The Pleasure of the Dean (4 page)

Chapter Six

The following morning Sophie was a bundle of
nerves.
 
She had an appointment with
Crystal Bridges in her office in ten minutes, and she was already behind on her
patient schedule.
 
Mrs. Morrison’s
gallbladder consult would have to wait until after the meeting.
 
“If I still have a job,” she thought to
herself.

           
Sophie
checked her appearance in the small mirror on the inside door of her
locker.
 
The dark circles under her
eyes were still there, and more apparent than ever.
 
Sophie had hardly slept last night.
 
The stress of losing her residency
position was enough to keep her up, but adding the unresolved sexual tension
between her and Cole kept Sophie’s brain in overdrive all night long.

           
The
way he had touched her!
 
Sophie’s
muscles clenched at the memory of Cole’s hands on her body.
 
She felt herself blush and her breath
hitch thinking about the way he glided his hands up her legs before pressing
his fingers inside of her.
 
No one
had made her body respond that way before.
 
She’d lost control.

           
As
Sophie walked through the hallways of the medical complex she forced herself to
focus.
 
Now was not the time to
indulge in sexual daydreams about Cole Armstrong.
 
She was going into the lion’s den.
 
Sophie needed all her wits about her.

****

           
Crystal
Bridges sat at her gleaming wood desk and waited for Sophie, her stack of
bureaucratic paperwork at the ready.
 
She made sure her tight bun was in place and her suit jacket neatly
buttoned.
 
You had to put people on
defense right away.
 
Crystal knew
all the subtle ways of using body language and unspoken communications to get
the upperhand in a conversation.
 

           
At
last she heard the knock on her door.

           
“Your
9:00 a.m. appointment is here, Ms. Bridges,” her secretary, Samantha peeked her
head through the doorway.
 
“Should I
let her in?”

           
“Make
her wait five minutes first.”

Samantha rolled her eyes and walked out to
the Human Resources waiting area.
 
She knew Crystal Bridges was a big shot at the hospital, but didn’t like
the games and mean-spiritedness she saw from her boss.
 
Sam was often Crystal’s whipping
boy.
 
“I have to get into a different
department,” she thought for the thousandth time that morning.

           
She
saw Dr. Benedict sitting in the waiting room area, tapping her foot.
 
“It’ll be a few minutes, Doctor,” Sam
said.
 
“Ms. Bridges is very busy
this morning.”

           
Sophie
thanked her and checked her watch.
 
She had patients to get to and hated waiting.
 
Sophie felt her stress bubbling up
inside of her, threatening to overflow.

           
“You
look tense, dear.” Samantha said kindly.
 
“How about some chocolate to keep the edge off?” She held up a large
glass bowl filled to the brim with several different types of chocolate
candies.

           
“Oh,
thank you.” Sophie eagerly grabbed a handful.
 
“You’re a life saver.”
 
She peeled off the first wrapper and
immediately felt better.
 
After
three more pieces, she knew she had to slow it down.

           
“Sam,
I’d eat that entire bowl if I worked near you,” Sophie said with a laugh.

           
Sam
smiled.
 
She loved feeding people
and chocolate made everyone feel better.
 
“Well, if you need more after your meeting stop by my desk.”
 
Sam’s phone made a loud buzzing
sound.
 
“That means Ms. Bridges is
ready for you.
 
Good luck.”

           
Sophie
got up and walked to Crystal’s door.
 
She tapped softly and stepped through.
 
The last time she’d been in the HR suite
was when she started at the hospital, but then she’d been down the hall in a
mid-level manager’s office filling out credentialing paperwork.
 
The manager had a standard concrete box
shaped office.
 

“Holy cow,” Sophie thought, looking around
the palatial office.
 
“This place is
plush.”

           
Crystal’s
office was all gleaming wood and chrome furniture.
 
Expensively framed abstract artwork
adorned the walls.
 
There was an
unobstructed view of Lake Union through the picture windows.

           
“Hello
Dr. Benedict, please sit down.” Crystal waved to one of the white leather seats
across from her massive desk.
 
She
picked up the imposing stack of paperwork and leafed through.
 
“Let’s see, where shall we begin?
 
Ah, I know.” She pulled out a sheet of
paper and slid it across the desk sharply.
 
“Do you recognize this document?”

           
Sophie
glanced down at it.
 
“This is my
appointment letter,” she replied.

           
“Correct.
 
And in this letter it clearly states the
University of Seattle Medical Complex residency program has a strict policy
against moonlighting.
 
Does it not?”

