Page 17 of Merry with Me
“Oliver.”
I nod. “Oliver, this is a big deal for me. Hilary is going to retire soon, and I need to prove that I can handle this gala, and that includes getting you involved.”
“Did she say that?” he asks, shock forming in his features.
“No, but please? I’ll work around your schedule. Anytime you want, I’ll make it happen.”
He opens his mouth, then quickly shuts it. He does this three times before, finally, he gives me a firm nod. “I’ll let you know.” He looks down at my lunch container. “You should finish that. You barely ate.” With that, he turns on his heel and walks out of his office, leaving me to stare after him.
Slowly, I stand and gather my leftover lunch. I had planned to just pitch it, but now I feel guilty wasting it, so I’ll put it in the break room refrigerator to take it home for dinner. Isla is goingto be gone tonight. She has to work late and said she’d pick up dinner on the way home.
As I move to walk out of his office, an idea hits me. Walking back to his desk, I grab a pen from the holder and pull a Post-it off the stack next to it and write him a note.
Have a great day!
-B
I hope it puts a smile on his face. If anything, it will keep me in his head, and for some reason, that pleases me. I tell myself it’s because I want him to love Christmas as much as I do, but the swirling in my gut tells me that might not be the only reason. I’m going to ignore that for now. I have a goal—make Dr. Grumpy fall in love with the holidays. I’m not trying to make him fall in love with me.
CHAPTER
SIX
Oliver
The building is quiet as I make my way down the hall to my office. I’m two hours early, but I couldn’t sleep. I spent some time in my home gym and had breakfast, but I was too antsy to sit. I decided to come into the office and start going over my schedule and reviewing patient charts for the day. There are a few nonemergency messages that came in from the call center over the weekend that I need to take care of as well.
Needing another cup of coffee to fuel my day, I head to the break room. Grabbing a pod from the drawer, I start the machine and wait for my coffee to brew. The spicy aroma fills the room, and that’s when I realize I didn’t see which pod I picked up. The staff goes crazy this time of year with pumpkin everything. Me, I’m just a plain black coffee kind of guy, but I’m also not one to be wasteful, so I’ll suffer through the pumpkin concoction.
I take a sip on my way back to my office, and it’s not as bad as I was anticipating it would be, thankfully. I sit back at my desk and take another sip. I’ve answered my messages, reviewed thecharts for today’s appointments, and I still have at least an hour before the staff arrives.
A small square of yellow catches my attention, standing out like a beacon in the night on my desk. I avert my gaze. I know what it is, and I know what it says. I should have tossed it in the trash that day, but something stopped me.
Have a great day!
-B
B for Blakely Kincaid. The beautiful woman who has wormed her way into my life and into my mind. I can’t tell you how often I thought about her over the weekend. It’s an embarrassing amount. What’s even more embarrassing is when I woke up thinking about her, my cock hard and fisted in my hand.
Not my proudest moment.
Even though I tell myself to ignore it, my eyes drop to the note that’s uncharacteristically out of place on my pristine desk. That’s the nice thing about electronic health records; there are no charts and papers strung everywhere. I keep my office nice and tidy. I hate mess, and I hate chaos. I never used to be that way, but sometimes life gives you lemons, and no matter how hard you try, you can’t seem to make the damn lemonade.
I need a distraction.
Going back to my computer, I open my email again. Surely, there’s some junk mail I can sort through. Instead, I see her name boldly displayed as my first email. I stare at the screen. Why is she suddenly everywhere? I can’t escape her or the way my body responds to her. My cock can’t handle much more time with Blakely Kincaid.
Knowing I can’t ignore her, not just because it’s in my contract to be on a hospital committee but because the marketing beauty has piqued my interest, and even though I tell myself not to look, I need to see what she has to say.
Opening the email, I scan its contents. It’s a request to visit the venue with her—her family's venue. I’m sure she knows that location like the back of her hand, yet she still wants me to go with her.
Why can’t she understand that I have no desire to be involved in this? I’m certain Hilary has told her, just as I have. Why won’t she give up?
I stare at the screen while reading and rereading her words. I stare so long that when a knock sounds at my door, I’ve lost all track of time.
Thinking about her.
This has got to stop.