Page 7 of Do Me
“Dee, Brant, Phyllis, and Sofia all backed out. Even Dr. Ralston was a no-show. I was the only one there.”
He covered her hand with his. “I’m sorry, Londyn. Why didn’t you call me? You know I would’ve changed my itinerary for you.”
She gently pulled her hand back. “That wasn’t necessary.”
He leaned closer to her. “Londyn, I don’t know why you won’t let me—”
“Please don’t, Shawn. We’ve already had this conversation, and my answer is the same.” He’d been asking her out for the past three months and she had repeatedly told him she would not date a coworker. At forty-four, his mahogany good looks still turned the heads of women whenever he walked into the room. They’d had lunch together occasionally and attended a few charity dinners, but only as friends. And she planned to keep it that way. Shawn opened his mouth to say something, but closed it when the rest of the staff filed in and claimed seats, granting Londyn a reprieve. He gave her a look that said their conversation was far from over and she returned it with one that said it was over. Forever.
“Okay, everyone, I called this meeting because someone from BroyTech Industries is coming at three to discuss getting a computer network service.”
Corinne clapped her hands. “Hallelujah!” They all laughed.
“It will definitely make your job easier,” Shawn said with a smile. “All of ours. We’ll go around and everyone can give me their thoughts. Corinne, you can go first.”
“A streamlined appointment system where I can see all the appointments at once without having to flip through five sheets of paper. Something color-coded maybe,” she added thoughtfully.
Shawn continued around the table, and though Londyn knew the system they had should have been updated years ago, hearing it out loud made her realize they were doing double and triple work. Dr. Ralston was from a time when paper ruled, but they’d moved past that eons ago and it was time for the office to go digital. Her biggest concern was the security of patient records and she shared it when asked.
“Thanks, everyone,” Shawn said. “Anything else?” When no one offered anything, he said, “If you think of anything else, let me know.” He checked his watch. “Dee, when the representatives from BroyTech arrive, can you escort them here?”
“Sure thing.” Dee had been hired as the receptionist last year when the previous one retired.
Londyn waited for everyone to leave before speaking. “Do you have any idea how much this is going to cost?”
“No, but I talked to Dr. Ralston about it yesterday and he offered to foot the initial bill. We’d just have to pay for the maintenance. We met with Irvin right after and he said that we were in good shape financially.” Irvin handled the finances.
“That was generous.”
“Excuse me,” Dee said.
Londyn turned and gasped softly. Standing in the doorway wearing another tailored suit and looking even more handsome than she remembered stood Braxton. Their eyes connected and a slight smile tilted the corner of his mouth. Her pulse skipped.
Shawn rose from his chair and extended his hand. “I’m Dr. Shawn Ingram.”
Braxton shook Shawn’s hand. “Braxton Harper.”
“And this is Dr. Londyn Grant.”
Londyn rose and shook Braxton’s hand.
“It’s nice to meet you,DoctorGrant.”
She smiled. “Nice meeting you, as well.” The slight squeeze of her hand was the only indication he gave that they’d met previously. Then again, it might have been wishful thinking on her part because she hadn’t been able to get him off her mind over the past week. When he didn’t return her smile or offer any other acknowledgement, she didn’t know whether to be insulted or relieved. She came to the conclusion that she felt a little of both.
Chapter 3
Braxton successfully concealed his delight in seeing Londyn again.A psychologist.He would have never guessed. Over the past several days, he tried to recall everything about her, but failed miserably. She was even more beautiful than he remembered. Gone was the siren in the fitted pale gray dress, with her hair flowing around her shoulders, and dance moves that aroused him in ways that continued to defy logic. Today, she wore a pair of black slacks with a long-sleeved purple sweater and her hair in a bun secured on the top of her head. Some things hadn’t changed: her mocha face was just as gorgeous, her hazel eyes still sparkled and just the sight of her made his heart beat a little faster. He took it as a sign and vowed that this time he wouldn’t leave without getting her phone number.
Shifting into work mode, he sat opposite her and the other psychologist. “I know your time is valuable, so let’s get down to business. I’ll tell you a little about our services and then you can let me know how we can help you. We specialize in designing networks tailored to your needs, whether it’s starting from scratch or improving your existing system.” Braxton handed the doctors a brochure and walked them through all the details.
“We’re looking at pretty much building from scratch,” Shawn said. “Currently, we all have computers, but they aren’t connected to each other. There are four psychologists—we have room for one more—a financial manager, administrative assistant and receptionist. Right now, when we make appointments, we have to print them for our assistant.”
Braxton nodded and typed notes on his iPad. “Ideally, you’d want one system where you can all input and view the information.”
“Exactly. And color-coded for each therapist to make it easier. We’d also want to store patient records digitally,” Londyn said. “And network security. I want to make sure our clients’ information is protected.”
His gaze lingered on Londyn as she spoke. He asked several more questions and recorded the answers, his mind already thinking about the design. “What about remote access?”
