“Pretty good,” she replied. “I mostly stayed home and studied.”
“Same,” Jordan said.
It was hard to lie to her friend when in reality, she desperately wanted to tell someone about her new relationship. That was just something she’d always wanted to share with a female friend. However, Isabella knew that it was best to keep this a secret for the time being.
“I have an announcement,” James said at the start of rounds. “Dr. Jensen is finishing up his study, so he will be leading you again, starting tomorrow.”
Isabella’s heart fell. She wanted to see James every day.
“I’ll still be filling in for him a few days here and there, so you won’t miss me too much,” he joked. “Okay, let’s get started.”
After Isabella answered his question on hysterectomies correctly, he sent her to surgery with a secret wink. Her stomach fluttered. It was a great surgery. She noted that she would have to thank him later.
At lunch, she met up with the interns. They had spent an awful morning in the ER and were tired and cranky. Jordan asked how surgery was, and Isabella went into full detail, gushing about how fascinating it was.
“If I fuck the boss, can I get in on surgeries too?” Martin mumbled under his breath. The other boys quietly snickered.
“What did you just say?” Isabella asked.
“That’s a messed up thing to say,” Jordan scolded.
Martin got up and stormed away.
“Don’t listen to them,” Jordan said. “He’s just jealous.”
“I know. I just don’t know why he said that,” Isabella said nervously.
“He’s an ass. Forget him.”
Isabella couldn’t forget it. Maybe she had made a mistake. It was bad enough that she was falling for a guy, but even worse that the guy was in charge. If she could not ensure his discretion, she wasn’t sure she wanted the hassle of the relationship.
She sent a quick text to James:
Let’s meet up after work. I want to talk.
Sure, everything okay?
7:00 at the coffee shop by my apartment?
Sounds good. See you then.
Chapter Eleven
Isabella arrived at the coffee shop on the corner across from her apartment building a few minutes early to scope things out. It was nearly empty, so she ordered two caramel lattes and sat down at a table in the back. He arrived right on time, and she waved him over.
“Thanks,” he said, taking a coffee from her. “How was your day?”
“Okay,” she said, not one for small talk. “Let’s cut to the chase. I need to know that this” —She waved her fingers between the two of them— “will be a secret.”
“Of course. Did someone say something?”
“Martin made some offhand remark about me fucking you, but I think that was out of jealousy and not so much knowledge.”
He clenched a fist. “That little weasel. I can’t stand him. I hope he enjoys working in the urgent care clinic, because I’m banishing him there.”
“I shouldn’t have said anything. We have to keep our work life and relationship separate.”
“That’s easier said than done when work is our life.”
“How about a compromise? Let’s tone down the flirting and favoritism during the work day, and then on the weekends, I’m all yours.”
“Sounds good to me. Does that mean I can’t check out your ass during the work day?”
She giggled. “Yeah, you should probably try to quit. I promise that if we keep this secret, I’ll make it worth your while.”
“Yeah?” he raised his eyebrows.
“I still don’t know how to navigate this relationship thing. How do we take things slowly when we want to be around each other all the time?”
He chuckled. “I don’t know the answer to that. We hooked up in the on-call room shortly after you started here. I wouldn’t exactly say it’s been a conventional courtship.”
Isabella smiled. “What’s your stance on talking on the phone?”
“I’m not a big fan. I’d rather just talk in person.”
She nodded in agreement. “Same.”
“What about PDA?” he asked.
“I think it’s gross, in most cases.”
“You heartless woman,” he joked. “Not even handholding?”
“On occasion. Everything else is off limits until we’re alone.”
“Ok, fine,” he conceded. “Anything else I should know about you?”
Isabella thought for a moment. “Sometimes I snore a little. Mostly when I’m really tired.”
“I noticed.”
“Sorry. Anything I should know about you?”
“I like to play video games to relax. If you’re around while I’m doing this, I will ignore you and probably yell at the TV.”
“I’m glad we’re getting this out of the way now.” She laughed.
He reached across the table for her hand, then quickly drew it back.
“Sorry, already forgot.”
“I wish you weren’t going away this weekend,” she groaned.
“The time apart will be good. You can get some studying done, and I will stay out of your business. I don’t want to be a distraction.”
“Too late,” she said. “It’s a welcome distraction, though. It helps break up the monotony of my day.”
He looked at his watch. “I need to run back to the hospital and finish up my dictations.”
“Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“You might not.” He grimaced. “You’re with Dr. Jensen for the rest of the week, and then I’m leaving for the conference. I might not see you until next week.”
Isabella’s smile dropped. “Oh,” she said quietly.
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I knew what I was getting myself into,” she said. “I completely understand.”
“Good,” he said, getting up from the table. “I’ll see you later.”
She sat and sipped her coffee in the quiet shop, watching him walk back to his car from the wide window.
Work without James just wasn’t the same for Isabella. She never realized how much she looked forward to seeing him until he wasn’t around. In the rare instances where they passed each other in the halls, they could hardly do much more than wave and say hello. Even then, they were in danger of seeming too friendly with one another.
Working with Dr. Jensen again was good for Isabella. It felt good that he remembered her name when he struggled to tell the other
interns apart. Also, no one could accuse Isabella of sleeping with him when he chose her for surgeries because it would only sound ludicrous.
James certainly knew his stuff, but Dr. Jensen held more clout in the medical community. Isabella was learning a lot and didn’t have the added distraction of the sexy attending.
Late Saturday night, Isabella was sitting on her couch, glass of wine in one hand and a medical textbook spread out on the adjacent cushion, when her phone rang.
“Hello?”
“I know we don’t do phone calls,” James said. “But I’m alone in a hotel room and can’t sleep.”
“Nothing good on TV?” she asked.
“Nothing that I can get for free,” he said. “What are you doing?”
“Just catching up on my reading.”
“What are you wearing?”
“Sweatpants and a baggy t-shirt.”
“Ugh,” he groaned. “Stop, it’s too sexy,” he said sarcastically.
“You asked. Was I supposed to lie?”
“I wouldn’t know the difference.”
“In that case, I’m wearing a thin, silky slip and no panties.”
“Nice try, but it’s too late.”
“Fine,” she said. “What are you wearing?”
“Nothing. I’m lying here, thinking about your sexy body and touching myself.”
“Really?”
“No, I’m just showing you how it’s done.”
She laughed. “Thanks for the tip. I’ll make sure to do better next time.”
“I can’t wait to see you next weekend,” he said softly.
“Me too.”
“What are we going to do?”
“I thought I’d take you out to dinner, and then we could go back to your place. We could go to my place, but my bed is smaller and not as comfortable.”
“I think there might be some new movies in theaters this week if you want to do that too,” he added.
“If I’m going to be in a dark room with you,” she said, “I’d rather not be in public.”
“What would you rather be doing?”
“I’d rather be pulling your clothes off and touching every surface of your body. I can’t do that at a movie theater.”
“Fair enough,” he said. “There’s no need to go out. I have a TV in my bedroom.”