I didn't have a reply to that, and Carl's low tone raised goosebumps under my thin turtleneck. He might've said it was medical, but his touch lingered a few seconds too long before he very softly caressed my jaw. His fingers made their way to my chin, and he tilted my head up to catch my eyes.
He's so handsome. The thought struck me even while Carl pinched the bridge of my nose lightly, but his eyes didn't stray from mine. My mouth dried when the meaty part of his palm brushed my lips, and I curled my hands into fists between my thighs. The heat threatened to peel the skin from my fingers, only growing more intense when those luscious, dark eyes flashed with something.
"I wish you weren't my patient."
My eyes widened at his hoarse whisper, and Carl seemed to snap out of it. In a flash, his hands disappeared as he stepped back hastily, and surprise dragged down my cheeks. Turmoil rippled heavily across his strong features, and he coughed to give himself an excuse to wash his hands and face away from me.
"I apologize— that was very unprofessional of me."
"... I wish I weren't your patient, too."
Carl's shoulders stiffened under his starched, white button down at my words.
Licking my lips heavily as the steady sound of water blasting the aluminum sink filled every inch of the room, I shook my head a little. "I'd rather not die in my sleep, though."
"Yes— no, of course not."
Glaring at my knees at my own stupidity and naivety, I scowled lightly while Carl focused hard on washing his hands.
"Speaking of sleep, how has that been going?"
"Not good, to be honest. The technician for the sleep study was even surprised at how bad my asthma is when I'm lying down. That's not even counting what pollen gets into my apartment and stuff."
Drying his hands, Carl nodded and took a shoulder-heaving breath before turning to face me. His professional mask set in place, and he swiped the folder off the counter to pop it open. Awkwardness wiggled between my ribs, but I couldn't let it get in the way of possibly getting a good night's sleep.
"I have a cat— I'm not allergic to her, but sometimes she sleeps on me and makes it worse."
"You may need to get tested again. You already have a history of spontaneous allergies, so I'd strongly recommend it. Your pollen allergy manifested when you were nineteen, but you're the right age to be at risk for another one. Do you want to do that today, or...?" Glancing up at me, Carl arched a brow quizzically. Indecision warred in my chest, but he was patient when it became obvious I wasn't going to answer immediately. "Since you're having such a hard time, and the test will back it up, I'm going to order you a CPAP machine. You should be able to pick it up from the hospital's medical supply store when you leave."
"Oh, thank you. I hope it works. Otherwise, I don't know what I'm going to do. I really like this town. I don't want to move."
Just like that, Carl's head whipped up, his mask slipping before it'd even rested on his face fully. Frowning more to myself, I shook my head a little.
"It's just a thought I had. With everything happening with my dad, and my allergies acting up so bad, I thought that maybe a change would be warranted. I'm not allergic to pine, and there's a lot of places I haven't been to that are supposedly good for allergy sufferers."
"... Well, if you're going to move, let me know when you make a decision so I can find an appropriate referral." Carl spoke slowly, his voice thick with unsaid words, his eyes gleaming with sparkles that shouldn't be there.
Ducking my head in a nod, I pursed my lips thinly as flames licked up my neck. This time, he didn't even bother to apologize as he cleared his throat softly.
"So, I'll send in the order, and you're welcome to take your time. I'd give it about fifteen minutes before you head over."
Chapter 8
Carl
"Yeah, I'm leaving now. How was Mom's?" My sister groaned over the phone, and I grimaced as I shoved my arms through my suit jacket. "That bad, huh?"
"Don't get me wrong— I'm glad she's found someone to spend time with, but I don't wanna hear about it. Also, he seems like an asshole."
I nodded as I switched my phone from one ear to the other and slapped my jacket against my shoulders.
For a second, Laurie paused to sigh roughly before continuing her little tangent. "I'm really, really not interested in how sweet this guy is, or how they did whatever together, or what they're planning to do. Not only am I a little bitter because I broke up with Matt at the beginning of the year, but... like, Mom— I don't want to hear about all the expensive stuff you do, okay. I'm glad you're happy, but everything costs money, and I don't understand why she'd doesn't see this guy as a gold digger. Can only women be gold diggers? That guy's definitely a gold digger."
"Yeah, I'm not exactly fond of him, either. He didn't make the best impression. Is it too lordly of me to expect him to stand up and shake my hand, tell me his name, even?"
My sister grunted grumpily as I snatched my briefcase off my desk and headed for the door.
"I understand not wanting to be 'Dad' or whatever, but if Mom didn't tell me his name, I wouldn't know it. That's not right."
Flicking the lights off, I glanced around my office once more before stepping out into the hallway. Laurie's heavy breaths sounded loud in my ears, and our bashing session was put on hold as I pulled my Bluetooth out of my jacket pocket. The offices were quiet, dark, and I hooked my device to my ear to slide my phone into my pocket.
"Anyway, what are you doing right now? Your lungs sound great." Wandering down the hallway toward the reception area, I smiled when Laurie snorted roughly at my compliment.
"I'm on my way home from my jog to take a shower before we have dinner tonight. I need to think of stuff other than Mom and that guy, too. It's bad taste to just shit on someone unless it's directly to their face."
I couldn't help but laugh at that, and I crossed the threshold to halt mid-step. Surprise made my brows arch at the figure hanging around the waiting area, a small envelop under his arm.
"Excuse me? Can I help you?"
The slender man whipped around, intelligent, if not a little droopy, brown eyes meeting mine.
"Just a sec, okay?"
My sister hummed as I took out my Bluetooth, and the guy cleared his throat before curtly holding out the envelope.
"Carl Northrop, you're being investigated by HR."
"What!" A shocked scoff escaped me, and I took the envelope to rip off the side. There, plain as day, was a summons to HR for the morning, and I ground my teeth hard. When I looked up, the guy was gone, and the page in my hands crinkled overly loud in my ears.
Did the hospital somehow find out about what happened with Melissa? But there were no cameras in the exam rooms, and it wouldn't have shown anything, anyway.
Oh, fuck— did she report me for harassment or something? Melissa didn't strike me as the kind of person to do something so— so underhanded, though. Considering how she dealt with her dad, it's entirely likely she'd just ignore me and trudge on. Maybe, if I got persistent enough or something, she'd find a new pulmonologist if she were desperate.