Future Investment: (Taboo Romance Series) (Forbidden Fruit Book 2) (4 page)

If not... we were both in trouble.

Chapter 5

Elizabeth

I spent the rest of the day trying to clean up the house and keep my mind off my first day at the hospital coming up entirely too fast. After sleeping like shit, I woke up and forced myself into the shower. Stephanie was in the kitchen, hovering near the coffee pot when I walked in. The sight of her caused a chuckle to rise in my throat.

"That bad?" I got a mug out of the cabinet and moved up beside her.

"I didn't sleep at all." She glanced over at me, and I could see the exhaustion sitting in dark circles under her blue eyes. Her pixie-cut blond hair was a hot mess, and her face was washed out.

"What time is your group meeting at the hospital?" I nudged her out of the way and pulled the coffee pot out, only to quickly put my cup in its place.

"I hate it when you do that. Just wait until it's done." She turned and walked to the refrigerator, her tone not matching her command at all.

"Hush. When is your tour and interview?" We hadn't ended up in the same residency group, which was good and bad. We needed to have our own space, but Stephanie often hated to start anything new unless I was right beside her. She'd make friends so fast that it would leave both of us dizzy, but it was the walking into a room filled with strangers that got to her.

Hell, it got to me too.

"It's at ten. I guess I could go lie back down for a little while." She yawned loudly and lifted a carton of orange juice toward me. "You want a glass?"

"No. I'm good. My meeting is at eight. I don't have time for anything but a cup of coffee." I filled up my mug, fixed the liquid gold to taste like a dessert, and screwed on the top. "Wish me luck. My mentor is supposed to be a god from Harvard, with a sexy smile and horrible attitude."

"Most gods don't exactly like peons. Good luck with that," she snorted, and tugged at my bun. "I like the professional look. Don't wear lipstick."

"What? Why?" I walked to the door and paused.

"Because you're sexy without it, and stunning with it." She wagged her eyebrows. "Dr. Hottie is going to be in for a treat."

"Whatever." I rolled my eyes, grabbed my bag, and walked out of the apartment. The hallway was open on both ends and created a wind tunnel that had the ability to wreck my hair like nothing else. I'd not look hot or sexy, which was fine by me. I was just praying that I didn't look like the mess that I was most days. It would have been nice to say that I had my life together at my age, but that would be a lie. The only thing I could tout was my unwavering dedication to my education and future career.

I got in my car and drove to the train station a few miles away. There was no point in trying to fight traffic to get into Manhattan where the hospital was. I'd be insanely late, and make the kind of first impression that would land me with catheter duty for a few days, no doubt.

"Not happening." I pulled into the train station and made sure to check that I had my latest romance novel. I gathered my stuff and walked toward the large locomotive as it pulled up. The ride to the hospital would be forty-five minutes of hell if I didn't cloud my mind with something. Reading a sexy story about a hunky fireman probably wasn't my best bet, but it would do just fine.

I snuggled down into my seat after getting onto the train, and decided to try to find a little more information on my new mentor. Unfortunately, I lost the signal on my phone and figured that the fireman was more interesting anyway.

Besides... it was more probable that I would land a date with him than an attractive doctor who understood my drive and had a deliciously wicked wild side.

"As if," I mumbled and left my imagination to work out the rest of the scenario.

*

A strict-looking woman in a dark blue business suit was standing in the lobby with a handful of people around her when I approached. She gave me a tight smile and lifted her clipboard.

"I assume you're Elizabeth Jenkins?" She glanced up.

"Yes. Am I late?" I glanced around at the others, hoping that I would know someone from my graduating class at NYU, but I didn’t recognize anyone.

"No, but you're only three minutes early. Everyone else was here with fifteen minutes to spare." She tapped her clipboard and lifted her eyebrow.

"Well, there's no reason to not be right on time, which I was." I squared my shoulders. I wasn't a jerk by any stretch of the imagination, but I'd learned the hard way to make the first impression count. This chick was supposed to help me if I ever had a problem with someone at the hospital. She needed to know that I wasn't a pushover, nor was I easily intimidated.

"Right. This way. We'll stop by our human resources department, where you will fill out your paperwork. Your mentors will pick you up from there and give you a tour. They have your schedules, and should be able to answer any questions that you might have." She walked down the hall languidly, which caused most of us to stack up behind her uncomfortably.

A goofy-looking guy with a mop of black hair extended his hand to me. "I'm Freddy. Nice to meet you."

"I'm Elizabeth. Same here." I glanced down the hall and breathed deeply. Most people couldn't stand the smell of a hospital, but I loved it. It reminded me of cleanliness. Of life.

"If she's the H.R. rep, then I'm almost scared to see these mentors." Freddy shivered and gave me a cute grin.

