I hate that I was briefly attracted to him. He looked insanely good, but it all went to waste when he opened his mouth, words started to flow out, and he started using me to scrub the floors.
Worst part? I can’t even say anything, or he’ll have my ass out the door.
Sighing, I remember I didn’t take the time to ask Paris for the key so I knock and pray to God she’s home. I didn’t say when I’d be back and if she’s out I’ll sleep right here. I am that drained.
The lock clicks and the door flies open revealing a very happy Paris holding a bottle of wine.
” Yay, you’re home, let’s party now!”
Or let’s not.
” Hey, you think we can have a party moping on the couch? ’Cuz I barely think I can make it to the couch at this point.”
She takes my bag off my shoulder and puts it on a table then pushes me into one of the plush chairs, taking off my sandals and unclipping my hairpins. Yeah, my cousin is awesome.
” I told you, you should have called in and taken today off. It wasn’t your fault that the flight was late.”
” I know, but I didn’t want to make a bad impression. Plus, I have the day off tomorrow so I can settle in. Maybe we can do lunch and some shopping?”
She claps her hands and jumps up and down.
”Yes, yes, yes! I missed our shopping sprees so much.” She gets in my face and grabs me by the shoulders , looking directly in my eyes. “I missed you, woman , do you understand?”
Her effervescent reaction makes me giggle.
”Yeah, I do. Thank you for letting me stay with you, Paris.” Rent-free, I may add, in this gorgeous house with three bedrooms and two bathrooms in Bricktown. My aunt and uncle used to live here, before they decided they had enough Chicago winters, so they retired in Palm Springs, leaving Paris here by herself.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way. Can you imagine what mom would say if I send you to somewhere on the South Side with some weird roommate?”
We both laugh because my aunt would faint. She’s the overprotective mother hen by all means.
“God, I miss Aunt Jacqueline, Uncle Pedro, too.”
“Miss them no more, we can push a quick visit whenever you have time.”
I have a feeling I’m about to not have so much time, not with my attending from hell managing my schedule.
“We’ll see. Open that damn wine, I really need it.”
Paris got the corkscrew and, as the expert she is, popped the cork in one move. I was served a glass of wine the size of a vase and I was happy with it. She poured one for herself and sat down on the floor facing me.
“So, how was the first day? You look like shit, and you have only been there for a few hours.”
“Thanks. It was fine, the hospital is incredible, incomparable to any place I worked before, the hours are good, people are nice. At least some of them are.” I take a big swig to my glass and gulp with greed.
“Some?”
“My attending doctor. He’s this super arrogant ass with a God complex who thinks I should stay put and ask how high when he tells me to jump.”
“Maybe it’s just a first impression thing. Maybe he’s actually a very sweet guy. Is he old?”
Yeah, well I don’t see him changing my impression any time soon.
“No. Actually, he’s probably in his early thirties and built like a wrestler. As gorgeous as he is, I’ve never seen any nice people telling me to keep it shut and answer when he yells for a nurse. He was very rude.”
“Oh, but you think he’s gorgeous?” Really? That’s the part she got stuck with?
“He is but it doesn’t matter. He made fun of my name, Paris. He thinks naming your kids after a city is stupid.”
I want to go back in time and slap him. Why does he care about my name anyway?
He said it himself, he’s not going to use it very often.
“Wait a second, I’m named after a city too!” She says with indignation.
“Mhm, I told you, he is an asshole.”
Methodically, Paris placed her wine glass on the table and crossed her arms.
“Well, let me know if you want me to pay a visit to this asshole, gorgeous doctor. It’ll be my pleasure to put him in line.”
“No, it’s ok.”
I’m pissed at me for how quickly I answered. So pissed, I wanna kick myself.
Paris is the opposite of me in all the ways possible. Her beautiful red hair is cut just below her shoulders in a very stylish, long bob. My eyes are blue, almost washed-out because I have this pigment deficiency in my iris. Hers are pitch black. Paris is a model, she was always the one to attract all the looks, the one with the natural glow. And it never bothered me.
I know that Dr. Ford would be smitten with her in a matter of seconds. The realization that this would actually bother me feels like a fist in my jaw. I don’t wanna be attracted to him. Can anyone make it stop?
I opt for the smart move and decide to drown any drop of admiration I have for Zachary Ford in this tall glass of wine. Refill after refill, my mixed feelings toward him get blurry, and all that’s left is laughter and the jokes. with absolutely no punch line, that Paris makes every time she’s drunk.
If papa could see us right now, he’d make a huge deal about young ladies and the manners we should possess. He was very classy and always schooled me and Paris about how to treat others and how to be treated. The world lost its last real gentleman, my aunt told me when my father passed away and she was right.
Men like papa are rare like snow in July. just look at Dr. Ford. Gentleman? I can barely call him man. In my opinion, he leans more towards baboons.
Ha! I told him!
I laugh out loud to this quip I made to myself and Paris does too. We’re wasted.
Maybe it’s time to cut the lights and call it a night. We need the strength to battle tomorrow’s hangover.
...And it’s all because of doctor Zachary Ford.
This is my last thought before passing out on my new home’s living room table.
Breath in. Breath out.
I’m fourteen hours into my twenty-four-hour shift, and I already feel like I’m about to faint. My first day actually working and we had a huge fire downtown. People have been brought in like crazy so we worked at high speed.
Ford would not take anything less than perfection from anyone, not from the nursing staff, not from the other doctors, and definitely not from me.
I’ve been yelled at, pushed around, and mocked all-day, but despite all of it, it’s been amazing watching him work an emergency. As huge of a jerk as he is, as good of a doctor he is also, and when the clock starts ticking in the ER, I can feel him getting filled with adrenaline. Doctor Zachary Ford is amazing at what he does, and I might not like him very much, but I sure as hell love to work under him.
He comes around the corner wearing his stethoscope around his neck, hands in his white coat pockets, and walking like he owns the place.
“Did you rush the labs for room 304?”
See? No small talk, no bullshit. Just efficiency .
“Yes, pathology will be out in two hours.”
“I’ll have a resident pick them up. You should go to the on-call room and catch some sleep. I have a transplant scheduled for later and you need to be in the OR in three hours. Frankly, right now, you look like crap.”