“I see.” His voice was tight. “I would’ve appreciated you calling me and letting me know that you were planning all along to waste my time — especially after all these months that we’ve messaged each other online. I would’ve appreciated you doing that before I got here and spent over thirty minutes waiting on you.”

“I am so sorry.” I moved away from the entrance once I saw Shannon walking down the steps. “I really didn’t plan on standing you up tonight until the last minute.”

“You decided this shit at the last minute?”

“Yes, but ... There’s no reason why we still can’t continue messaging each other online after this. Maybe that’s where this should’ve stayed anyway. We can still be friends, right?”

He hung up in my face.

TWO WEEKS LATER...

THE DOCTOR

New York, New York

Garrett

Subject: New York Times Review ...

Dr. Ashton, please read the attached five-star review of your services from one of my regular patients, a Miss Rachel Aberdeen. Pay special heed to the parts where she says that although you neglected to “properly address her breasts” and that you “have quite a mouth for sarcasm” that she swears you’re the only man outside of her husband that she trusts with her “most prized private part.”

I truly appreciate you taking care of my patients while I’m away :-)

—Dr. Laurel

I rolled my eyes and deleted her email, not bothering to open the attachment. I didn’t need to, since almost every staff member on this floor had taken it upon themselves to slip the hardcopy version underneath my door.

Any other time, I might’ve responded with something sarcastic, but I was completely off my game and I was certain that JERSEYGIRL7 was to blame.

Ever since the night she stood me up at Per Se, I was more irritable and annoyed than usual. I’d never been stood up a day in my life, and I’d honestly been looking forward to meeting her and doing everything possible to bring every filthy fantasy she’d told me about to life.

When she told me she wasn’t coming, I immediately deleted her phone number and blocked her on NewYorkMinute — although I did keep the archive of our never-ending message threads. I’d also tried to set up a quick replacement date with several other women, but it was all to no avail.

I couldn’t find anyone who matched with me more than fifty percent on NewYorkMinute, and the few women who did catch my eye at the bar over the past weekends, couldn’t hold a conversation to save their lives. They didn’t have shit on the level of sarcasm and wittiness that I enjoyed from JERSEYGIRL7.

Maybe I shouldn’t have deleted her number so soon ...

“Dr. Ashton?” A soft voice suddenly pulled me out of my thoughts and I looked up, seeing the newest addition to the staff: Natalie. With her white coat hanging wide open, she was wearing a bright red dress that clung to her hips in all the right ways and exposed the top part of her breasts. Her eyes were a stunning shade of green, and her long, auburn hair was falling down past her shoulders in a bevy of large curls.

You working with me is going to be a problem, and I definitely need to keep you away from me ...

“How can I help you, Dr. Madison?” I said, holding back a groan, as she slipped the tip of a pen between her perfect, pink lips.

“I was told that I was to report to you for the first few months of my residency here, while they finish sorting out some of the final specifics,” she said. “So, where do you want me this morning?”

On top of my desk ...

“We weren’t supposed to take on new residents until we opened our expansion location down the street,” I said. “So, since you somehow managed to slip in before then, you’ll share an office with me for now.” I pointed to the new chrome desk on the far side of the room.

I was pretty sure I never agreed to sharing my office with anyone, and that the number one board member should never be subjected to something like this, but when the doctors all agreed that I would never, ever have to work with another resident after this, I caved in for the better.

“Is there anything you need from me, Dr. Madison?”

“Actually, would you mind walking me through the Weisman file and assignment I received in my email this morning?” She clicked her pen. “I’ve never dealt with a patient with that condition before and I can’t read some of the scanned handwriting on the session sheet.”

“Sure,” I made a mental note to write neater over the next few months. “I’ll go over it with you in about ten minutes.”

“Thank you.” She smiled and walked over to the new desk, her bright red heels clicking across my marble floors and it took everything in me to act like a complete professional and not utter a word about how sexy she was. This was only my second time being around her and she’d managed to make me ten times more aroused than when I’d first seen her at the end of her tour. I was already ten times more drawn to her than any other woman I’d ever met.

Thankfully, she was a complete professional for the rest of the day, and that made it somewhat easier for me to follow suit. I patiently answered all of her well-researched questions, let her sit in a therapy session with a client who didn’t mind, and even offered to treat her to a light dinner at the end of the day.

She declined.

So, I offered to do the same thing on her second day.

She declined again. Then she declined for the next four working days in a row, so I didn’t go for a fifth.

Still, as the first days of her residency played out, I realized just how much I actually needed the additional help, just how beneficial having someone else at my side was. (Although, I would never admit this to the other doctors. Their twelve to one vote was still bullshit.)

It didn’t hit me until the second week of the residency, that something about Natalie was completely off. At least, to me.

Even though I made sure to keep my incessant thoughts of bending her over my chaise or taking her against my window at the back of my mind, anytime I attempted to make basic small talk with her, she changed the subject. As if she was incapable of even addressing the weather or accepting my suggestion of trying NewYorkMinute if she wanted to meet new people outside of the practice. If I happened to walk into the break lounge when she was sitting alone, she would simply smile at me, get up, and immediately leave.