One Little Lie
CASSIDY TOOK ANOTHER bite on her steak sandwich while flipping through the latest issue of the New England Journal of Medicine on her phone. Since she had what was called a resting bitch face, Cassidy's rare expression of contentment had most of the hospital staff giving her second looks as they walked past her table.
'She's probably in love with her boss' was the most common verdict so far, and Cassidy, who always had one ear to the ground, was not unaware of this particular gossip. And she supposed it might seem that way, with the newly appointed chairman being extremely good-looking and with a lovely British accent to boot.
But the thing was...they were only half right.
It almost seemed an eternity ago when Charles had called her to his office, telling her that since he considered her his most valuable employee, it was only right for Cassidy to be the first to know about his retirement.
She remembered how stunned she was at his announcement, and she hadn't yet gotten over her shock when Charles had gone on to tell her that his 36-year-old nephew from England would be taking over his position.
She had almost quit then and there, and thinking about it now made Cassidy want to roll her eyes at her own silliness. Although William did happen to be rich(er) and (more) handsome like her ex, when she finally got to meet him, it had only taken a single day to dispel all of her fears and doubts about her new boss.
William Stanhope, just as Charles promised, was the exact opposite of her ex in the ways that most mattered.
She had always hated herself for pretending Darren wasn't an obnoxious loudmouthed idiot, and how she would even go as far as acting dumb just so Darren would feel smarter and less insecure.
With William, however, she had no such worries. Aside from being a shy, mild-mannered geek who was hopeless at knotting his own ties, William also happened to be one of the world's top healthcare executives. He was no intellectual lightweight, and more importantly, he viewed Cassidy's resourcefulness and diligence as assets rather than threats to his masculinity.
Life, in other words, had never been better, and she was determined to keep it that way. She would work hard every day so that William would never have any cause for complaint—-
Oh my!
Cassidy was temporarily distracted from her thoughts when she noticed a hospital employee pour orange juice into her paper cup...and keep pouring even though it was already filled to the brim.
"Um..." Cassidy's voice had the other girl glancing away from whatever she was staring at, and Cassidy pointed to the paper cup. "It's, er..."
"Oh my God."
While the girl quickly started mopping the sticky mess on her table, Cassidy couldn't help checking out who exactly the girl was staring at.
The janitor?
Mm... not unless the girl had a thing for dudes pashing past fifties.
Maybe the med student with the multiple ear studs—-
Cassidy heard the girl sigh just as she caught sight of a figure striding out of the cafeteria, a can of iced coffee in his hand.
Gotcha!
Cassidy's instincts had never failed her, and right now her guts were telling her that the girl (like most other female employees of Stanhope) had a crush on Dr. Konstantin Manolis.
And when she glanced back at the girl—-
"Wishful thinking, right?" The other girl's voice held a wistful note that the closet hopeless romantic in Cassidy couldn't resist, and she quickly grabbed her tray to join Ms. Wishful Thinking in her table.
"I'm Cassidy, by the way—-"
"I know," the other girl said with a shy smile. "I don't think anyone working here doesn't know who you are."
"Most likely out of fear," Cassidy said honestly, "rather than popularity."
"Um...no comment?"
"Wise answer," Cassidy said with a grin. "And you, on the other hand..." She checked the girl's name plate. "Eve from... mm... lemme guess." Cassidy gave the other girl a thoughtful look. "Accounting?"
"Payroll to be specific." Eve was wide-eyed. "How did you know?"
Easy, Cassidy thought. Eve was quite cute in a bookish sort of way, and girls like her were often found either in Accounting or I.T.
But since she didn't think saying that out loud would do any good...
"Never mind that," she said breezily. "I want to know more about you and Dr. Konstantin instead. So spill."
Eve started blushing right away. "There's nothing to know. I just have a crush on him, that's all."
"For how long?"
"Since I started working here..."
"Which was?"
"Well, um...about..." Eve's voice grew increasingly faint until it was barely audible. "Two years?"
Cassidy's jaw almost dropped. Two years? Seriously?
Eve sighed. "Stupid, right?"
"What makes him so special?" Cassidy couldn't help asking.
"Well..." The other girl's expression turned dreamy. "It was my first week on the job, and my supervisor back then..."
"Harvey," Cassidy recalled right away. "The guy fired for sexual misconduct."
Eve nodded. "Dr. Manolis caught him saying all sorts of stuff to me - not the kind that would get him fired, but it was still..."
"It made your skin crawl."
"Exactly. And Dr. Manolis, he kept his gaze pinned at Harvey while telling me to approach him if Harvey acted inappropriately again."
"Which he never did, of course."
