Page 18 of Mask and the Magnolia

Donovan Ridgeway might be intimidating as fuck, but he’s a good man and a great doctor, and I know I have him in my corner whether his sister is here or not.

It’s just incredibly unfortunate that my start at the institution hasn’t been nearly as smooth as I was hoping it would be, and it seems as though thegods of old insane asylumsare throwing damn near every challenge imaginable at me already.

And I’ve only been here four days.

With another sigh, I push my glasses up and rub my eyes, then attempt to pull myself together and check the time.

8:57am.

Which is the exact moment there’s a light knock on my door.

Sitting up, I tug on the front of my vest, straighten out my shirt and tie before I push my fingers back through my hair a few times then momentarily panic over whether or not I should put on my suit coat, white coat, or a goddamn straight jacket.

Ihatethat this is my response to the knock at the door.

More specifically, my reaction to the person who’s knocking.

Thewomanwho has to knock again because I’m too goddamn busy preening like a fucking peacock all alone in here to actually grant her entry.

“Come in,” I blurt as I spin and lose my balance, grabbing for the lever on my chair by mistake and nearly launching myself onto the desk. “It’s open.”

In an attempt to refrain from making an ass out of myself, I press my palms against my desktop calendar, my fingers splayed and arms spread wide as my spine goes ramrod straight. I try to regulate my breathing, slowing it down to a lessI almost fell out of my chair and diedrate while I blink rapidly behind my glasses, and the exact moment my intern enters my office and looks at me, I know I have failed miserably at looking like anything but a jackass.

“Are you okay, Dr. Lowe?” Magnolia asks with a frown as she closes the door.

I nod but, like an idiot, don’t change the way I’m sitting. “Fine, thank you. How are you this morning?”

“Fine,” she says slowly as she sets her messenger bag on the couch.

“Good. Great. Glad to hear it.”

One perfectly shaped, dark eyebrow raises as Magnolia stands in front of my desk, but thank god, she doesn’t call me on my bullshit.

Not that I think she would, not in this sort of setting, it’s just abundantly clear that I amnotfinethis morning and saying something about it wouldn’t be entirely uncalled for. Between the conversation with her father, and the way I get incredibly stupid when she’s around, I’m anything but fine, and judging by the look on her face, this woman knows it.

God, she’s so pretty.

Raven colored hair that’s somehow both thick, and fine, cut into full layers that frame her face and compliment her features perfectly.

Features that are next to perfect on their own.

Fair skin and freckles. Large, piercing blue eyes, the kind that look right through all the bullshit and directly into your soul. A slender, slightly pointed nose with a thin hoop through each nostril, and full, pink, Cupid’s bow lips, the lower one currently pulled between her teeth. Fighting a confused smile by the look of it.

Most likely because I’m still sitting like I have a steel pipe up my ass while I gawk at her like a moron.

Unfortunately for me, this is not the first time this has happened so I’m sure by now, Magnolia just assumes there’s something drastically wrong with me, but I can’t seem to help it.

From the moment I first saw her, I haven’t been able to react any differently.

She is the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. This tiny, petite little thing with a presence that is so powerful it’s nearly suffocating. When she walked into my office after the new residents were settled, I was so struck by her I could hardly speak. I didn’t, actually, much like now, only I'm almost positive I was drooling by the time I finally said anything.

It didn’t help that I was already flustered when we first met.

The morning of the transfer was complete chaos, and I had to handle it all on my own, so I didn’t get to see the new residents before they walked onto the ward like I’d planned, nor did I get to meet them once we were all accounted for.

Part of the chaos? The guards fuckinglostIvan Sokolov.

They somehow managed to misplace one of the biggest, scariest, deadliest alphas I have ever come across, and it took far too long to find him once they realized it.