Seven

My lunch sits on my table cold and sad looking as I go through my phone, reading several articles about Dominique Gray and his Enterprise. There are not a lot of articles concerning his life or his personal life, except that he's 32 years old and he was born and raised in New York by an Italian mother and a father of French and American descent. I’ve read countless articles about him and nothing is interesting about his life other than the fact that he’s wealthy and he owns a lot of properties in the state and across the country. I skip through several pictures of him in different custom-made expensive suits, wondering how on earth he’s 32 years old. This man looks like he’s 28 and I can’t spot any imperfections on his face in his pictures and even in real life. He actually looks better in real life than in pictures, I’m going to give him that.

Even in pictures, the man doesn’t smile much. You can tell there’s so much hiding behind that nonchalant and stoic look when you stare at him. So many secrets and mysteries.

And why the fuck does that make him so hot and sexy?

It’s been over a week since we had that little chat and yet I can’t get the fact out of my head that he told me I’m indebted to him, especially when I know nothing about him. The man is full of mysteries, mysteries that I’m yet to uncover. I lock the screen of my phone and groan into my palms.

What have you gotten yourself into, Robyn?

“Trouble in paradise?” A familiar Scottish voice says. I raise my head in time to see Doctor Sanders pulling back the opposite seat and sitting down.

He gives me one of his rare smiles as he pulls up the sleeves of his lab coat.

“There’s no paradise.”

“That’s true. You did tell me you were not in a relationship. I wonder why.”

I raise my eyebrows and bite my bottom lip, eyes scanning the cafeteria briefly. It’s lunch break and I still haven’t had my lunch. Today was hectic and as usual, I overworked myself.

I turn to look at Doctor Sanders. “Since you care to know, relationships are the last thing on my mind right now.”

“I wonder why,” he mutters, leaning back against his seat as he stares at me. “I’m surprised you didn’t say men are scum or men are full of shit.”

I chuckle slightly. “Right.” I roll my eyes, licking my bottom lip.

“How are you holding up?”

“Fine. Why?”

“Well, it takes a lot of courage and commitment to be able to handle the type of patient we handled today. You were brave, you didn’t even flinch.”

“Oh.”

“You’ve dealt with that type of patient before?” And by type, he meant a patient with third-degree burns who later died.

“Sort of.”

Doctor Sanders watches me for a second as he nods.

Today was hectic. The patient the paramedics brought in today was a woman who was suffering from third-degree burns. They’d found her in an apartment with a man who was her supposed lover. He was already dead before the firefighters had gotten there but thankfully the woman was still alive, badly burnt beyond recognition. Doctor Sanders was in charge of her case and he asked me and two other residents to assist him in performing surgery. She died before we could prep her up. A woman later showed up in tears crying and wailing that the burnt, deceased woman was her wife. The deceased had told the woman that she was traveling for work two days ago, only to find out today that the deceased didn’t really travel, she was camping at her lover's apartment who was a man and also dead due to a fire accident.

I was the one who had to tell the woman that her wife was dead. When Doctor Ricci still worked here, I was the one who was always asked to deliver bad news to the patients or the patients’ families. He believed I could deliver bad news without making it sound all that bad and I knew how to comfort patients even though comforting them isn’t part of our jobs.

“Who’s your date tomorrow night?” Doctor Sanders asks, pulling me out of my head.

“Date? What’s tomorrow night?”

“You forgot? How’s that possible?”

I blink my eyes trying to remember what tomorrow is.

Oh shit, the party.

Doctor Sanders smiles, shaking his head. “Can’t believe you forgot. You must have a lot going on in your head and your life.”

“Not really. I don’t care much about hospital parties and Saint José doesn't throw them often.”

“So who’s your date? Or are you coming alone?”

“I am coming with a friend.”

“That’s good to hear. If you don’t mind me asking, why did you become a nurse?”

I lean back in my seat, arms crossed as I watch Doctor Sanders. He’s a nice man, accommodating, and patient, and he’s easy to work with. One thing I admire about him is that he’s a professional man, he’s committed, and he’s really good at what he does. And, I also noticed that a lot of the nurses and some of the doctors think he’s really hot, something I’d come to terms with. He’s an attractive man, and his voice, deep and masculine, paired with his Scottish accent makes him even hotter.

The last thing I would never do is have any kind of affair with a man from work, be it a sexual relationship or a passionate relationship. I find it to be unprofessional and distracting. But like they say, you can’t control who you fall in love with.

“I genuinely love taking care of people and I also love challenges. The nursing job is challenging and it lets me work with people who are going through one condition and another. I’ve always wanted to help people and make an impact in people’s lives.”

Doctor Sanders nods as he remains silent for a second before he speaks.

“You’re doing well at your job, I must say. And I’m proud.”

“Thank you, Doctor Sandals.”