Eve shook her head. "Never with me again, but he was still inappropriate with other girls..."
"Good riddance to that pig," Cassidy said firmly, "and that's the last time we'll ever dirty our minds with thoughts of him. Now, back to your knight in white coat..."
A choked laugh escaped Eve. "I've never thought of him that way..."
"That's a surprise," Cassidy deadpanned, "since clearly, all you do is just think of him and nothing else."
Eve lifted her shoulders in a helpless shrug. "Because I know he's out of my league—-"
"You don't actually know that, and you won't know until—-"
"If you're suggesting that I ask him out—-"
Cassidy winced at the way the mere thought had the other girl looking like she was about to throw up. "Chill, Eve. It was just a suggestion. We can totally try something else, like, um, maybe...find another way to approach him?"
Eve appeared cautiously hopeful. "Such as?"
"How about parking your car next to his," Cassidy suggested, "then pretending you have a flat and asking for his help when he shows up?"
"That could work...if I had a car."
"Oh." Cassidy's forehead creased. "How about..." Her face brightened. "I got it! How about getting his secretary to schedule you for a consultation, and you can pretend something's wrong with you, and you need his professional opinion?"
"But—-"
"If you're worried about the legalities, don't be. As long as you indicate in your appointment that you're taking advantage of Stanhope's free consultation program for employees, the part where doctors can't date their patients can't and won't apply to your case. Instead, you're just two employees working together—-"
"I'm really glad to hear that," Eve interrupted, "but that actually wasn't my concern.'
"Then..."
"Dr. Manolis is a neurosurgeon, so...am I supposed to pretend something's wrong with my brain?"
"Why not?" This had the other girl looking horrified, and Cassidy burst into laughter. "I was just kidding," she told Eve. "Well, maybe half-joking. I was actually thinking about the fact that Dr. Manolis also has a background in gynecology..."
Eve blinked in surprise. "I didn't know that."
"His mom is one of the best in the field," Cassidy shared, "and when she accepted a medical mission in Africa, she requested that he join her for a year, which he did. Naturally." Cassidy gave the other girl a meaningful look. "Few people know this about him, so in case I need to spell it out..."
Eve squirmed in her seat.
"I'm giving you an advantage over the other girls," Cassidy stressed, "but it's entirely up to you what to do with it."
Eve started gnawing at her lip. "I appreciate it, really, but..."
"I think you already know Dr. Konstantin is extremely popular with the ladies," Cassidy said bluntly. "That guy won't be single forever. You should make a move soon...before someone else does."
NOTHING MUCH SURPRISED Konstantin these days, but when the broodingly handsome Greek surgeon studied his list of appointments for the next day, one particular booking caused a frown to crease his forehead and question his eyesight.
Picking up the receiver, he asked for Agnes to come in his office, and his secretary, a stern-looking widow in her fifties, showed up on his doorway a moment later.
"Yes, Doctor?"
"There's a consultation you penciled in for tomorrow..."
"Ah yes. That's Eve from payroll."
So it was her.
That shy little brunette he had saved from getting sexually harrassed by her former supervisor, and who had then foolishly imagined herself in love with him afterwards.
That girl actually scheduled a consultation with him about... hyperphilia?
Konstantin was amused...and more than a little impressed. Never would he have seen this coming, and he would still probably refuse to believe it even if his own ancestors rose from their graves to deliver such a prophecy.
She had been stealing looks at him for over two years now, and she had become his private source of entertainment, with the way she constantly betrayed herself without even knowing it.
He had actually lost count of the number of times she had ended up walking into doors and walls simply because she had been too busy staring at him rather than looking at where she was going.
And just earlier, Konstantin had also seen the way she had poured two cups' worth of orange juice into a single cup, and all because she had been too busy staring at him grab a can of iced coffee from the vendo.
The way she could be so childish in her admiration was cute, and while Eve herself was cute...
She just wasn't his type.
Or at least she hadn't been...until now.
Maybe, just maybe...
Because Konstantin had never been interested in mousy little virgins like Eve, he had been extra careful not to lead her on in any way. Instead, he had simply let her be, thinking that the girl would eventually tire of him.
But now that she had actually made a move...and to even go as far as listing down hyperphilia, a condition in which an individual suffered from excessive sexual desires...
Maybe...just maybe...she wasn't as mousy and boring as he thought?
EVE FOUGHT AGAINST the urge to bite her nails the moment she stepped out of her Uber and found herself staring at what could only be an extremely rich man's house.
Not just well-off.
Not just rich.
But extremely rich.
The kind of rich that made her question her sanity, to even think that someone as ordinary as her could actually be the slightest bit attractive to someone like Konstantin Manolis.
This is crazy, Eve thought.