           
“Yes,
but...” Sophie started.

           
“And
this is your signature on this letter, correct?
 
You did agree to be bound by its terms
and conditions?”
 
Crystal’s voice
rose an octave as she cut Sophie off mid-sentence.
 
“It seems perfectly clear that if you
did not uphold your end of the terms, then the University is under no
obligation to keep you here.”

           
“My
record is exemplary.” Sophie was starting to get mad.
 
“It’s well known amongst the residents
that if you can handle the scheduling and keep up with patient care here, you
can get away with side hours at another hospital.
 
This policy is outdated and unfair.
 
No one can afford to live in this city
on a resident’s low salary.”

           
Crystal
began a long speech about HR policies and medical center history.
 
It was full of corporate double speak and
euphemisms.
 

Sophie watched Crystal’s nostrils flare and
her eyes gleam during the lecture.
 
“She’s enjoying this,” Sophie realized. “She’s never going to listen to
my side or be reasonable.
 
She
already had her mind made up.”

           
Crystal
flipped through the paperwork and pulled out something else.
 
She slapped it down on the desk, causing
Sophie to jump.
 
“Dr. Mapleton
already signed your termination papers this morning.
 
You were on probation for three months
and were found to be unfit by the program director.
 
This is your official notice.
 
Your termination is effective
immediately.”

           
Sophie’s
stomach dropped.
 
Her face felt hot
and cold at the same time.
 
“This
can’t be happening,” she whispered.
 
“I’ve worked so hard.”
 
Everything she’d sacrificed for and accomplished was crumbling away
before her eyes.
 
And for something
that people did all the time.
 
It
wasn’t fair.

           
Crystal
smiled in a way that made Sophie’s stomach hurt even worse.
 
The chocolate that had just made her
feel so much better was now threatening to come back up.
 
“The university feels strongly about the
health of its employees.” Crystal reached into her desk drawer and pulled out a
brochure.
 
“You’re still covered by
your medical insurance through the end of the month.
 
I suggest you give this organization a
call.
 
They provide assistance to
people who can’t manage their lives well.”
 
She slid the brochure over to Sophie.

           
“US Sharelink, counseling services for the
helpless and hopeless
,” it read.
 
“
University of Seattle mental
health awareness
.”
 
There was a
cartoon drawing of a despondent looking malamute, the school’s mascot on the
front.

           
Sophie
saw red.
 
“How dare you!”
 
She stood up and looked down on
Crystal’s tight bun.
 
“I do not need
mental health counseling.
 
I need
someone that will listen to reason!”

           
Crystal
drew her hands to her chest in an exaggerated gesture.
 
“Now, now, Dr. Benedict.
 
You don’t want me to have to call
security to escort you out of the building, do you?
 
I’m not sure if I feel safe when you
raise your voice like that.
 
I’d
hate to have to add a report of aggression and irrational anger to your file.”

           
Sophie
jammed the brochure in her pocket, wrinkling it in the process.
 
“You evil witch!”

           
Just
then, the door flew open and large frame filled the doorway.

           
“Can
I see that termination paperwork?” said a deep voice.
 
“I do believe that as Dean I am allowed
to make final decisions in my own hospital.”

           
Sophie's
heart leapt in her chest.
 
Cole!

Chapter
Seven

“What?”
 
Crystal said, flustered.
 
She
took a deep breath, trying to regain her composure.
 
Crystal shuffled through the pile of
paperwork on her desk.
 
She gave
Samantha a stack of files for the Dean’s signature Thursday afternoon, and Ms.
Briar had returned it that morning.
 
Crystal assumed all the documents were signed and everything was in
order for Dr. Benedict’s termination.
 
If she discovered the termination letter wasn’t signed, heads were going
to roll.
 
Anyone who made her look
like a fool would face her wrath!

Crystal located Dr. Benedict’s termination
letter in the stack.
 
It was
unsigned.

“Please forgive the oversight Dr. Armstrong,”
Crystal said, placing the letter in front of him.
 
“Sign near the yellow arrow.”
 
She pointed to the blank line.

“You do not have the authority to tell me
what to do Ms. Bridges,” Cole replied.
 
He picked up the letter, and crumpled it into a ball.
 
“I do NOT authorize this termination.”

“Sir, this termination has been vetted on all
levels,” Crystal replied, her ire up.
 
Terminations and employee HR was her turf.
 
“We have documented evidence of Dr.
Benedict’s insubordination.
 
Dr.
Mapleton…”

“I don’t give a damn what Dr. Mapleton said
or thinks,” Cole said, cutting her off.
 
