Page 4 of Secret Baby for Dr. Grump

Luke

The files are all messed up and it’s all I can think about. Which puts me in a bad mood.

Which is bound to make me snappy and unbearable later, but that’s just how things work.

“Are you planning to burn those files by drilling holes into them?”

Realizing he means my glare, I look up at James Sanders, who gives me a look of amusement. I roll my eyes. Not everyone can say they can do that to our hospital’s director, but I suppose I’m an exception since James and I have worked together for years.

At some point, I was up for the director position, too, but I turned it down because he’s much more pleasant than I am and I might make an enemy out of everyone if I were in that role. Being the head of neurosurgery is perfect for me, allowing me to do my thing and still have enough time for my business.

“I’m just arranging them.”

He tilts his head curiously. “How’s that going?”

“I already organized this week’s schedule for patients and operations, but the rest isn’t going as fast as I wanted.”

He makes sympathetic noises, understanding my plight. But he also nods reassuringly. “Well, don’t worry about it too much. The new hires will be coming in today for you and two other doctors.”

I raise a brow. “Screened carefully, I hope? Because if it’s another incompetent medical assistant who will just mess up my files further, then no, thanks.”

Not that I have a choice because I can’t spend my time fixing everything the last medical assistant messed up. I have patients to see and surgeries to do or oversee. Then there’s my business, which I own, and while it runs well with my CEO and staff, it still needs my supervision from time to time.

James nods. “Don’t worry. I screened them myself and I’m assigning you a special one. She’s twenty-eight but comes with good references. Glowing recommendations, too, with her old bosses calling her brilliant.”

The last medical assistant was also supposedly special. I guess she just cracked under pressure.

“Remind me why I can’t hire someone for myself again, James?”

“Because the hospital’s paying for your assistant, Luke.”

Right. This hospital only hires the best, and they want to be the ones to determine who the best is, even when it comes to assistants. I bite back a sigh, then slap the files down on my desk.

“Fucking hell. I want to throw all these goddamn files out.”

James chuckles. “It’s a good thing I’m the only one in the room. Your interns will probably tremble on the spot when they see you like this.”

“They already saw me like this. They’re fine.”

He chuckles again, then shifts his head when a knock sounds and the door opens behind me.

“Dr. Sanders, Dr. Jennings, good morning. Can I come in?”

“Of course. Come in, Rose. You’re just in time.”

I glance as Rose Sutton, head medical assistant, makes her way toward my desk with a smaller, more petite figure behind her. Rose and James greet each other before Rose turns to me.

“Dr. Jennings, I have the new medical assistant here with me. Wanda was giving her a tour earlier, so she’s a bit more acquainted now with our facilities. Dr. Sanders, Dr. Jennings, this is Olivia Davis. Olivia, this is our Director, Dr. James Sanders. And this is Dr. Luke Jennings, Chief of Neurosurgery and the doctor you’ll be working with.”

I glance at the petite woman, waiting until Rose steps to the side and she steps to the front.

Just like that, the floor under me feels so hollow that it’s a miracle I’m not swallowed on the spot. Shock pulses inside me before I’m punched in the gut and sent reeling as I stare at the figure dressed in scrubs. She’s not a stranger.

She’s familiar. Way too familiar—as in I-know-how-your-body-feels and I-know-what-your-moans-sound-like familiar. Seven-years-ago familiar.

Is this some kind of cosmic joke?

What is she doing here?

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