Page 12 of Strictly Against Policy

“Next time,” nodded Jonathan, firmly. I could practically hear the wide yet gentle grin I was certain he was wearing. “Right now, I’m busy with my work here. Why don’t you give me her phone number next time?”

The patient huffed with a little pout. “You youngsters are all alike.”

Jonathan chuckled. “We’re too busy with our lives to focus on dating.”

The patient shook her head and dismissively waved her hand. But the smile on her lips was huge, and her eyes sparkled as she motioned toward the exit.

“Fine.” She was halfway out the pharmacy when she turned back to call out to Jonathan. “But you promise you’ll take her number next time, right?”

He nodded. “Of course!”

When the door swung closed, Sheryl let out a laugh as she went out to lock the door after that patient. It was now the end of the day, and all that was left to do was light cleaning and locking up the pharmacy.

She laughed, “Let me guess. She asked you to marry her daughter? That’s your third proposal of the week, by the way.”

“It was her niece. And she didn’t ask me to marry her. She asked me to date her.”

Sheryl looked at me as she crossed the waiting area to where I stood on the floor, and I smiled with her. She asked, “What’s the difference? She’s asking you to date her niece with marriage in mind.”

Jonathan shrugged as he wiped the counter down with alcohol, still wearing his grin. “Since we’re already done here, you can leave early, Sheryl,” he said.

Her green eyes lit up. “You sure, doc?”

“Yup.” His eyes stayed on the clock as he tipped his head in my general direction. “Dr. Lee and I can handle this.”

There was a chill in the air now.

Not from the door that had just opened out to the icy mid-winter January night, but from Jonathan—the man who was supposed to be and act like a manager. He’d been reserved, quiet, and avoidant. This new behavior replaced his previous haughtiness from my first day when he told me he never liked me. In addition to the simple fact that he didn’t look forward to working with me and other unnecessary details about my hire.

The urge to be petty took hold before I could weigh the words I had spat at him last week— ‘Don’t you worry, Dr. Lo. The feelings are mutual’—and now our work relationship had become tense.

None of it was true. My feelings toward Jonathan Lo had always been neutral. However, that very neutrality was crumbling under the unnecessary tension simmering between us. I admit, by biting back at his sharp jabs, I wasn’t trying to make much peace with the situation either.

When Sheryl left, I was already done collecting all of the trash except the one next to Jonathan by the computer station. I glanced at him. The warm smile he wore earlier was long gone and his lips were curled into a snarl.

“I guess you’re still as popular as ever,” I said, commenting ten minutes late on his patient interaction earlier.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he quipped. His gaze now trained on some obscure, interesting spot on the wall.

I watched the way his brows pinched into a knot. “Everyone always seems to love you, Dr. Lo.”

“Except for you.”

“Yes. Except for me.” I pulled a soft, genuine smile across my teeth. My patience with him was wearing thinner the longer we worked together.

He turned and glowered at me, finally locking his fiery eyes with mine. This was the first time he had truly looked at me since the other day, when he had stormed out of the break room during lunch. I couldn’t help but perk up. I held my stance against the man who despised me, tipping my chin up to challenge him.

This wasn’t how I usually was. If someone didn’t like me, then I wouldn’t bother to change their mind. However, Jonathan clearly knew his way around me, enough to push and pull at my patience with his juvenile behavior.

“I can sweep and mop. You can leave now if you want,” he muttered, voice low.

His words sounded more like a threat than a statement.

“Sir, I can take care of my responsibilities perfectly fine,” I countered at once, still holding onto the smile on my face. It now felt more forced the longer I was in his presence. “I suggest you head home instead. You’re the one working overtime, and it’s my job to close the pharmacy tonight.”

Jonathan’s nose twitched and his eyes flared brighter with animosity. “I advise you to leave now before anything upsetting happens, Dr. Lee.”

The shaky corners of my lips dropped immediately, letting the agitation in me surface for a second. “Oh?” I arched a brow at him. “If you’re referring to your lack of professionalism, then that’s entirely on your end, sir.”