He didn’t have the patience to deal with Crystal’s sniveling arguments
and this was the last straw.
  
“I am the Dean, and I make the final decisions.”
 
Cole walked over to Sophie and guided
her out of her chair.
 
“Let’s go Dr.
Benedict.”

Sophie followed Cole out of Crystal’s office
and past Sam, who gave them a chipper smile and wave as they passed.
 
“Take some candy,” Sam called as they
whooshed by.
 
“I have peanut chocolate
bars for you Dean Armstrong!”
 
She
knew they were his favorite, and set aside a stash for him.

“Saaammmm!” Crystal screeched from her
office.
 
“Get in here
immediately.”
 

***

Sophie was shaking.
 
She had run a gamut of emotions over the
past thirty minutes, from trepidation, to disgust, to her current state of
surprised elation.
 
Cole had come
through and saved her.
 
She could
finish out her residency, which meant in six months she could be a doctor in a
private practice.
 
Sophie would
finally be able to pay off her student loans and her other debts.
 
She felt a weight lift from her
chest.
 
Sophie could finally breathe
again.

“Where are we going?” she asked.
 
Cole was walking so fast she had trouble
keeping up with him.

“To my office,” was his curt reply.
 
Sophie could feel anger and tension
radiating off of Cole.
 
When he
confronted Crystal Bridges, Cole looked like he wanted to slug her, although
Sophie knew he was too much of a gentleman to do something like that.

When they entered his office suite his
secretary, Ms. Briar, was sitting at her desk knitting.
 
“Almost done with your socks Dean
Armstrong,” she said. “I’m going to knit little skulls on the ankle.
 
They’re going to be adorable.”

Sophie pressed her lips together, in an
attempt to hold in her laughter.
 
The thought of anything about Cole being “adorable” made her want to
giggle.
 
He was authoritative,
strong, and masculine.
 
There was
nothing “adorable” about him.

“Ms. Briar, cancel the rest of my
appointments for today,” he said gruffly, not bothering to reply to her comment
about the socks.
 

“I’ll get right on it,” she replied, setting
down her knitting and pulling up his calendar on her computer.

Sophie followed Cole into his office and shut
the door.
 
He walked over to the
window and stared out at the lake, his back to her.

“Thank you Cole,” Sophie said.
 
“I really appreciate your support.
 
I am a good physician and did not
deserve to be terminated.”

She waited for a response. When he didn’t say
anything, she plowed forward awkwardly.
 
There were still unresolved issues between the two of them. Now that the
excitement of the halted dismissal was over, Sophie was beginning to feel
unsure of herself.
 
Especially when
faced with Cole’s tapered muscular back and tight ass, impressively highlighted
by his gray tailored slacks and slim lilac dress shirt.
 

“Uh, I should go now.
 
I have a patient waiting for a
gallbladder consult.”

“Dr. Mapleton cleared your patient schedule
today,” Cole replied.
 
He was trying
to calm down by watching the athletes rowing crew on the lake. Crystal Bridges’
disregard for his authority coupled with Bruce’s passive aggressive war on him
really got his temper up.
 
He felt
like strangling someone.
 
Cole
needed to work his tension off.
 
“Bruce arranged for security to escort you to your locker and off the
premises after Crystal terminated you.
 
He is very thorough,” Cole said without humor.

Cole turned around and looked at Sophie.
 
The tension she felt radiating off him
earlier was still evident in the intense look in his piercing blue eyes.
 

“We’re both free for the rest of the day,” he
said, walking towards her.
 
Cole
didn’t stop until they were almost
nose to nose
.
 
She felt his warm breath on her
lips.
 
Sophie tensed, anticipating
his touch.
 
Instead of doing the
expected and kissing her on the mouth, Cole dipped his head and sucked on the
side of her neck.
 
Sophie moaned
softly as he trailed wet kisses up, until his mouth was near her ear.
 
She felt his hand glide up under the hem
of her top, caressing the bare skin of her stomach. Cole trailed his hand
across her belly to her hip, and squeezed.
 

“The only thing I like about scrubs,” he
whispered in her ear, “is that they’re so easy to take off.”

Sophie’s pussy clenched in response to his
words.
 
She was already wet and
swollen, and he hadn’t even touched her there yet.
 

Cole brought his mouth to hers, and took
Sophie’s lips in passionate kiss.
 
His lips were firm.
 
Greedy.
 
They ate at each other
hungrily, the tension and anger from the day making them rougher with each
other than Cole initially intended.
 