"Right? It's almost intimidating, but my mother told me something a long time ago that I keep with me when I meet new people, especially really important ones."

"What's that?" We paused by the elevator, and everyone stood in stony silence but us.

"That the hole they get in the ground looks just like ours. Respect the person when they earn it, not their position. Some people don't deserve the spots they’re in." I shrugged and got onto the elevator, suddenly feeling like we were being herded around like cattle.

"I like that." He smiled at me and turned to the guy next to him, introducing himself again. I almost envied his desire to make friends. I wasn't interested. I had Steph and my mother. That was almost too much. My inner introvert was coming unglued just being in the elevator with so many people.

We were moved to a large conference room and given more paper than should have been allowed. I took my seat and started working on the various documents, only lifting my head as a new doctor would walk in to grab their resident. I was one of the last three people in the room when the door opened again.

I glanced up and started to look back down, but the guy standing at the door, talking with the H.R. representative, was stunning. His eyes moved over to me, and my breath caught in my chest. His dark chestnut hair was cut close to his head, his bottom lip thick and kissable, but it was the way that he watched me that left me feeling undone. As if he knew me. As if we'd been something far more than the mere acquaintances that we were.

His voice reached me as I pulled myself out of my fog and glanced down, tearing my eyes away from him. The broad stretch of his shoulders was delicious, and he had a swimmer’s body from what I could tell. Thick arms and a narrow waste, and the way his scrubs hugged him left my mind wandering into the darkest corners of desire. I needed to take Jackson up on his request for me to sleep over. Either that, or I'd be drooling after this doctor who was clearly the talk of the place. I was grateful he wasn't my mentor.

"Elizabeth?" He moved to stand in front of me and extended his hand as I stood. "I'm Aiden Crawford. Nice to meet you."

"Yes. Nice to meet you as well, sir." I forced my voice to find the same firmness I used when talking to patients during my clinicals. I wouldn't let him see anything other than what I wanted him to see.

"No formalities, please. It's simply Aiden, or Dr. Crawford if we're in a formal setting." He shook my hand as his dark blue eyes moved across my face.

"Sounds good. Are you going to be mentoring me through this process?" I released his hand and worked to gather my things. My heart was racing, and I knew without a doubt that whatever I'd just gotten myself into was quite possibly going to be a hazard to my health.

"I am. Come with me.” He walked to the door, and I glanced up, letting my eyes move over the swell of his ass in his scrubs. A groan moved up my throat and lodged behind my clenched teeth.

I needed to request a new mentor. I couldn't handle working for someone as intensely good-looking as the man in front of me. It wasn't fair to ask me to.

"Thank you for your time this morning." I gave the H.R. lady a curt smile and moved up beside Aiden, waiting for him to speak.

"Your transcripts are quite impressive." He held the elevator for me and moved to stand just beside me.

The subtle hint of his cologne moved around me, and I breathed in as quietly as I could. There was nothing more attractive than a good-smelling man, and this one smelled like heaven.

"Thank you. I've been laser-focused on school and nothing else for the last ten years." I wanted to cross my arms over my chest, but decided to try remain more relaxed.

"I understand that far more than anyone else here might." He moved out of the elevator and paused, holding the door again. "We'll stop by my office to drop off your things. I'll give you your schedule and you can shadow one of the nurses for a little while and then head out."

"Sounds great." I moved out into the hall and watched everyone we passed. Most of them spoke to him, but all of them checked him out, the full head to toe kind of checking someone out. I understood completely. I'd not really had the chance to do it, but I'd be taking a turn as soon as I could reasonably pull it off.

"Let's get a few things out of the way first." He moved into a small office and turned to face me once he was behind the desk that sat between us. "I've been here my whole career, which is going on eleven years. I'm not married. I don't have kids. I'm not interested in dating, or sleeping with, or even having a lengthy conversation with anyone here. You included. Understood?"

I nodded and stifled the need to serve him a few choice words in rebuttal. "I feel the exact same."

"Good. Then we're off to a great start. Please... have a seat. Let's talk about your schedule." He sat down and pulled out a file as I watched him.

He'd yet to crack a smile, but I wanted to know what it might do to his appearance if he did. He was impossibly attractive and intimidating in a way that made my body ache. Would his smile melt my insides? Maybe it was best not to know.

"Feel free to speak your mind. I want you to be inquisitive, and ask about anything you don't understand or want more clarity about." He glanced up again.

"Smile for me." I sat back in my chair and crossed my legs as his eyes moved down to run along me.

"Why?" He dragged his gaze back up and locked it onto mine.

