My Boss Is A Lion

He had the most beautiful, enchanting eyes, approximately the color of wild honey. Rose had never seen anyone with eyes like that. She didn’t even know it was possible.

The man blinked a few times and narrowed his eyes. “Who are you?” he asked weakly, his voice deep and rasping.

“Rose. Rose Meyers. I-I found you unconscious in an alley and called an ambulance. You’re at Mercy Hospital,” she replied, a little breathlessly. Her heart skipped a beat. Good Lord, he was handsome even in this state.

“So, you saved me,” he murmured, a strangely bemused expression crossing his features as he gently released her hand from his grasp.

Before she could reply, a resident doctor and two nurses burst into the room and began fussing over him. “Joseph Sanford, age thirty-one,” the doctor read aloud from his chart. “Do you recall what happened to you, sir?”

He shook his head, clearly holding something back. “No. I have no recollection of how I got here. The last thing I remember is leaving my house to go buy groceries, and then I woke up here. With this woman holding my hand,” he added, looking over at Rose with affectionate eyes.

She blushed.

“Did someone do this to you? Were you robbed?”

“No. I don’t think so. I don’t remember.”

“We’ll need to notify the police because of the circumstances when you were found.”

“Ah. I see.”

“We also need to run some tests on you. Another set of bloodwork. CT scan. And depending on the tests; we might need to keep you overnight for observation. I’ll come back later with the results,” said the doctor.

“Thank you, doctor,” answered the man.

The doctor and nurses filed back out, leaving the two of them alone in the room again. Rose’s heart pounded in her chest as the man’s striking golden eyes landed on her.

“Your quick thinking saved my life,” he commented matter-of-factly.

“Anyone would have done the same,” Rose replied, shrugging. She couldn’t help but feel small and girlish under his gaze. He was enormous—heavily muscled and clearly powerful. Even though he was the one lying in a hospital bed, she felt vulnerable under his sharp gaze.

Like he could see right through her. No, like he could see the real her.

But that was absurd, she reminded herself. They’d only just met.

“What’s your name, Miss…?”

“Rose. Rose Meyers. I’m not a Miss. It’s Mrs. But I’m not married anymore, we’re just divorced. I’m single,” Rose blundered like a fool. She was usually calm and confident but this man made her suffer a verbal fumble.

“Rose. That’s a beautiful name.” He smiled.

That made her swoon. When was the last time she met a man this attractive?

“Where’d you come from, anyway?” he asked, bracing himself to sit up slightly.

“Uh, California,” she answered, without thinking. Then it hit her that he hadn’t meant the question literally. “I just happened to come across you while I was walking.”

“California?” he repeated. “That’s a long way to come just to scoop me out of the street.”

“Alley. I found you near a dumpster.”

“Dumpster?”

“The nurse cleaned you up a little earlier.”

“What were you doing in California?” he continued, seemingly very interested in Rose’s background.

She was slightly wary, but since he was still weak in a hospital bed, she figured she might as well just answer his questions.