For what exactly, I wasn’t sure but I had the feeling it might be until someone tried to take me out for not following demands. I may have been a touch mad but I wasn’t stupid. I knew there would be consequences for my lack of cooperation. Whether it be my boss or some other psychopath I wasn’t sure. Both were trying to get me to bend to their wills. I just hoped to come out as unscathed as possible in the end.
Hearing the staccato of high heels approaching my cubicle, I rotated my desk chair to face the entrance as I prepared myself for whatever was about to be thrown at me next.
A large bouquet of gorgeous white roses moved through the doorway blocking whoever was carrying them.
“Hey, Ciaran, these arrived for you.” Annie, one of the interns, announced from behind the display.
Taking them from her hands and setting the arrangement on my desk, I plucked a small white envelope from the center while I warily eyed the blooms.
“Someone must really like you,” Annie said, envy clearly written on her face.
“Thanks, Annie, for dropping them off.”
“No problem. I was standing at the front desk when the delivery guy showed up. Anyways, I guess I should get back to work. Enjoy your flowers.”
As she headed away from my cubicle, I ripped open the tiny envelope with my finger nail and removed the insert.
“Have dinner with me,” it read. A significant looking capital letter K sat prominently on the bottom.
Tiny bubbles of glee squished around my stomach.
I hadn’t heard from Kean since he had left me at the front of my apartment building with my exposed heart tussling with his parting words. I had been hoping he would call but I definitely appreciated the flowers.
Picking up my cell I dialed the number on the bottom of the card.
It rang twice before Kean’s smoky voice answered. “This is Kean.”
Another round of bubbles floated up underneath my breastbone.
“Hey, Kean. It’s Ciaran. Ciaran Thompson.”
Slapping a hand to my forehead, I mentally kicked myself for sounding stupid. I’m sure the man knew who I was considering he had just sent flowers and that both his mouth and dick had been in intimate places on my body.
He laughed lightly. “I take it the roses arrived?”
“Yes, thank you. They’re beautiful.”
“Does this mean you’ve agreed to dinner?”
In the background I could hear Gloria calling his name.
“Why?” I asked.
“Gloria, give me a minute,” Kean said away from the phone before speaking back into it. “What do you mean, why?”
I blamed the piece of my soul that was risking it all to protect him for needing to hear the reasoning behind his request. “Why do you want to take me to dinner?”
When all I got was silence from his end I began to dread his answer.
Just as I was about to give him a reprieve, he said, “Because I’m trying.”
But it was a second too late.
My giddiness was smashed by his time delay and my mind sent up a defensive reflex. “You want to fuck me again, don’t you?”
Snapping my eyes closed for the umpteenth time today, I questioned my sanity.
“I also plan on fucking you again, Ms. Thompson.”
“When?” I breathlessly asked. I was referring to the fucking not the dinner.
“Be ready by eight,” he replied before the phone went silent. I lowered the phone and looked at the roses when I started to second guess myself.
I opened the texting app and typed out a message.
Me: Be ready by eight for dinner?
Kean: Yes. What did you think I meant?
Me: Dinner. I knew you meant dinner.
Kean: You were thinking I wanted you ready by eight to be fucked?
Embarrassed, I bit the inside of my cheek.
My phone lit up again.
Kean: Stop overthinking it, Ciaran. Nothing can deter me from fucking you again. You should always be ready.
Smiling, I dropped my cell onto the desk and buried my nose in the roses.
Chapter Twenty
Kean
“You have a date?” I looked up at my nosy receptionist to find her peering at me over the frame of the navy-blue reading glasses she wore.
“Don’t you have something better to do than eavesdrop on conversations that do not concern you?”
“No, not really,” she responded, fluttering her eyelashes. “You didn’t answer my question.”
I leaned over the counter close to her face so only she could hear my next words. “That’s because it’s none of your business. Besides I should fire you for telling Ciaran about the juvenile burn unit.”
Gloria’s face went blank for a second before lifting into a knowing grin.
“Why are you smiling like that?” I asked suspiciously.
“No reason. What floozie are you taking out tonight?”
“She’s not a floozie, Gloria,” I snapped.
Her grin turned into a full-fledged smile. She spun in her desk chair and clapped her hands.
“I knew it! I knew the two of you were perfect for each other!” she cried, running around the counter. As soon as I was within reach, she threw her arms around my waist and squeezed.
I needed more coffee if I was going to try and decipher what the hell her zany behavior meant.
“All this time I had been hoping you would grow tired of those women you paraded around here. You’re not getting any younger, ya know. I think it’s time you settle down,” Gloria squealed.
A raspy laugh sounded from the other end of the hallway.
“Gloria, are you trying to talk this man into marrying me?” Monique asked as she walked towards us.
Monique may have been joking but I also knew there was underlying truth to her words. For the last couple of years, she had been trying to corner me into seriously dating after I slept with her following a holiday work party. It was not a moment I was proud of. It was also the last time I chased vodka shots down with beer.
Gloria released my shoulders and placed her hands on her hips as she gave her co-worker a dirty look.
Saying that my longtime receptionist and head nurse didn’t get along was an understatement. They detested each other. Most of the time I let them hash out their differences but when it got close to one of them physically taking out the other I often intervened.
“I wasn’t talking about you. I was talking about the woman Kean is dating,” Gloria snapped as Monique stepped up against my side.
“Okay, ladies, do you think we can take a break for today? We still have a long list of patients to see and I have that conference call at six-thirty with the hospital. I don’t need any conflict to drag out the rest of the day.”
Monique rolled her eyes and brushed her breasts against my arm as she walked off. Gloria, on the other hand, crossed her arms and turned her irate expression towards me.
“What now?”
Fixing her beady eyes on mine, she leaned forward. “I was excited you were done with floozies like Monique and interested in someone like Ms. Thompson. She is a sweet girl and I want to see you happy.”
“Monique isn’t a floozie,” I told her, picking up a stack of files from her desk.
“You know I’m right. I can spot them a mile away.” Her eyes lost their narrowness as worry filled her face. “I remember when you were a boy and how you used to come into the office with your tiny fingers clutched tightly in your sweet mama’s hand. I knew even back then you were destined for someone special. I promised her on her deathbed when that evil cancer stole her from us that I would always look after you. She would be proud of you, ya know.”
“Stop,” I interrupted.
Remembering my mom pulled heavily on my heart as it always did. I needed to focus on the full day of work ahead of me. “I’m old enough to look out for myself.”
Gloria fiddled with papers on the counter avoiding my eyes. “I understand, Dr. Bennett.”
Turning on my foot, I was about to head to the next patient’s room when I stopped and faced Gloria again. Pulling her to me I wrapped my arms around the woman who I had known my entire life. She felt tiny in my arms.
“Gloria, how do you know it’s Ms. Thompson I’m seeing tonight?”
I could feel her smile. “Because the only way you would know I told her about the burn unit is if you spoke with her again. Plus, you called her by her first name, Ciaran. You were also quick to correct me when I referred to your date as a floozie.”