Zenith Rising (8 page)

“He mentioned he got laid off, and I had a
bunch of odd jobs and some maintenance at the building where I
practice. I figured it could keep him busy for awhile, and maybe I
figured your friend should be my friend.”

“Yeah, my friend. But you and Spencer?”

Erica bristled. “Oh, you mean like you and
Nick, perhaps?”

Joelle laughed out loud. “Okay, I deserved
that. I still get the looks and the startled eyes staring at Nick,
as if to say, this is your wife? I rarely miss the disappointment
painting their faces.”

“I think it’s more like, you lucky
bastard.”

“Bullshit. Is Spencer doing okay there?”

“Yes. He’s quiet and intense, and does
everything quickly. It’s awkward for me, because I have to keep
thinking of more chores for him to do. As an Ob-Gyn, I deal with
mostly pregnant women, or menopausal, middle-aged ladies. Sometimes
I talk to their scared, but respectful husbands. Suddenly, I’m
telling this six-foot-four hunk, who’s not exactly the guy next
door in his looks, what to do. It’s not so easy.”

“Spike as Spencer is gorgeous, isn’t he?”

“When did that happen? I had no idea who he
was when I first saw him.”

“He shaved his head one day, and put on some
normal clothes; and that was that. He said, ‘Call me Spencer from
now on, not Spike.’ Not another word. Or another day of transition.
He was Spencer, period. I don’t have a clue what prompted it. I
don’t always understand him. He’s very nice to me. Always was.
Actually, he was invariably considerate, sympathetic, caring, and
protective with me. But very private. Extremely private. I never
knew what he did or didn’t do. Who he chose to be with, or whom he
liked or didn’t. Most of what I knew of him usually came through
Rob. Even that was rather sparse. How come you’re so interested in
what I’m saying? You don’t like him, do you?”

Erica turned and pretended to fiddle with
Jody’s outfit to hide the blush filling her cheeks. “No. Of course
not. We’re like… well, as you said, it’s laughable to even
consider. I just happened to notice he was so different, and
extremely hot now. But you know he isn’t my type. All that angst
and simmering heat. Besides, he’s way too young for me.”

“Hey, I’m twelve years younger than Nick.
Spencer’s only a few years younger than you.”

Erica paced. “Six. He’s exactly six years
younger than me. And so what? There is no me and Spencer. We are
not like you and Nick. Spencer is so different from me. I’m looking
for stability, success, a family man. Not a musician or a partner
for hot sex, going nowhere.”

“You admit that it would be hot, at
least.”

“Oh, shut up.”

Joelle outright laughed. “Well, it never
hurts a girl, you know. You’re entirely too serious. Besides, your
last few boyfriends lacked everything. Like personalities. They
were just suits with sticks rammed up their asses. It’s okay to
want that chemistry, and witty personality, and someone to have fun
with, Erica. Someone to have hot sex with.”

“If my taste in men is so lousy, why did you
marry one of my exes?”

“Well, Nick was the exception. But even
there, you both were too much alike. Have some fun for once. It
might change everything for you.”

“I wasn’t even talking about, considering, or
otherwise suggesting that I have sex with Spencer. He works for me
now. That’s it. That’s all. Besides, I’m dating Roy Bennett.”

“You’re wasting your time with Roy Bennett,
and temporarily placating your loneliness. Kind of like you did
with Nick.”

“Thanks for that.”

“Hey, you helped me when I was in a rut. You
pointed out things I needed to see about Rob, about Nick, and about
myself. So you know what? Now, for the first time, when you seem a
little lost, I might just have to comment.”

“I’m not lost. I’m busy. I’m…”

“Looking for something; you just don’t know
what.”

Erica paused, her mouth open. She hated
pausing. She hated thinking about her shortcomings, and her life.
She kept busy, finding fulfillment and satisfaction through her
patients and running the practice, as well as her condo. She hated
to even think about being lonely, or that she was always alone.

“Maybe. I just don’t know what.”

“Maybe you should try just having some fun.
Wherever you can find it. It really might just change everything
for you. It might even change your whole life.”