He groans and smiles. “For a second there, I thought you'd dropped the awful name-calling.”

“Sandals isn’t awful.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah.”

Doctor Sanders smiles as he nods. He opens his mouth to say something but he shuts it for a second, looking past my shoulder. Slowly, he stands up. “See you at the party tomorrow, Denver.” He says as he pats me on the shoulder and walks away, my eyes glued to his form as I watch him disappear around the corner.

“Damn, even his walk is sexy.” A voice says from my corner. I turn my head around to see Noah and Tiwa taking a seat at my table.

“Hey, guys.” I flash them a small smile.

“What were you and the sexy doctor talking about?” Noah asks, smirking at me.

“You think everyone is sexy, Noah.” I roll my eyes at him.

“Yeah, well, Doctor Sanders is hot and I think he may like you more than he’d care to admit,” Noah says, placing his lunch on the table in front of him.

“What are you talking about?” I ask, staring at my two friends.

Noah scratches his nape and turns to look at Tiwa. “Tiwa, back me up please.”

“Nuh-uh. Not gonna do that.”

I cross my arms and lean against my seat, my eyes fixed on my friends. “Why would you say that, Noah?” I ask.

“Well, we’ve seen the way he looks at you. He doesn’t look at other people the same way he looks at you.” Noah says, opening his Tupperware and bringing out his chicken sandwich.

“And how would you know, Mr. Observer?” I ask.

Noah turns to look at Tiwa for backup, but she acts like she doesn't know what Noah is going on about.

“Tiwa knows what I’m talking about. I know you’re the last person on earth who would date or have an affair with anybody from St. José but Doctor Scottish Accent is super hot and I’m a hundred and ten percent sure he has a crush on you. Like he likes you a lot.” Noah says and shrugs, taking a bite from his sandwich.

I roll my eyes, not slightly interested in this choice of topic.

“He does look at you way longer than he would look at anybody else though,” Tiwa says, clearing her throat as she looks at me.

“I don’t care. He’s a great guy and I’m glad y’all know workplace affairs aren't my thing.”

“Neither is any type of affair,” Tiwa says.

“Wow. Why is everyone concerned about my relationship life? I’m happy being single.”

“Okay. We know that. But maybe once in a while, get some of that good stuff. And by good stuff, you know what I mean.” Tiwa says.

“She actually meant let a man…”

“I know what she meant, Noah.” I glare at Noah from underneath my eyelashes.

Noah hums. “Right.”

“I hate it when y’all worry about me. I’m fine. I’m okay. Also, if I wanna get off, I don’t need a man to get off. Call me old fashioned, I don’t care.”

“Damn. The sex store is definitely earning a fortune because of you.” Noah says, lifting his bottle of water to his lips to cover the arrogant smile he has on.

Tiwa chuckles, nearly choking on her spit. “Fuck.” She voices out, still chuckling.

“Fuck you very much, Noah.”

Noah drops his bottle of water on the table and says, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be crude. I am joking.”

“I’m not angry,” I wave Noah off. “And since y’all are so invested in my sex life, I don’t own a lot of sex toys. And also, for the millionth time, I know you guys care so much about me, but please stop bringing up my sex life or my lack of a partner.”

“Cool,” Tiwa says, throwing her hands up.

“Plus, you both are single. None of you are in a relationship but my lack of a man in my life seems to be a lot more interesting to you guys than the absence of men in your lives.”

“Goddamn,” Tiwa mutters, feigning hurt as she gives Noah a look.

“Okay. As truthful as that sounds it sure hurts as hell.” Noah says. “Also, I was in a relationship, and I got out a month ago because he was an asshole.”

“Yeah. And you know why I haven’t bothered to date anyone recently. A lot of the men I’ve gone on dates with started showing no interest the minute I mentioned I have a daughter.” Tiwa says, sighing.

Tiwa was pregnant with a child when she moved into the country. Her baby daddy, who is also Nigerian, wanted an abortion but Tiwa wasn’t ready to kill an innocent child. She wasn’t prepared for motherhood either but she wasn’t ready to get rid of it. She had raised her daughter by herself, providing her with the best life any child could ever ask for. I'm so proud of her. She dated a guy for a year, they were serious, at least that was what we all thought until Tiwa caught him cheating. Long story short, he had married someone else while pretending to be in love with Tiwa.

We all hated him so much, Noah and I even planned to attend his wedding just so we would raise our hands when the priest asked, “Is there anybody here who believes these two shouldn’t be married?”. Tiwa wasn’t a fan of the plan so we aborted it. She believed karma would deal with him sooner or later.

I don’t believe in karma, but I didn’t tell her that.

“Don’t you think you should maybe not tell these men you have a daughter when going out on a date with them?” Noah asks. “You know? You should wait a week or two before you tell them you’re a single mom instead of telling them on the first date. That’s like a turn-off for a lot of guys.”

