Joelle started to laugh. Her cousin changing the subject said it all. "Admit it, Adam. You totally took my advice," she crowed. "Didn't you?"
Adam pulled one of their case drawers open and handed his cousin a stack of patient files. "Start encoding this, will you?"
Joelle groaned in protest, but Adam wasn't able to savor the sound with his phone buzzing in his pocket.
Nik Alexandropoulos?
"I heard you're taking over some of your mentor's patients," the other man said after the usual exchange of greetings.
"Old George is taking it slow this year," Adam acknowledged with a smile. "And yes, he's transferred some of his patients to me, and..." He finally remembered what Nik's connection was to his mentor's patients. "One of them is a friend of yours, isn't she? Iolanthe Raptis, I believe?"
"That's her," Nik confirmed. "She's away on vacation, and it will be her younger sister who's scheduled to meet with you."
"Are you calling me to ask if I'm able to reschedule so I can meet Iolanthe herself?"
"The opposite, actually. Leah, that's Io's sister, seems under stress lately," Nik revealed. "I know you're ethically bound not to disclose anything between you and a patient..."
"But you'd like me to check if there's anything wrong with her," Adam guessed shrewdly.
"Exactly. She's a good kid, but I think she's going through something."
"I assume you or Daria already tried talking to to her?"
"Yes, of course. But Leah can be rather proud and stubborn."
"I'll see what I can do then."
Joelle looked at her cousin curiously. "Who's Iolanthe Raptis?"
"A friend of Nik Alexandropoulos."
Joelle's face brightened. "28 Frogs!"
Adam blinked.28 Frogs?He had no idea what the girl was talking about, but there was no chance to ask her since his first patient had already arrived.
More patients with appointments followed after that, and the rest of the day passed quickly. It was almost eight in the evening by the time his last patient left, and a notification alert popped on his phone's screen.
Good evening, Dr. Somebody.
This is an automated reminder that your patient is expecting a follow-up call.
While years of training and Adam's own dedication to work had kept him from sparing Temptation a thought throughout the day, his off hours were a different thing altogether. In just a few minutes, he had kicked his cousin out of the clinic, and he was assured of complete privacy as he logged in to SFI's app.
Prior to their first conversation, Adam had thought this whole charade would make him feel foolish, but from the moment he had heard her speak, it was as if her voice had been designed to entice him—-
"Hello?"
And tonight was no different, with Temptation's soft and breathless voice making him tighten his grip on his phone as his body instantly stiffened with arousal.
"Hello, Temptation."
The desire to find a way to see her and fuck her consumed him, but Adam instinctively knew he had to take things slow with her.
"I hope I'm not calling at a bad time?"
"No, Doctor."
People had been calling him 'doctor' for years, but only Temptation had ever made the word sound so damn hot.