"Because I want to know that there's a human inside that shell you're presenting to everyone. I'm here not only to learn proper technique, but to be the best damn doctor this hospital has ever seen. That means that I truly care." I moved up, knowing I was pressing my luck, but I couldn't help it.

"Good answer." His lip lifted in a sexy smirk which morphed into a beautiful smile.

Fuck.
My insides were melting.

Chapter 6

Two Days Later

Aiden

Damn it if she wasn't beautiful and ballsy as hell. I thought shyness might be the characteristic that I would see most within her, but her picture online was a damn lie. She was a typical Type-A doctor: An introvert in any and all situations except where she was faced with a challenge or in a group of her peers. Then she blossomed. My pulse spiked each time I saw her over the next two days, and I was more than grateful for the residency having various welcome events and program objectives while I got used to the idea of her being by my side. I was going to have to start making regular stops by the bar just to keep myself in check. I'd never struggled with a co-worker before, but something told me that this girl was going to give me a run for my money.

Avoiding her was something I was getting good at, but the tides were soon to turn. The program was fully releasing the residents later that day, and I was scheduled for a surgery that she was going to observe. We hadn't spent too much time together, but today was the day to reconcile that. I wasn't sure I was up for it, but I didn't have much of a choice. The thought of stopping by to tell Peter that I was far too busy to have a resident stuck up my ass rolled through my thoughts far too many times, but it wasn't my persona at all. I could stick it through. If the girl got to be a true bother, then I could just have Parks help me out and moonlight with her in my place.

"Elizabeth." I stopped at the opening to the breakroom. She was sitting at the edge of a group of residents, methodically licking the spoon that hovered just above a container of yogurt. My stomach tightened and I chided myself internally. I was acting like a fifteen-year-old.

"Hi, Dr. Crawford." She stood and walked to the trashcan. I noticed that no one spoke to her, nor did she offer any parting words.
Odd.
Maybe she was a loner like me.

"How are you? Things going well thus far?" I moved out into the hall as she joined me. Her dark purple scrubs hugged her narrow hips as the top worked to accentuate her moderately large breasts. But it was the calmness she exuded that was by far the most attractive part of her. She had a confidence that drew me in, and a serenity that made me want to stay. She was far too young for me to be anything but a mentor, but I could let my mind wander from time to time. It was more than enough, and insanely inappropriate.

Her dark brown hair was up in a sexy bun, and she wore very little makeup, but she didn't need it. She was naturally beautiful, the kind of woman any man would be thrilled to show off. I was almost afraid to see her dolled up and in something other than hospital garb.

"Yes. I'm here to do a job, so it's only going to get better. Put me to work." She gave me a side glance as her lip lifted up in a pseudo-cocky smirk.

I wondered if she knew that she was a dangerous combination of sexy, smart, and cute.
Doubtful.

"We have a full day, and you'll be observing, so feel free to ask questions." I paused outside of the OR. "Just make sure they are appropriate and focused on work. No asking about lunch, or my morning, or if one of the nurse's husbands is doing well. Keep that laser focus you’re so proud of." My turn to smirk.

She let out a sharp laugh and followed me into the operating room. I took a sharp left and turned on the sink, looking up at her. "Suit up, and scrub up."

"You're almost too much. You realize that, right?" She leaned over the sink in front of me, and I had to work like hell not to stare at her. I needed to figure out just what it was about her that left me wanting to cross the lines I'd laid for myself years before. Never once had I asked anyone from the hospital to have a drink with me, or so much as a cup of coffee. Parks asked me all the time, but he was turning into my only friend, and I was grateful for him.

"Doc?" Speak of the devil.

I turned my head and nodded. "What can I do for you, Parks?"

"First you can introduce me to your new resident." He gave a warm smile and walked in, extending his hand to Elizabeth. "Nice to meet you. I've heard so much about you already, but the murmurs in the hall just don't do you justice."

She laughed again, and I turned to watch her, wanting to see how she fared against Parks. He was the resident playboy, and almost overbearing in his attention when he liked someone.

"That so?" She dried her hands and glanced down at his hand. "I'll shake that later. I'm not washing my hands again, and you look like the class playboy. There's no telling where that thing’s been."

"Ohhhh..." he laughed loudly and crossed his arms over his thick chest as he took a step back, "our tainted love affair begins. You got the first jab, but I get the second."

"Give me your best shot." She lifted her eyebrow, and I honestly couldn't tell if she was interested in or attracted to Parks. It was a bit annoying, but some part of me knew they were perfectly suited for each other. At least in their looks.

"Alright, you two. Now isn't the time," I barked and walked around them with my hands in the air as Karen moved in and put my gloves on for me. "Karen, this is Elizabeth. She'll be working as my shadow for the next three years. Say hi."