“Lola is part of my life. If anyone is willing to start a relationship with me, then they should be made aware of the fact that I have a child and I’m proud to be a mom. It’s either they take it or they go fuck themselves.” Tiwa says.

Noah expels his breath through his nose as he picks up his sandwich and takes another bite.

“So unlike you, we actually make an effort. Like, we genuinely believe there’s a man for us out there and we’re willing to take chances. But you don’t take chances, you don’t get to even meet them. And we understand. You’re committed to your work and relationship isn’t your thing, we get it.” Tiwa says, giving Noah a look before she turns to look at me. “I just want you to know that we genuinely care about you and we love you. So whatever decisions you make, we’re okay with it.”

“Wow. Funny you said something like that two weeks ago and then you guys started bugging me about finding love just three days after.”

“Shit,” Tiwa mutters under her breath, as she leans her elbow on the table to scratch her nape. “This time we mean it. I mean, I mean it. I’m not gonna bring up anything that has to do with you finding love. And if I’m gonna be sincere, sex toys give more orgasms than men.”

Noah chokes on his sandwich at Tiwa's words. I smile, leaning back as I watch Noah cough loudly while Tiwa pats him on his back. When his coughing fit dies down, he opens his bottle of water and empties the bottle of water down his throat.

“Now I wish I could unhear that,” Noah says, earning a laugh from Tiwa and me. “And in the near future, maybe give me a warning first before you say things like that.”

“Duh, you know it’s true,” I say. Noah rolls his eyes.

“You’re gonna be here, right?” Tiwa asks me.

“The party? Yeah. I’m gonna be here. Might show up late, but I’ll be here.”

“Of course, you’ll show up late. Who’s gonna be your date?” Noah asks.

“Is this date thing necessary? Is it like a theme?”

“It’s not. You’re gonna need someone by your side though.” Noah says. I give him a look and he rolls his eyes. “The point is everyone’s gonna come with a date.”

“Not everyone. Doctor Sanders doesn’t look like he is showing up with a date.”

“Who’s your date though? That’s if you have one.” Tiwa asks.

“It’s Monique. I invited her. It’s obvious you’re teaming up with Noah. I don’t wanna be the oddball.”

“Right.” Tiwa nods.

“Monique? The model friend and roommate?”

“One and Only.”

“Cool.”

“Who’s the new Stockholder though?” I ask, not because I care but because I can’t imagine the hospital would be in dire need of another shareholder after already having three.

Is the hospital in debt?

“No one knows. The only word I’ve heard about him is that he’s some self-made billionaire. We will find out tomorrow night.” Tiwa says.

“Right,” I mutter.

***

“Why would St. José need a new stockholder though?” Monique asks, turning the rearview mirror in my car to face her so that she can stare at her reflection while applying a new round of lipstick.

We’re parked in the parking lot of my workplace.

“I’m the last person you should be asking that. I know nothing when it comes to what’s going on in this hospital. All I care about is my patients.”

“Of course,” Monique mutters sarcastically as she smacks her lips together.

“Is that a Fenty lipstick?” I ask Monique, grabbing the lipstick from her to touch up my lips that are already painted as I turn the mirror to face me.

“Yeah. Got it yesterday. It smells really nice.” Monique says, leaning toward me to stare at her reflection in the rearview mirror as she ruffles her curls a little bit to look fuller.

I hand her back her lipstick as I clean the smear from the corner of my lips.

“You ready?” I ask Monique.

“Yeah. I hope this doesn’t suck.” Monique says as she turns to look at me. I roll my eyes and unlock my side door.

“Don’t get your hopes high. It’s a hospital party, so it’s definitely going to suck.” I say, getting out of my car as I shut it. Monique gets down and shuts the passenger’s side door before rounding the car and coming to stand by my side.

“Also, there won’t be any partying, they probably just want to introduce the newest stockholder, share drinks, laugh at boring hospital jokes, and then they’re gonna call it a night,” I say, leading the walk toward the entrance, with Monique by my side.

“Remind me why we decided to show up again?”

“Because everyone is gonna be there and Doctor Sanders thought it wouldn’t be wise if I skip.”

“Doctor Sanders, huh?” Monique wiggles her eyebrows, nudging my side with her shoulders.

I smile. “Fuck off. Nothing is going on there and nothing is ever going to happen. And that’s final.” I say, striding into the large hospital hall with a lot of my colleagues already gracing this establishment looking better than I’ve seen them.

“Damn. If I get bored, I can always stare at sexy and hot-looking doctors. They fine as hell.”

“Huh-uh. Figures. This is going to be a long night.” I say, glancing around the room at the people I work with. The women are mostly dressed in sequin dresses and silk while the men are wearing suits.

Like, damn.

This looks like an engagement party already, with rich men and women dressed beautifully and elegantly.

“Definitely.”