Page 19 of The Doctor's No-Strings Deal

CHAPTER 9

MEGAN

At six in the morning, Megan shot up and out of bed. It took her several minutes to remember where she was and that it wasn’t her own bed or even her own apartment. She scrambled back into the clothes she was wearing the night before. Charlie was still asleep, and Megan was briefly tempted to let him oversleep, but then she realized she didn’t have her bike with her. Catching a taxi wasn’t a sure bet, and he had access to a car and driver. She ran back into the bedroom and shook him.

“Charlie.Charlie.”

He groaned and opened his eyes. “Megan,” he mumbled her name with the quirk of an exhausted smile on his face.

“We’re late.”

Now it was Charlie’s turn to leap out of bed. He was barely dressed, and Megan couldn’t help but remember the night before, how rapturous he’d made her feel. Then he opened his mouth. “You’d better call a taxi, Bright.”

She felt her jaw drop and forced herself to close her mouth again. “You’re not giving me a ride?”

“Now how would that benefit me? We’re in competition, aren’t we? It’s not my fault you overslept.” He picked up his phone and texted his driver, Megan assumed.

“Oh, it absolutely is your fault!” She could hardly believe she was being treated like this. But then, what else had she expected from Dr. Sourpuss. Whoever the extraordinary lover she’d met last night was, he seemed to have vanished into thin air. The jerk had replaced him. Then she got the idea to appeal to his competitive nature. “You don’t want to win by cheating, do you? I mean you got me drunk last night?—”

“I did not, and you know it.”

She got in front of him and pulled him in by the collar. “I didn’t say you used alcohol to do it, Sullivan. Now, do you want to take that win along with the responsibility of getting me to the hospital on time, or do you want to forfeit the points you gained last night?”

His eyes smoldered as he considered her proposition. He bent close to her, and she was almost certain he was going to kiss her again. But at the last second, he pulled away. “I’ll take the win,” he said with a mischievous grin. “George will be out front in five minutes. Don’t be late, or we’re leaving without you.”

They both scrambled to get ready, although Charlie had much more to work with than Megan did, being on his own turf and all. She managed though, and so found herself in the back seat of his car once again, only this time, she didn’t put her hand on his thigh.

She was late, flustered, and starving. She hadn’t had time to eat breakfast, and she always ate at least something. As though he’d read her mind, Charlie reached over and handed her a breakfast bar. She took it with a baffled look. “I thought we were in competition,” she said.

He shrugged. “Like you said, I don’t want to win by cheating. I’m going to beat you fair and square, Bright.”

By the time Megan discreetly exited the car and made her way to the locker room, Kayla was already there. She gave Megan a scrutinizing look. “You’re still wearing what you wore last night. What happened?”

“Nothing,” Megan answered, but even she could hear that the pitch of her voice was off.

“Nothing?” Kayla narrowed her eyes. “So you just time traveled from last night to right now?”

“Yes, Kayla,” Megan answered with a roll of her eyes. “I time traveled. It’s a talent I happen to have and why I think I’ll make a great doctor.”

“I thought your special talent was how good you are with people.” Kayla crossed her arms. “It’s a talent you’re not using right now.”

Megan stepped into her scrubs and groaned. “Okay, you got me. Sorry I’m so cranky this morning. I didn’t sleep well. When I got home from the bar, my mom wasn’t well, so I had to do some things for her.”

“Some things?” Kayla crossed her arms. “So vague. You’re usually so specific — like it gets on my nerves sometimes, how specific you are.”

“It’s just the usual stuff,” Megan said in a clipped tone she immediately wished she didn’t have. “Sorry. She didn’t feel well and hadn’t eaten all day. I had to make her food and clean up around the apartment. You know, the usual stuff.”

Kayla followed Megan out of the locker room, needling her the whole way. “That’s awfully convenient. So you were so busy cooking and cleaning all night that you couldn’t be bothered to change your clothes? Sounds reasonable.” By her tone, Megan could tell Kayla was being sarcastic, and she didn’t appreciate it. On the other hand, she had lied to Kayla, so she supposed she deserved it.

When they found their attending, Charlie was there waiting for them, an infuriatingly smug expression on his face, probably because he’d beaten her in punctuality. Point for Sullivan. Fine. She would just have to win all the other competitions today.

“First appointment today is a burn injury.” Dr. Ralter stood with a file and clipboard looking chipper and ready to start the day. The others looked significantly less chipper. Megan wondered how late they’d stayed at the bar. Either way, she probably slept better than they did. She had been as relaxed as Jello by the time Charlie had finished with her.

“We’ll be monitoring healing progress and checking for signs of infection,” Dr. Ralter was saying. “And Charlie, this will be your moment to practice bedside manner, all right? I want you to make this patient feel that silly little thing called hope. She’s been through a lot, and you’re a good-looking chap. Make her feel beautiful.”

Megan quickly stuck her tongue out at Charlie when no one else was looking. In her opinion, that was a point for her. Now they were even.

“Very mature,” Charlie said, but his characteristic scowl was tempered somehow, like he was holding back a smile. He looked downright personable.

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