Page 15 of Hearts Clash

“Oh, please,” Scarlett said haughtily. “She thinks I’m the best person for the job. If she thought you would be more qualified, she would have talked to you about it first, wouldn’t she?”

That hit a nerve, and Gianna raised an eyebrow indignantly. The truth was that it stung. All her life, she had struggled to prove herself to people like Scarlett Miller—those spoiled, rich kids with every advantage handed to them on a silver platter. All those times she had worked twice as hard, sacrificed twice as much, just to catch up with her peers who got into medical schools because their parents were hospital directors or renowned physicians or researchers.

For her, this opportunity was the chance of a lifetime, to finally earn that recognition after years of hard work. The fact that despite her spotless record and numerous accomplishments, their boss seemed to think Scarlett was somehow better fit for the role infuriated her beyond belief. She had managed to contain that rage throughout the week, but now that they were alone, with a few glasses of wine under their belts, it bubbled up to the surface. Angrily, she stepped closer to the taller woman, eyes blazing.

“It’s so easy for you, isn’t it?” she snapped bitterly. “You’ve always got everything handed to you; the whole world bowing down and doing everything for you. It’s never a fair fight, is it?”

Scarlett’s brow furrowed. Their chests were inches apart, and she tilted her chin down to glare straight into Gianna’s eyes. There was something intensely intimate about being so close to her. Gianna could see the gold flecks in her hazel eyes and count each individual freckle on the bridge of her nose. The scent of the woman’s subtle rosy perfume mingled with that of fine alcohol, and she felt a strange twist in her chest. Her anger somehow heightened into something else entirely, an electric charge between them that was impossible to ignore.

“Look,” Scarlett replied, and Gianna couldn’t help but notice that the redhead was breathing a little heavier, “I don’t know what your problem is. I am here for my career the same way you are. It’s not my fault if you think you deserve things that you haven’t earned—”

Before Scarlett could finish, Gianna cut her off with a searing kiss. She grabbed her by the collar and pressed their lips together, pulling her in so their bodies were flush against each other. The contact sent sparks coursing through her body. Scarlett hesitated at first before responding in turn, her hands coming up to grasp Gianna’s waist with equal force.

In those few seconds, Gianna felt her entire body ignite, her senses overwhelmed with lust. Their lips and tongues clashed as the kiss intensified, their movements urgent and needy. Scarlett’s lean body felt incredible pressing up against her own, warm and solid and full of desire. It was a total blur, lost to the tangle of arms and legs, teeth biting, fingers digging into skin in a flurry of passion.

Without warning, Scarlett broke away, pushing Gianna off with such force that the shorter woman stumbled backward. Gasping for breath, she watched the redhead step backward in shock, wiping her mouth on the back of her sleeve and turning bright red from embarrassment. For a moment, they stared at each other wordlessly. Scarlett’s face morphed from shock and disbelief to mortification.

“Damn, Doctor Miller,” Gianna quipped, smirking lasciviously, “I had no idea you had it in you.”

“Shut up,” Scarlett snapped, reaching up with shaking hands to straighten her clothes. “God. What are you doing? What’s wrong with you?”

“Uh, excuse me?” Gianna laughed. “You’re the one who was all over me literally half a minute ago.”

“Absolutely not,” Scarlett hissed furiously, shaking her head and backing away. “I’m not—I don’t—”

“What? Not into women?” Gianna fired back defiantly. “Yeah, right. Just keep telling yourself that and maybe eventually, you’ll believe it.”

“You know what?” Scarlett replied, still blushing furiously, taking a deep breath to collect herself. “No. We’re both really drunk, and this was obviously a mistake. Let’s just forget this ever happened.”

Without waiting for a reply, Scarlett stormed off toward the door, brushing past her without another look. When she slammed the door behind her, Gianna stood alone in the bathroom, dazed and bewildered at what had just happened. Why had she done that? She rubbed her swollen, bruised lips, shaking her head to clear her mind of the cloudiness.

