“Yeah. It was rough first thing in the morning, just coming here. When I had to meet everyone, I expected a bunch of questions about my year-long sabbatical, but no one asked me about it.”
“Because it’s none of their business.”
I kept my eyes down on my salad as I stabbed the lettuce leaves with the fork and placed a bite in my mouth. “But once we started talking about the different trials, my brain lit up in a way it hasn’t in a long time.”
“I can imagine.” With her arms crossed on her thighs, she looked down at me, her long, curled hair stretching down her back, her appearance perfect for a photo shoot.
“You know, you don’t have to dress like that all the time. I’m a pretty casual guy. I’m always in jeans and a tee.”
“Dress like what?” she asked. “You don’t like the way I look?”
My words shot out instantly like a projectile. “Definitely not what I said. I just meant it’s a demanding job, and you don’t have to rock it in heels all the time. You work for me, not my mom.”
She turned away, a slight smile on her lips. “I don’t mind. With my first paycheck, I splurged on some clothes I’d always wanted but could never afford. And besides, I represent Dr. Dex Hamilton, world-renowned heart surgeon. I’ve got to bring my A game every day—and do it in heels.” She slid off my desk, straightened, and headed to the door.
Don’t do it.
Come on, don’t be that guy.
Don’t be the asshole who gawks at your assistant’s ass.
My eyes moved of their own accord.
Sweet mother of Jesus…that was one hell of an ass.
She turned around to face me again.
I pulled my eyes away as quickly as I could to cover up my perverseness and looked at my salad like it was the best thing I’d ever eaten.
She stared at me expectantly, like she’d said something and I missed it.
I’d been too busy listening to her ass say nothing. “Sorry, could you repeat that?”
She spoke again, like she wasn’t suspicious of my wandering mind. “I’m going to set up an office next door so I can be here a couple hours every day and work on filing everything for you and staying organized.”
“Oh, you don’t have to do that. I can handle that myself.” I hadn’t had an assistant before, and I organized things as I went like my mother taught me. Dad and Derek were all over the place, but Mom made sure Daisy and I weren’t like that.
“But why would you, when you have me?” She cocked her head slightly, wearing a nice smile. “I’m going to scan everything and upload it for you so you can access anything you need by date, subject, and through searching key terms. That way, we can easily pull it up here or at the practice if you need it there too. Besides, I’ll need something to do when I’m not booking appointments or answering your emails.”
I was already digging this new assistant thing. If she did all the tedious stuff for me, I’d have more time to focus on other things. “And getting me lunch?” I asked hopefully.
She chuckled. “Of course, that’s all you care about.”
I continued to eat my salad. “We men are all the same.”
Her eyes softened further before she turned around and prepared to leave my office. “Except you, Dex.”
As part of my teaching position, they wanted me to take on surgical students in my OR, and while I agreed to that in theory, I wasn’t ready to do that just yet…or anytime soon. So, I worked with the students in the cardiology lab, where they worked on hearts donated by cadavers.
Since everyone we worked on was already dead, I felt pretty comfortable.
Most of the students were older than me, so sometimes it was a bit weird, but I didn’t struggle to take control of the class because I was the most knowledgeable person in that room, so I automatically had all the authority.
Plus, they all kissed my ass because they wanted to be part of my surgeries.
I used to take interns because my mentor took me under her wing and taught me so much, so I thought it was important to pay that forward and accept a student I really admired as my shadow, but I hadn’t found a student I connected with on that level.
I was certain it would happen, but I was a hard man to impress.
At the end of the lab, the students were dismissed, and I headed to my office down the hall. It was a small space, more like a broom closet, but I only intended to be there a couple hours a week, so it didn’t matter to me.
The door was open, so Sicily walked inside. “How’d it go?”