Page 11 of Maxwell

“Nice to meet you, finally. I’ve heard good things.”

As his hand enveloped the softness of hers, his mind’s eye flashed back to Friday night. Spotting her from the VIP upstairs. Their conversation in the booth. Their seductive, teasing dancing. Their fingers threaded together as he pinned her to the mattress, listening to her sweet little moans as he stroked in and out of her delectable body.

She looked way different today. Instead of her hair pinned up in a simple bun on top of her head, she wore it in silky loose waves down her back, and for the first time he noticed the reddish-brown highlights.

She wore a pencil skirt, jacket, and a kelly-green blouse underneath that brought out the green in her hazel eyes. Very professional. Nothing like the red beaded halter top and tight jeans she had worn on Friday, which he had enthusiastically stripped from her body near the entrance of her apartment.

Jasmine’s unwavering gaze held his. “Welcome to Bright Futures, Dr. Santana.”

Chapter Five

No way. No freaking way.

The universe had a sick sense of humor.

Standing before Jasmine was none other than Max, her one-night stand, who also happened to be Dr. Santana, the ‘wonderful, brilliant’ new physician her father had gushed about months ago. He’d been beyond excited to have a younger doctor on the team, a man coming to work at Bright Futures Pediatrics when he clearly would have had better, more lucrative offers after his residency at Boston Children’s Hospital, the number one children’s hospital in the country.

She could still hear her father’s excited chatter when Maxwell had accepted the offer. I don’t know what I said to convince him, but I’m not asking questions. He accepted my offer, and that’s all that matters.

“I need you to put him through orientation—show him around, get him his badge, put him in the system⁠—”

“Dad, I know what to do,” Jasmine gently interrupted with a smile. Her father was acting as if Maxwell was a rock star. In a way he was, for their small practice.

You’re going to love him, Jay. That young man is sharp as a tack, and I can tell from his answers to my questions he’ll have a wonderful bedside manner. The patients are going to love him, too, and he’ll fit in perfectly.

Her father’s enthusiasm had been mildly annoying since she usually played an integral role in hiring staff. She had offered input on their part-time pediatrician who doubled as the in-house nutritionist, Dr. Kathy Park. She’d participated in the hiring of the two medical assistants and the receptionist, Keisha. The only person she hadn’t been involved in hiring—other than Maxwell—was Patricia, the billing specialist, who had been working there before Jasmine came on board.

Jasmine’s father smiled at her. “Of course you know what to do. And I’ll leave you to it. You’re in good hands.” He patted Maxwell on the arm.

Jasmine resisted the urge to roll her eyes, watching as he walked out. When they were finally alone, silence rested in the room—heavy and awkward.

“Well... I didn’t expect to see you again.” She made light of their encounter despite the annoying knot in her stomach.

“Yeah, this is... interesting.” Maxwell rubbed the back of his neck, the sleeve of his shirt tightening around his biceps.

After a toe-curling night in his arms and his disappearance the morning after, she couldn’t believe he was standing there with one hand tucked casually into his pocket. He looked too good, from the top of his head down to his feet.

His black curly hair was cut shorter on the sides than the night they met, but as thick and shiny as she remembered. His dark, heavy-lidded eyes held a slumberous quality that had captivated her the moment they looked into hers. The kind of eyes that made eye contact feel deliberate and intimate, impossible to dismiss as casual.

Then there was his facial hair—a full beard connected to a mustache, framing enticingly full lips. She had woken up the next morning longing for the gentle scrape of those hairs on all the sensitive parts of her body.

A little over six feet, he looked delicious in a white shirt that contrasted nicely against his toasty-brown skin. Along with the tie and slacks, all of which conformed to his fit body, he appeared polished and devastatingly handsome.

Begrudgingly, she had to admit to thinking about him way too much, a mildly inconvenient truth she’d been working to curtail. Though she could be honest and admit that the sex was disturbingly, spectacularly, unreasonably good, they’d only had sex. Nothing more. Her memory was simply annoyingly detailed about their time between the sheets.

“Well, um... why don’t I show you around, introduce you to the staff, and then we can get started on your paperwork.”

Her statement seemed to throw him, a line of confusion creasing his brow. She understood his reaction. She’d never been in such a situation before and wasn’t exactly sure how to behave. Her default was to pretend this was normal, as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening.

“Sounds... perfect,” Maxwell said.

“Good.” Jasmine added a chipper note to her voice.

“Okay, then.”

They both spoke stiffly and awkwardly stared at each other for a moment before she grabbed a tablet for the usual walk-through she did with new employees. Of course, her process hadn’t accounted for Dr. Maxwell Santana, so this walk-through would be a tad bit different. A little uncomfortable. But she could handle it. She had nerves of steel and had been the backbone of this business—her father’s words—for years.

With her most professional facial expression, Jasmine led the way out of her office.