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Chapter 1
Beth was standing at the nurses’ station when Nicole sidled up beside her and whispered none too softly, “Beth, don’t look now, but Dr. Foxy is heading your way.”
Beth looked up from the note she was making in one of her patient’s charts to see all the nurses working with her turning to watch Dr. Fox walk down the hall. “Ladies, please. Remember you are professionals, and most of you are wearing rings on your fingers that signify you are spoken for,” Beth admonished.
“Sugar, my ring says I can look but not touch. Getting hitched didn’t mean I went blind, and that silver fox is yum-my.” Keisha was the newest on the team and enjoyed making the men on the floor squirm under her “appreciative” gazes.
“Things sure have changed since I had my Manny. I had eyes for my man and my man only,” Beth replied with a small shake of her head.
“I imagine lots of things have changed since then. You have been single forever now; jump back in, and you may find you like it,” Stacy commented.
With a slight chuckle, Beth added, “I doubt that. Some things shouldn’t change. Perhaps that is why the divorce rate is so much higher now. Too much extra window shopping makes you lose appreciation for the fine things you have at home. Now, ladies, if you will please stop your gawking and get back to work, it would be greatly appreciated.”
“Hm, watch out girls; Beth is telling us to stop looking at her man.” Keisha winked as she returned to the medical chart in front of her.
“My charts are all caught up, and I just finished checking on all my patients. I am off to lunch. Nicole, will you please check on Mr. Ames in room 337 in about fifteen minutes? I just administered his meds, and he should be resting peacefully by then. If not, page me, and I will come back and check on him.”
“Or, I could page Dr. Nelson and havehimcheck onhispatient while you enjoy your lunch with Dr. Foxy,“ Nicole replied with a tilt of her head down the hall in the direction the before-mentioned doctor was coming from.
“I amnothaving lunch with Dr. Fox. You do realize that as the Chief Medical Officer, he has business on all the floors of this hospital, even this one, and his business very rarely has to do with me,“ Beth stated emphatically.
“Well, for having so much hospital business to attend to, he certainly finds a great deal of time to spend on our floor,especiallyif he isn’t consulting with you.“ This comment came from Brenda, who everyone knew had a giant crush on Dr. Fox and had asked him out on dates numerous times just to be politely declined. The chip on her shoulder towards Beth was no secret to anyone, including Beth.
“We have a long-standing friendship, nothing more. If our lunch hour overlaps occasionally, it is purely a coincidence. Now, if everyone is all set for the time being, I will be off. Page me if you need me.” With that, Beth turned on her whitenurses’ clogs and collided with a very warm yet unyielding wall of muscle. Strong hands grasped her upper arms to steady her.
“Beth,” Dr. Fox’s deep base voice could have melted steel, and it definitely had an effect on the ladies in the immediate vicinity.
“Chadwick,” Beth replied. A slight breathless quality had entered her voice.
“My apologies for sneaking up on you. I should have given you a warning that I had entered your space.” His hands still gripped her arms and warmed her skin beneath her long-sleeved undershirt.
“No apology necessary. I know better than to rush in the hospital halls. That is how accidents happen, and folks get hurt.” Turning, Beth began walking down the hall towards the bank of elevators, bringing an end to the physical contact and removing them from the prying eyes of her colleagues.
Keeping in step beside her, he inquired, “Are you off to lunch by any chance?”
“Actually, I am.”
“Perfect, I have something I want to run by you.”
Glancing down at his feet, Beth smirked before commenting, “I don’t think you will be running anywhere too fast in that fancy footwear. I have been at the finish line of many of your marathons, and those are definitely not your racing shoes. In fact, those are your “Toe Pinch” shoes, if I am not mistaken, so something very important is happening today to have you pulling those out of your closet. I doubt you will be running anywhere for a few days.”
Chuckling at her attempted joke, Chad admitted, “You know me so well, Beth. You’re right; I just finished a meeting with the board and am quite hungry after all the energy I wasted arguing with them. I don’t have plans to run anywhere anytime soon though. Lunch will give us time for a proper discussion of what I am proposing to you.”
“What is on your mind, Chad? Toe pinching shoes, arguing with the board, proposals… Perhaps I will skip this particular conversation and snack on a yogurt cup at my desk instead.”
Chad hit the down button on the elevators for a second time, “No worries, nothing bad. I will tell you all about it after you get some food in you. You are a little feisty right now, which means you are hungry. I know better than to get between you and food. And, let it never be said that a lady went hungry on my watch.”
This comment was met with catcalls and comments from the peanut gallery still at the nurses’ station. They obviously were not speaking low enough to gain any privacy the length of the hall had afforded them. It was hard for Chad anyway, given the way his voice carried and drew the attention of anyone within hearing distance.
“Okay fine. Food first, then you spill the beans. But I am warning you now: I am seven hours into a double shift, so if this has any unpleasantness to it, you better save it for later because you know I don’t appreciate bad thoughts on my mind when I am caring for my patients,” Beth stated firmly looking him in the eye to convey the seriousness of the matter.
“We go back a long way. I know how strongly you feel about positive energy only around your patients, Beth. If this was negative in any way, I would save it for after you finished your shift. It’s not. At least, I hope it isn’t.” His grin conveyed confidence, but then again, confidence rolled off this man in waves. You don’t get to be Chief Medical Officer of a massive hospital in Central Florida without being extremely comfortable in your skin and your abilities.
“Well then, I look forward to hearing what this is all about. A good mystery to tease my brain and stimulate my appetite.” She shoulder-bumped him and gave a gentle grin that was a well-known staple on her face. It set everyone at ease around her and showed she genuinely cared about them.
As they exited the elevators and made their way down the hall to the hospital cafeteria, Beth shrugged off the teasing banter of her colleagues’ earlier comments and the pinch of dread that had stirred her stomach at Chad’s cryptic comments and instead focused her mind to the matter at hand, what she was going to eat for lunch. Something that wasn’t too messy to talk over but also not going to stick in her teeth, making the conversation possibly awkward.
Perusing the day’s selection, she mentally chided herself. What had gotten into her? She was a grown woman and hadn’t cared about what she ate in public for a very long time. Today was no different. Chad was her friend, and they were going to have a nice chat as they ate their meals. It had happened a hundred times before and would happen another hundred times in the future. What in the world was making today feel different? She had let those silly women get in her head, that’s what. Giving herself a mental shake, she grabbed a chef salad, coconut water, and a bowl of mixed fruit and headed to check out.
