Playing Doctor (2 page)

By Monday, Lauren had
successfully put her nonexistent sex life out of her mind. She gave Rufus a hug good-bye before leaving for work, then, deciding better safe than sorry, she tied him up in the kitchen, promising to come home at lunch to take him on a short walk. Rufus seemed to smile at her as he wagged his tail and looked back with his big, brown doggy eyes.

Yes,
I
made
a
good
decision
getting
you, and now when I come home I'll at least be greeted by a friendly face and your wagging tail.

Upon entering her clinic, Lauren wished her receptionist good morning and then remembered the intern.

“Jessica, I almost forgot. I've hired a summer intern to help out around here, a young college grad named Courtney Sinclair. I'm not sure exactly what she'll be doing, but we will figure it out as we go. She should arrive sometime this morning, so please show her into my office when she gets here.”

“Will do,” said the always-pleasant receptionist. Although just twenty, Jessica had proven to be very efficient by learning basic bookkeeping on her own and adeptly running the small office. Lauren thought perhaps it was time for a small promotion, maybe to office manager, along with a small increase in salary. Unfortunately “small” was all that the practice could afford at the moment.

Jessica called after her, “I just made a fresh pot of coffee. I'll bring you a cup. Your first patient is due any minute. He's new and his file is waiting on your desk.”

“Thanks, Jessica,” Lauren called back through the open door of her private office. Yes, it was definitely time to let the young woman know how much she was appreciated.

After donning her lab coat, Lauren settled into her desk chair and logged onto her computer before opening the manila file folder to scan the patient record. When Jessica brought her the coffee, she mentioned that the small local pharmacy had called. Their online prescription system was down again. As Lauren sipped her bracing hot, black coffee, she mused that at times Plum Banks was a definite pain in the ass. This had never happened even once during her residency, but stuff like this seemed to be a regular part of small-town life—power outages, Internet disruptions, and more. But she did love living in a place where people knew each other by name and were friendly rather than frantic.

Taking another sip, Lauren remembered she had a pad of old-fashioned paper prescription forms buried in her large, antique wooden desk. Bending over, she opened the big bottom drawer and dug around until she found the pad. Sitting up, she was disconcerted to find someone standing just inside her door waiting for her. But
someone
was surely not the correct word to describe
this
person.

As she stared openmouthed at the dazzling young man before her, all Lauren could think was
You…are…gor…geous!

He was tall, broad shouldered, and smiling—the polite smile a person offers when they first meet someone. As her eyes skimmed over him, she noticed how his healthy tan set off his flowing, corn-silk hair and beautiful turquoise eyes.

How
would
it
feel
to
run
my
hands
through
that
hair?

Lauren was startled by her inappropriate thought, but the next thing to meander through her scattered, giddy mind was:
I
wonder
how
old
you
are?

Followed quickly by:
Are
you
married?

Lauren's eyes darted to his left hand.
Nope
. She didn't see a ring there, but glancing back at his face, she realized he was young, very young, maybe still in his teens. But even his youth couldn't change the fact that Lauren was unmistakably drawn to him, and the reason slowly registered in her addled brain—he was hot…super hot. Lauren could see him plastered on billboards in sexy Calvin Klein underwear. Something about him just screamed SEX! Despite his young age, Lauren knew without a doubt that he would be good in bed, very good. She stifled a gasp as all this hit her like a physical blow, leaving her dazed and wary.

As the handsome youth walked toward her, he reached out to shake her hand—his smile fading slightly at the doctor's mute response—and Lauren suddenly realized that she was ogling him openmouthed like a complete idiot. Even worse, she became aware of a rush of shocking desire coursing straight down through her body like a lightning bolt to settle between her legs. Jumping to her feet, Lauren could feel the spread of an embarrassing blush rise up from her neck.

Get
a
hold
of
yourself
, she silently ordered.
He's probably the son of one of your neighbors, home from college for the summer.

Ignoring his outstretched hand, Lauren adopted her most professional demeanor as best she could under the circumstances, those circumstances being that she knew with certainty that her nipples were tight and she was starting to feel damp between her legs.

Introducing herself brightly, she said, “Hi, I'm Doctor Lauren Marks. I'm sorry about this. I can't imagine why our receptionist showed you in here. Let me take you to an exam room Mr.…ah…Simpson,” she added after glancing at the file on her desk.

The young man's hand dropped as he muttered, “Umm, actually—”

Cutting him off abruptly, Lauren repeated herself, “Really, I do apologize. Follow me,” and she started to walk out of her office.

Reaching out, he touched Lauren's arm gently to stop her. “Wait! I am not a patient. I'm sorry about the confusion, but I'm Courtney Sinclair.” Looking a little worried now, he asked, “I believe Dr. Rhodes arranged for me to intern here this summer?”

Lauren stopped dead in her tracks, feeling her arm tingling where his hand had touched her. Spinning around, she proclaimed, “But you can't be the intern. Courtney is a girl… I'm sure of it.”

“Ah, well, I'm sorry but I am Courtney Sinclair, and the last time I checked, I was a man.” Smirking slightly, he added, “I believe I'm still a man. Did Dr. Rhodes
say
that I was a woman?” Incredulity dripped in his tone.

“I'm sure she did!” Lauren responded sharply. “Well, I don't know,” she added more uncertainly. “As I think about it, maybe Sara didn't say at all. The arrangements were all done via email, very quickly last week.”

Feeling deeply embarrassed, Lauren walked slowly back to her chair, wondering just how red her face was now—cherry flaming scarlet, if she had to guess. In her mortification, she felt hot, sweaty even, as she turned back to look at him. She stared mutely as Courtney—
the
young
man!
—restarted the conversation.