That had been amazing and insanely confusing, and honestly, the only thing Gianna wanted now was to do it again. But Scarlett had made it extremely clear that she had no intention of entertaining this further. A mistake? Ugh. She should have seen that coming. She hadn’t, though, and somehow, the rejection stung worse than usual, making her feel small, sad, and stupid. God, why did she have to do this?

Fortunately, by the time she cleaned up her smudged lipstick and returned to the others, the night was coming to a natural end. Scarlett had already left, apparently claiming she wasn’t feeling well, and everyone else began to call their respective rides after splitting the bill between them. Gianna was grateful to be able to head home quickly as well, and she took an Uber back to her apartment, her head reeling from a chaotic vortex of conflicting emotions.

Upon returning home, tipsy and frustrated, she logged onto WomenConnect in the hopes of getting in touch with her favorite pen pal. Maybe she could even relieve some of the intense sexual frustration that had built up from that encounter earlier. Still angry and utterly baffled by everything, she was desperate for some comfort and companionship.

When she typed in her password, however, to her disappointment, DrHeart was offline, leaving her once again with nothing but her own thoughts and feelings to deal with. With a sigh, she slammed the laptop shut, put it on the coffee table, poured herself another glass of wine, and curled up on the couch with Cocoa purring in her lap, watching some cooking show on TV until she fell asleep.

7

Scarlett

Scarlett spent the rest of the weekend in a daze, completely dumbfounded by what had happened in the restaurant bathroom. Throughout lunch with her parents on Sunday, all she could think about was that kiss. Every time she closed her eyes, she remembered vividly how it had felt to be so close to the beautiful and infuriating Gianna, and her cheeks burned just as strongly as they had at the time.

It had been wonderful yet terrifying all at once. In the heat of the moment, her brain had abandoned all rational thought and let her body take the wheel. She tried to push the thought away. They had been drunk and emotionally high-strung, so it wasn’t like it meant anything. This was the sort of thing that happened when people got irresponsibly intoxicated. Even in her youth, she had never been the type to get swept up in antics like that, but it didn’t need to be a big deal, right?

Right. At least not as long as Gianna didn’t mention it to anyone. That thought sent Scarlett’s anxiety spinning all throughout the afternoon as she cleaned the house for the second time that day and picked out her outfit for the next day. By the time she went to bed that night, her heart raced incessantly. If this came out, it could ruin her reputation. Everyone would know, and it might even harm her chances of getting that promotion. After all, what respectable doctor acted that way at a work dinner? How could she be trusted with such authority if she let her judgment get clouded like that? God, how could she have been so stupid?

By Monday, she had worked herself into a state of panic, constantly looking over her shoulder whenever she passed anyone in the hallway. Did they know? Had Gianna already spread rumors? It was awful, feeling as though everyone could tell exactly what had happened from the look on her face. Thankfully, she was too busy with patients to really dwell on it too much during the day, but every time she saw Gianna around the hospital, her stomach twisted into knots and she dove into the nearest room for safety.

At lunch, she decided to try distracting herself and headed downstairs for some coffee. With brisk steps, she walked through the main lobby, trying to avoid eye contact with everyone. She quickly got herself a cappuccino and some lemon bread and scurried back to her office to review the patient files for her upcoming check-up. On her way back, though, the sound of loud voices coming from one of the waiting rooms caught her attention.

“What are you doing here, Jade?” exclaimed a voice that was unmistakably Gianna’s, sounding shocked and emotional. “I told you I’d call you if I had time—”

Scarlett meant to keep walking and ignore it. Really, she did. The last thing she intended to do was eavesdrop. It was none of her business. There was no need to get involved. She certainly wasn’t the kind of person who would slowly creep over to peek around the corner to see through the glass windows of the room. And if she were, surely she wouldn’t do so while holding her breath with her heart pounding anxiously, wondering what was happening inside.

Except, apparently, she was now.

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