Shit.
CHAPTER 2
Max
It was already lunch hour, and I still felt disoriented. Dammit. I felt like my time working the night shift had turned me into a vampire. All it took was one day to recall why I had previously vowed to stick with the night life.
One day and one nurse, that is.
“Good job earlier today, Dr. Lewis,” one of the nurses said to me in the break room as I fixed myself an umpteenth cup of coffee. I glanced up at her, not recognizing her name or face. She blushed under my gaze, and I had to wonder if her compliment was genuine or sarcastic, given that my performance earlier had been far from my ordinary standards. When I offered her no response, she quickly got herself a bottle of water from the vending machine and left.
I sighed, flopping down in a nearby chair and taking a sip of my coffee that was too hot and burned the roof of my mouth. I swore under my breath. All the whole, one face floated through my mind.
Kylie Hackett.
I’d never had the pleasure of working with her before, and frankly, that morning’s experience hadn’t exactly been a pleasure. Or perhaps in some ways, it had been too much of a pleasure…
I couldn’t really figure out which was the case.
There was no denying that Nurse Hackett was an absolute knock-out. I couldn’t recall the last time I’d seen a woman so attractive. Even hospital scrubs and a sloppy hair bun couldn’t hide the natural sex-appeal that oozed from her. That silky blond hair. Those stunningly bright blue eyes. Those amazing curves, which she had unfortunately caught me staring at…
Way to go, Max, I thought to myself with a humorless laugh. I took another sip of coffee, thinking about how not only did the living Aphrodite think I was an unfit doctor, but she likely thought I was a sexist pig as well.
The door to the break area swung open. I reached for a magazine, pretending to be interested as I sipped more of my coffee.
“Hey, Max. How’s the daylight hours treating you?”
I looked up to see Rick, one of our surgeons.
“Makes me remember why I resigned to the night life,” I answered.
Rick chuckled. “Oh, so you’re not fond of being here with us mere mortals?”
I smirked. “No, that’s not it. It’s just that my brain doesn’t always kick in until the AM hours are over.”
“Well, you’re in luck,” he said, pulling a paper bag from the staff refrigerator. He crossed the room over to the table, took a seat, and pulle
d a sandwich from his bag. “It’s past noon now.”
I gave a strained smile. I had nothing against Rick. He was a great doctor and someone I could have even considered a friend. I just wasn’t in the mood for small talk though, which was clearly lost on him.
He beckoned me over to the table with him. “Come and keep an old man company, will you?”
I’d been staring down at the magazine in my lap, trying to appear engrossed by it, but apparently, I hadn’t been convincing enough.
“Anything interesting in there?” he asked, nodding toward the magazine.
“Not really,” I said, although I hadn’t actually been reading anything.
“So you’re filling in for Dr. Nehru, I hear?” Rick asked around a mouthful of his sandwich.
“Yeah. Just for a little while. No offense, but I’m not trying to make mortal hours a permanent thing.”
Rick laughed heartily once again beckoning to the table with him. “Well, in the meantime, I hope you’re having something more than just coffee for lunch, doc. You’ll be a jittery mess by the time your shift ends. Those of us working in the daylight have to refuel properly.” He held up his sandwich. “You should know that.”
I smiled tensely again, not liking the sound of anyone telling me what I should know, even jokingly. Yet, right on time to save me, Rick’s pager went off. He swore under his breath. “Can’t catch a break around here these days.”
“Another day, another dollar,” I said, gratefully resettling into my seat now that Rick was rising from the table, being called for duty.