Lena looked up as Shelly walked into her office and shut the door. After she was seated she waited silently and Lena was reminded of her horrible night all over again.
“What’d you do?” she demanded when it became obvious Lena wasn’t going to volunteer any information.
“What makes you think I did something?” then she mumbled, “It could’ve been him.”
“Do you forget that I was there the night he asked you out? I know he isn’t the problem here.” she paused then asked again, “So what’d you do?”
Lena frowned at her. “Nothing! I may have got a little annoyed that he didn’t know my last name.”
Shelly sat staring at her friend for a moment. Then asked, “Did you ever tell him? Or introduce yourself in between all your bitchy remarks?”
Rolling her eyes Lena shook her head, “No, but,”
“No buts Lena!” Shelly sighed loudly and sat forward, “What’s the real problem here? Because that man was hot and nice. Do you know how rare that is? And for some crazy ass reason he asked you on a date.”
“Gee thanks Shelly.”
“Oh come on you know I’m right. Even you were shocked he asked after your horrible behavior.”
“Did you know he’s dated thirty three women this year?” Lena paused, “This year! It isn’t even June yet! He’s a womanizer. That’s who you want me to open my heart to? Really?”
“How do you know he’s dated thirty three women? Did he tell you that before he kicked you out or as he slammed the door in your face?”
“He didn’t tell me.” Lena sat forward and started to flick through her post it’s. “I Googled him and that’s what came up.” She looked up at Shelly daring her to laugh and saw her friend biting her lip tight as if trying to hold back, “Oh just say it!”
“Okay. You’re an idiot. For someone who is so smart, you my friend, are an idiot.” Standing Shelly smoothed her palms down her skirt, “Now. I’m going to get to work and you and I will continue you this enlightening discussion later.”
“No we won't.”
Shelly turned when she got to the door, “Yes we will Dr. O’Donnell. See? You cant get mad at me. I know your last name.” she said sticking her tongue out like a ten year old instead of a respected doctor as she ran out the door.
Lena sat in her seat fuming at her friend’s back and cursing the fact she was exactly right. Then when those thoughts started to annoy her she yelled, “Brandy!”
Mason walked into the restaurant a bagel in his mouth and a tray of coffee’s in his hand. He made his way through the dinning room, smiled at the cleaning crew, then pushed his way past the double doors into the kitchen. He put the coffee’s down and waved at Wendy who once again had her cell glued to her ear. Making his way down to the back fridge he found Rachel taking inventory of the stock. Before he even said hi she spoke.
“So come on, confess. How’d you run off the pants suit in under 30 minutes?”
She put the pencil behind her ear and turned to face him. Mason grinned and raised an eyebrow.
“Pants suit?”
She nodded, “That’s what I’m calling her until I know otherwise.”
“Ah ha.” he took a seat on a crate inside the large walk in fridge and leaned against the wall. “She got mad because I didn’t know her last name.”
“Ha! I knew it. Come on Mase, you should know better.”
“I know. But in my own defense she never stopped lobbing insults at me long enough to ask.”
Rachel stared down at him as she squeezed a tomato gently. “So why on earth did you ask her out? It isn’t like she’s exactly your type.”
Mason grimaced, “I have a type?”
“Yeah stupid and stupider.”
“That’s not nice.”
“Well it’s true. I never understood why you date these bimbos. You’re so much more than that.” she turned back to count the boxes of peaches for her dessert tonight. “I had hope for this one Mason. You let me down.”
Mason stood up and brushed his butt with his hands, “I’m so sorry to disappoint you.” he paused on his way out thinking back to Lena’s comment about unintelligent women. “Hey? Why would she say there are thirty three dumb women in Chicago?”
Rachel snorted a very unfeminine laugh and turned to face him, a twirling pencil in her fingers.
“Now I know I like her. She Googled you. That’s the first story that pops up. How many bimbos you’ve dated this year.”
“Dr O’Donnell there’s a patient out in the waiting room and his mother is asking to speak to you.”
Lena looked over at the Sam, one of the nurses, who’d come to get her from exam room one. She’d been putting an order in for a patient who’d broken her toe while making a not so graceful landing from a piggy back ride. The little toe had swollen up so much she couldn’t put a shoe on it. Finishing up the order she hit send and made her way down the walkway to the front waiting area. She looked over at Brandy and she pointed out a young lady with an infant boy on her lap screaming his head off. Lena’s heart melted knowing the baby didn’t understand what was wrong with him. It always made her wonder what they would tell her if they could. Considering screaming loudly was how she felt inside, she couldn’t really blame him for making such a disturbance. Pushing her hands into her lab coat pockets she walked over to the young mother.
“Oh Doctor.” she said rocking the baby and gently cooing as she stood. “Thank you for coming out to see me.”
“That’s no problem Miss?”
“Oh. I’m sorry I’m Mrs Tipton and this hear is Robbie.”
Lena bent down and smiled at the screaming child. Reaching out she placed her palm on his forehead and frowned. The little guy was burning up.
“What seems to be the problem with little Robbie here?”
“He’s been crying like this for the past 8 hrs. Finally when nothing, tylenol or a cool bath, would calm him down I decided to bring him in and I’ve been waiting and waiting and he gets louder and,”
Lena grinned quickly then it fell away, “Yes I can see he has a loud voice, don’t you little man. Anyway lets get him into a room right away and see what it is he’s trying to tell us.”
Mrs Tipton had tears welling in here eyes and Lena felt her heart clench. “It’s ok. We’ll find out what’s wrong with your little guy.”
“Thank you.” she whispered clutching him tighter.
Lena turned around and faced Brandy, “Put them in Exam 2. I’ll be in there in just a second.”
Mason was in the process of interviewing a new dining room Hostess. Cindy, his main girl up the front, had told him her boyfriend was moving to London and had asked her to go and hey presto, he was down a hostess. He was seated in his office, or as he now referred to it, the scene of the crime and his mind kept wandering back to Lena. Had he done the right thing kicking her out? He’d gone into the date knowing up front she was prickly and grouchy and more guarded than a castle under a full blown attack. However, somewhere in the middle of flinging insults he’d started feel the need to make her smile. He’d recognized from the beginning she was smart. The fact she was a doctor was the first clue but the way she hadn’t acted like a besotted groupie around him was the second. She’d been mean and completely insulting but she fascinated him more than anyone he could think of and he wanted under that pants suit so bad he could feel it. What would it be like to have her melt for him? There was a small knock on the door and a petite redhead poked her head around the door.
“Mr. Langely?”
Mason motioned for her to come in and decided, then and there, that before the day was over he would know Lena’s last name and he would hear her call him Langley again.