“We interviewed with Dr. Foster.”
“Yeah, but he’s on medical leave for the next three months. He had posterior tibialis tendon surgery.”
“That’s painful. How come you know this, and I am just now hearing about it?”
“I was chatting up a cute x-ray tech in the cafeteria. He gave me the lowdown on everyone in this hospital. He asked for my number. I asked for some dirt on everyone. You know, the usual.”
I shake my head, laughing. “Remind me how you made it through medical school again?”
Stacey flicks her hair over her shoulder and glares at me. “Because I’m wicked smart and good at this saving-lives business.”
“Spoken like a true doctor.”
We stop out front of the conference room, my heart pounding in my chest. Why am I so nervous? It’s our first day of our residency, one step closer to becoming surgeons. My father is a cardiothoracic surgeon, my mother his surgical nurse. I grew up in a hospital. The smell of antiseptic is practically burned into my brain. Playing Operation as a kid, it wasn’t just a game to me. It was what my father did for a living and what I had always dreamed of becoming.
When I graduated from Columbia, I saw my father shed the first tear in his life. Not once did I ever see him out of character. But on that day I made him proud, something I was never sure I had done until he said the words aloud. So, I guess I am allowed to be nervous. The fear of failing and not living up to my father’s reputation always creeps into the back of my mind. I have to push it out, move forward and make this residency my bitch.
Stacey bites the inside of her cheek, giving me the same anxious look that I imagine must be written all over my face. “Ready?”
We walk into the room together and stand there in silence for a few minutes, taking in the sight of the crowded space. Full of men and women around the same age as us, some a little older than others, we blend in with the sea of white lab coats. The surgeons at Penn General wear dark-blue scrubs paired with the standard lab coats, marking everyone around us as our equals.
I couldn’t stop smiling when I slipped into my uniform this morning. I’m about to become a surgeon. All of my dreams are finally coming true. Until Sloan walks into the room, dressed in the same outfit as me, looking like he just stepped out of a fashion magazine, one that sells designer scrubs.
I take a big gulp from the coffee cup in my hand and look to Stacey, waiting for her to peel herself from the wall.
She gasps when she realizes my cause for concern. “He’s…No, he can’t be.”
I nod, my eyes wide in horror. “Please tell me he is not Dr. Foster’s replacement.”
Stacey covers her mouth with her hand. “Dr. Hart is covering for him for the next three months.”
“What was Dr. Hart’s first name?”
“Sloan,” she says.
“Fuck me.”
She giggles. “Oh, he already did that, babe.”
I fucked my boss. I sucked his cock. This is not happening. He looks too young to be a surgeon, let alone the Residency Program Director. My nipples harden at the thought of all the nasty things I did with my boss this weekend.
Stop it. I have to think of something other than how good he made me feel. How much I’d like to feel his very skilled hands on my body once more.
Sloan’s talking to a few of the more eager doctors at the head of the table, focused on the group of residents who hover around him. He turns to glance around the room, our eyes locking for a second. At first, he doesn’t recognize me. Then, he does a double take. His eyebrows scrunch in confusion, before the corner of his mouth turns up into something I least expect. Revulsion or something close to it. Is he angry with me? He never asked what I did for a living, nor did he care, and I wasn’t about to offer any information that was not necessary.
He gives me a look the reminds me of when he bent me over his couch and spanked my ass, the thought of that alone going straight to my core. I’m wet from one look. Can he sense it? Can he smell the sex on me? Fuck. I cannot want my boss this much. This man is supposed to be my mentor, my teacher.
My hookups with Sloan were supposed to be a temporary sex arrangement, not a constant reminder of the crazy decision I made to have sex with a stranger. My new teacher fucked like he wanted to possess me and licked my pussy like he was having me for dessert. And now, I am dripping wet. In a conference room full of my peers.
Sloan strolls over to me, a look of shock still registered on his face. What is he doing? No one can know we were ever together. We are each other’s dirty little secret. It has to stay that way for the sake of our jobs.
With a warm smile, Sloan extends his hand to me. All I can think about is where those hands have been and how good they felt cupping my breasts while he fucked me from behind. Dammit.
“I don’t think we’ve had a chance to meet. I’m Dr. Hart, the interim Residency Program Director, and you must be?” He waits for me to finish, acting as if he doesn’t know me. Interesting.
A flicker of acknowledgment flashes in his eyes when I shake his hand and mutter, “Ava Roberts. Nice to meet you, Dr. Hart.”
“Likewise, Dr. Roberts,” Sloan says with a tiny smile. “You should have told me.” He lowers his voice to a whisper.