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DR. ADIR BELL

“Are you going to go in and meet our new hire?”

I glanced over my shoulder at my sister, who sidled up next to me with a knowing smile.

“No, because we’re not hiring her.”

She balked at me.

“Excuse me.”

While scribbling my name on the prescription for my last patient, I hated to see how sloppy that shit looked.

All because that damn woman flustered the fuck out of me.

I handed the prescription to Sean, one of the male nurses on my staff.

“Got you, Doc,” he replied.

Grabbing my stethoscope off the counter, I went to walk away from the crazy ass look on my sister’s face.

My ex, Genika, had already attempted to fuck up my day.

I didn’t need any more beautiful women reminding me why I needed to keep all those muthafuckas ten feet away from me.

You walked over and introduced ya’self.

Inwardly, I growled at my own thoughts.

So, what ? I thought.

“Adir Bell. She is over qualified for the position, and you need someone you can trust to work in this crazy ass circus.”

I grilled my baby sister.

“You can take that look right off your face. You know I’m right, and she screams down for the cause . Take yo’ ass in there and introduce yourself. I’ll get everyone else in there soon.”

With a grumble, I placed my stethoscope back on the counter, then headed toward the conference room where Bianca stashed that fine ass woman whose big ass brown eyes I couldn’t stop fantasizing about for the last hour and a half.

Pretty . Of course, she was far beyond pretty.

However, Pretty was the name my fucking brain attached to her.

So, I was riding with it.

Walking inside the conference room, I softly shut the door behind me and eyed her just the way I had when I stepped inside of Smooth Brew.

She drew me in without the slightest word or prompt.

Like before, her big brown eyes assessed me like she wanted to know everything about me right down to the blood type I owned.

Shit, I wanted to know what color panties she had on.

So, we were even. My hand still felt her soft skin against mine, too.

So, essentially, she had me fucked-up.

Moving around the large oak table where my practice held many meetings, I lowered my six-foot-five-inch frame into one of the luxurious leather chairs I’d paid a grip for.

My staff spent too much time sitting in these muthafuckas, so I made sure they were comfortable.

Without breaking eye contact, I reached for the folder containing Pretty’s information.

Flipping it open, I finally broke eye contact to peer down at the resume stating all her credentials.

Fuck. Bianca was right.

Lil’ baby was qualified as fuck.

“I’ve introduced myself to you,” I mumbled while glancing at her name.

There was no fucking way I was shaking her hand, again .

That would’ve been further torture.

“Coco. It’s nice meeting you, Dr. Bell.”

A downpour after a long ass drought; that was the affect her fucking voice had on my damn dick.

That shit was smokey, smooth, and touched with southern heat that I loved the fuck out of.

And the way she said my name…

I cracked my neck to ease the tightness she caused in it.

Fixing my eyes back on her, I said, “You can’t work here, shawty.”

“Excuse me?”

“Does it occur to you that I find you attractive? Extremely attractive.”

“Well—"

“Or that it took everything in me to let you leave that shop without chasing you down.”

“I mean—”

“You’re beautiful as fuck, Pretty.”

“So you’ve said. I apologize, but who is Pretty?” She looked so damn confused.

“I apologize…Coco. In my head, I’ve been callin’ you Pretty since I laid eyes on you.”

She visibly gulped.

“Like I was saying. You can’t work here.”

“But that’s crazy,” she replied. “I’m more than qualified and you need a nursing director.”

She blinked at me, ignoring everything I said as if she wasn’t aware that her beauty shifted the very ground I walked on.

“What I need is my freedom. I’d hate for you to feel…awkward around me.”

“Why would I?” One of her beautifully arched eyebrows lifted. Slowly, I licked my lips and watched her body shiver in response.

“That’s why,” I mumbled.

“Okay, so I find you attractive. So, what? I can put aside a mere attraction to work for you.”

“You think it’s that easy, huh?” Honestly, I was surprised she admitted being attracted to me. It bothered me that she brushed that shit off, though. As if being attracted to me was inconsequential.

“I do, Dr. Bell.”

Those four words rang loudly in my ear. So much so that I cocked my head at Pretty… Coco.

“What if I can’t put aside my attraction, though?” I questioned. She moved me too much to think that I could really work with her ass.

She shrugged. “You’re a doctor. I’m sure you’ll find a remedy.”