Karen lifted her eyebrow at me. She was too much like a motherly figure in my life. I would be peppered with a million questions later that day, and it would be best to avoid her if I could. I smiled at the thought.

"Until next time, princess," Parks called after us, and I shook my head at him. If his antics worked, then good for him, but I had a hard time thinking that a woman would fall for his shit.

"Friend of yours?" Elizabeth asked me as her pretty mouth pulled up into a smile. She was stunning, and I wanted to tell her, but I simply shook my head.

"No, but don't tell him that. I think he was calling
me
princess, by the way. Not you."

She laughed and the sound was delightful, warming me and calling me into a desire I hadn't experienced in a long time. I needed to know her, and to become friends. I wanted far more than that, but I forced myself not to think about it. There would never be anything between us other than a working friendship, but I could see her become the female equivalent of Parks in my life.

"Interesting," she chuckled and moved up toward Karen. "Good morning. I'm Elizabeth. Nice to meet you."

"You as well, dear. Watch out for this one. His mood swings are like the wind. You never know when they're coming, and they often have the power to knock you off your feet," she laughed. I turned back to give them both a look.

"Watch it." I smiled and walked into the OR to find a group of nurses and another doctor waiting for us to start. "My resident is observing today. Answer her questions and give her hell, please."

The nurse beside me pulled up my mask, and I looked over to Elizabeth, loving the challenging smile on her face. She was going to be fun. Maybe too much.

*

"Wow. That was incredible." She walked beside me down the hall back to my office. I couldn't help but notice how her hand rubbed across the top of her chest, just over the top curve of her breasts. My body hardened, and I had to find some way to get rid of her.

"It was a great surgery. I love the ones that provide a bit of challenge." I walked into my office and sat down, crossing my legs and pulling a file into my lap as I opened it. I didn't need the girl knowing that her praise turned me on far more than her looks might. She was an intellectual, and would be my equal within the next ten years.

Her knowledge in the OR when questioned on next steps was impeccable. She came up with a few thoughts that shortened the surgery time and were new to the teachings at NYU this last year. I wanted to pick her brain just before I forced her to stretch out on my bed for a long night of hearing her cry out in pleasure.

Stop it. Shit.

"Well, you were fantastic. I'm so far beyond turned on by the idea of being that calm and collected in the middle of the chaos." She gave me a huge smile and tugged her bun down. Her hair cascaded down her shoulders, and I stifled the urge to groan. The girl was going to be the death of me.

"Turned on? I'm not sure that's the appropriate verb." I smirked and glanced down at the file.

"Of course it is." Her voice was steady, and forced me to look back up, though I'd rather she just left sooner rather than later. I needed her to. If anyone was turned on, it was me. Her features were beautifully complementary to each other, from her button nose to her long eyelashes and full lips. She held her shoulders back, and there was a gleam in her eye that beckoned me to push her, to challenge her, to force her to greatness. She wanted my title, my position, and I wanted her.

"How so?" I kept my tone steady and quite academic around her.

"Being turned on isn't just sexual. It's the idea that you're alive inside, buzzing with a tingling need for more of whatever stimulated you so intensely." The innocence on her face left me grasping for straws. Did she know she was incredibly sensual? A tease even. Or was she just so in tune with herself that she didn't have to placate anyone, least of all, herself?

"Very true. I'm quite stimulated by my career. It's my mistress." I winked at her and glanced back down to the file. "We're having a dinner tonight at my house. It's several of the cardiologists and their residents. It was last-minute, and pushed on us by the head of our department. You'll be there? Six on the dot."

She leaned back in her chair and tilted her head a little to the side. "Of course I will. Do I need to bring anything?"

"Just your winning personality and cocky sarcasm," I chuckled and sat up, tucking my lower half under my desk. The delicious pulse that shot through my stomach danced along my erection and left me starving for attention. It was a disturbing place to be, and yet my mind had already walked through how easy it would be to close the door and reach for her.

Would she reach back? Let me touch her? Taste her?

"Funny, doc." She stood up. "Anything else from me right now? If not, I know you have plenty to do. I'll use the small office down the hall to type up my report from the surgery. I'll need it for my advisor at NYU."

"We're good for now. Tell me, who is your advisor? I might know him."

"Her. Dr. Cynthia Martin." She watched me as if I might have some reaction.

"She sounds familiar, but I can't place her in my memory. I must be getting old." I glanced down and flipped through the patient file in front of me.

"Let's hope we all age as gracefully." She walked out the door, leaving me with far more desire than I appreciated.

"Right. Keep it up, you little sexy tart," I mumbled softly under my breath. "I'll get Parks on you and you won’t live to tell about it."

Funny enough, the thought of my only friend in the hospital hitting on Elizabeth left me with something bordering on rage. Not good. Not good at all.