Chapter Fifteen Estera Roberts’ POV (Present Time: A Few Hours Before)

Ashley maintained her bright smile then realized we were not buying it. She let out a sigh, with her shoulders drooping a bit as if deflated. Her lovely eyes held mine with earnestness.
“If we are discovered by anyone in our circle we will never live it down … and my parents will … literally…” she paused and made a slash sign across her throat. I busted out laughing and gave her a playful push on the shoulder.
“And I thought I was the only chicken in the group,” I said, flapping my arms. She grinned.
“But you are so good. It would be a shame to back out,” Ameera said.
“We have our masks, ladies. We just have to remember never to take it off, no matter what,” I said.
“Of course!” Ashley said.
“We are doctors and we survived Med school. This would be a piece of cake!” I said. But then my treacherous mind began to cook up all the things that could go wrong.
“I have a Ruger LCP. It's small and concealable. I’m taking it with me … just in case,” Ameera said.
“My God, Ameera, stop scaring me!” Ashley exclaimed.
“I did two years of Anatomy as pre-med before spending another two years of Med school, taking the same subjects. I don’t need a weapon. I am the weapon,” I said. The girls burst out in a fit of giggles.
A few minutes later with Bennedith’s results in my hand and his file. I went looking for Cole. I just rounded the corner to the hallway that led to his office when I saw him standing at the door to his office with one of the diagnostic physicians, Doctor Emma Clackson. I quickly made a U-turn before they could see me, but I swore I saw Cole’s face move in my direction.
Standing at a perpendicular angle of the sidewall, intercepting the hallway. I peered out carefully at them. The hallway was long and wide and they were speaking in low tones and thus I couldn’t hear more than indistinct murmurs and occasional chuckles.
Doctor Clackson stood about a foot away from him and her left hand rested against his pectorals. Cole was about six-foot-plus, completely dwarfing her.
Her body language almost seemed like she was flirting with him and he in turn wasn’t doing anything to stop her. If I wasn’t mistaken, I think he even rested his hand on her waist to pull her closer to his front. I watched as she slowly raised her hand to cup the side of his jaw, smiling up into his face.
The entire place was quiet and deserted. I supposed they both assumed no one would still be around. A strange feeling stirred in my chest. It was almost like I was jealous? Or having some sense of proprietorship where Cole was concerned - which was ridiculous considering he had made his intention known albeit indirectly by dropping innuendos here and there. And I, as a matter of fact, was the one holding back, why I would feel uncomfortable seeing him with another woman was beyond me.
Lost in my head, I didn't notice when their voices ceased or when Cole walked all the way down the hall to stand a few feet from me watching me.
“Do you intend to stand there all night?” His familiar voice jolted me out of my reverie. I was unsettled with the confusing emotions he aroused in me and I glared at him.
“I was on my way to your office–-”
“Then you decided to stand there and spy on me instead?”
“What? No!” I exclaimed then literally shoved the file against his chest. Undeterred, he raised an eyebrow at me, looking at me coolly in an emotionless gaze, then opened the file and flipped through it. I watched as a frown shadowed his handsome features.
“Have you done the surgery?”
“I wanted your signature before I proceed. He is homeless with no insurance--”
“Mmm … I can see that,” he said and turned away heading down the hallway to his office. “Just so you know, I have no intention of walking all the way back there to return the file,” he said over his shoulders. I sighed and hurried after him.
He left his office door ajar. I walked in and shut it gently. He had gone behind his massive desk and I watched as he picked a ball pen from his pen holder and scribbled deftly on the patient’s admission form.
The sidewall of his office was made with tempered glass, and I could see the landscape of different-sized skyscrapers, New York-style, outside the window. His office was spacious and nicely furnished. Sometimes I forget he was a rich, and influential man.
“Do you need assistance with the surgery or you prefer to fly solo?” he asked, straightening his spine. He directed his eyes at me and slipped his hands into the pockets of his gray trousers, drawing my attention to the way the fabric molded his manly thighs and long legs and accentuated the unmistakable bulge at his groin area. I quickly jerked my eyes up to hold his.
“Solo, thanks,” I said in a small voice.
“The hospital can only accommodate a few free cases in a year, Roberts, let’s keep the extra numbers down before you bankrupt me,” he said. I couldn’t help giving him a warm smile for his kindness
“Thank you,” I replied. He sighed. Picking the file up, he held it out for me. I took a few steps forward to accept it and turned swiftly, heading for the door.
“She is just a friend, Roberts,” he said as I wrapped my fingers around the doorknob.
“You don’t owe me an explanation,” I said.
“If you say so,” he retorted, and I turned around to face him. He looked back at me and his eyes were dark with an indescribable emotion. I wanted to reaffirm that he was mistaken and has every right to do as he pleases as the free agent he was.
But before I could form the words, he stalked forward and was already upon me. He reached out to hold me by the nape of my neck, lowered his face, and pressed his lips to mine. I gasped, giving him room to deepen the kiss. I noted several things at once: his lips were incredibly soft, he tasted like coffee, his breath was fresh and minty, and he was one hell of a kisser. Regardless of what I was feeling, I didn’t find it distasteful. And the kiss ended before I could even react. Cole rested his forehead against mine breathing hard and said, “Make up your mind, Roberts.”
I swallowed and raised my eyes to meet his smoldering ones. He looked almost predatory and so delicious. I wasn’t so sure if I would mind if he caught me. Perhaps that thought reflected in my eyes because the hard lines of his handsome face suddenly softened and he smiled warmly at me.
“I believe you have surgery to get to, Doctor…?”
“Yes—Yes,” I said in almost a daze. When he stepped back, I tried my very best to exit his office without looking like a rabbit running from a fox.