Smiling, she responds, "You know I did."
"Now my ass is going to hurt all day."
She winks at me. "You know you like it."
"No, you hag. I don't like it. But it's time to get back to work."
Colleen cackles behind me as I leave the break room, rubbing my sore ass. Heading back to the cardiac wing, I roll out my neck, reminding myself I only have four more hours on this shift. Usually, I work twelve hour shifts five days a week except for surgery days. On those days, you never know how long you'll be working. Sometimes it's longer, other times it's shorter. I love my job. It seems like I'm complaining, but I'm not.
What other job could you have where you get to meet great people? Work with one of the most complicated organisms in the body, the heart. And help heal people, not just physically but emotionally, too. I was meant for this, but that doesn't mean I don't get tired.
Pushing the doors open after scanning my I.D. the sight I see has me freezing right in my spot. All thoughts about my disastrous love life and my sore ass leave my head. What the hell is he doing here? Trying hard to will my legs to move so I can get out of here and hide in one of my patients' rooms. Thankfully, I'm able to turn quietly, attempting to tiptoe down the hall. Before I can creep past the two men standing at the nurse's desk, Randall, my boss, sees me.
"Aww, there you are Kimberly." My whole body stiffens with his words. Because shit, I wanted neither of these men to see me. But it's time to be a big girl and I force myself to relax my shoulders. Plastering on the fakest smile. I turn back toward him and his guest. Making sure I keep my eyes on my boss and only him, I ask, "What can I do for you?" Dripping my words in sweetness so he can't see how uncomfortable I am right now.
"This here is Mr. Cabot; he just bought the hospital and is making rounds over the next few weeks to check in on the departments."
My jaw drops in shock. My gaze goes to the man standing next to him. And shit, my heart skips a beat when they connect with Silas Cabot's very green eyes the same man who has had my heart since the moment his son introduced us seven years ago.
"Hello Kimberly," he greets me with a small smirk. His deep voice rolls over me, the same one that had my stomach flipping every time he spoke back then, and it seems things have not changed, no matter how much I've tried to put him out of my mind. I say nothing. I can't. All my words are stuck somewhere between my brain and throat. And maybe even a few have dropped to my pussy, because suddenly my clit is tingling, and my panties are damp.
This is not good. I can feel my boss's gaze bouncing between us. He finally gets the guts when he clears his throat and asks, "You two know each other?"
Nodding, because my brain doesn't seem to want to work, but Silas answers for both of us. "We've met. She dated my son a few years back. Isn't that right?"
As if a bucket of ice has been thrown on me, I wake up to reality instead of being stuck in the one I've created. Why would Silas have any interest in me other than his son's ex-girlfriend?
"Yes." I casually answer, pulling my nurse phone out of my pocket, pretending that a patient is calling me. "Sorry, I've got to go." Not caring if the two men staring at me know it's all a ruse. Because right now I need to get myself together.
When I reach one of my patient's doors, I take a deep breath and let all the tension in my body go. He just owns the hospital, nothing more, nothing less. He has more important things to do than care about you except for the extent of your job. And nothing to worry about there because you're a kick ass nurse.
Maybe if I chant it a few times, I'll even convince myself. A buzzing sound interrupts my thoughts. When I pullout my personal phone, I see a slew of texts from my girls confirming girls' night.
Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly as if I was at yoga. This is what I need, a night with my girls to keep my mind off of Silas Cabot or that he now owns the freaking hospital.