“Hey Lyla, can you get these papers to the patient in Room 316?”

I looked up from the chart and I saw my boss, Robert, handing me sheets of paper. I grabbed them and took a glimpse. They were processing papers for checking out of the hospital. “Sure,” I told him as I put my chart down and quickly fixed up my uniform before heading out of the nurse station.

Room 316 was just around the corner but as soon as I entered the hallway I saw a group of other nurses all huddled close to the door.

“What are you three doing here?” I asked as I approached them.

Mikaela looked at me and pointed towards Room 316. “You won’t believe who’s checked in.”

“Are you checking him out?” Jennifer asked me. She had those ridiculous earrings on again. I thought Robert already scolded her about wearing jewelry while on the job? “Please let us check him out. I only got to talk to him once and that was just to follow up on his chart.”

Karen pinched Jennifer’s arm and shook her head before she faced me and said, “No. I should be the one to check him out because I’m the one who checked him in.”

“You guys have gone completely nuts,” I said and ignored all three. I walked into the room and instantly, I understood why they were going bonkers over this one patient.

He was every woman’s fantasy come to life.

He was the embodiment of the saying “tall, dark and handsome” and even had a big, muscular body to support his dashing looks.

When I walked in, he was busy talking to someone on the phone. He didn’t even notice I was there.

“Huh? No, I don’t care about the expenses,” he told the person on the other end of the call. “I can pay for it all. Yes, I got this.”

I didn’t want to wait that long, however, and walked to his bed so he could see I was there. He just continued blabbering on the phone and it wasn’t until a few moments more that he noticed me standing there.

“Sure, we can assess that when I get to the office and…” he trailed off the moment he saw me. I watched as his devilish blue eyes studied me from head to toe.

Wait, was he checking me out? I could feel the flames begin to rage inside me when I realized he was staring at my legs and my chest. When I opened my mouth to say something he just gave me a wink and a smile.

“I’ll call you back,” he ended his call and then looked at me with a big smile on his face. “What can I do for you, baby?”

Did he just call me baby? My jaw dropped and I just stared at him, appalled at just how much arrogance and pride could be stuffed into one human being.

“Yeah, I know I’m hot,” he finally said and snapped me back to reality. “However, I do see you holding papers. Does this mean I can go? I have an important meeting to attend. Unless, you know, you got plans to keep me here and let me stare at you for a day or two.”

I couldn’t even believe the balls on this guy. I raised an eyebrow and shoved the papers to his face. With a sarcastic tone and my eyes shut, I said, “Here’s your billing and check out papers. Please go over them and sign them so we can help you out.”

“I don’t think I’m fit enough to leave,” he replied as he looked at me one more time. I could feel his gaze undressing me.

That made me wonder why he got admitted into the hospital in the first place. I checked his documents and saw he only sprained a wrist while moving boxes. I rolled my eyes and said, “Mr. Preston Maxwell, you’re fine. A sprained wrist is a million miles away from a dying kidney. Doc Rubens already cleared you out.”

For a moment I thought I got him, but to my surprise, he just chuckled and looked at me and said, “Snarky. I like a woman who’s got some fire in her.”

“Oh, for the love of God!” I exclaimed – maybe a little too loudly. I quickly gathered back my composure, grit my teeth to calm down and then once more handed him his discharge papers. “Please, Mr. Maxwell, just look this over so I can go. I’ve got other patients to attend to.”

Luckily, he didn’t try to fool around much longer and he did sign the papers. I took them back and walked my way to the door. At the last moment, maybe due to a gut feeling or because I did want to get one more look at him, I turned around… and he was looking right back at me.

“See ya around,” he said with a wink and nod. His gaze wasn’t on my face but on my ass. I didn’t know if I should’ve been flattered or enraged. His stare did painfully remind me that I was wearing a really tight uniform.

“Ugh, you’re impossible,” I said, mostly to myself than to Preston. I waved farewell and walked out the door.

As soon as I closed the door my co-nurses flocked to me and started asking questions. Did I find where he hangs out? Did he ask me out? Is he still single? What kind of girl does he like?

I tried my best to avoid their constant bugging and soon enough I pushed Preston Maxwell out of my mind. The hospital was a busy place and I had so many other patients to attend to.