Dr. Tempt Me - A Possessive Doctor Romance

Suddenly there was a thump. I jumped to my feet, expecting—something, I wasn’t sure, maybe a stampede of angry security guards. I rushed to the door and found Dean kneeling down next to a large, reddish brown desk, picking up a silver paperweight with the hospital logo emblazoned on the top in glittery ink. He glanced up and shook the weight in the air before returning it to a stack of folders.

“We should go,” I hissed.

“Not yet.” He started pulling open drawers. “Haven’t found anything suspicious.”

“What are you looking for, anyway?”

“Financial documents. I don’t know.” He opened the bottom left drawer, reached in, and took something out. His eyes went wide as he held up what looked like a thick stack of hundred-dollar bills. “Or a ton of cash.”

I stared at the bundle and neither of us spoke for a beat. It was a thick stack, and I guessed it was at least a few thousand dollars, maybe as much as ten grand. He weighed it in his hands like the idol of an ancient god before shoving it back into place and yanking open another drawer.

I was tempted to go in and help. Maria’s office wasn’t exactly large, and was taken up by the massive desk, a couple chairs, some filing cabinets, and bookshelves. Every conceivable space was covered with tchotchkes, mugs, statues, books and folders and papers in all shapes and sizes. He finished opening the drawers then gave me a look.

“Check outside,” he said, nodding with his chin as he turned toward the bookshelf behind him.

I stepped back into the waiting area and craned my neck around the corner. I froze, blood going frozen, when I spotted Maria’s secretary talking with a young, dark-haired man casually over at the far end of the aisle.

I slipped back and shoved my head into the office. “The secretary. She’s back.”

His eyes went wide. “Right now?”

“Yes, right now. Get the hell out of there.”

He jumped out from behind the desk and hurried toward me. We moved back into the main waiting room area, and he peered around the corner and down the hall before pulling back.

“Shit,” he said.

“Come on, this way.” I hesitated at the corner, took a deep breath, then walked forward, angling for the opposite side of the cube farm.

Dean followed behind me, and we acted like we belonged, walking with purpose but not hurrying. A sudden move might catch her attention, and she might report to Maria that she saw the two of us lurking around. I glanced over in her direction before I disappeared behind the safety of the cube, and caught sight of her still engaged in conversation, smiling at something he’d said and laughing a little too loudly.

I smiled a bit as I strode away. Seemed like she had a crush on that guy, which was lucky for us.

Dean stayed with me, and we passed a few more people working in their cubes, but nobody bothered to look up. They might’ve wondered why a doctor and a nurse were wandering around the admin area, and I didn’t want anyone asking questions.

We reached the elevators, punched the call button, and waited. Neither of us spoke, and I shifted from foot to foot, uncomfortable and anxious. I wanted to get the hell out of here before—

The doors slid open, and Maria stood in the back of the elevator car, staring down at her phone. She stepped forward then stopped, a look of surprise flashing across her face when she spotted me and Dean standing side by side.

“Dr. Coarse,” she said. “Ms. Royle. What are you two doing up here?”

I completely froze. I stared at her and my mind felt like an engine that refused to turn over. I couldn’t come up with a single reason why the hell we’d be in the admin section of the building, not during a shift. I’d never been up in here before, and as far as I knew, staff usually didn’t mingle with administrators.

Dean stepped forward and a dazzling, charming smile spread across his face. “Maria, perfect, we were just looking for you.”

She tilted her head and stepped off the elevator. “What can I do for you two?”

“We were discussing billing for a patient and I thought I’d bring it directly to you.”

She glanced at me and I plastered a stupid smile on my lips. “Dr. Coarse here disagrees with certain… decisions.” I was about as vague as it got, but whatever, I was panicking.

“Right,” Maria said slowly. “Okay, sure, but I’m not really the person you’d want to talk to. You need to go to the billing department.”

“Ah, right, well, I was hoping I could go over their heads.” Dean gave her another charming smirk and leaned closer. “You’re much more efficient.”

She smiled back and I honestly couldn’t believe she was buying his shit. “That’s definitely true.”