Page 4 of His Alone

Chapter 2

Despite Emily’s assurance, my first few weeks of work didn’t give me any reason to believe that James had any interest in me. I saw him a few times in the halls—paying extra attention to check for this supposed look he gave me—but I got nothing more from him than a polite smile. He hadn’t even tried to speak to me, though word around the hospital gave me the impression that he was incredibly busy.

I decided to focus on getting into the swing of things. Emily had been right about that part. After two weeks of working with Clara, I felt much more secure about the position and my ability to do the job.

Still… it was the thought of running into James that put me in a good mood every morning, only to end up disappointed when the days ended with no interaction. In bed at night, I wondered if I took up even a fraction of the space in his thoughts that he did in mine.

I didn’t even know the man, but I couldn’t deny that I was completely obsessed with him. When my first month of work wrapped up and I still couldn’t shake my thoughts of him despite not having spoken again, I decided it had gotten out of hand. I needed to stop my pointless pining.

Maybe I would have been able to if James hadn’t come barging into the break room the following Monday just as I was about to bite into my sandwich.

“Hey. I was looking for you.”

“Oh… Why?”

He raised the paper bag he was holding and asked, “Can I join you for lunch?”

Nothing on earth would have made me turn him down.

“Of course!” I replied, closing my eyes at how shrill my tone came out.

Smooth.

James smiled as he sat down and I knew I was done for. There’d be no letting go of my crush or obsession or whatever this thing I felt for him was. RIP to the potential dating life I could have had until I met James. I couldn’t imagine ever being so enamored with another man. Before him, I couldn’t have imagined feeling like this at all.

It was clear that he didn’t have much time to eat. I watched with rapt attention as he devoured a chicken sandwich while I nibbled at my own, knowing I still had at least twenty minutes left on my break. He pulled another sandwich from the bag and tore through it just as fast as the first, finishing off his meal with a few large gulps from his water bottle before leaning back with a satisfied sigh.

“Did you even taste it?”

“Sort of. What I did taste of it was delicious.”

“Do you always eat that fast?”

“I tend to eat fast when I’m on the clock, but that was a little faster than normal. I wanted to have a few minutes to talk to you. How are you liking it here so far?”

With a great deal of effort, I forced myself to stick to short sentences. The last thing I wanted was to start babbling again and really make him think that I was some kind of crazy person.

“It’s nice. No complaints.”

“That’s good to hear. Sorry I haven’t had the chance to catch up with you yet. Things have been crazy lately.”

“Oh, that’s okay. I understand.”

“Did anyone tell you about the company holiday party next weekend?”

“Are you kidding? Clara hasn’t stopped talking about it. She’s been telling me all sorts of stories about the last few. Sounds like they get pretty wild.”

James nodded, green eyes sparkling as he laughed. “They can, but everyone tends to split off into different groups after the official part is over. The wild factor depends on which group you end up with. Are you going?”

“I don’t know… I’m not much of a partier,” I admitted, though it felt like the understatement of the year. “Even if I did go, I’m the type that would probably leave after the official stuff was over. I’m pretty boring.”

“I highly doubt you’re boring,” James said seriously, his eyes staring directly into mine. “Besides, there’s nothing wrong with not being a partier. I haven’t stayed past the official parts for a few years now—I’ve even considered skipping them altogether. I’d rather be at home.”

“Me too. I’m an introvert to the core.”

“Something we have in common.”

I found it hard to believe a man like James was an introvert. When I told him that, he just laughed and shook his head.

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