“Whatever,” Jordan said skeptically.
They finished their breakfasts and left to meet up for rounds. James gave Isabella a slight smile that made her stomach flip.
“I’m not one to give compliments,” James addressed the group. “But you all did a good job last night. I left you alone and no one died, so we’ll call that a successful day. Let’s keep things that way.”
Despite their sleeplessness, the interns were in good spirits. Even a backhanded compliment was welcomed.
James was in good spirits, so after rounds, he let them go home. The guys were so grateful they looked like they were about to cry. They scurried off to the doctor’s lounge to grab their belongings before anyone changed their mind and decided that they needed the interns to stay.
Isabella purposefully took her time stuffing her change of clothes into her bag.
“Are you coming?” Jordan asked.
“Go ahead. I’ll see you on Monday.”
Isabella doubled back to look for James. She needed to put an end to the weird uncertainty surrounding their time together. He was sitting in Dr. Jensen’s empty office, flipping through charts and filling out paperwork.
“Can I talk to you?” she barely squeaked out.
“Sure, what’s up?”
She thought about shutting the door to the office so no one would overhear their conversation, but she didn’t want to be completely alone. Isabella compromised by closing the door halfway.
“I just want to clear things up about last night,” she started.
“I had a good night,” he interrupted.
“That’s the thing. It was a silly mistake to kiss you. It was unprofessional, and I don’t know why I did that.”
“I do,” he said. “The first real surgery is an incredible rush. I remember the first surgery I was involved in. There had just been a bad storm, and there were tons of injuries. We were swamped, and I got to assist in reattaching a woman’s severed finger. It was exhilarating. I was unstoppable.”
She nodded. At least he understood.
“So you agree when I say that we can just forget about this?” she asked.
“To be perfectly honest,” he teased, “I don’t know how to forget it when I can’t get the image out of my head.”
She scoffed.
“Don’t act all disgusted. You’re the one who kissed me, remember?”
“I remember, all right.”
“Was it really that bad?” he asked, genuinely curious.
“No,” she admitted. “But that’s just not something I do often.”
“You’ve never had a one-night stand? You are a goody-goody.”
“If you must know, I have. But that was during school, and it certainly wasn’t with any of my instructors.”
“I’m hardly an instructor, though. I’m not that much older than you. I’m just the go-between while the real doctor in charge of you is working.”
“You still have influence over my internship.”
“Is that what this is all about? You’re worried that I’m going to give you preferential treatment if you hook up with me? I promise that I can be impartial. If it really matters that much to you, I can easily get you reassigned.”
“I like working with you—professionally, that is. I wanted to clear the air so I wouldn’t feel weird around you anymore.”
“For the record,” he added, “I’m capable of being discreet. I have yet to let a fling get in the way of my career. It’s obvious that that’s a hang-up for you.”
She was tempted. He was incredibly attractive, and it wouldn’t hurt to have an in with someone higher up. Isabella loved the way he grabbed at her in the locker room. It felt so good to be desired, to be needed. It could never work, though. Not without it ending in disaster.
“I’m flattered, but I just can’t do this right now. I don’t remember the last time I slept or showered, and I have too much work to do. I can’t handle any more distractions. Is that okay?” she asked hopefully.
“I understand,” he answered. “But if you ever change your mind, you know where to find me.”
“So it’s not going to be weird between us?”
“I won’t make it weird.”
“Thanks,” she said. “I’m glad we can be adults about this.”
James gave a half-smile. He looked a little hurt, but he was trying his hardest not to show it.
“Are you going home soon?” she asked, switching over to harmless small talk.
“Nope,” he said, rubbing his tired eyes. “I’ve got a few hours of dictations to do, and then I’m going over some of Dr. Jensen’s research data.”
“You really do live here, don’t you?” she asked.
“Basically.” He sounded a little sad. “I know you’ll just go home and study, but I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend.”
She nodded.
Isabella left the office feeling a little better. She had some closure, and that was all she could ask for.
When she got home, she sent a quick text to Jordan:
Sorry for being so weird this morning. I talked to James. We agreed to be cool about this and that it would never happen again. I feel relieved.
Isabella finally took a shower and changed into a t-shirt and shorts. She felt much better.
Studying could wait. She slid under the covers for a quick nap. She had just closed her eyes when she heard her phone buzz. Jordan finally responded.
Yeah, okay. I’ll believe it when I see it.
Chapter Six
The next week, all interactions between Isabella and James were strictly businesslike. There was no teasing, no coy smiles, and definitely no touching. She was a little miffed when he chose other interns to observe surgeries, but that was to be expected from an attending that didn’t pick favorites.
“I’m quite frankly surprised,” Jordan said to Isabella one night in the doctor’s lounge. “He’s given you just as many shitty assignments as everyone else.”
“I told you that he could be cool about it. He’s just as career focused as I am.”
What she didn’t tell Jordan was that they kept running into each other, and it was getting hard to stay focused. She caught him walking out of the shower again and in various stages of undress in the changing area when she arrived at the hospital in the morning.
She rode empty elevators with him in complete silence. She always stared straight ahead at the doors so she never saw the smirk on his face. When they passed each other in the hall, she averted her eyes so she never noticed the way he checked her out. Isabella was oblivious to his wandering eyes because she was afraid of catching him looking. Avoiding him and staying ignorant were easier.
As the days went on, he was becoming more obvious with his advances. He would never treat her differently while others were around, but once they were alone, it was hard for Isabella to ignore him. The final straw for Isabella was when he pulled off his scrub top right next to her, practically shoving his toned abs in her face.
“What are you doing?” she asked, scrambling up from her seat on the bench.
“Just changing clothes,” he said, almost too casually. “Why? Is something wrong?”
“Why do you always do that? Nearly every morning, you come in here while I’m by myself and practically do a strip tease right in front of me.”
“Do you want me to wear the same clothes day after day? The better question is why you insist on showing up thirty minutes earlier than everyone else. If I change my clothes at the same time every day and you don’t like it, why don’t you arrive just fifteen minutes later and avoid me altogether?”
“I—I like to be prepared for the day. You’re right, though. I’ll do that somewhere else.”