I decided to go to work early, as I had to reschedule all of the appointments that I had avoided in the last couple of days. When I got there it was still dark outside but I was surprised to find the main door open.

Heidi was already at work, busy behind her desk.

“Morning Heidi. Are you always in here so early?”

“Yes, I start work at this time every day. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in so early, though.”

“Well, you better get used to it.”

“That’s good to hear, doctor.”

“I’d like to reschedule all of my missed appointments for today and tomorrow. There’s a lot to be done.”

I started walking to my office. A long, tiring day at work was probably exactly what I needed.

“Back to normal now that the little slut has gone.”

She muttered it under her breath when she probably thought that I was out of hearing range but I had picked it up. I stopped in my tracks and turned to look at my receptionist.

“What was that?”

At first, she denied saying anything but I gave her a cold, hard stare. I usually let her little comments slide past me but this time I wasn’t going to let her get away with it.

“Who is the slut that has gone?”

“Oh, that girl. What was her name?” Heidi was squirming for the first time since I had known her. She was used to being in control of the clinic and getting everyone to do what she liked, so she clearly hated being talked to like this.

“Janie. Why did she leave like that?”

“How would I know? I’m just the receptionist.”

I carried on with the cold stare treatment and repeated the question several times. She finally cracked.

“Alright, I told her that her sort wasn’t welcome here. You don’t need a little slut like that. You need a real woman…”

“Like who?”

“I…I don’t know…” Her eyes gave me the answer I needed, though.

How had I been so blind that I hadn’t seen all those years that my receptionist had been hiding feelings for me? She had chased off Janie because she had felt threatened, hadn’t she?

“Like you?” It was a cruel thing to say but I needed to feel some sort of revenge for what she had done to Janie.

“Well, it wasn’t exactly…”

I felt a weird mixture of sensations take over my body. Relief. Gratitude. Anger. Joy.

“I think I can decide what type of woman I need, thank you.” I walked away towards my car but a feeling of sympathy for this frumpy, unlikeable woman held me back.

“We all find the right person eventually, Heidi. Sometimes it just takes time and a bit of luck.”

The car trip to Janie’s house seemed to take an eternity, despite the speed limit being breached a number of times on the way. The feeling of needing to get there urgently made adrenalin course through my veins.

When I got stuck in traffic I was tempted to dump the vehicle and run the rest of the way. It was only the thought of turning up breathless and sweaty that stopped me from seriously considering this option.

Finally, I arrived at Janie’s home I started planning what to say. I had heard once at a conference that it’s best to try and control every conversation by planning your speech and responses to the other person’s possible comments.

This is what I had done ever since but this time my brain simply refused to co-operate. I was going to have to wing it and just react to whatever Janie did and said.

I parked as quickly as I could and ran across to her front door. Please let her be at home and happy to see me.

I went up to her front door and pressed the buzzer. The wait for some sign of life seemed to take an eternity.

Had Heidi told me the full truth or was there more to it? The chances were that she had said something else that she had been too ashamed or frightened to tell me about.

I had no idea what I was going to find when the door opened and I finally saw her again. Did she hate me or was she hoping I would turn up like this?

Finally, I heard locks being opened and bolts being slid across. The house might be modest on the outside but it appeared to have more security measures than my mansion.

The door opened a creak and I saw Janie’s head appear. She looked utterly confused to see me standing there outside her house.

“Janie, I needed to see you.”

She looked out at me silently. I now noticed that her hair was tousled and her eyes tired. It had clearly been a sleepless night for her, but she had never looked more gorgeous to me.

“Can I come in? There are a few things we need to clear up?”

Janie opened the door, again without saying anything. I walked in.

I could now see that she was wearing just a t-shirt, with nothing under it. I had apparently woken her up and she had gone to the door in a hurry. It was important to concentrate on what I said and not get carried away with my emotions, though.

“Janie, there’s been a big misunderstanding. Heidi…she lied to you. I don’t take advantage of new nurses. You’re the first. Not that I took advantage of you. You’re the first nurse that I…I…”

The way that she looked at me had unsettled and unnerved me. She was standing next to the dining table, with her arms crossed awkwardly to cover up the tempting forms of her body. It was a very different Janie from the one that had appeared so angry yet was comfortable with her body when I had interrupted her in the nurse’s changing room.

Could I find the words to express how I felt for her? Surely this was the moment to say “I love you” for the first time in my life.

Yet, something was holding me back. The words just didn’t want to reach my lips.

A noise from the stairs. That must be the little sister I had spoken to on the phone.

This was going to be even more awkward than I had expected it to be.

I turned round to the sister with a fake smile on my face. The smile was frozen when I saw a young man wearing just boxer shorts bounding down the stairs.

I had no idea what I said next but I knew that a few minutes later I was sitting in my car, banging the leather steering with my fist and cursing my luck as well as my stupidity.