Page 27 of Taking Her Medicine

Behave, kitten.

I will, Daddy.

I added winky smiley face emojis and hearts. Maybe working at the clinic with Aaron wouldn’t be so bad after all.

* * *

I survived the rest of the week at the clinic but the constant chatter of the nurses distracted me. Typically I wore earbuds and blasted music to drown out noise, but the HR rep on site said it was a fire hazard in case of an emergency; I wouldn’t hear the alarms, and thus could be unsafe. I glanced up at the ceiling, counted to twenty, forcing myself to calm down.

“Aaron issosexy. He could bend me over and examine me any time he wanted.” Leeann ogled Aaron as he walked into one of the exam rooms. Either he didn’t notice or he ignored her behavior. I heard the same narrative all day long with this gaggle of women but Leeann let her intentions be known loud and clear. Three of them, Becca, Tanya, and Marigold, were only a few years out of nursing school while Leeann and Gabriella were more experienced. I had gathered that information from the details they shared with each other and me in the breakroom. The whole lot of them had nothing better to do in between patients than make up fantasies in their head sometimes involving my boyfriend.

My daddy.

“Hey, the flu doses came in this morning. One of us gets to jab him,” Leeann cackled. “Too bad it’s in his arm.”

“The suggested location is the arm, but you never know,” Tanya giggled. “Aaron works with his hands. It would be better to give it to him somewhere else.”

“Knowing your skills, he’d be better doing it himself.” Gabriella had thick curly black hair that seemed untamable but it always looked fabulous. “Heck, Zoelle could do a better job.”

I raised my head, surprised that they mentioned me at all. “Darts aren’t really my strongest skill, so I’ll leave the jabbing to all of you.”

“Like you wouldn’t jump at the chance to have him in a room all by yourself.” Leeann rolled her eyes. “We all see the way you look at him.”

“Me?” I coughed, taken off guard by her untrue declaration. “The janitor should post a wet floor sign where you’ve been standing after Dr. York walks by.”

“No, Zulu Oscar Echo. The janitor’s too busy following your ass around with a mop.”

Her statement had no basis in reality. It didn’t serve me well to get petty with Leeann, but I felt the need to defend myself. The other women whipped their heads around toward me so fast, it was almost comical. I thought about mentioning the fact that I had a boyfriend, but I didn’t want to give her any personal information. Leeann gave me a smug smile as if she had won the round, but I let it slide. Turning my focus to Becca, I tried to convey the need for her to bail us out of the conversation.

“Who do you want to give you your flu shot, Zoe?” Becca asked sweetly. She was good at defusing situations and had picked up on my nonverbal request. I was happy to have her on my side.

“I’ll pass,” I muttered. “I have to get back to work.”

“It’s required.” Leeann leaned against the top of my chair, forcing herself into my personal space. Somehow she found a way to get me going again. “You’ve certainly got more than enough skin for my needle to target.”

“Excuse me?” I twirled around, rising to my feet, nearly knocking the chair over. I blinked up at her, furious over her low dig. For once I wished to be taller so I could look down my nose at her. “What did you say to me, Leeann?”

“Oh, don’t get your panties in a twist, Zulu Oscar Echo, I just meant you’re pleasantly plump. I’m certainly not telling you something you don’t know.”

My weight wasn’t perfect, but it never bothered me. I was heavier than her, but still pretty average. “Somebody clearly didn’t get hugged enough.”

“Leeann.” Aaron spoke up out of the blue. He leaned against the counter studying the two of us. I had no idea what he’d heard or how long he had been standing there. “There are patients in rooms three, four, seven, and twelve without charted vitals.”

She sneered at me and pivoted to face Aaron. “Sorry, Aaron. I reminded our receptionist about the rules.”

“Dr. York,” he corrected.

There was a strange tension in the air as Aaron clenched his jaw, waiting for some sort of a response from Leeann. I couldn’t help but stare.

“Uh, you’ve never been so formal before,” Leeann hedged.

“Is there a bigger problem here?” Aaron cocked an eyebrow.

“I-I apologize, Dr. York,” she stammered out. “But there are rules.”

“Zoelle is a medical coder for Abundant Health. She’s helping out with some administrative tasks, but Zoelle isnota receptionist. Which rule were you reminding her of?”

“It’s a requirement for all staff to be vaccinated against the flu.” Leeann crossed her arms over her chest.

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