She had often heard other hospital employees describe Cassidy as someone who always got her way, and Eve now knew this to be true. Only Cassidy could've talked her into doing something as outrageous as faking a medical condition just to have some private time with Konstantin, and as she stared at the elegant pair of lacquer black doors before her—-
I can't do it.
I mustn't.
Because it's impossible.
Konstantin was out of her league, period.
But just as Eve was about to forget the whole thing and leave, the doors suddenly opened, and she found herself staring straight into a pair of enigmatic dark eyes.
Konstantin.
It was so very rare for Eve to see Konstantin out of his white coat that she found herself thoroughly mesmerized. For just a few moments, all she could do was stare and savor every beautiful inch of him. His hair seemed slightly wet from the shower, and he had on a black turtleneck over a pair of denims. Very casual, Eve thought helplessly, but also very, very sexy .
Meanwhile, Konstantin was doing his own staring as well. While waiting for Eve to arrive at his private clinic, he had begun to question himself and wonder if his decision to push through with the consultation was something he was bound to regret.
After all, girls who harbored long secret crushes like she did were prone to be obsessive. There was every possibility that he would still find Eve a bore despite this unexpectedly bold move of hers, and it was just as possible she'd want to make his life hell if she realized he was only interested in a one-night stand.
If that happened, he would only have himself to blame, and it was with this uneasy thought topmost on his mind that Konstantin reluctantly went on to answer his door.
He would play it cool, act like a concerned doctor, nothing else .
But when he finally laid his eyes on Eve...
Thank the gods he had broken his rule for her!
The Eve he saw every day at the hospital was a cute nerd often dressed in oversized sweaters and leggings.
This Eve before him, however...
Konstantin had always considered himself a breast man, and Eve certainly had much to offer in that department. Although her dress was modest in every way - short sleeves, round neckline, and a skirt that fell below her knees - it was also tight enough to leave no doubt about the size of her tits.
They were more than a handful, and not just any handful, but his handful, which was nothing to scoff at.
Just as Konstantin was taller than usual at six-foot-four, his hands were also larger than usual, but even so...
He had a feeling that his hands still wouldn't be enough to completely cover her breasts, and as to whether he was right about this or not...
Konstantin stepped back. "Eve Cavanaugh, isnt it?"
Eve could only manage a nod.
"Please come in."
Eve's heart began to beat madly.
This was it.
She had made a move just like Cassidy suggested, and the move had paid off!
Konstantin watched in silent amusement as a still-blushing Eve entered his apartment. She was looking around with dazed eyes, and every time their gazes clashed, her cheeks would turn just a shade darker.
"I'm sorry I couldn't meet you at Stanhope," he murmured. "I had back-to-back meetings, and this was the soonest time I could fit you in."
"It's okay," Eve said quickly. "I know how busy you are..."
"You do?"
"I mean, surgeons like you always are..." Eve wanted to kick herself at how lame her words sounded.
"I see." Konstantin struggled to keep his face impassive. "Anyway, my clinic's just down the hall..."
Eve mentally castigated herself as she followed behind the surgeon. A little pride please, Eve Cavanaugh, or he's going to think you're a stalker and—-oh.
In her mind, Eve had pictured Konstantin's private clinic as a small cozy room with a desk and chair for office work and perhaps a leather couch in front of the fireplace. But now that she was actually inside the real thing...
I'm an idiot!
The clinic she had imagined would be appropriate, yes...if Konstantin were a therapist or the kind of doctor that mainly did consultations. But since he happened to be one of the world's leading neurosurgeons and with significant expertise in gynecology as well...
Konstantin handed her a hospital gown. "Please change into this."
"Um..." What in the world had she gotten herself into?
"Ladies' room is this way..." He walked towards the beautiful bay windows and opened the door next to it.
Eve could only gulp.
"Eve?"
She forced herself to smile. "Um, yes, sorry."
"Everything okay?"
"I'm just...nervous?"
"There's no need to be," Konstantin murmured.
"I was hoping we could just talk—-"
"We'll certainly do that," he agreed, "but for us to have something to talk about, I'll need to examine you first."
"I see."
Konstantin considered her thoughtfully. "Is it because I'm a man? I can always recommend you to another doctor—-"
And lose her chance to be closer to him?
"No, no, not at all." Eve was already hurrying towards the ladies. "I'm being silly, I know, but I'm, um, good now, so give me a minute..."
He waited until she was inside the ladies before knocking on the door. "Eve?"
"Y-Yes?"
"No undergarments, if you please," he said politely.
There was a moment of silence, and then he heard Eve squeak out, "Okay."
"Thank you."
Konstantin counted the seconds after this.