Chapter 10 Set Up With Her Archenemy

Irene tried really hard not to think about Brenden Warren at work the next day. She should call him Dr. Warren according to her resolve to stay professional at work. They might have been technically dating… well, not technically, but she still needed to keep things professional.

She hadn’t seen him. And he didn’t say he was working that day, so it didn’t come as a surprise. She could survive one day without her eye candy because that was all he was. Eye candy.

Dr. Stone was covering the shift and she was nice to everyone except for Andy. It was funny considering what she had found out. Once Dr. Stone left, Irene went to the secretary on duty to comment on how nice she was, even though she knew Andy was sitting a few feet away, getting irked by every work.

He deserved it.

Andy’s joke, while it helped her amend things with Brenden, wasn’t appropriate.

He showed up for work that morning looking eager for gossip. And if there was one thing Irene had learned about Andy in the week they had worked together, Andy was never excited about work.

He wasted no time, spurred on by her comments about Dr. Stone. “How was the date the other day, Mon? Was it love at first sight or…” He grinned cheekily.

He was sneaky and Irene knew not to trust him.

She huffed and glared at him. He stood up as it to actually do some work, but he actually moved closer to annoy her further.

“I can’t decide whether to punch you in your throat or go straight for your nuts. You’re making it easier to say fuck it and just do both, right now,” she said.

Unsurprisingly, his hands dropped to cover which of the options was most important to him. “What are you talking about?” he questioned defensively.

“Oh, you think you’re so funny,” she said calmly. It was not a question as he had no problem entertaining himself on a normal day.

“You don’t?” he chirped innocently.

“No. And right now, you are dead to me.” She stood and tried to move past him, but his large body blocked her path completely.

“What’s wrong, Mon? I heard you guys had a great time.”

‘Oh, goodie. Andy and the hot doctor are talking about me again and I have zero clue WHAT they are saying.’

This didn’t bode well for her paranoia.

“You guys aren’t allowed to talk about me,” she ordered sternly.

He scoffed, his look offended. “Damn, you’re welcome!” he commented sarcastically.

“Why would I thank you? You went out of your way to set me up with my archenemy.”

Andy rolled his eyes and looked around the nurses station, trying to make a point. “Your archenemy? Really, Mon? Did I get transported into a comic book and wasn’t aware of it? Is this your hideout?”

Irene rolled her eyes. “You knew we didn’t like each other,” she accused.

“But you like each other now,” he insisted.

“So?”

“So, you’re welcome!”

“You are a menace,” she sighed.

“I don’t see what the big deal is,” he shrugged. “Besides, it was Talia’s idea.”

Irene held her hand up, making him stop. “Talia knew about this?” she hissed, her voice low but deadly. Talia was lucky she was off that day.

“Of course she did. That girl conned me into doing all the dirty work and remained the saint in all of it. But I thought it would be funny, so I played along. You can’t say either of us were wrong.”

“It wasn’t funny, Andy. One of us could have died. We were positively murderous when we found out.” Yes, she was exaggerating a little bit, but he didn’t have to know that.

Andy shook his head and chuckled. “That is not what I heard.”

“Any chance you tell me what you heard?” she asked doubtfully. She didn’t get her hopes up as she wouldn’t believe a word coming out of Andy’s mouth, anyway. Andy was annoyingly unreliable that way.

“Since you asked so nicely…. Yes. He happens to think you are cute,” he supplied helpfully.

It shouldn’t have mattered to her, but she was pleased. Then, she felt skeptical. “Sure. You’re probably lying.”

Andy didn’t argue with her. Instead, he let her pass because a patient was pounding on the call button like the apocalypse was upon them.

Irene wished Dr. Warren was working that day. Things were worse without her eye candy.

.

Irene called Talia when she got home to give her a piece of her mind about the setup with Brenden. She was not displeased with the way things ended that night, but it was the principle of the matter. Talia had crossed a line.

“But you wouldn’t have gone if I told you who it was,” Talia insisted. Her voice was whiny when she argued.

“There is a reason why I wouldn’t have gone,” Irene retaliated. “We don’t like each other.”

“Didn’t. You didn’t like each other. But I know what I saw,” she said in a sing-song voice, “I saw sparks fly in the hallway that day.”

‘Yup, she’s crazy.’

They were seconds away from having a WWE-style fight and their blood pressures would have been worrying if anyone checked. Talia couldn’t have seen sparks in that scenario.

“You are crazy,” she said flatly.

“I might be. But you said it yourself. You guys are getting along. So, you’re welcome.”

Irene’s face scrunched with concern. “You’re so much like Andy that it’s terrifying,” she observed.

She agreed solemnly. “Trust me. I am not proud of it.”

Irene didn’t see Brenden for the rest of the week. He must have been off for several days in a row; hospital schedules can be inconsistent like that. And it didn’t surprise or bother her. The weird and uncontrollable thoughts were starting to subside in his absence.

It was a good thing.

Finally, she was free from the shackles of Andy. She was no longer being inducted and free to do her own work. Andy, on the other hand, was forced to do his own work, so they didn’t see each other as much as they did when she was his free labor.