Truth was, I still hadn’t found out the culprit of those damn letters. And I was still dead certain that someone had it out for me. As far as I was concerned, I was protecting April from whoever the hell that might have been.
There was a knock on my door and I shifted in my chair.
April no doubt.
She walked in with her lab coat on, her golden locks draped at her side. The heels she was wearing gave her an extra four inches and I could faintly see the silhouette of her buttery smooth curves from behind the coat.
Even with all of the shit that happened between us recently, there was still no way I could possibly resist her body.
I tried to snap out of it.
Cordial Paul…just be cordial.
“Dr. Madison. Glad to see you could make it. Have a seat right here.” I motioned her to the chair in front of my desk. God, I felt so phony talking to her like I wasn’t feeling her tender body just a few weeks ago. But I didn’t know how else to move.
“Hi Dr. Gray. I’m here for rotations.” She took a small elastic band that was on her wrist and wrapped her hair into a messy bun on top of her head.
She was as gorgeous as she’s ever been.
“That’s right, I was expecting you. So let’s go through this.” I got up from my seat and walked over to her with the documentation we needed for the procedure. I was dangerously close to her body and even though it had only been a few weeks, it felt like a damn century.
And I was hungry for her.
“Just follow me and if you’re unsure about anything, stop and ask me okay?”