That had been enough information to make him speed up after Cherry, angry at the thoughtless cruelty of some people, and wanting to gather her into his arms and give comfort, but when he’d called out her name once he was finally within hearing, she’d taken one look at him and dived into a taxi.
She was avoiding him. Why? Sure, he’d come on strong to her, even Tim had been awed by that little tid-bit when he’d told him, but to avoid him like this was ridiculous. He wasn’t that bad. In most circles he was considered a catch. Many women, especially those of The Barracuda’s ilk, would be thrilled to have him chase them.
Rick was no conceited jerk, just a realist.
Swivelling the chair back and forth, he glanced at the clock, pleased to see that he had a few more minutes before his first patient was due. His mind went back to the puzzle of Cherry.
It was pretty basic, to his way of thinking. He wanted her, he was determined to have her, and she didn’t want a bar of him for some reason. The solution was pretty basic, too. He had to change her mind any way he could, and that included underhanded tactics if required. For that, he might have to get Tim onboard, but for now he’d try it his own way. He just wasn’t sure what that way was just yet, but he was confident he’d find it. All was fair in love and war, as the saying went.
“Dr Reed.” The receptionist’s voice over the intercom interrupted his thoughts.
“Here.”
“Mr. Brandon, your first patient, has arrived.”
“Send him in.” With a sigh, Rick sat up and straightened his tie. The wonderful, intriguing, maddening puzzle of Cherry was going to have to wait awhile.
Damn it.
Pasting a smile on his face, he greeted the first patient through his door.
~*~
Closing the door of the hotel room behind him, Rick threw his suit jacket over the back of a chair and pulled out the iced coffee from the ‘fridge. Pouring himself an oversized glassful, he took several deep gulps and then rolled the cold glass across his forehead.
Thank God a trying day had finally ended. Thank God he wasn’t on-call tonight, and thank God he had the next few days off work.
Several of his patients were repeat offenders – they didn’t take their medications properly and whined about the expected results, one smoked like a chimney and was in danger of coughing up her lung but still complained that he, the doctor, wasn’t doing enough to control her asthma, and another client kept bringing her son in with health issues that weren’t there, and that could be cause for concern. That particular patient would bear close monitoring. Maybe she was just an overanxious mother, but one never knew and it paid to be careful. Keeping an eye on both of them cost nothing.
Then came his hospital round. He’d known that the nurse called Susie was a friend of Cherry’s. He’d found out just how much of a friend. She’d given him the cold-eye and been frostily polite as soon as she’d walked into his presence. Any frostier and his balls would have shrivelled. The nurses’ roster had been sitting behind the desk, and he’d thought he’d been rather cunning to sit beside it with the inpatient file so he could cast a discreet glance over the roster to find out when Cherry was next on duty. Obviously he hadn’t been discreet enough, because Susie had dumped a pile of files right on top of it and given him that frosty smile that told him she thought he was a piece of shit.
He admired her loyalty, but he could really have done to have her on his side. He’d smiled charmingly and her smile had gone from frosty to frozen. His testicles had practically shot up inside him. Whatever Cherry had told her about him, it obviously hadn’t been complimentary.
Maybe he’d made a huge mistake. Maybe stating his intentions so boldly hadn’t been wise, but he’d always been a straightforward bloke, stating his intentions and then going single-mindedly for it. Once his mind was made up, he was focused.
His mother said it made him successful, his father said it made him stubborn, and his sister said it made him annoying. Tim said in regards to pursuing Cherry, it made him a possible stalker. Rick preferred his mother’s opinion.
Yanking his tie loose, he let it hang down the front of his shirt while undoing the top buttons of his shirt. Pulling it open, he took a deep breath.
Maybe he should start with flowers. In his experience, women liked flowers. They also liked expensive presents, but he had the feeling that wouldn’t cut it with a girl like Cherry. Not his Cherry.
His Cherry. That sounded good, and he spoke it allowed, enjoying the sound of it.
Hmmm…maybe he was turning into a stalker.
After downing the rest of the iced coffee, he rinsed out the glass in the bathroom and returned it to the little cupboard above the microwave. One bright spot to the day, at least this was his last night in the hotel room. Tomorrow he was shifting into the house he’d signed up to rent. The paperwork had been completed before he’d arrived at the city and now he could finally move in.