Lily bit her lips nervously and pretended not to hear anything. She took out her work uniform from the locker and was about to go into the bathroom to change when one of them grabbed her hand and stopped her.
“I don’t know what Dr Martinez sees in you, to be honest. I can bet he’s just messing with you since you are so cheap.” The same girl said, trying to get a response from Lily.
“You can’t even deny the accusations. They must be true then.” Another said and they all laughed.
“Can I go now?” Lily said and pulled her hand away before walking away. She owed them no explanation and she wasn’t going to entertain them either. She and Tony knew the truth and that was all that mattered.
The nurses laughed at her behavior and walked away. They were convinced that she was being that way because of her relationship with the CEO.
Lily changed into her uniform and went back to her desk, ignoring the glares from some of the other nurses. She lowered her head and impatiently waited for her shift to begin. As soon as it was 11:00, one of the doctors, Dr Raphael who was on duty for that day walked in and introduced himself.
“I heard we have a new nurse. Well, I guess it’s only right for me to introduce myself then.” The man looked like he was in his early thirties and had the look of a typical Frenchman. Lily had to admit that Tony’s hospital was filled with a lot of handsome doctors.
The doctor turned to Lily and gave her a warm smile. “I am Raphael Beaufort but everyone calls me Dr Raph.” He showed off his perfect teeth and winked at Lily as he held out his hand for a handshake.
Lily didn’t want to put too much thought into it but, it felt like he was flirting with her!
“Hello, Dr Raph. I am Lily Arnolds.” She greeted as she linked her hands with his and shook him.
“Nice to meet you, Lily. I look forward to working with you.” He held her hand firmly, staring into her eyes like he was searching for something.
Usually, Lily would be attracted to him but her heart was already with a certain Italian.
She quickly withdrew her hand from his hold and smiled awkwardly. She didn’t have to look at the other nurses to know that they were shooting daggers at her with their eyes.
But hey! It wasn’t her fault these men were attracted to her. She had done nothing but smile at Dr Raph.
“Alright then. Let’s get to work.” Dr Raph said and took off while Lily and three other nurses who had been assigned to him hurried behind.
Lily spent the next five hours attending to patients without taking a breather. When it was finally time for her to take a break, she decided to grab a burger from the cafeteria in the hospital.
As expected, the cafeteria was packed with nurses, doctors, and patients. She hated crowds and would have loved to have her late lunch elsewhere but, she had to attend to patients in thirty minutes so, she didn’t have another option.
After getting her burger with fries and a milkshake to go with it, she spotted an empty table amidst the crowd of people and sat quietly. She had barely taken two bites from her sandwich when she felt someone sit on the opposite side of the table.
When she looked up, she was shocked to see Dr Raphael with a plate of food.
“Nice seeing you here, Lily.” He greeted and Lily quickly dropped her burger, sat properly, and greeted him with a bow. He was her superior at the hospital after all.
“Hello, Dr Beaufort.” She greeted and he waved his hand with a cheeky laugh.
“Dr Beaufort is a little too formal, don’t you think?” He said and flashed Lily a charming smile. “Call me Raph.”
“Oh, I-I simply cannot. You are a senior doctor. I have to give you that respect.” Lily laughed nervously and shook her head.
“Alright then.” Dr Raph placed a finger on his chin and then snapped it after a few seconds. “You can call me Dr Raph then. That’s better, isn’t it?” He suggested.
“I guess,” Lily said awkwardly and picked up a dry to place in her mouth. She had come into the cafeteria to have a peaceful lunch but, it seemed like that wasn’t going to happen.
“So, tell me about yourself, Lily.” Dr Raph said, stabbing his chicken with a fork. Lily’s head snapped up at his question and she bit her lips nervously.
The last thing she needed was another rumour and if she wasn’t careful with Dr Raph, it would happen in no time. He was already bringing attention to her table. Attention that she didn’t need.
“There’s not much to know about me, Dr,” Lily said with a polite smile. “I also don’t like sharing things about myself with people I am not so familiar with.” She said without looking at him, hoping that he would understand and leave. She had only twenty minutes to finish up with her food and return to work. The last thing she needed was a distraction. Not when her tummy was rumbling.
“Oh. That’s fair. You’re being careful. It’s a good thing.” Dr Raph shook his head and chunked a fork full of salad into his mouth.
“You should eat. We still have a few hours left in our shift. You’ll need the strength.” He said and Lily nodded, holding herself from rolling her eyes.
‘I was eating before you came, Sir.’ She said in her head and buried her head in her food. For the next few minutes, they ate quietly with Dr Raph throwing small questions at her every once in a while to which she answered politely.
Lily finished her food first and stood to leave but, Dr Raph decided that he was full and followed her out of the cafeteria. He made small jokes as they walked and Lily couldn’t help but laugh at them. As soon as they walked out of the door, they were met with Tony and a few doctors.
Lily saw Tony’s eyes move to Raph and then back to her before they darkened. Lily’s smile immediately faded and she slowly shifted from Dr Raph but, he noticed it.
“Good day, Dr Martinez,” Lily said with her head bowed and played nervously with her fingers, avoiding eye contact with Tony as her life depended on it.
Tony tucked his hand in his white lab coat and turned it to Dr Raph. “Can I have a word with you, Raphael?” He glanced at Lily once more and walked away.
Tony walked to the nearest terrace with Dr Raph following behind. As soon as they were out of sight, Dr Raph sighed.
“That new nurse, Lily is fucking gorgeous, Tony. Fucking Hell!” He exclaimed with his hand around his mouth.
“Shut the fuck up, you whore.” Tony rolled his eyes at his friend.
He had known Raphael for years and even though Raphael worked for him, it didn’t change how they related to each other. Since he knew Raphael so well, he knew he was a womanizer. He had barely managed to keep him away from the nurses at the hospital for the sake of professionalism but, that didn’t change anything on the outside. But, as long as he kept his escapades out of the hospital, Tony was okay with it.
“I mean it, man. I saw her today and I was like ‘Oh shit’. I can’t even lie, man. I’ll have to speak to her after. Maybe get to know her more and stuff.” Raphael was smiling from ear to ear.
“Who knows? She could be the one I’ve been waiting for.” Tony shot him a harsh glare and immediately shook his head.
“Not her, Man. She’s off limits.”