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The text from my roommate, Ellie, came just as I stepped out of a patient room.Jenna!! Have you already left work??
Almost, I replied, moving out of the way of a post-op patient transfer without looking up. As soon as I finished charting, I could leave the hospital a mere hour after my shift officially ended, which actually wasn’t awful by ICU standards.
Good, because I’m sending the limo to pick you up!
Did the APB ladies not make it?I wrote back as I walked toward my computer in the nurse’s station, a room permeated by the sterile scent of disinfectant and the dull beeping of patient monitors.
They’re here!! But I booked the limo all night, so it might as well come pamper my bestie!!
I smiled to myself as I tossed my notepad and pen onto the desk and sat in front of a computer so I could start entering my notes. The gesture was pure Ellie: generous, last-minute, and extravagant. But before I could text back to thank her, Dr. Judd swaggered into the room and leaned against one of the glass walls.
He was a slight man in his forties, with a few strands of hair desperately clinging to his otherwise bald head, and the confidence of a Mr. Universe champion. “Hey, Jenna. Friday, huh? Got any exciting plans?” His smirk made me wish I’d get paged to a patient room.
As much as I wanted him to leave me alone so I could finish and leave, I kept my tone upbeat. “Yeah, I have a few things going on.” I didn’t mention my roommate’s birthday party, not wanting to share any information with him that wasn’t strictly necessary for work.
Dr. Judd dropped into the rolling chair next to me. “You know, I have a boat.”
The warning bells in my head clanged louder than the beeps of the machines around us. I could guess exactly where this conversation was headed. He’d invite me out on the boat, presuming a lowly nurse like me would be overcome with admiration.
I forced myself to smile, concealing the revulsion I felt at the mere thought of spending any additional time with him. “How nice.”
Without warning, he drew his left knee up to his chest, causing it to brush against the side of my body. “Gotta stretch. Bad knees. Too many marathons, I guess.” His smile was more of a leer.
I suppressed a shiver at the unwanted physical contact, wondering if he thought his blatant showboating would impress me, then scooted my chair a few inches away from him. “Oh my,” I said, mustering my most sympathetic voice. “That sounds painful. Maybe you should see a doctor?”
He laughed like I’d just told a hilarious joke. “They’d just say to take it easy, but I don’t know when to quit.” His gaze lingered on mine for a moment before he gave a cringeworthy wink. “Anyway, the two of us should take the boat out one weekend. A lot of women fantasize about being on the water.”
I laughed nervously to stall while I thought of what to say. The truth—that the only fantasy I had about him on the water was him floating away down the Delaware River, never to be heard from again—wasn’t an option, not unless I wanted to match his unprofessionalism.
“Maybe we can get a group together?” I suggested, trying to make it clear I wouldn’t go on a date with him without explicitly saying so.
“Three’s a crowd.” He leaned in, his voice dropping to a suggestive whisper. “Let’s keep things between us.”
My heart sank as I realized he wasn’t going to take a hint, forcing me to use Plan B. “It’s really kind of you to offer to take me out on your boat, but I actually have a rule never to date coworkers.” It wasn’t even a lie; I’d already turned down two much nicer men who’d asked since I’d started working at Beaufort University Hospital.
His expression turned into one of sneering disbelief, like he couldn’t fathom the idea that I wouldn’t want to go out with him. “What, did a doctor break your heart?”
My body tensed as I struggled to come up with a response that would put him in his place without revealing more about my past than I was comfortable with. “It’s complicated,” I finally settled on.
A movement in the hallway caught my eye, and I looked to see fellow nurse Amy Rogers shamelessly spying on our conversation with an eager expression.
Wonderful. Amy was the biggest gossip on the floor and the last person I wanted to witness Dr. Judd hitting on me. It would be all over the hospital by tomorrow.
Dr. Judd released his knee and shifted his weight toward me, closing the distance between us. “Let me be the one to change your mind.”
How was he for real? I rolled away until my chair bumped up against the wall. “Uh—”
Just as I was about to respond, Amy sidled into the room. “Dr. Judd!” she cried, voice filled with surprise. “I was just about to page you. We need you in Room 306C. Mrs. Bennett’s oxygen levels are still low.”
Dr. Judd frowned at Amy, clearly annoyed at the interruption. “That can wait,” he said dismissively, his attention still focused on me.
Amy, however, was not deterred. “Dr. Ambrose said it’s urgent,” she said sweetly, fluttering her eyelashes at him.
Dr. Ambrose was the Director of Intensive Care and very much Dr. Judd’s senior at the hospital. “Fine,” he sighed, and left the room.
Amy dropped immediately into his newly vacated seat, her expression shifting from innocent to mischievous. She glanced at me from under her long, fluttering eyelashes and grinned. “You’re welcome.”
“Huh?” I raised an eyebrow at her, my heart still pounding from the tense encounter with Dr. Judd.
