Three weeks later, Jill took a deep breath and made her way toward Dr. Taylor’s office before her first patient showed up for the day.
She figured he’d be in since he was always there before her and she was positive it was his SUV in the parking lot when she pulled in but was only guessing through process of elimination. It seemed he worked more than the other doctors here.
She and Dr. Taylor had passed each other a few times in the building, but he hadn’t done much more than a nod or give her half a smile in that time. Not since she waved at him that one Friday before he left. She probably looked like a lunatic with her big toothy smile, added to the goofy wave, and he was turned off.
Oh well, she was who she was...someone that tried to make others smile and happy in the hopes it made her own day a little brighter too. She often told herself that there were worse things in life than not being happy or being where you thought you’d be in your life.
She took a deep breath when she saw him sitting at his desk looking at his computer. He hadn’t put a lab coat on yet, so he was there in a shirt and tie, probably nice trousers, she knew because hey, she often spent more time looking at him than she should have. Though there had been days he changed into scrubs and that was kind of a nice treat too.
With nerves in place, she knocked on the doorframe and hoped that she didn’t come off like a giddy schoolgirl again, then told herself to stop it and just be herself. Who cares if he thought she was silly or not? It wasn’t as if she was trying to impress him.
Her knock must have had more force than she planned and he ended up snapping his head up fast. “Sorry,” she said.
“No problem. I was lost in this document.”
She walked in. “What are you reading?” she asked, knowing there weren’t any patients here yet and Dr. Taylor was more punctual than the other radiologist at the imaging center. It was no wonder that many were requesting him now.
“Just medical journals and articles.”
“On anything specific? Or just in regards to radiology?”
He tilted his head to the side, but still answered her. “Right now I’m reading up on the latest for breast cancer. Treatments and diagnosis, changes in screening processes and recommendations.”
“Do you do that with all cancers and injuries?” They screened for just about everything here but really focused on women’s health.
“I try to. I’ve got the most experience in breast cancer, but plenty in other areas too. Is that what you wanted to talk to me about?” he asked, and if she wasn’t mistaken there was a twitch of his lips with that question. He sure did have a sexy mouth.
She felt her face heat up a bit. He probably thought it was foolish for a tech to ask questions on his profession. She’d been told enough it was her job to look and report back, not to make assumptions about the diagnosis.
“No, I’m sorry. That was nosy of me. I actually came here to let you know that Kathy Wick sent me an email last night. Do you remember her?”
“That’s not nosy. You always have good questions. I don’t mind talking shop with people. Anyway, yes, I do remember Kathy,” he said. “We did her MRI guided biopsy a few weeks ago. Stage zero DCIS.”
“Stage one,” Jill corrected. “She had a mastectomy last week and they found it was actually stage one, but it was still early and she won’t even need radiation because she opted for the mastectomy. It was very tiny and she is extremely thankful. She asked that I extend her thanks to you for how good you were during the biopsy with her and how thorough.”
“I’m glad to hear that her prognosis is so positive.”
“Do you want to read the email? It wasn’t anything personal, but she really praised you and the facility. I was going to pass it to the higher-ups, but thought you’d like to see it.”
“I would, if you wouldn’t mind forwarding it to me.”
She pulled her phone out. “I can do that now.” She started to type in his name and the email extension they all had at work. “There you go. You should get it soon.”
“Thanks,” he said, still looking at her like he had something more to say, but he kept silent.
She nodded and then left the room before she said something else stupid like asking him what kind of cologne he wore, because all she wanted to do was stand there, close her eyes, and inhale the scent.
***
Owen left the building to run and pick up some food. He’d barely made it out the door at his normal time this morning and when he got here he realized he’d forgotten to pack a lunch. There was a moment of panic that he’d forgotten to pack Luke’s too, so he had to make a quick call to his mother to look in Luke’s backpack before she brought him to school.
There was no reason for him to be frantic over it. It was just lunch and something his mother could take care of each morning. She’d often told him to leave it for her, but he couldn’t. Luke was his son, his responsibility, and he wanted to be the best father possible. In his eyes that meant doing everything he could, like slapping peanut butter between two pieces of bread.
Thankfully he remembered his son’s food today, just not his own, reminding him he might get father of the day, but not much else.
He pulled into a chain soup and sandwich restaurant, thinking he had enough time to eat his lunch there rather than bringing it back to his office and sitting at his desk. Eating in the little kitchen at work was out of the question. He didn’t have time for small talk and didn’t have much in common with the few employees he’d met so far.
