Page 27 of Twisted Ruck

He seemed to be speaking to all of the staff, one by one. Presumably, this was my turn.

Finally, he looked up, dark brown eyes regarding me, long and slow. By the time he nodded, I felt like he'd stripped off every layer of my clothes, leaving me standing bare in front of him.

He glanced back at his laptop. "Doctor Chelsea Miller. Youngest member of the medical team. Just out of university."He could have been reading off his screen, but I got the impression he wasn't. That he knew who I was.

"That's right," I said. "I'm excited to be a part of the team."

"Close the door," he said.

That wasn't exactly the response I was expecting, but I took a couple of steps back and pushed it until it clicked shut.

Hoping like hell he didn't mean for me to be on theotherside of it.

"I know the team will benefit from your appointment," I said smoothly.

"Of course," he said. He closed his laptop and rested his clasped hands on top of the lid. What was it with the men from the Sydney Devils? First Otis Skinner, now Dominic King. They were both aloof and had an air of smug-as-fuck around them.

"What can you bring to the team?"

Was this another job interview? My pulse immediately raced, nervous he was about to fire me. He owed me no loyalty. He was here to run the team. If he decided I wasn't the best choice, then he'd be within his rights to toss me out.

"Enthusiasm and loyalty," I said, chin raised with confidence. "Up-to-date knowledge and a good work ethic. I've already proven I can work well with Doctor Stuart."

I hadn't had a chance to prove I could work with Skinner yet. Hopefully that wouldn't be held against me. Especially since it wasn't something I could help.

"Do you believe any of that is more important than experience?" he asked. His gaze remained firmly on my face, but I still felt naked in front of him.

"Actually, I do," I said. "I've worked with doctors who have been in the profession for so long they don't accept new practices. They believe because they've done something a certain way for so long, it must be the only way. I think flexibility is important for the team. The ability to adjust to a quicklychanging scenario. Just because a method is new, doesn't mean it isn't valid and valuable."

"You find flexibility important," he stated. He seemed to be trying to get at something. I couldn't quite work out what.

"It's very important," I said. "In all aspects of life, we have to be able to adapt to change. If we're not flexible, we get stale." Not to mention flexibility was fun in the bedroom.

"All aspects," he echoed.

Once again, I got the impression he was trying to get at something.

"Excuse me, Mr King?—"

"Dominic," he corrected softly.

"Dominic." I took a breath and started again. "Are you thinking of putting me in a different position?"

Whatever he was thinking, I didn't believe he was about to fire me. If he was going to, he would have done that already, not waste his time with this conversation. He didn't seem like the kind of man who wasted time.

One of his eyebrows quirked upwards a fraction. If I wasn't watching, I would have missed it. My racing heart ratcheted up harder.

He knew. I didn't know how he knew, but he did. He'd been alluding to it from the moment I walked through the door.

"I—" I didn't know what to say. I couldn't just blurt it out, in case I was wrong, but I knew I wasn't wrong. He knew it too. I saw that in his dark eyes. Right now, he was holding all the cards. The entire pack.

"Did you think I wouldn't look into everyone here?" he asked softly. "This is Dusk Bay. No one should take a…position here without thorough research." His choice of words was deliberate.

I swallowed hard. "I'm not ashamed."

Now, I was almost certain I was wrong after all. Hewasabout to fire me. Okay, that would suck, but I wasn't going to lethim make me feel bad about what I did in the past. How I made a living.

"Why would you be?" His brow wrinkled. "Every player who steps out on the field uses their body. It's their profession. Using it one way is not so different to using it another. To suggest otherwise would be hypocritical. Wouldn't you agree?"

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