“A do-over?” I asked, taken aback by his question.
“Yes.” He nodded. “I’d prefer our first introduction didn’t occur while I was in the middle of a pap smear,” he explained earnestly. “I’d also prefer that you’d wash that embarrassing and, honestly, really unsanitary, attempt at a handshake from your memory.”
“Oh, so you don’t always try to shake new hire’s hands right after performing a vaginal exam?” I teased.
“Definitely not.” He smirked and shook his head. “That was the first time I’ve ever tried that intimate of a welcome to the office.”
“Wow,” I responded with a smirk. “I’m not sure if I should feel special or concerned.”
I felt the rough vibration of his soft chuckle in my chest—and squeezed my legs together to stop the feeling from spreading to other places. “I guess it’s safe to say you’re never going to forget that, are you?”
“Probably not.” I shrugged. Truthfully, the comedic value was too good. I’d likely be jazzing up this story to tell to my grandkids one day about how tough it was to be me. My version of walking both directions uphill in the snow, to school, barefoot. “But, in the name of getting into my new boss’s good graces, I’m willing to allow a do-over,” I added with a smile and held out my hand toward him. “Hi, Dr. Cummings, I’m Melody Marco. Your new nurse.”
He took my hand in his and grinned. “It’s nice to meet you, Melody. And please, just call me Will.”
“It’s nice to meet you too, Will,” I said and instantly loved the feel of his first name sliding off of my tongue.
His grin grew wider and finally gave way to one of the best smiles I’d ever seen in my life. A smile was one of those things that was so universal even an infant knew it by heart. A smile could tell you a lot about someone. And with the way Will’s smile encompassed his lips and his cheeks and his ocean-blue eyes, my gut instinct told me he was a down-to-earth guy at heart. Maybe a little awkward at times. Definitely sexy as hell underneath that white exam coat. But I had a feeling he was one of the good ones. The kind of guy every woman searches for and only a few have the luck to find.
I wanted to know him. Like really, really know him.
And see him naked. Don’t forget you want to know him naked.
Jesus. I blushed at my mind’s brief detour into the gutter. It was one thing to be intrigued by someone, but it was a whole other ball game when you were fighting your brain’s desire to picture that person sans clothes.
“Thank you for obliging me with a do-over, even if it was under the pretense of extortion. I feel a lot better about our introduction now,” he said with a little wink. “Now, seeing as it’s your first day on the job, I want to make sure you feel at home here. Do you have any questions for me? Is there anything I can show you?”
Your penis.
Oh. My. God. Even though the words never crossed my lips, the shock of them flooding my head made my eyes go wide and my lungs forget how to maintain the normal flow of oxygen in and out. Saliva clogged my throat, and I couldn’t stop the fit of choking coughs that followed.
Had I really just thought the words your penis?
As in yes, please, Will, show me your penis?
Holy hell, I was a pervert. A total fucking pervert.
“Are you okay?” he asked in concern when the coughs continued for an uncomfortably long time. “Do you need some water?”
I need more than just water, I thought to myself. A lobotomy. A new job—preferably one where my boss doesn’t make my brain think about his penis.
I nodded in response because it was literally the only thing I could do. For one, speech wasn’t really feasible between the coughs, and two, I feared if speech were an option, I’d blurt out something ridiculous about his balls. I mean, if Penis was stop one, my train was two short chugs away from pulling into Testicle Station.
He pulled a fresh bottle of water from his drawer and slid it across his desk.
I took it willingly, and thankfully, the slightly cool liquid managed to clear my throat and calm my lungs.
“Better?” he asked, and I nodded again.
“Thank you,” I said when I felt confident enough to use words and set the bottle onto his desk. “I swear, I normally have the whole breathing and talking thing down without dying.”
He chuckled at that. “Kind of like how I don’t normally try to shake hands right after performing a pap smear?”
Hmm. I guess he makes a point. I smiled. “Yeah. Kind of like that.”
“Did Betty show you around this morning?”
“No.” Will’s brow furrowed in confusion, so I explained further. “Actually, she had Marlene show me around.”
He sighed and shook his head. “Yeah. That’s not going to work. I’ll make sure Betty takes the time to show you around and then has another nurse give you an actual orientation.”
Obviously, Marlene’s give-no-fucks attitude wasn’t something new.
The overhead vents inside his office creaked and groaned, and suddenly, the room started to fill with hot air. And it wasn’t the good kind of hot air. It was like ten times hotter than a sauna kind of hot air. It didn’t take long for my pores to respond to the desert-like warm temperature.
“Christ,” Will cursed under his breath. “Can you give me a minute?”
I nodded.
Picking up the phone on his desk, he tapped one of the speed dial buttons. “Harry,” he greeted. “How’s it going?”
I tried to ignore the heat while he continued with this phone call, but eventually, I couldn’t take it anymore. I needed to de-layer or else I’d find myself in another awkward situation of fainting in his office.
Be proactive—that was my goal.
“That’s great, man. I’m glad to hear it,” he responded into the receiver. “Listen, I’m still having issues with the temperature in my office. The vents are blowing more heat than the sun. I can actually feel my skin shriveling.”
He was right. Not even lizards could live like this. Good God, it’s hot. I moved into survival mode, removing my button-up scrub jacket and sliding up the sleeves of my long-sleeve white shirt. Even though the room was still insanely hot, I sighed in relief from the slight decrease in temperature less clothing had allowed. Anything was something when the vents in Will’s office were on a mission to kill us both via heatstroke.
“Okay, perfect,” he said and looked toward me for a brief moment. His eyes went wide, and he blinked several times before hurriedly moving his gaze in the complete opposite direction of the room. “Yes… No… Shit… I’m sorry, what did you just say, Harry?” he stuttered into the phone.
What the hell?
Will’s eyes moved toward me again, and his reaction only got more absurd when he nearly dropped the receiver in his hand.