I’d taken the conversation I had with Maggie to heart and was worried about being passed over for her position when the time came to fill it. On one hand, I did everyone’s work and that alone should have been enough to show what a valuable commodity I was.

On the contrary, who was going to do all of that work if I got the promotion?

The decision was not an easy one to make but, being the head RN on staff, I had to get tough on the people working under me. I waited until the residents were settled in after lunch and called a mandatory staff meeting. There was going to be no more ‘Shelly the pushover at First Hope’.

“Okay everyone, I need all of your attention on me,” I said, surprising myself at how assertive I was being. “Would everyone here agree that it takes a team effort to keep everything running smoothly here?”

I got the typical head nods and light yes comments from the staff.

“And would everyone agree that it takes teamwork to get everything done that needs to get done around here?”

Same response.

“Good. I brought you all in here to tell you that, effective immediately, I will no longer be covering any of your work. I’ve been doing other people’s jobs for so long that my own work isn’t getting done.

Now, that’s not to say that if you’re really trying and struggling to keep up, that I won’t help you. Believe me, I will. That’s how teamwork goes. However, if you have time to play on the Internet while other people are running around like chickens with their heads cut off trying to get their work done, you may need to reassess your priorities. Are there any questions?”

As I suspected, nobody raised their hands. I did notice that Candace rolled her eyes at me, but that probably shouldn’t have come as a surprise to me. As soon as the meeting was over, she was the first one out the door, pouting and storming her way into her Aunt’s office. I’m sure she ran right in there and snitched on me. At that point, I no longer gave a damn.

I was only back at my desk inside the nurse’s station when I looked up to see a man approaching me.

“Hello. Remember me?” he asked.

I looked at him and knew that I recognized him but I could not put my finger on it. I squinted my eyes and placed my finger on my lip as I contemplated where I had seen him before.

“It’s Jason Stark. I’m Casey Stark’s brother. We met the other day.”

Holy shit!

I could barely believe that I was looking at the same person. He had looked so rough and tired when I met him previously. His eye bags were completely gone, his hair was combed and he had on clean clothes. He cleaned up nicely.

“Oh yes, I’m sorry Jason. It’s been kind of a hectic morning around here.”

“It’s okay. I just wanted to check in with you to see how Casey has been adjusting for the last few days.”

“Casey seems to be adjusting to life around here very well. The doctor’s been in here spending quite a bit of time with him each day and the rest of the staff loves him.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” he shifted his weight and leaned on the desk. “I wanted to apologize to you for the way I acted the other day. It’s just that the other place really did a number on him. As you can probably tell, I’m protective of him.”

“It’s fine. I didn’t think anything of it. In fact, I wish more people cared as much as you do.”

“It’s not fine. I was way too hard on you and I just want you to know that I’m sorry.”

“Apology accepted. He had lunch about an hour ago, but he may still be awake,” I said as I checked my watch. “In fact, it’s about time for me to check in on him if you’d like to walk with me.”

I grabbed my charts and made my way down the hall with Jason beside me.

“So you looked like you were a little banged up the last time you were in here. Is everything okay?” I asked, not wanting him to know that I’d looked him up on the web.

“Oh, that? Yeah, I do mixed martial arts. Sometimes I get a little banged up and have to walk around a for a few days looking like I was in a bar fight.”

“Mixed martial arts? That’s interesting. I’ve never known anyone that did something like that. Are you on television?”

“No, not yet. That’s the goal. I’m just working the small shows, trying to get myself noticed.”

“Is that something you’ve always wanted to do?” There was something dangerously sexy about him. Maybe it was the fact that he still had a partial black eye, or maybe it was the way his t-shirt hugged his ripped muscles.

I kept staring at his arms; they were huge, and his knuckles were still swollen. Something about those swollen knuckles made me hot.

“Honestly? Not really. I needed some quick cash and someone told me about an MMA fight where one of the participants had just dropped out because of an injury. I knew nothing about the sport but the money was decent so I went for it. I just threw my hands and ended up knocking my opponent out. I decided to take it a lot more seriously after that.”

We walked in silence until we reached his brother’s door. Just as I was about to open it he stepped in front of me, blocking my path.

“I only fight for my brother. I don’t have any other skills or anything that I can fall back on. My goal is to be the best fighter I can be and get noticed by one of the big companies. If I can get noticed and sign a big contract, I’ll be able to bank most of my money. My hope is that by the time my contract expires, I’ll be able to retire and bring my brother home with me. That way money won’t be an issue and I’ll be able to provide full-time care for him instead of sticking him in a shit hole like this.”

* * *

I’ve never been good at knowing when to shut my fucking mouth. Judging by the look on Shelly’s face, I’d just offended her big time with my shit hole comment. I wasn’t trying to insult her employer but all you needed to do was look around to see that the place was literally a shit hole. There was no way to sugarcoat it. It wasn’t her fault. It’s just the way things were.

“I’m sorry. That was an asshole thing for me to say. I didn’t mean to offend you.” For the first time since I had met her, I looked into her eyes. I could tell that she was a genuine person, had a good heart.

