Page 8 of Lovesick

Chapter 4

By the next morning, Louise felt more like her usual self, but with her energy level at half-mast. No more dizziness, no more upset stomach, no more blurry vision. All that was left of her previous day’s adventure was her memory of the hot Dr. Love, Max and his magic elixir.

One thing bothered her, though, as she sat back in her chair, sipping her coffee. She could have sworn he’d said he would call with the results of her blood test last night and she hadn’t heard from him.

Maybe he hadn’t been able to get the results on such short notice after all. She couldn’t see how he would have been able to pull it off. Oh well. She put her feet up on the low windowsill and gazed out her tall-paned window at the magnificence of the spring morning in New York City.

No news was good news, right?

Wrong.

Not in this case. She wanted to hear his voice, talk to him, reassure herself that he—and that kiss—was real. Not a figment of her fevered imagination. She wanted to confirm their dinner date. She wanted him. Anticipation at seeing him, having dinner with him without the dizziness, set her nerves on edge, distracted her from everything else—even the important work she needed to do for the vote. Her pulse pounded hard like a live thing every time she ran through the memory of that kiss.

She hoped the only dizziness she would feel next time she saw Dr. Max Pendleton would be from kissing him. The only fever she’d have would be the result of the heat of desire flaming through her. If she was hot and bothered, it would not be because she was sick, not unless you counted lovesick. She wanted Max. Bad.

For what, Louise?

This was where things got murky. Her desire was visceral and carnal and warm and magical at the same time, a thing in a new category, a thing she’d never experienced before. What was she to do with it? She laughed. Did it matter? She’d start with a dinner date and run with it from there. No plan. No caginess. No strategy. No end game. Not like her at all.

She was in deep glorious trouble and she didn’t care a whit. Lovesick.

Her phone rang. Jumping like a teen caught watching porn, she went to grab the receiver off her desk phone and realized it was her cell phone. She would have answered it, but George walked into her office without knocking, his own phone up to his ear.

“You’re slow on the draw this morning, Louise.”

“I’m sick.” It was true, though she had no intention of sharing the details about the nature of her illness.

“Do I need to call Dr. Max again?” His look of concern was the only thing preventing her from bursting out into a silly grin. Even when everything in her wanted to say yes, call him, she shook her head and waved a hand. Long years of training and experience at perfecting a professional businesslike demeanor came to her rescue.

“You mean Dr. Love?” she gave him a pointed look that made him laugh. “I’ll be fine. Forging on today even if I’m not at a hundred percent.”

“Good. I’ll take it easy on you.” He smiled and sat in her chair. “And I’ll keep my distance. Now, about that stick of dynamite we need to sway the vote in favor of keeping the company in the family.”

Hearing George, she couldn’t help that his words were filtered in her brain to mean we need to keep the company in the family so we can keep our company doctor. She’d looked up Maxfield Pendleton’s file when she got in and found out he had a son and was divorced and lived in Brooklyn. And that he’d lost his wife and his prior job on the same day. An odd fact to note in the file, but it had been underlined.

“Let’s have our brainstorming session this afternoon. Invite all the department heads. Get some ideas going,” she said.

He nodded. “We think alike. It’s scheduled for lunch, though, and we’ll cater it. We can have something sent up from the Regal Grill. This is going to require extra work so we’ll need to compensate for that.”

“You’re a smart man, baby brother.”

He rose from his chair and paused. “You sure you’re okay? You look all flushed, like maybe you still have a fever.”

“Maybe I do.” She compressed her mouth to prevent a smile and waved her hand in a shooing motion. “Go. I have a job to do before lunch.”

“Sure. As long as part of your job is to come up with some fresh ways to convince the family that staying private still means making a profit.”

“Sure.” George’s words were important, but they bounced off her as if she’d been coated with a repellant that allowed nothing but Dr. Max-related stimuli in. God, was she in trouble. She needed to call him. She was done waiting.

Picking up her phone, she punched in his extension because she’d already memorized it. With no idea what she’d say to him, no plan, no strategy, she listened to the phone ring. Once, twice, three times. She could feel the jump in her stomach, the twitching of her muscles as if someone had turned up the voltage on her nervous system. Holding her breath, she listened to the fourth ring and then a click. He answered.

“Dr. Pendleton. Can I help you?” Her chest bubbled up, expanding and making her feel like that twelve-year-old again.

“Yes, I believe you can. I need your input at a brainstorming meeting at noon. Can you make it?”

“Louise?”

Shit. She hadn’t even introduced herself, sure he would know her because she would know his voice anywhere.