Chapter 7 - Elliot
The staff room is in the main office conference room. I get there a few minutes early and find a seat near the back. I know no one will try to talk to me, and that’s the way I like it. It’s taken a long time to get to the point where my coworkers understand that I like to be left alone. Clearly Emma hasn’t understood that yet.
Still, it was a nice gesture this morning. I even almost smiled at her!
People filter in and find their seats. Some of them nod at me, a few of them grunt a hello, but mostly they chat amongst themselves. Perfect. It’s almost 9:30am and the staff meeting is about to start. Where is she? The thought flies through my head before I can catch myself.
It doesn’t matter where she is, and I definitely shouldn’t care.
But then she walks in. Her dress is royal blue and perfectly fitted to every curve of her gorgeous body. Her hips sway when she walks and I can see the curve of her tits through the stretchy fabric. My breath catches in my throat.
She looks around the room for a seat and her eyes finally rest on the only one that’s free. The one right beside me. Our eyes meet for a second before my heart starts pounding in my chest and I glance towards the front of the room again.
“Hey,” she whispers as she sits beside me. I ignore her. This is getting way too familiar.
I can feel the heat from her skin as her arm brushes up against me. She moves away slightly and I feel the space between us like she’s a million miles away from me. I want her to move closer to me, so I can feel her arm against mine.
She doesn’t.
She sits there, completely still, staring straight ahead. Her smell is intoxicating, just as it was this morning. I close my eyes and breath in deeply, slowly and silently so no one notices. How can one person smell so good!
Everyone settles into their chairs and then Doctor Yates walks in. My back stiffens and I try to hide my sharp intake of breath. He always has that effect on me, I can’t relax around him. I sense Emma turn her head slightly towards me and I try my best to relax. I can’t help it. His beady little eyes, his thick, wiry eyebrows. He walks around like he’s everyone’s grandpa but I’ve seen his true colours.
Yates stands at the front of the room and holds up a hand. The chatter in the room dies down as everyone turns toward him.
“Good morning everyone!” He pauses, waiting for the staggered chorus of Good Mornings to bounce back to him. I say nothing. Neither does Emma, and I glance over at her. She’s sitting still, with her hands folded over her lap. My eyes question her, and she turns her head slightly to meet my gaze. She’s unreadable. I can hear my heart pounding in my ears when she looks at me like that. As soon as she looks at me, she turns back to the front.
I do the same, waiting to hear what Yates has to say.
“First of all, I’d like to welcome the newest member of our team, Emma Thompson. Emma is joining us as our administrator. Please make her feel welcome.”
The room turns towards her and all of a sudden dozens of pairs of curious eyes are trained on her. I feel her body stiffen beside me and I long to put my arm around her, to comfort her.
I inhale sharply. No. That is completely inappropriate. Why would I think that?!
My thoughts drift away as Yates starts talking again. Every staff meeting is the same, just another excuse for him to peacock at the front of the room like that. I lean back in my chair and cross my arms. Emma’s perfume is tickling my nose and it’s taking all my self control to keep myself from breathing more deeply than I am. I glance over at her hands, folded on her lap. They look so soft and graceful. I’d love to lean over and pull her hand into mine.
“And Elliot, I think it should be you.” Yates’ voice drifts back into my reality. I snap my eyes forward and meet his hard gaze.
“Me, doctor?” I ask. All eyes are on me. I have no idea what he was talking about and now the entire room will know it. This is Emma’s fault! Why did she have to sit beside me. I can’t focus with her so close to me. I can’t wait to get out of this room. The walls are closing in on me, it feels too hot in here.
“Yes, you. You’re our lead surgeon and I think you’d be the best to represent us at the conference.”
The conference! Of course. The annual Aesthetics Conference is on this year in San Diego. It’s the most prestigious conference in the country, and we always send a speaker. But… me?! Doctor Yates goes every year. I clear my throat.
“I.. Thank you, Stuart.”
“Your work recently on rhinoplasties deserves to be showcased. You’re doing groundbreaking stuff, Elliot, and it should be advertised. We’ve been asked to prepare a 20 minute talk which you will deliver at the conference.”
His words filter into my brain and I struggle to keep my jaw from falling to the floor. A 20 minute talk?! At the most important plastic surgery conference in the country?! About my work?! My heart is beating out of my chest and this time it isn’t because of Emma’s curves.
“Stuart, I.. 20 minutes is a long time.”
Dr. Yates holds up a hand.
“Dr. Davis, you’ve been doing brilliant work. Put together a presentation before the end of the week for me to review. The conference is next week. Any other questions? Otherwise we can wrap this meeting up.”
No one says anything, and Yates nods before walking out of the room. I’m stuck to my chair. Public speaking! In front of a room full of successful doctors. With only a week to prepare. I can’t help but think that Yates has chosen me on purpose for some reason. My stomach drops down and I feel almost dizzy.
Then, I feel a small warm hand on my arm. It’s Emma. I glance towards her. Her brown eyes are kind, inviting. Her lips look so soft. She’s wearing that deep red lipstick again.
“Are you ok?” she whispers.
“I’m fine.” It comes out more gruffly than I’d anticipated, but it doesn’t matter. I pull my arm away and stand up, going around her chair to walk out of the room. She doesn’t move, and I know I was out of line. It doesn’t matter. Why does she have to be so nice to me all the time. Just leave me alone like everyone else does.
I stomp to my office and slam the door behind me. I slump into my chair, putting my head in my hand. My forearm is still burning where her fingers touched it. I could feel the slight pressure of her touch through my shirt, the heat of her skin against mine. I wonder what her skin feels like, what it would feel like to have my hands roam all over her body.
I take a deep breath. I have work to do. Now is definitely not the time to be distracted, especially when I need to prepare this stupid presentation on top of all my regular work.
Next time she tries that friendly bullshit I’m going to shut it down. It’s the only way. This has gone far enough already and I’ve only met her a day ago.