The other radiologist on staff had been there for years and was close to retirement. He was set in his ways and got the job done, but didn’t often do much extra. The same as Dr. Bronson who ran the facility and hired Owen. Nice men, just not the type of people Owen wanted to spend his lunch hour with.
The place was packed, so he ordered his sandwich and soup at the kiosk, then filled up his drink and sat at a table until it was brought over to him. To kill time, he pulled out his phone and started to read his emails that had been filling up.
The one from Jill Duncan caught his eye and he read what she had forwarded to him. He’d planned on reading it after she’d left his office this morning, but his mother called him and he got distracted, then patients started to come in and emails were the last thing on his mind.
Although, Jill hadn’t been far from his mind in weeks. She’d smile at him in the halls, but she’d never given him a little wave again, nor had she said much other than work-related conversation. He was starting to think that maybe he was too cold to her when he was just trying to do his job. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to talk to some of the staff now and again.
He looked up when his lunch was placed in front of him, and out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the woman that was taking up a lot of his thoughts. She looked over and met his stare. He waved, then nodded his head toward the empty chair at his table. It would be interesting to see what she’d do. Whether her lunch was for here or to go, she’d still have to wait.
A second later, she made her way over. “Fancy meeting you here,” she said.
He was going to comment on her being more outgoing than she was earlier but decided against it. Could it hurt to have a little flirty conversation with a woman? He was on lunch and not distracted by work or what Luke was doing so why not.
Besides, maybe she was like him and just wanted to keep a lower profile in the office.
“Imagine that,” he said. “Are you picking up or staying?”
“I hadn’t decided,” she said.
“I’ll hold off if you’re staying,” he heard himself say. It was probably a mistake, but he started it and he was going to finish it.
“Maybe I will. I’ve just got soup, so I think it’s only going to be a second.”
“And a cookie,” he said, seeing it in her hand.
“Sometimes I need a little sugar to get me through the afternoon.”
“Duncan,” they both heard.
“I’ll be right back,” she said.
He watched her walk over to the pickup counter to get her soup. In a bag. Which meant she had planned to leave, but instead she came back and pulled out a seat.
“You decided to stay,” he said, picking up his spoon when she pulled her soup out.
“Why not? It’s better than sitting in the kitchen listening to everyone talk about the latest episode of This is Us.”
He snorted. “Not a fan, I take it.” It was the way she rolled her hazel eyes when she said it.
“I’ve never watched it, so I can’t say one way or another. But I can say all I hear about is how much everyone cries when they watch it. That’s not my thing.”
“Drama or crying?”
“Neither,” she said. “Life is hard enough for some people; why would I want to watch something that makes me cry? I see people like Kathy all the time here. That’s real and sad enough.”
“Very true,” he said. It was a good outlook to have on life and he often wondered why he got lost in his own troubles when many had it much worse. He was thinking she might be what he needed in his life at the moment. Maybe now it was time to venture out and be more than Luke’s dad for once. “Do you live around here?” he asked her.
“Clifton Park. It’s not that far. I know you’re not from around here,” she said.
“I grew up in Saratoga. I’ve only been in Houston for the past ten years.”
“Oh, sorry for assuming that.”
“No need to apologize.” They both went back to eating and when his soup was done, he picked his sandwich up, and decided to ask, “Would you like to get a drink sometime after work?”
She started to choke on her soup. Lovely. Just what he needed. Talk about being rusty asking someone out. Guess being a father was all he could handle right now. What a nice blow to his manhood. “Seriously?”
“I was until you started to choke. Maybe I’m thinking it’s not a good idea. Or maybe you’re thinking it’s not a good idea,” he said, frowning.
“No. I mean yes. I’d like that. I guess it just took me by surprise.”
“Okay. How about this Friday after work? We can go somewhere closer to Clifton Park if you want. Then it’s not that far for me to get home either.”
“I’d like that,” she said, pushing her empty soup container away and opening her cookie.
“I thought that was sugar for the afternoon,” he said, grinning at her.
She broke her cookie in half and handed him part of it. “I like to share my sugar.” Then she stood up and walked away, taking the empty remains of her lunch.
Things were about to get interesting. He couldn’t figure her out and surprisingly he was good with that fact.
Now he just needed to find a way to balance it all.