“You're disappointed because I don't know more about flowers?” he asked.
“Oh no, I mean… no, no, I didn't think that. It's obviously mostly girls here, and, you know, we talk about guys a lot, so…”
He raised his eyebrows. “You wish you could disappear behind those limes?”
“Completely.”
“I’m gonna go eat lunch in the break room. Tell me if you’re leaving the clinic, okay?”
She watched him limp off and wondered if the hospital actually was worried about her safety. He seemed like a nice guy, though not exactly protector material.
Then again, did she want a protector?
Or did she want to be the bossy one?
She took out her phone, let it activate with the face recognition app, checked the number on the florist’s card, and sent a text.
It’s Lily. I got the flowers, and the limes. Want to use them?
A few seconds later a text popped up.
Absolutely. At work. Will text you tonight, beautiful.
Lillian went back to her mass of charts with a lighter heart.
Chapter10
"You're doing a great job. I'm not sure anyone else could stand still for this long," Charlie said, applying a final layer of paint to Sean's face.
"You're my case officer, and you told me to strip naked and paint myself green, so I did."
"Still," Charlie said. "Some guys would find the entire experience emasculating. Especially after the texts you and Dr. Hernandez have been exchanging."
Sean was glad he was painted too green to blush. "It's fine."
Charlie dipped her brush into more paint. "Interesting. I haven't found that many guys who are okay with being the submissive."
"I'm not submissive, though, there's nothing wrong with being a submissive." He waved her off. "But this is different. I'm encouraging her to share her emotions without a filter."
"Wow, you listened in class really well about appealing to a subject’s emotions." She paused, "You do realize it cuts both ways, right? Her emotions will feed your emotions."
"I had noticed," Sean said rather than point out how he was receiving a lot of Lillian's emotions through his position as security guard. It was tough to watch her struggle to gain the respect she deserved at work.
"I know this sounds like a lot, but it's my job as your case officer to make sure that you're not getting emotionally attached."
"I'm doing my best. I like her a lot. She's a very nice lady, and I wish I had met her at a coffee shop rather than on an assignment."
"Yes, but you didn't, so… this isn't the typical operation because she's not actually a suspect in a crime. She's not a member of a group that is suspected in a crime. So, in many ways, you're just another guy who's not being fully honest with the woman he's dating."
"Minus the surveillance equipment and the drug dealers. And the props."
"You're the one who sent her a riding crop for tonight." Charlie added green powder to set the paint on his chest.
"You're the one who picked out the event, sent her that dress, and assigned me to read about green alien sex." He'd spent several hours on the internet learning about this particular sci-fi group.
"Different strokes for different folks. Well, I think you look amazing. And you have an excellent excuse to leave without banging her because there's a storm due overnight. And you can't exactly wear a jacket.
“The paint will come off, right?”
