Page 1 of The Grinder

Chapter One

The door to the billing office of the Reading Health Center squeaked open, causing Allison Martin to do two things.

First, she cringed because she was currently bent over at the waist trying to find the cord that’d fallen between two desks, and her ass would be the first thing anyone walking through the door would see.

And second, she hoped like hell whoever had just walked through that door was a coworker and not someone she’d actually have to talk to.

“Uh, hey. How’s it going?”

Shit, shit, shit.

No such luck. The voice was male and unknown, deep, with just enough of a husky edge that her heart kicked up a beat.

And, of course, she’d been caught with her ass in the air.

With a sigh, she began to wiggle her way out from between the desks.

“I’ll be with you in a second.”

“Yeah, sure. No problem. Take your time.”

Great, just great. He was a perv, too, which meant he was going to watch her ass the entire way.

And, since she was the only person in the office, she’d have to smile and pretend to be pleasant while he berated her for a bill he probably didn’t understand.

Today, smiling would require a superhuman effort. The hospital’s internet had been spotty all day, and the program the office used to bill patients had been glitchy since it’d been updated last week.

She’d just gotten off the phone with the tech guys, who’d told her to try the old unplug-replug method for fixing the connection. If that didn’t work, she’d have to wait her turn because apparently every other department in the hospital had had the same problem today. Which meant she’d probably embarrassed herself for no reason.

Sucking in a deep breath, Aly finally freed herself and stood, pushing the hair that had escaped her pristine twist out of her face.

Then she forced a smile and hoped she didn’t look like a rabid dog.

“Hello, can I help…you?”

Holy crap.

The man leaning his elbows on the counter had definitely been checking out her ass.

Quite frankly, she wasn’t sure she minded.

Specimens like this didn’t typically pass through her door, much less stare at any part of her. No, she usually only saw guys like this in memes about eye candy and fantasies.

He had to be at least six-two and probably weighed more than two hundred pounds. All of it muscle. Thick, bulging muscle that made his faded gray t-shirt stretch at its seams.

She felt small standing in front of him, which was a minor miracle because she wasn’t. She stood five-seven and carried a few more pounds than she’d like. In heels, she could stare down most men she knew.

But not this one.

She had to look up, even as his gaze dropped to her feet then made its way up until he finally met her eyes.

And when they did…

Holy freaking crap.

She had to bite her bottom lip to make sure her mouth didn’t hang open.

He was quite possibly the hottest guy she’d ever seen in real life. Seriously, he should be modeling underwear.

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