“I appreciate so much that you are taking me on. I know it was sudden and that you hired me sight unseen, without even a telephone interview.”

Feeling like a total moron, Lauren finally said, “Please sit down, Courtney, and we can discuss it.”

As the young man took a seat, he said, “Actually, I mostly go by the name Court, if that's okay with you?”

“Of course.” Lauren nodded, still gripped by almost paralyzing humiliation.

Court hastily added, “I promise I'll work very hard to do whatever you need done. I'm a fast learner, and really, I'm so grateful I'll get the chance to work at a real medical practice all summer. I'm sure this will help with any remaining doubts I have about becoming a doctor.”

Watching him, Lauren thought Courtney—no, Court, she reminded herself—seemed anxious now, as if concerned, perhaps, that he might have lost the internship based solely on the fact that he was a man and not a young woman. However, the real reason she wanted to send him on his way was that he was too damn gorgeous for her peace of mind…and raging libido!

“I'm sure you'll be fine,” Lauren reassured him, going against her better instincts. “Your résumé shows that you've successfully held jobs before, and I'm pleased to see you have a certificate in first-aid training along with your science degree. I have the highest respect for my colleague Dr. Rhodes, who recommends you highly, so I'm sure you will be an asset to our clinic.”

“Thank you,” Court said as he relaxed back into his chair. “I'm ready to start now and will do anything you need done. I really mean that! Answer the phones…even clean the place, if that's what you need.”

“Well, I have a couple projects in mind for the summer—reorganizing our patient files and the supply closet, for instance—but for today, I'll ask Jessica to train you on the phones and computer system. She'll be gone for a couple weeks in July, and it will be helpful if you can take over her duties then.”

“Great, I'll go out and get started,” Court said with all the confidence of youth.

“Ask Jessica to introduce you to the rest of the staff, and then you can fill out some new-hire paperwork. Oh, do you have a place to live in Plum Banks yet?”

“Yes, I was here over the weekend. I'm renting a furnished studio apartment over a garage just a couple streets away. So I'm all set to start working.” Once again, he unleashed his killer smile on Lauren.

After he left, she got up to microwave her now-cold coffee. Upon returning to her office, Lauren shut the door with a sigh. She needed a few moments to catch her breath and gather her scattered thoughts. How had she not realized that the intern was a man? She had tried so hard over the weekend to get her mind off sex. Until now, Lauren had believed she'd succeeded in turning that part of herself off, at least temporarily, but now one idea kept popping unbidden into her mind.
He's so hot!
Beyond a doubt, Court was eye candy of the finest quality, which had flipped her libido switch back to “on.” With a sense of panic, Lauren realized this was going to test her deeply.

Well, at least he wasn't a teenager. Lauren figured Court was twenty-two or twenty-three. Like that mattered, she noted with some regret.
Not
only
is
he
more
than
ten
years
younger
than
me, he's also my employee.
Sighing and resting her head in her hand, she tried to forcibly will her libido to go away. This was going to be one tantalizing, squirming summer!
How
am
I
going
to
get
through
it?

As the day went on, Lauren managed to maintain her professionalism, but it was wearing thin to say the least. By five o'clock, she was in no mood for the enthusiastic reports from her staff about the new intern, grinningly shared behind her closed office door. Nurse Brenda reported that even though she was an older lady, her still-working eyes appreciated having such a “fine, decorative addition to the clinic.” She gave Lauren a wink as she departed. Her colleague Dr. Walsh jokingly asked if she could “send Dr. Rhodes a thank-you note for the gift of this hunky intern for us ladies to ogle all summer.” Further, Kelly suggested, only half jokingly, that he might help bring in some business as well, perhaps going door to door handing out clinic flyers.

“Humph,” was Lauren's response to that idea.

The worst was Jessica. She was absolutely glowing with excitement at having Court working with them for the next three months. Before leaving the office, she drilled Lauren with questions: “Is Court single?” “Is he dating anyone?”

To those and others, Lauren replied that she really didn't know.

The worst question was the last. Jessica asked Lauren, “Would you mind if I go after him?” Jessica didn't wait for a reply, prattling on that of course Lauren wouldn't mind, since she was “so much older” and wouldn't be interested in Court. And that she and Court were “the same age after all,” not leaving an opportunity for Lauren to say anything. Just before Jessica raced out of the office, she promised conspiratorially that nothing she and Court did together—wink-wink—would interfere with their work in the office. Then Lauren overheard Jessica offering in honey-sweet tones to show Court around Plum Banks.

Lauren gritted her teeth and “humphed” a second time. What
was
she going to do?

Nothing
was the answer, of course!

And her receptionist was right—Jessica was the same age as Court. Yes, the two of them were now coworkers, but there wasn't any official policy against interoffice romance. Knowing that Jessica was going after him, even though there were other guys her age in Plum Banks, made it somehow worse when there was no one here Lauren's age. If Jessica and Court did hook up, Lauren realized she would be haunted by images of them together having sex—the wild, sheet-twisting kind that she herself had needed for months now!

Just that thought had her tingling. Lauren squeezed her thighs together tightly in response. No, that was the wrong answer—the clenching just made the erotic itch more pronounced as blood poured down to fuel the ache. Breathing deeply, she tried to calm herself and relax the tight fists that her hands had become.

“Well, I guess I'll head out.”

What?
Lauren woke dazed from her lusting daydream.

“What?” she said aloud, giving her head a little shake as she looked up from her desk at the Adonis standing in the doorway, now officially her employee.

“I'm going to leave now, if that's okay with you,” Court said again with a friendly but platonic grin that showed off his handsome tanned face to its best advantage.