Chapter 4
Since I found out Ginae had been assigned to my office, I could barely focus.
Sleep didn’t come easily last night because my imagination ran wild.
I said so many prayers about our first encounter, but most of all, I prayed Ginae would give me the opportunity to explain and find it in her heart to forgive me.
There were no words to describe how horrible I felt, but if she loved me like I loved her, I was sure she felt the same pain or worse.
The fallout with my parents was bad, . .
. almost irreparable, but I’d do it again in a heartbeat.
Although my actions didn’t get me what I wanted at the time, it was worth it.
I prayed it wasn’t too late for our love story to have a happy ending.
My alarm hadn’t sounded, but I sat up and stretched before getting out of bed. It was pointless to lie there for another forty-five minutes when I knew sleep would continue to evade me. After using the bathroom and brushing my teeth, I dressed for my workout and headed to my home gym.
Everyone who’d visited my home commented that it was too much house for a single man.
I agreed, but I was hopeful I wouldn’t be single forever.
I bought this house with my future family in mind.
Ginae and I discussed the type of house we wanted, and I did my best to bring our vision to life.
Whether or not she would ever see it remained to be seen, but I was hopeful.
After finishing my workout, I showered, dressed, and enjoyed breakfast while reading the newspaper on my phone, using an app. I’d hoped my meal would settle the nerves in my stomach, but there was no such luck. I ate as much as I could before gathering my things and heading to the office.
About twenty minutes into my forty-five-minute ride, Lennon called me. I knew all he wanted to do was talk shit, but I answered anyway.
“Wassup?” I answered.
“I bet you over there feeling like it’s the first day of school,” he teased.
I chuckled. “I can’t lie. I couldn’t sleep for shit last night. My nerves are haywire.”
“What are you nervous about?”
“I’ve waited a long time for this, and I don’t want anything to go wrong.”
“Do you realize there are a plethora of things that could go wrong?”
“Nigga, I’m not here for your negativity. Why the fuck would you say that?”
“I’m just being real. Can you imagine going through all this trouble, and she doesn’t show up? Or she does show up and says fuck you for the next six months? You could be setting yourself up for pain and disappointment.”
“Fuck you, Len, and don’t bring your ass to my side of the building today.”
I ended the call because I truly didn’t need him to give me a list of things that could go wrong, because I’d already gone over a thousand things in my head.
I put on some nineties hip-hop, turned the volume up on the radio, and hoped the music helped me shift my attitude back to the positive side of things.
After stopping by Black Elm Bagels & More, I was the first to arrive at the office, as usual.
I had a total of six nurses, with two of them being nurse practitioners.
They didn’t usually begin arriving until about twenty minutes before we opened.
Ginae was replacing one of my nurse practitioners who had to take an extended leave of absence to care for her ailing father.
I also had two front desk receptionists and one records manager.
I dropped my laptop bag off in my office and went to our kitchen and break room to set up the food I’d bought. I had to focus on something to keep my mind off Ginae and how I would react the moment I saw her.
For a brief moment, I got lost in what I was doing and paused when I sensed someone behind me. I knew it was Ginae, but I couldn’t turn around. This shit could go either way, but I was hoping that since she showed up, it would go in the direction I’d been praying for.
“I can’t believe you’re actually here. I was afraid you’d change your mind once you realized you were assigned to work with me.”
“I accepted the assignment before I knew, or I probably would have.”
That hurt.
“I’m sure you could’ve still backed out.”
“Possibly, but I decided to be a big girl and follow through with my commitment since I was already in town.”
I finally turned around, and I couldn’t believe my eyes.
Ginae was even more beautiful than I remembered, which I didn’t think was possible.
Her golden skin looked vibrant, even at this early morning hour.
She wore her hair in a bob that hung a little past her chin with a part down the middle, which was different than the shoulder-length style she sported back in college.
She leaned against the doorframe with a bag over the other shoulder. Even in her scrubs, I could see her body was still banging. She was thicker now than she was at twenty-three, and I couldn’t wait until she gave me permission to explore the curves she didn’t have when we were last together.
“You were already in town when you found out?”
“Yeah. I failed to look closely at the details because I was confident I wouldn’t be working with you. The sunflowers tipped me off, not to mention the fully stocked fridge and pantry.”
“I thought it would be helpful to have some things to get you started. Are sunflowers still your favorite?”
“Yeah.”
“You look more beautiful than I remembered. How are you?”
“Thank you. I’m fine. Umm, can you show me around, or did you plan to have one of your staff members do it when they arrived?”
I looked at my watch before responding.
“I’ll do the honors, but I was hoping we could talk about a few things before—”
“Phyre, I don’t know how you made this happen, or what you thought would come of it, but I’m just here to work. I have no interest in reliving or rekindling the past.”
“I didn’t do anything to make this happen. I was probably just as surprised to see your name as you were when you saw mine.”
“You want me to believe this is a coincidence?”
I could sense an attitude in her voice.
“No. I believe it’s God. We have some unresolved—”
“I don’t have any unresolved anything. Everything between us was resolved when I found out you were engaged.”
