Chapter 3

Lorrianna dropped the deodorant and quietly kicked it under the desk. Her staff was standing behind this behemoth of a man, eyes wide and awestruck. She wiped her hand over the tight backside of her maroon scrubs and held out her hand in greeting. “Good evening, Mr….” She looked pleadingly at Stephanie for any hint as to who the hell had disrupted her CICU right before shift change for an inspection. He didn’t have the air of a doctor. He was more commanding, if that was even possible. Maybe a director, CFO, or CEO. But not a physician. He took her hand with a smile that reached his eye and far beyond. She felt what she could only describe as an AED shock run through her. He lifted his eyebrows and simply said “LaPoint.” No touch, sexual or casual, had ever made her feel this way. She must be more tired than she thought.

She could smell him from across the desk, and he smelled like fresh pines with a hint of thunderstorm on the air. She needed the name of that cologne because she would be spraying her pillows with it until the end of time. His rough hands were strong but not overpowering as he led her around the side of the counter to stand in front of him. As she lifted her chin to look him in the eye, she realized he was taller than she thought, and his suit was cut perfectly but did little to hide his muscular frame.

She risked a glance at how wide his shoulders were and somehow found her thoughts wandering to climbing up him like a spider monkey and touching every bit of those tight shoulders and back. She shook her head slightly, and he seemed to smile wider. She needed to get a hold of herself. She was only ever with her ex, Steven, and she wasn’t about to jump on the next man that came along just because he enticed thoughts in her that weren’t her norm. He leaned in ever so slightly to whisper into her ear. “Lorrianna, I presume..” Her name coming out of his mouth, in his voice, was sin dipped in danger. She shivered as he took a slight inhale.  She tightened her thighs together to stifle the increasing heat pooling at her core.

“Did you just SNIFF me?!” She gasped as she watched his eyes roll back in his head in a satisfied sigh. He appeared to mutter what sounded like “Mate”. That can’t be right, she thought to herself. Maybe he said hate? Slate? She was too tired to even comprehend what was happening when Dr. Atwood appeared from the staff break room looking slightly rested and very late. Contrary to popular belief, Dr. Atwood may appear lazy, but he is right there beside the nurses constantly and rarely ever sleeps. Stephanie, who had hardly spoken up to this point, seemed shocked.

“Dr. Atwood, are you sleeping on the job?!” She sounded incredulous, like she didn’t know that he has been here for 2 days saving lives and taking names. Before he could even reply, Sandra stepped forward.

“Dr. Atwood is currently on the last leg of a 48-hour shift thanks to the staffing issues. He has stabilized NSTEMIs, performed several life-saving UNSCHEDULED CABGs, all while taking “important patients” in for cardiac catheterizations because they had some indigestion AND resuscitated a patient about 2 hours ago who was stable prior to crashing. I would say he earned some shut-eye!”

Dr. Atwood stood bone-still as he eyed Tyler. Lorrianna could swear, if she didn’t know better, that they were having some silent conversation only they were privy to. Shrugging off the feeling that was pooling in the bottom of her stomach, she tried to remove her hand from Mr. LaPoint’s when he whipped his head back around to her in surprise and gently let go.

“Ms. Wilson, I will speak with you in your office shortly. I can continue the inspection on my own.” Poor Stephanie stood there looking like someone had snatched her favorite stuffed animal and ripped the head clean off.

“Mr. LaPoint, it is highly unusual for an owner to…” Tyler cut her off before she could continue further.

“You can convene with me in your office in a bit, or you can find a new office. At a new hospital. I don’t like being questioned, but as this is our first official meeting, you get one chance to learn that lesson.” His voice was low and dangerous. Lorrianna knew she needed the bathroom, food, and sleep, preferably in that order, because she could have sworn he was basically growling. She also noticed a hint of gold shining in those gorgeous ocean-blue eyes.