Page 8 of Hearts Clash

Soon, they were shouting over one another, lost in a haze of passionately defending their methods. In truth, they had worked seamlessly together throughout the whole procedure, with minimal disagreements and no bickering. But now that it was over, and they were exhausted from the prolonged exertion and adrenaline of performing such a complex procedure, the tensions and doubts bubbled back up to the surface once again, and they were right back to square one.

As they argued heatedly over the events of the surgery, Scarlett felt a rush of conflicting emotions. She was pissed that the other woman kept dismissing her efforts and contributions to the operation, but at the same time, the verbal sparring thrilled her on some primal level. Being in her colleague’s presence always seemed to heighten her emotions, making her feel intensely one way or the other about even the tiniest things. It was unsettling but somehow addictive at the same time. The tension between them was electric.

Gianna had a fierce glow in her eyes as she argued animatedly. Her arm was firmly planted on her waist, drawing attention to the shape of the body beneath the unflattering hospital scrubs. Her makeup was flawless as ever, and the tiny little hairs on her forehead clung together with sweat, and her lush, luscious lips were mere inches away from—

Stop it! Scarlett scolded herself inwardly. Stop that at once, Scarlett Miller. You’re at work, and you’re on duty. It doesn’t matter how gorgeous she is. Besides, she’s infuriating. Arrogant. Entitled. Selfish. She thinks she can walk around like she’s better than everyone just because she’s gorgeous and charming and—

Oh God.

“You know what?” Scarlett snapped. “I’m not wasting my time on this. I have more important things to do.”

She spun on her heel, taking her coffee cup in one hand and storming off toward her office. Her cheeks were flushed bright red as she hurried through the halls. Was it because of the argument with Gianna? Or was it because she was imagining pushing Gianna back against the counter and kissing her senselessly to shut her up? God. What was the matter with her?

She shook her head hard to dismiss the mental image then entered the cardiac wing of the building. Okay. She needed to file a report of the details of the surgery. Concentrate on that. Paperwork. File reports. Drink coffee. Fill out patient charts. That was good. That was productive. Productive things were good. The hospital was depending on her.

One, two, three, breathe. Let it go. Focus.

4

Gianna

Gianna watched Scarlett storm away with an exasperated huff. So infuriatingly stubborn and self-righteous, that woman. Gianna had thought that maybe they’d managed to clear some air after working so well together, but her admittedly stunning colleague was determined to take everything she said as a personal insult. It was exhausting. The two of them seemed to constantly be at odds, even if they occasionally had their moments. Maybe one day she would manage to get through to the gorgeous, neurotic redhead.

They didn’t cross paths again for the rest of the day. The traffic accident left several other patients in dire condition that required immediate treatment, keeping the whole hospital staff scrambling around all afternoon. She performed two surgeries and assisted in another, along with a battery of examinations and tests on some less critical patients. It was hectic, to say the least.

By the time the end of her shift rolled around, she felt completely drained of every last drop of energy. Her whole body was aching and heavy, her limbs dragging as she made her way to the locker room to gather her things so she could finally head home for the day. If there was any place on earth she needed to be right now, it was in her comfortable pajamas on the couch with a soft drink and some mindless reality TV. And then, eventually, snuggled up in bed with her vibrator. After an intense shift like today’s, she really needed to unwind.

All the way on the drive home, though, she kept thinking about her altercation with Dr. Miller. The woman just drove her insane.

Admittedly, Scarlett was one of the most attractive women she had ever seen. Tall, slender, with elegant features, perfect posture, and flawless porcelain skin. If she ever let her hair down and stopped frowning, she would look like some kind of Old Hollywood movie star with her aristocratic cheekbones and pouty lips. Everything about Scarlett screamed class and high standards, all proper and respectable, and Gianna couldn’t help imagining what it would be like to see her totally wrecked, undone, with the buttons on her collared shirt open and her perfectly groomed hair a mess.

Unfortunately, this breathtaking redhead was also an obnoxious control freak with a serious superiority complex. As Gianna slammed her car door shut, she felt her blood boil once more at the mere thought of those intense hazel eyes glaring down at her. For some reason, she just couldn’t let it go. She carried that anger with her all through dinner, which consisted of reheating some leftovers from the previous evening’s take-out order. It carried on until she hopped into the shower. She stewed about it while she brushed her teeth and plucked her eyebrows.

When she slid into bed, she was still fuming about it as she opened the WomenConnect app to see if her anonymous pen pal was around. She really needed to vent to someone who would give her a sympathetic ear. DrHeart hadn’t been online all weekend, but tonight, there she was, and she responded immediately to her message. Soon enough, they were exchanging messages rapidly, their chat filling up with Gianna’s furious ranting.

EmergencyKisses: Ugh, she’s just sooo annoying! How is she even real, honestly? She acts like she owns the whole goddamn place, ordering everybody around and acting like she’s so much better than everyone for no reason. I don’t know why people even tolerate her half the time.

DrHeart: I feel you. I have this coworker who drives me totally up the wall too. We get into this huge fight pretty much every day. It’s exhausting. And everyone acts like she’s like the greatest thing since sliced bread or something. Like, just because she’s hot, does it mean she can act however she wants and not have to worry about consequences?

EmergencyKisses: Exactly! And then she keeps going on and on like I’m inferior or something, and meanwhile, my results speak for themselves. Seriously, it’s not like I haven’t made my own sacrifices or put in the work. Why can’t she just respect that, you know?

DrHeart: OMG, I totally get that. It feels like no matter how hard I try, nothing I do matters. And everyone else just treats her like the queen bee or something, even though she’s actually super arrogant and bossy. I can’t believe we have to work with these people.

EmergencyKisses: Right? We’re good people. We deserve better than this.

It felt good to get the frustration off her chest. Something about DrHeart felt familiar, comforting, like they just understood each other. There was a rapport between them, an instantaneous click the moment they first exchanged messages. The longer they talked, the more she felt herself drawn in by the mystery girl’s charm.

EmergencyKisses: Anyway. Sorry for the rant. Thanks for listening. <3

EmergencyKisses: I hope I didn’t scare you off on Friday? I was a little bit tipsy haha, sorry if I came on too strong.

The reply came almost immediately. Gianna grinned in satisfaction and stretched out comfortably on her bed.

DrHeart: Not at all ;) It was a fun conversation.

Yes! Victory. With a devious smirk, she wiggled her hips in excitement before settling down once more to keep chatting. Cocoa gave her a judging stare from the foot of the bed, but she ignored him entirely in favor of the tantalizing prospect of more dirty talk with her internet crush. A warm tingle spread across her stomach as she typed her response and hit send, biting her lip as she eagerly awaited the answer.

The banter continued on and off throughout the rest of the evening. This time, DrHeart was a little bolder and more receptive, engaging in the steamier exchanges without freezing up. Since it was a work night, it didn’t get quite as heated as it had on Friday night. Nevertheless, by the time they wound down and went to sleep, Gianna was in a much better mood as she drifted off, the memory of their latest conversations lingering in her mind.

---