She glanced at Joelle and considered her
simple advice. Maybe everything really was missing in her life.
Fun. Passion. Joy. But Spencer? Spencer Mattox? He wasn’t exactly
the kind of person who brought the words like fun, passion, and joy
to mind. He evoked thoughts of what? Sex. Hot, demanding,
passionate sex. He also brought deep, dark, complicated issues to
mind, along with sarcasm, and angry resentment. Not exactly what
she needed in her life, although she wasn’t sure what she was
seeking.

Chapter Six

Spencer soon became the go-to guy for Erica’s
building. It was four stories tall, and located thirty miles from
Downtown Seattle, where Erica lived. It sat right on the border
line of Edmonds and Lynnwood. Erica bought the building not long
after joining the North Region Women’s Clinic. It was close to the
hospital where she delivered babies, but far enough from her condo
downtown, thus, rarely allowing her private life to overlap with
her professional.

Besides the women’s clinic, there was a
pediatrician’s office, a lab, a dentist, an insurance company, and
two start-up businesses. Spencer worked for all of them, in one
capacity or another. There seemed to be no end to his talents for
odd jobs, and he often surprised Erica with how many things he knew
how to fix and maintain. From painting, to power tools, to
unclogging the toilets: he was constantly busy. She began seeing
him less frequently. He’d stop by if he were around her office, and
ask what to do next, or update her on what he’d just done. He was
usually in and out of the admitting room. Erica walked in on more
than one conversation between her nurses, her bookkeeper, and her
receptionist, over how hot Spencer was. She also often heard them
speculating about who he was, and where he came from.

No one knew anything substantial about him.
Including Erica. He never spoke about himself. She remained
uncomfortable with him as he said very little to her and smiled
even less. He was there every day, always on time, always
available, and never slacked off on any of his tasks. He worked
hard, and didn’t whine, complain or waste time. That was something
she didn’t expect. Prior to Spencer accepting the job, the position
was usually filled by irresponsible teenagers. After a month or so,
she had to fire the kids for failure to perform the job. That was
part of why she already raised Spencer’s salary. Quite simply, he
was the first one to ever do the job decently or take it
seriously.

Yet, Erica sensed he seemed to detest her.
Why? She didn’t know.

When her patients occasionally ran into
Spencer as he moved about the office, and whispered,
who was
that?
in a nearly breathless tone. Erica had to resist smiling.
She found it reassuring because she wasn’t the only one who was so
obviously affected by Spencer Mattox. Spencer seemed to inspire the
lustful imaginations of the strangest females: from a
seventy-year-old woman, bent over by arthritis, and a
fifty-two-year-old woman, returning for a pap smear, to a young
college student, nine months pregnant. Despite their ages,
conditions, or medical reasons for being at the clinic, they all
seemed to grow hot and bothered at the sight of Spencer. Spencer
obviously monopolized the prurient interests of everyone at the
clinic.

Including Erica.

****

“Hey beautiful.”

Erica looked up from her chart when she heard
Roy’s voice through her office door. She clicked her pen, set it
down, and stood up.

“Hi Roy. What are you doing here?”

“Looking for a dinner date.”

“Oh. You should have called. I’m swamped
right now.”

“You’re always swamped. Come on. Live a
little.”

Have a little fun
, Joelle’s voice
echoed in her head. Roy came around, and pulled her up, bringing
her against him. They stood head to head and he pushed his groin
into hers, so she could feel him growing hard. She sighed, feeling
nothing; she was not aroused or wet, much less, even interested.
The kiss was expected: sealing her mouth, opening her lips, and
deeply probing with his tongue. It was nice. Fine. She eased back,
putting some inches between their bodies. She thought about what
Joelle suggested, that she was just passing the time with Roy, like
she had with Nick. Judging by her own reaction to his kiss, she
decided Joelle was right.

But what else could she do? She had to date
these men, and let some time pass to get to know them, in order to
see how she felt about them. She had no other way of knowing. She
was never one to fall in love or lust over a momentary glance.

Roy’s hands rested on her hips as he pulled
her closer again. It became irritatingly obvious he was feeling
frisky. It had been a while. How long? Why couldn’t she remember?
It didn’t matter; she wasn’t feeling like it right then.