Whatever scent she wore warred with the sexiness of her voice and the brightness of her expressive brown eyes. All three had me ready to tear some shit up, and I didn’t know her from a pack of gauze pads.

Leaning forward, I rested my elbows on the table and regarded her like she was an ancient artifact. Something had me deeply intrigued by her, and it had nothing to do with her beauty. Her beauty was just the mask to the woman who laid beneath. That woman called to me and caused me to feel like we’d met in another lifetime. It was a lifetime where I was happy, satisfied, fulfilled, and whole, which was crazy as fuck since I didn’t know her.

Instead of digging into this woman’s life, I had to make a full stop.

“You’re a distraction. Therefore, I’m gon’ have to respectfully let my office director know that we’re not moving forward with the interview process.”

Her face contorted. “You can’t be serious.”

“I’m more serious than a widow maker.”

Just then, the door to the conference room opened. In walked my cousin, Dr. Micah Bell, and one of my close friends, Dr. Antonias Suarez. Both introduced themselves to Pretty, who still partially wore the scowl on her face that I’d placed there.

Antonias beamed. “I hear you’re our new nursing director.”

“I—”

“Naw, she’s not,” I interrupted Pretty because I didn’t want her getting all excited when I’d just told her she couldn’t work here. Her head leaned back on her shoulders while Antonias and Micah chuckled.

Pretty stood and glared at me. “You know what, Dr. Bell . You’re an arrogant piece of shit. And for the record, you ain’t that fuckin’ fine. Even if I did get this job, I don’t want it. Take it and stuff it up yo’ arrogant ass. You’d be lucky if I don’t report you.”

Pretty switched toward the conference room’s door with the three of us looking after her. Once she was out of the room, the two men died laughing.

“She told you!” Micah shook his head in amusement.

Bianca stormed into the room, scowling. “What the hell did you say to her? You do realize she’s the best candidate we’ve had in the three weeks we’ve been looking for someone, don’t you?”

“I’m not apologizing. Find someone else.”

Damn, if it wasn’t for my baby brother skipping out on me to attend medical school, I wouldn’t have been in this predicament. Adrian was much like me and ran this place with an iron fist. On the other hand, Pretty wasn’t even intimidating for real.

As soon as I stepped out of the conference room, my phone vibrated with a message.

Genika: Regardless of how you feel, we made this baby together. You’re the last person I expected to come at me like I’m some woman off the street.

I could only chuckle at the text. Genika knew like I knew—that baby wasn’t mine. It wasn’t because we hadn’t fucked like crazy. We had and each time I made sure to strap my shit up. I wasn’t trying to be a father living in a house without his children. As a man with four sons, I was raising them to take accountability for the slightest shit they did. It would’ve been hypocritical of me not to do the same.

“You’re an asshole. I hope you know that.” Bianca sailed past me, still wearing the scowl she’d issued me minutes ago.

“Love you, too, baby.”

She smacked her teeth and continued toward the hallway where her office was located.

Antonias came up beside me and rested his arms on the counter of the nurses station. “You should really ease up off Bianca before you’re ‘round here without an office director as well.”

Antonias was the first doctor I added to my staff. He and I knew each other from medical school and had families that paralleled in just about everything. One thing I recognized in recent months was that he had a thing for my sister. I wasn’t sweating it because we were close. We got each other, which was why shit worked between us.

Aside from us and my cousin, there were three other doctors on staff as well as three nurse practitioners. At twenty-two, I’d set out to build a facility that catered to the streets. While I was still in school, I worked tirelessly to see my dream through. This shit was for my family who came before me. Once I was done with medical school, I dove in headfirst into getting the clinic open for business. I’d been walking through the halls of my hard work for several years now, proud of everything it had become. We were here rain, sleet, hail, or snow. For the streets never rested, so neither could we.

As I moved through the rest of my afternoon, it grated my nerves that Pretty still dominated my thoughts. For whatever reason, her ass cussing me out the way she did fueled the fire burning for her even more. A part of me wanted to call Genika, so that I could fuck Pretty from my mind. The other part of me wanted to dial the number on Pretty’s resume and find out just what the hell had me so stuck on her. Problem was, I wouldn’t rest until I got to the root of why the hell I was so drawn to her. I’d never been rendered thoughtless and speechless. Not by anything, especially not a woman.