Page 7 of Rewind

As for Dr. Han, she placed him at a friendly distance, determined to keep their relationship strictly business-related, not that she thought it would be anything more. To Amina’s pleasant surprise, Dr. Han had been personable while remaining professional. He immediately put her at ease and she was able to relax in his presence. She received a call later that afternoon to inform her she got the job. Thus began their boss and employee association. He kept the same demeanor with her that he did with all his employees and that worked just fine for her.

At no point did he ever overstep the boundaries.

So where did this sudden hug come from?

Amina kept her arms at her side, uncertain of what would happen if she reciprocated his sudden burst of affection. “Dr. Han?” she questioned, to break the awkward silence.

He released her with a quick hop backward, red-faced. “My apologies. I…I guess I’m just happy to see you today.”

“I…” She wasn’t sure how to respond to that right away.

He waved his hands in a frantic motion while shaking his head. “I’m sorry. That was so out of line.”

Amina had never seen Dr. Han so flustered and it tickled her to the point where she started giggling. “It’s fine. There’s no need to apologize Actually, I didn’t mind the hug.”

“Even still, I touched you without your permission and that won’t happen again.”

She placed her hand on his arm in reassurance. “There. I just touched you. Now we’re even. Besides, I’m happy to see you too. It’s like today feels like a brand new start.”

He raised a thick dark brow? “Oh? Any particular reason why?”

She shook her head. “If I told you, you’d think I was a crazy person. But let’s just say I feel like the last several years of my life feels like one chaotic dream and I’ve finally woken up.”

“Hmm, that must have been some dream. To be quite honest, I kind of feel the same. This last year especially, I’ve been in a total haze. It feels like I’ve been on autopilot since you…now that you’ve mentioned it.”

Amina cocked her head to the side to give him a proper look, but his expression was inscrutable She was almost certain he’d meant to say something else but had suddenly changed course.

Deciding not to push the topic any further, she took a step back and pasted a smile on her face. Although, technically, she’d seen him yesterday according to the date, if she went by the previous timeline, it had been a couple years since she’d seen his face.

She’d almost forgotten how handsome he was, his scent, his smile and how her heart sped up in his presence when they firstmet. “Yes,” she finally answered. This day was already strange enough without the reminder of her initial crush on her boss.

They stared at each other in silence for several more moments before the peace was broken by a high pitched voice. “Good morning Dr. Han. I was wondering where you were.” Carole stepped into Amina’s office with a wide toothy grin she only reserved for the two doctors in the practice. She briefly nodded in Amina’s direction. “Amina.”

“Carole.” Amina returned the brief greeting with the same energy.

“Good morning, Carole. Was there something I could help you with?” Dr. Han greeted politely.

“Actually, I wanted to have a word with you about a chart I was going over. Can I steal you away for a minute? I’m sure Amina has a ton of work to do.”

Carole shot her a smile as fake as her boobs while she pointedly looked at the folders on Amina’s desk.

This woman always had a knack for rubbing her the wrong way, but in the name of office harmony, Amina usually allowed more than she should have to slide.

Maybe because of what happened to her the night before, Amina didn’t want to be accommodating to someone who had only ever been cordial to her when she wanted something or when one of the doctors was around. She placed her hand on Dr. Han’s arm and smiled at Carole.

“I’m sorry, Carole, but we’re in the middle of an important discussion. I’m sure whatever it is you need can wait ten minutes. The first patient won’t be here for another half hour anyway. Can you find something to do until then? Oh, and please close my door on the way out.”

The bottled blonde’s mouth fell open giving her the appearance of a fish on a hook.

“I’ll be with you shortly, Carole,” Dr. Han added.

Carole tightened her lips into a thin angry line and shot Amina a glare before stomping out of the office and slamming the door behind her.

As soon as they were alone again, Amina released a breath she didn’t release she was holding. “Oh, God, I can’t believe I just did that. I’m so sorry, Dr. Han. That was unprofessional of me wasn’t it?” She couldn’t quite meet his gaze, embarrassed for acting out her petty thoughts.

A deep, rich chuckle filled her office. Amina raised her head to see Dr. Han chuckling as if he’d been told the funniest joke.

“Now you’re just making fun of me,” she groaned.

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