Glancing at the phone in her hand, Simona blew out a long breath. She scrolled through the contacts and found Donovan’s number. Her thumb hovered over the display for several seconds before she changed her mind. Again. She bit into an apple slice.
“Well, if it isn’t my favorite nurse. Mind if I join you?”
Simona managed to bite back the retort poised on the tip of her tongue. The last person she wanted to talk to was Lionel Harris. She had managed to dodge him for the past couple of weeks, but it looked as if her luck had run out. She glanced around the cafeteria. There were plenty of empty tables.
“Are you going to make me stand here all day?” he asked, giving her his most charismatic smile. “People are starting to stare.”
It would serve him right if she did. “Fine. Sit.”
He lowered himself into the chair across from her. “Thanks.” He immediately picked up his burger and took a hefty bite.
Simona continued to nibble on her apple slices and waited for him to start in on his campaign. Three...two...one...
“Simona,” he started.
Right on cue.
“When are you going to let me take you out to dinner?”
“Never.”
“Why? I’m educated and a well-respected physician.” He leaned closer and lowered his voice seductively. “And I’m pretty good-looking, if I have to say so myself,” he added with a wink.
She sighed heavily. “How many times do I have to tell you no before you stop asking?”
“I can promise you we’ll have a good time together,” he continued as if she hadn’t spoken. “I’ll take you to my mountain retreat in Lake Tahoe or my villa in Spain...wherever you want to go.”
“The answer is still no, Dr. Harris,” Simona said through clenched teeth. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to work.” She gathered the remnants of her meal, stood and pasted a smile on her face. “Enjoy your lunch.”
Instead of going back to the break room for the last five minutes of her break, she went outside, hoping to cool her temper. Taking a seat on one of the benches, she drew in several deep breaths. Finally her calm returned. Her phone vibrated in her pocket. Frowning, she pulled it out, thinking it was Eve. She was surprised to see a text message from Donovan.
Hey, beautiful. Sitting here thinking about u. Hope ur day is going well. D
No matter how stressful her day was, Donovan always found a way to make her smile. She typed back: Thanks for thinking of me. Hope ur day is going well, too. S
Rising to her feet, Simona went back to the emergency room to finish her shift, praying she could get through the rest of the day without having to deal with Dr. Harris again. On her way, a registration clerk grabbed her arm.
“Can you check on a car outside the front door? I think there’s a baby on the way.”
Simona gave the clerk some instructions and rushed out the door. By the time she reached the car, a nursing assistant was behind her with supplies. She donned a pair of gloves, quickly wrapped the baby girl who hadn’t waited to be born in a hospital, clamped the cord and noted the time for the birth certificate. On the heels of her statement, a gurney arrived. As soon as she got back to the emergency room, a passing doctor asked if she had given a second dose of morphine to the patient in room four. Simona explained that she hadn’t logged on to the computer yet, but would do so now and catch up with the orders.
Hours later, Simona dragged herself wearily to her car. Since that thirty-minute lunch break, the ER had moved nonstop, and she hadn’t been able to catch her breath or take a bathroom break. All she wanted to do was go home and fall out, but Simona knew Yasmine would be up for at least an hour, until her bedtime. Before she made it out the door, one of the nurses called to her. She seriously thought about pretending not to hear, but she couldn’t do that.
“What do you need, Betty?”
“Nothing. These came for you a few hours ago, but you were so busy I didn’t get a chance to tell you.” She handed Simona a bouquet of pink roses in a glass vase.
Her eyes narrowed, thinking that Dr. Harris was up to his tricks again. But they were gorgeous. “Thank you. These are lovely.” She spied a small white envelope in the center. Simona was anxious to read the card, but didn’t want everyone in her business, so she held off.
“Looks like you hit the jackpot. Whoever he is, you’d better hold on to him. I wish some man would give me flowers like that.”
“Thanks, Betty. I’ll see you tomorrow.”