The knock at her door startled her. She
flipped around to find Spencer in the open doorway. He was about to
turn away, no doubt, having just caught her being groped by Roy.
She silently cursed his timing.

“Did you need something?”

He stopped and turned back towards her, his
expression completely blank. Damn, even then, his dark eyes
smoldered at her and made her insides quiver in an involuntary
reaction. “Sorry, Doc, didn’t know you were busy.”

“It’s okay,” Erica quickly answered as she
stepped away from Roy. Roy took one glance at Spencer, clad in his
work clothes, and turned away. He dismissed Spencer that quickly as
the custodian, and therefore, unimportant. Erica noticed. It was
just like the preacher did to Spencer and it infuriated her. So
what if Spencer wasn’t dressed like Dr. Roy? So what? He was a
steady, hard-working, reliable employee, who easily deserved as
much respect as Roy. With this in mind, Erica said, “I’m not. What
did you need?”

Spencer’s stare was piercing. She stepped
around Roy, and came closer to the door, gripping the edge of it.
There was something in his face, or his tone, that usually wasn’t
evident. Something was wrong. And his demeanor seemed like
Spencer’s version of being upset. “What is it, Spencer?”

His eyes raked over her. Why? What could he
be thinking? That she was a gross, old matron, desperately seeking
attention from Roy? So desperate that she let him grope her in her
place of business?

“Preacher’s out front, distributing pamphlets
about you.”

Erica jerked back and put a hand to her
chest. “About me?”

“Yeah.”

“Saying… what?”

Spencer handed her one and Erica opened it.
Startled, she stepped back as if someone just took a swing at her
and felt as if she’d taken the punch to her stomach. “
Oh my
God.
No. No, I don’t do that. I’m not like that.”

“What is it?” Roy’s voice came up behind her,
alerted by her whimpers of protest. She handed the offensive
literature to him. The pamphlet had a picture of her plunging a
knife into a newborn’s belly. Erica turned away, utterly nauseated
by the photo-shopped image.

“What’s this all about?” Roy asked, a frown
contorting his chiseled face.

Erica sat down on the couch in her office,
feeling shaken like nothing had shaken her in a long while. She
rarely performed abortions. She didn’t run an abortion clinic, for
God’s sake! It wasn’t even a commonly known service she provided.
It was only ever done on a case-by-case basis. And something she
strove to keep quiet and confidential. Why would this preacher
target her? She thought she mollified the man. But no. Not so.
Obviously not.

“You perform abortions?” Roy didn’t try to
sweeten his tone, which oozed anger as well as disgust.

Spencer’s gaze was on her, then on Roy, and
back on her. She could feel him watching her, listening to them,
and no doubt, judging her.

“Rarely. Not very much at all. Private
matters, Roy. I am a doctor. A
women’s
doctor.”

“I just didn’t think you would that.”

“You never asked. I help women, however I can
with whatever they need. Medically, as well as sometimes,
emotionally. I do what I can. It’s not any of your business. Or
anyone else’s, for that matter. It’s a private decision, and one I
never take lightly.”

Roy took a step back, moving away from her,
as Spencer stepped into the office and moved closer to her.

Erica was dazed. She put her face into her
hands, shaking her head. How could this be happening to her? She
was a good doctor. She did exceptional work here, and now this
preacher was trying to suggest that performing abortions was her
real objective? She looked up at the two men in her office and
licked her lips before whispering, “What do I do?”

“Nothing. Preacher’s gone.”

Her gaze jerked to Spencer. “Gone? But
how?”

“I told him to leave.”

“And he left?”

Spencer hesitated. “Not exactly. It took a
little persuasion.”

“What kind of persuasion? Like Kenny kind of
persuasion?”

“Something like that.” No smile. No reaction.
He simply looked her straight in the eye, waiting for her
reaction.

What had Spencer just done? She could be
sued! If he antagonized the preacher, he could go directly to the
media! She glanced down again at the lies and filth in her hand
that were being claimed about her. Looking up, she saw Spencer’s
scowl, and stared deeply into his eyes, saying softly, “Thank
you.”