***
A strict-looking woman in a dark blue business suit was standing in the lobby with a handful of people around her when I approached. She gave me a tight smile and lifted her clipboard.
"I assume you're Elizabeth Jenkins?" She glanced up.
"Yes. Am I late?" I glanced around at the others, hoping that I would know someone from my graduating class at NYU, but I didn’t recognize anyone.
"No, but you're only three minutes early. Everyone else was here with fifteen minutes to spare." She tapped her clipboard and lifted her eyebrow.
"Well, there's no reason to not be right on time, which I was." I squared my shoulders. I wasn't a jerk by any stretch of the imagination, but I'd learned the hard way to make the first impression count. This chick was supposed to help me if I ever had a problem with someone at the hospital. She needed to know that I wasn't a pushover, nor was I easily intimidated.
"Right. This way. We'll stop by our human resources department, where you will fill out your paperwork. Your mentors will pick you up from there and give you a tour. They have your schedules, and should be able to answer any questions that you might have." She walked down the hall languidly, which caused most of us to stack up behind her uncomfortably.
A goofy-looking guy with a mop of black hair extended his hand to me. "I'm Freddy. Nice to meet you."
"I'm Elizabeth. Same here." I glanced down the hall and breathed deeply. Most people couldn't stand the smell of a hospital, but I loved it. It reminded me of cleanliness. Of life.
"If she's the H.R. rep, then I'm almost scared to see these mentors." Freddy shivered and gave me a cute grin.
"Right? It's almost intimidating, but my mother told me something a long time ago that I keep with me when I meet new people, especially really important ones."
"What's that?" We paused by the elevator, and everyone stood in stony silence but us.
"That the hole they get in the ground looks just like ours. Respect the person when they earn it, not their position. Some people don't deserve the spots they’re in." I shrugged and got onto the elevator, suddenly feeling like we were being herded around like cattle.
"I like that." He smiled at me and turned to the guy next to him, introducing himself again. I almost envied his desire to make friends. I wasn't interested. I had Steph and my mother. That was almost too much. My inner introvert was coming unglued just being in the elevator with so many people.
We were moved to a large conference room and given more paper than should have been allowed. I took my seat and started working on the various documents, only lifting my head as a new doctor would walk in to grab their resident. I was one of the last three people in the room when the door opened again.
I glanced up and started to look back down, but the guy standing at the door, talking with the H.R. representative, was stunning. His eyes moved over to me, and my breath caught in my chest. His dark chestnut hair was cut close to his head, his bottom lip thick and kissable, but it was the way that he watched me that left me feeling undone. As if he knew me. As if we'd been something far more than the mere acquaintances that we were.
His voice reached me as I pulled myself out of my fog and glanced down, tearing my eyes away from him. The broad stretch of his shoulders was delicious, and he had a swimmer’s body from what I could tell. Thick arms and a narrow waste, and the way his scrubs hugged him left my mind wandering into the darkest corners of desire. I needed to take Jackson up on his request for me to sleep over. Either that, or I'd be drooling after this doctor who was clearly the talk of the place. I was grateful he wasn't my mentor.
"Elizabeth?" He moved to stand in front of me and extended his hand as I stood. "I'm Aiden Crawford. Nice to meet you."
"Yes. Nice to meet you as well, sir." I forced my voice to find the same firmness I used when talking to patients during my clinicals. I wouldn't let him see anything other than what I wanted him to see.
"No formalities, please. It's simply Aiden, or Dr. Crawford if we're in a formal setting." He shook my hand as his dark blue eyes moved across my face.
"Sounds good. Are you going to be mentoring me through this process?" I released his hand and worked to gather my things. My heart was racing, and I knew without a doubt that whatever I'd just gotten myself into was quite possibly going to be a hazard to my health.
"I am. Come with me.” He walked to the door, and I glanced up, letting my eyes move over the swell of his ass in his scrubs. A groan moved up my throat and lodged behind my clenched teeth.
I needed to request a new mentor. I couldn't handle working for someone as intensely good-looking as the man in front of me. It wasn't fair to ask me to.
"Thank you for your time this morning." I gave the H.R. lady a curt smile and moved up beside Aiden, waiting for him to speak.
"Your transcripts are quite impressive." He held the elevator for me and moved to stand just beside me.
The subtle hint of his cologne moved around me, and I breathed in as quietly as I could. There was nothing more attractive than a good-smelling man, and this one smelled like heaven.
"Thank you. I've been laser-focused on school and nothing else for the last ten years." I wanted to cross my arms over my chest, but decided to try remain more relaxed.
"I understand that far more than anyone else here might." He moved out of the elevator and paused, holding the door again. "We'll stop by my office to drop off your things. I'll give you your schedule and you can shadow one of the nurses for a little while and then head out."
"Sounds great." I moved out into the hall and watched everyone we passed. Most of them spoke to him, but all of them checked him out, the full head to toe kind of checking someone out. I understood completely. I'd not really had the chance to do it, but I'd be taking a turn as soon as I could reasonably pull it off.
"Let's get a few things out of the way first." He moved into a small office and turned to face me once he was behind the desk that sat between us. "I've been here my whole career, which is going on eleven years. I'm not married. I don't have kids. I'm not interested in dating, or sleeping with, or even having a lengthy conversation with anyone here. You included. Understood?"
I nodded and stifled the need to serve him a few choice words in rebuttal. "I feel the exact same."
"Good. Then we're off to a great start. Please... have a seat. Let's talk about your schedule." He sat down and pulled out a file as I watched him.
He'd yet to crack a smile, but I wanted to know what it might do to his appearance if he did. He was impossibly attractive and intimidating in a way that made my body ache. Would his smile melt my insides? Maybe it was best not to know.
"Feel free to speak your mind. I want you to be inquisitive, and ask about anything you don't understand or want more clarity about." He glanced up again.
"Smile for me." I sat back in my chair and crossed my legs as his eyes moved down to run along me.
"Why?" He dragged his gaze back up and locked it onto mine.
"Because I want to know that there's a human inside that shell you're presenting to everyone. I'm here not only to learn proper technique, but to be the best damn doctor this hospital has ever seen. That means that I truly care." I moved up, knowing I was pressing my luck, but I couldn't help it.
"Good answer." His lip lifted in a sexy smirk which morphed into a beautiful smile.
Fuck. My insides were melting.