“It shouldn’t have been.” He slowly let my hand go. “Please accept my apologies.”
I nodded. The way he was looking at me right now made me wish I’d actually worn panties.
“Would you like me to show you my office right now? Personally?”
Hell yes ... “No. I um ... I actually need to be on my way out. I have somewhere to be soon.”
He looked me up and down, his lips slowly parting as he took in my dress. “Does this ‘somewhere’ involve a boyfriend?”
I started to explain that it was some random guy I’d befriended online months ago, but I stopped myself. He didn’t really care where I was about to go, and I needed to put an end to this foolish boss-employee fantasy before it could begin. “Yes. It’s a boyfriend, a very long-term and serious boyfriend.”
“Well, I’m very sorry to hear that.” He smiled again when Emily returned with my coat. “I’m looking forward to working with you, Dr. Madison.”
“Looking forward to working with you as well, Dr. Ashton.”
THE RESIDENT
New York, New York
Natalie
“This man is your boss?” Shannon, stared at Dr. Ashton’s professional picture on the Park Avenue Group website as we shared the backseat of a cab. “Are you shitting me right now?”
“I wish.” I’d done nothing but fantasize about the possibility of his lips touching mine since the moment I left the private practice. I’d incessantly replayed the way he looked me up and down, the way he caressed my hand, and I was now cursing myself for not taking him up on his offer of that personal office tour. In fact, the more I thought about it, the more I wondered how I was going to be able to get any work done around him.
How do any of the women there work when he’s around?
“Well, you’ll have to keep me posted on everything that happens when you officially start there.” Shannon returned my phone to me and looked outside her window. “You think there’s a chance this D-DOCTOR guy will be halfway as hot as your boss?”
“Doubt it.” I looked at Dr. Ashton’s sexy picture one last time and closed the screen. “But I think the sex with him will be amazing.”
“Let’s hope so. Remind me why you begged me to accompany you on your date tonight. Are you that nervous?”
“I’m not asking you to accompany me,” I said. “I just need you to go inside the restaurant first, look for his table, and just call and tell me what he looks like, so I’ll be prepared if he’s not as cute as I hope he is. Oh, and I’ll also need you to confirm that he doesn’t give off any serial killer vibes.”
“In that case, I’ll just walk right up to him and ask when was the last time he murdered someone,” she said flatly. “Will that work for you?”
“Actually, yes. That’s perfect. Can you do that?”
“No.” She laughed and the cab stopped right in front of Per Se a few seconds later.
I followed her out, taking a seat on a bench that belonged to the café next door.
“In all seriousness,” Shannon said, “Are you sure you just don’t want to go in and meet him for yourself and just have me watch you guys from afar? I think that’s how most people usually do these things ...”
“I’m sure. I want you to check him out first.”
“Okay, then.” She shrugged and made her way up the steps, skipping everyone in line with relative ease.
Minutes later, she called my phone.
“Yeah?” I answered. “Do you see him?”
“Not yet, but wow ... This place really is nice. How come we’ve never booked a reservation here for ourselves?” She paused. “Never mind. I just glanced at the menu. Three hundred twenty-five dollars for the chef’s special? Per person? These people are out of their damn minds ...”
“It’s a five-star restaurant, Shannon.”
“Right ... Which table did D-DOCTOR say he’d be waiting for you again?”
“Twelve.”
“Okay, that’s in the back.” She paused for a while and I heard the sound of several glasses clink in the background. “I think I see him. He’s looking at his phone.”
“Is he attractive?”
“I can’t tell yet, but he’s clenching his jaw for some reason. He also fills out a suit quite nicely.”
As if she could already tell what was running through my mind, she didn’t give me a single second to ask another question before listing out the details.
“His suit is dark grey,” she said. “And it looks like its custom-made. From the way it fits his body, I’m pretty sure he has to work out. Also, blue silk tie — designer probably, sparkling silver cufflinks, and perfectly shined leather wingtip shoes. Is this the part where I walk up to him and ask if he’s a serial killer?”
“No, but I appreciate the fact that you remembered.” I let out a sigh of relief, feeling hopeful that one of the men I’d met online might finally live up to all our conversations. I started to head into the restaurant, ready to tell Shannon she could hang up, but I heard her suck in a deep breath and stopped dead in my tracks.