“Sweetness—”
“My name is Ginae, and since we’re in a professional environment, it’s Nurse Burns.”
I nodded in agreement, but she’d always be my Sweetness.
“Can we meet for dinner tonight? I just want to—”
“No. Either show me around, or I’ll figure out how you run the show on my own or from someone else. It’s too early for this, and I would like to have my normal sunny disposition by the time our first patients arrive.”
I was a little taken aback by how easily she dismissed my invitation, so it took me a moment to respond.
“This is the kitchen. I bring breakfast for the staff every Monday morning. On Fridays, the office closes at noon. I provide lunch for us to eat together, and we have our weekly staff meeting. Monday through Thursday, the office closes for lunch, and no appointments are scheduled. The time rotates between the hours of eleven and two. There’s a schedule up front with the time that we close for lunch each day. ”
I walked toward her, and she backed up into the hallway. As I showed her around the rest of the office, she was sure to keep her distance. It didn’t matter how far away she was, I could still smell her sweet scent, and it wasn’t her perfume.
Ginae could say what she wanted, but being in my presence affected her in ways she probably wished it didn’t.
I’d never forget the aroma of her nectar, and I’d bet everything I owned that it currently filled her panties.
Her hardened nipples could be seen through her scrubs, but I’d be wrong if I brought any of those things to her attention.
By the time I finished showing her around and giving her the rundown of how each day would generally go, the other nurses had begun to arrive.
Introductions were made, and everyone welcomed Ginae with warm greetings.
I’d never had any issues with my staff getting along with each other, even with having one male nurse who was known to enjoy the company of many women, and I didn’t foresee anything changing because of Ginae.
Once the day started, time flew. Ginae shadowed the other nurse practitioner, Lauryn, and I wasn’t surprised how quickly fell into a rhythm. When we were together, Ginae was at the top of her class and now had a wealth of experience and knowledge, so I didn’t expect anything less.
Most of the time, the staff left the office for lunch. If the weather was nice, they would enjoy their lunch at a nearby park, a two-minute walk away. Sometimes, they would go to a plaza with several restaurants, or a few of them lived close enough to go home.
Today, I didn’t care where any of them went. I was just happy to have an hour alone with Ginae. I found her in the kitchen, sitting at one of the tables, holding her phone with her fingers going a mile a minute.
“Everything seems to be going well,” I said, startling her.
“Everything is fine.”
Without an invitation, I sat across from her. She looked up from her phone and rolled her eyes before returning her attention to her phone.
“Listen, I don’t want things to be this tense between us for the next six months,” I said.
“If you let me come in, do my job, eat my lunch in peace, and go home, it won’t be tense.”
“If you can’t tell, this is a very friendly environment. You don’t think the staff will notice how ice cold you are toward me?”
“I don’t mind telling them that many moons ago, you strung me along, made me fall in love with you, lied and said you were in love with me, but in actuality, you were engaged to another woman.”
“Ginae, I didn’t string you along, and I didn’t lie to you. If you would agree to have dinner with me, I can explain.”
“No thank you. I’m good. It’s water under the bridge, so no explanation is necessary.”
Her focus returned to her phone, but she was no longer texting furiously. She stared at it, probably to avoid my eyes. I was sure she felt my gaze on her, but she refused to give me her attention.
“You probably don’t believe me, but I’ve never stopped loving you.”
Suddenly, she gathered her food and left the kitchen. Seconds later, I heard the office door close. As disappointed as I was, it was only the first day of our reunion. She was probably still adjusting to the idea of being in my presence almost daily for the next six months.
I didn’t have much of an appetite, so I went to the counter where the bagels were and sliced one of them in half.
After toasting it and slathering it with plain cream cheese, I grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator and headed to my office.
Before I could get comfortable behind my desk, Lennon appeared at my door.
“What the fuck do you want?” I asked, not in the mood for his bullshit.
“You’re rude as hell. I was just coming to check on you.”
“I’m fine.”
“I’m pretty sure the woman I passed in the hallway was Ginae, and she didn’t look happy. In fact, I think she was crying.”
“Shit.”
“What did you say to her?”
“Not enough and too much, I guess. She’s not trying to hear me.”
“It’s only day one.”
“Yeah, that’s what I told myself. If she was crying, that means she still cares.”
“Do you have a plan?”
I shrugged. “I thought I did, but I also thought she’d see me and all the feelings she had for me would come rushing back.”
“They did, just not the feelings you were expecting.”
“True. I’ll ease up for a minute and give her some time to adjust to being in my presence. I don’t want her to pack up her shit and leave, so I have to tread lightly.”
“I don’t know why you thought this shit would be easy. I know I’m not the man you like taking advice from, considering my situation, but both my homes are happy. You might have to let her come to you when she’s ready to talk. You don’t run this show.”
“For a change, you might be right.”
Lennon and I talked for a few more minutes before he left. When everyone returned from lunch, I kept my distance from Ginae, speaking to her only when necessary. By the end of the day, I was mentally exhausted because it took a lot of strength for me to give her space.