After the firestorm of their first encounter, he wanted to show Sophie
his gentle side.
   

Lips connected, Cole guided Sophie backwards
until her rear hit the edge of his desk.
 
He palmed the globes and lifted her slightly, so she was sitting on the
tabletop.
 
Cole spread her legs and
settled between them, groaning when his erection rubbed against her core.
 
He began grinding against her.
 
Sophie tore her mouth from his, gasping
for breath.
 

Cole took the opportunity to grasp the hem of
her scrub top, and pull it up and off, revealing Sophie’s black lacy bra.
 
He admired what he uncovered for a
moment.
 
Sophie’s erect nipples were
visible through the lace.
 
Cole
brought his hands up to her breasts and kneaded them, before bending over and
forcefully sucking on a dusky nipple.
  

Sophie leaned her hands back on the desk and
looked down at Cole’s mussed black hair as he sucked on her
lace
covered
breasts.
 
She sat up
and removed her bra before resuming her previous position.
 
Sophie wanted him to have full access to
her breasts. Cole kissed her quickly on the lips before returning his attention
to her now bare nipples.
 
The feel
of his wet warm mouth on her sent a shaft a pleasure straight to her core,
where she was dripping wet for him.
 
He ground his erection against her in time to his sucking.
 
She wished they were skin to skin.
 
Sophie moaned in frustration when he
stopped the motion.

“Take off your pants,” Cole said, stepping
back so he could unfasten his belt and trousers.
 
Cole pulled down his zipper, releasing
his erection.
 
Sophie kicked off her
clogs and lifted up off the desk so she could shimmy out of her scrub pants and
black lace panties.
 
Once she was
completely nude, Cole picked her up by her waist and set her back on the
table top
. The feel of the cool surface against her
overheated flesh made her gasp.

“No more teasing Cole,” Sophie said, reaching
out to grasp his cock.
 
She gave it
a couple firm strokes.
 
Cole’s cock
was long and thick, her fingers barely fit around it. He groaned and pumped his
hips.
 
A bead of moisture appeared
at the tip.
 
Sophie felt a moment of
trepidation.
 
Sophie’s sole focus
over the past couple of years had been finishing her residency, so having a
relationship had taken a back burner.
 
It had been a while for her and Cole was large.
 
It was definitely going to be a tight
fit.

Cole took ahold of his cock and started
rubbing it against Sophie’s moist folds, circling her clit.
 
She felt the head slip down to her
opening, penetrating her slightly.
 
She groaned in response.
 

“Wider Sophie,” Cole said, nudging her thighs
apart so she was completely exposed.
 
He looked down to where she was pink, wet, and ready for him.
 
They both watched, rapt, as Cole
adjusted himself and slowly started penetrating her.
 
“You’re so tight,” he whispered, pausing
so she could get used to his size.
 

“Mmmm,” Sophie said in response.
 
She felt an ache inside of her.
 
She needed Cole, now.
 

“Give it to me, Cole,” Sophie murmured
huskily.
 
“Now.”

“Do you think you can take it?” he replied, tilting
her head up to look in her eyes.

“I want it Cole. I want you to give it to me
rough.”

“I live to serve,” Cole replied, while
shoving the rest of his erection into her forcefully.
 
Sophie felt a slight twinge of pain
before it was overshadowed by the pleasure of having him inside of her.
 
As soon as she adjusted to his size, he
withdrew to the tip, and then thrust back in.
 
“Hold on Sophie,” Cole said, reaching one
hand up to squeeze her breast while grabbing a handful of her ass with the
other.
 
“This is going to be quick
and dirty.”

Cole increased the speed and force of his
thrusts, bottoming out with every stroke and rubbing his pelvis against
Sophie’s clit.
 
She was moaning in
pleasure, oblivious to everything but Cole.
 
He moved both hands to her hips and
gripped her forcefully while he pounded into her.
 
Cole felt the pleasure and tension
inside of him rise.
 
“Come on baby,”
he gritted out, holding his orgasm back.
 
He wanted to feel her come around his cock.
 
“Give it to me.”

Sophie felt herself peak.
 
Tingles of pleasure spread from her
rippling core, through her limbs, to her fingertips and toes.
 
She felt the warm pulse of Cole spilling
inside of her.
 
He groaned and
thrust inside of her a couple more times, making Sophie whimper as he came in
contact with her swollen and over sensitized flesh.
 
Sophie laid back on the desk, closed her
eyes, and drifted, finally at peace after days of intense stress.