Page 25 of Seduction
Penina Ross
My shift ended. I hadn’t run into Dr. Sparrow since our encounter in the hall of offices, and I was sort of disappointed about that. I wanted to know how he would’ve treated me after that, and I definitely wanted to explain exactly what he’d seen. I did not have sex with Rich, which should’ve been evident by Rich’s boner. If I had banged him, he wouldn’t have had a hard-on. Surely Dr. Sparrow would know that. After all, he was a doctor.
The apartment building wouldn’t be ready until the next morning at nine a.m. Hospital personnel that lived in the building were staying in pretty nice call rooms on the west wing of the facility. Apparently, no one had known the space even existed. My fellow tenants prattled on about how nice the call rooms were. I asked Kevin, who lived in our building with his wife, Lulu, who was a nurse, if there was a bed available for me. He said space was tight, but if I showed up, somebody would find one for me.
That was the sort of person Kevin was. He went above and beyond to make the impossible happen. I thanked him and settled on staying at the W Hotel since that would be no hassle at all. Plus, paying homage to Dr. Sparrow’s luxury penthouse, I wanted the high-class suite and first-class room service.
So once again, as I walked to Sparrow’s place, I passed on my regular order of bourbon wings at Bellies. Robert, the doorman, let me in. We fell into a short conversation about my being a neurosurgeon.
“I still can’t believe it. You’re too fine to be so smart.” He giggled at his own sense of humor. “You’re supposed to be kept by one of these high-rolling motherfuckers living here.”
I tossed my head back and laughed, knowing he truly believed in the logic of what he said. But I couldn’t be offended by his remark. A doctor should know that it took all kinds to make the world go around. Finally, I told him goodbye and rode the elevator up to the penthouse.
I forgot to ask him if Dr. Sparrow was home, and I even forgot to check the board to see if Sparrow was in surgery. Although I didn’t want to run into him, I also did. He needed an explanation about what he’d seen between Rich and me before I packed my things and vacated. If he was attending Court’s party the next week, then he would know that Rich was her boyfriend. I didn’t want him to think I was the sort of woman who fucked around with men who made commitments to other women—even if the man didn’t practice upholding his side of the bargain.
Once again, I appreciated how smoothly the elevator doors opened. Everything about the penthouse felt sleek.
My phone beeped twice as I walked to the guestroom, and I sighed exasperatedly as I tossed my bag onto the bed. I searched through all the junk inside until I found my cellphone. The first message was from Jamie, stating that the fire inspector had found that the electrical wiring of the building made it unsafe. All tenants would be reimbursed the previous month’s rent in order to find lodging for the next seven to fourteen days while the building was being rewired. The only thing that kept me from groaning with disappointment was the second message I received. It was from Dr. Sparrow, and it simply readStay. J. Sparrow.
I sighed, scratching my head, then tiredly fell on top of the bed and tried to figure out what I really wanted to do. I could say, “Thanks for the hospitality, Dr. Sparrow, but no, thanks.”
Flipping onto my back, I narrowed my eyes at my phone. I had several things to ask him, like whether he was staying at the penthouse or I was the only resident there. I also wanted to just say what he’d seen earlier wasn’t what it looked like. But maybe he had no suspicion about what had gone on between Rich and me at all. As far as he was concerned, Rich was a patient, and I had just ended a consultation. Dr. Sparrow had nothing to be skeptical about unless I tickled his curiosity.
Thanks, Dr. Sparrow. I’ll stay,I typed and hit Send.
He immediately responded with a thumbs-up emoji and told me to order whatever I wanted for dinner.
You’re not joining me?I replied before I realized what that question must look like to Dr. Sparrow. It almost sounded as if we were in a relationship. But he was just an accommodating attending, rewarding me for saving one of his patients’ lives.
I sat up, believing that he was going to ignore my last question, but my phone dinged.
I have surgeries.
I decided to leave it at that, but then I changed my mind.
Need help?I added a smiley face for good measure.
No.
I felt gratified by his quick response. Rich had rarely replied to me with such swiftness. He liked to make everyone who needed something from him wait. I always believed it had something to do with him being a professional athlete. When people were willing to kiss his ass just to be near him, he derived a sense of satisfaction by making them anticipate his reply, even his girlfriend.
Deciding to think of my ex no more, I forced myself to stand then went into the living room to order a shrimp po’ boy salad and hot mint tea with lemon. Room service informed me that they would be up in eight minutes with my order.
“That’s fast,” I said.
“You have express service, ma’am,” the woman said.
After she said that, I was done vacillating about whether to enjoy the gift of the luxury accommodations. I would remain in the penthouse until he asked me to leave.
I nearly skipped to strip out of my clothes and put on the fluffy white robe and slippers, then I sauntered back into the living room. As I gaped at the view of the buildings sprawled across the city below, which was kissed by the Mississippi River, I suddenly realized it was the first time I’d ever witnessed such a sight from a place I was living in. A neurosurgeon could make a lot of money to one day afford a place like that, but I’d never pictured myself being one of those people. I wasn’t in it for the money.
The doorbell rang, and I quickly went over to answer it. It was room service, and she once again reminded me that I didn’t have to tip.
I sat at the table and ate as much of the salad as I could before my eyelids became too heavy for me to stay awake. It was time to wrap myself in the most comfortable bed linens that had ever touched my body. So I rolled the silver food cart out into the hallway, hopped into the shower attached to my guest room, and once I towel-dried my skin, crawled into bed and went straight to sleep.
* * *
I was awakened by “Double Dare”by Jan Wilder. It was the song my alarm played the mornings of my on-call days.