God damn, Jason. Why do you have to be such a dick?

“You don’t need to apologize. I’m not offended. I am surprised at some of the things you said, though.”

“What do you mean?” The more I talked to this chick, the more she blew my mind. I had just insulted her—or at least I thought I did—but she wasn’t offended. It was like she saw something in me, and I know damn sure that I saw something in her.

The way she carried herself, the way she talked to me, the way she interacted with her residents, it was all with pride, confidence and love. I couldn’t find a job that suited me, but it was obvious that she loved her career.

I had never met anyone like her. Most of the trashy girls I met at the after parties were sluts. Shelly didn’t seem to be like that. She had self-respect, a good head on her shoulders and she was self-reliant.

“Honestly, I wouldn’t expect to hear that somebody like you was so invested in caring for an invalid.”

“No? And why is that?”

“I mean no offense but we don’t really see anyone come through these doors that has a goal of getting their loved one out of here, let alone someone who is still so young and rough around the edges.”

Rough around the edges?

“So what? You think I'm just some giant asshole or something? Am I some kind of monster because I fight?”

“That’s not what I’m saying at all,” she started backpedaling.

“It’s okay. I deal with this kind of thing all the time. That’s why I almost never tell anyone what I do for a living. They think that because the sport is barbaric, those who compete in it must be too.”

“I’m not one to judge,” she waved her hand in the air. “What you choose to do for a living is completely up to you.”

“You know what?” I grinned at her. “I think you and me should go on a date, let me show you who I really am.”

“You are? Are you telling me or asking me?”

“I’m asking you. Why don’t you let me take you out for a night so I can show you there’s more to me than meets the eye?”

“Although that sounds very nice, Mr. Stark, it’s very much against the rules. Besides, I really don’t have the time to be going out on dates right now.”

Challenge accepted. She must not know how much I love it when women play hard to get. I don’t back down, and I don’t take no for an answer.

“Against the rules? Are you being serious right now? Did we go back in time and end up in grade school again? You and I are going to go out on a date Saturday night. I won’t tell if you don’t,” I winked at her.

She turned white as a sheet as I watched the blood drain from her face. I watched her cheeks flush a nice salmon shade. She was grinning nervously, which exposed a small dimple on her right cheek.

I’m a sucker for dimples. She could search for a way out of the conversation all she wanted but there was no way out for her because I wasn’t backing down.

* * *

I couldn’t believe that this guy was asking me out. First of all, I didn’t even know anything about him, well not that he knew anyway. This was only my second time being face to face with him. On top of that, he didn’t exactly endear himself to me during our first meeting.

I’ve seen guys like him before. The bad boy who fucks anything with two legs that has a pulse. The bad boy who stays out partying, drinking all night. I could smell the booze on him the first day that we met when he chewed my ass out. Still, it was undeniable that I was attracted to him.

Even though I had every reason to say no to him, I found myself contemplating whether or not I should agree to go out on a date with him. It had been a long time since I’d been out with anyone.

Being so busy with work all the time made it nearly impossible to date. I wasn’t lying about that. That’s not to say I wouldn’t be able to make time for someone if I felt they were truly worth it.

Was this guy worth it? I had no clue. I didn’t know anything about him other than he was a cage fighter and a bit of a dick—but a God damn sexy dick! It wouldn’t kill me to put myself out there. My friends were all either getting married or had long-term boyfriends.

If my history is any indication, I’d make the worst possible decision for myself. I always look for love in all the wrong places. I had always defended my choices by saying that you never know where Mr. Right might turn up, but I knew that was bullshit and the guys that I’d chosen to date had all been tremendous wastes of time.

And yet I was finding myself in the same situation. Instead of sticking to my guns and insisting that going out with him wasn’t a good idea, I found myself looking into his perfectly blue eyes, feeling like I wanted to melt. He was fucking hot and I could tell he had a dark side to him. A dark side that drew me in like a magnet.

“So what do you say?” he asked, snapping me out momentary daze.

“I’m free Friday night,” the words slipped out. I couldn’t believe that I had just agreed to go on a date with a man who fights for a living.

“Okay, what time and where would you like me to pick you up?”

I grabbed my pen and wrote my phone number on his hand. God, it felt like I was in grade school again.

“Just give me a call tonight after 8:00 and we’ll set something up. I’ve got to do my rounds and I’m sure you’d like to spend some time with your bother.”

“All right. I’ll give you a call this evening.”

I power-walked down the hall, not wanting him to see how flustered I had become. I wondered what in the hell I was getting myself into.

I had so much on my plate with trying to earn the promotion at work that I was already exhausted every night as it was. There was also the fact that I wasn’t supposed to date clients or their relatives.

In the eyes of the assisted living center, they were one in the same. The residents were our clients because they were the ones who received our care. Their families were also our clients because they paid the bills. I was really sticking my neck on the chopping block for a guy that I barely knew.

Setting myself up to have the best possible chance of landing the ADON position should have been my top priority. Going out with Jason was honestly not a good idea. It certainly wouldn’t do anything to help my career. If anything, it had the potential to get me fired. I had to keep this one to myself.