Paging Doctor Heartbreaker

Meeting Dr. Warren

She spoke to the doctor before she actually saw him. At the time, she only heard his irritating voice and had no idea about how gorgeous the man in question was. Had she seen him first, she might have brushed away his obnoxious attitude. Perhaps, she would have been too distracted by how good he looked to even fight him in the first place.

“Andy keeps saying he is the best preceptor. Is that true?” Talia used her foot to roll her chair over to Irene as she absentmindedly went about organizing the charts.

“He’s not failed at the job yet,” she assured. “I definitely know who to avoid.”

Talia’s eyes snapped to hers. “Did he talk smack behind my back?” she questioned suspiciously.

“No. He said you were cool. Why?”

Talia relaxed immediately. “He has a nasty habit of spreading crazy stories about me and getting people to avoid me like the plague.”

Amused, Irene perked her chin on her palm. “Like what?”

“It’s different every time! Once he told a guy from admin to protect his crowned jewels from me because I have manic episodes and enjoy kneeing people in the balls,” she groaned.

Irene pressed her lips together, muffling her laugh.

“Oh, he told another person Opo and I were embroiled in an affair and that I was pregnant with his child. Have you seen Opo? He picks his nose and eats his booger when no one is watching.”

“You’re kidding,” Irene whispered.

“I swear to God, I saw him do it.”

Irene giggled loudly, unable to control herself. Kiki looked over at them, looking interested in whatever gossip had her laughing.

“Are you sure he didn’t spout some insane story about me again?” Talia demanded.

Irene shook her head. “He really didn’t.”

She squinted her eyes suspiciously, wagging her finger in front of Irene’s face. “I will find out if you lie. And it won’t be pretty.”

Irene grabbed her finger and gently lowered it before nodding. “I know. I know.”

Talia harumphed before easing into her chair. She looked exhausted. “When the hell is the new processing system going to come? I swear I have been filing paperwork more than I am taking care of patients.”

“It will take a couple more months,” Kiki supplied helpfully, revealing that she was eavesdropping.

Neither of them responded, but shared a quick look. From their periphery, they noticed Andy’s towering form approaching.

“Mon, the lab called. Mr. Sean’s test reports are out. Can you call the doctor for me?”

Irene straightened as she opened the lab results, which were recently uploaded. She hid her surprise. Andy was actually doing some work. “Sure,” she said.

She pulled up the doctor’s list and took a moment to find the attending doctor’s name. Dr. Warren. She paged him just as Talia stepped away from the nurse’s station. Not even a few minutes had passed when he called back.

‘How efficient. They never return calls so quickly.’

The voice on the other end was smooth. He sounded tired but kind, a pleasant combination that almost made her sigh.

“This is Dr. Warren. I was paged.”

“Hi, Dr. Warren. My name is Irene, and I was calling about Mr. Sean, your patient in 472, who was admitted with a suspected internal bleeding in the stomach. His lab reports just returned and—” she told him the numbers, making sure to note the ones that could be concerning.

There was a pause on the other end. For a moment, she wondered if he had hung up by mistake.

But finally, he spoke, “What does my order say?”

His tone was no longer kind. She flinched and scrolled quickly, cursing herself for not being prepared in advance. “Hold on…”

He didn’t give her a chance to find it.

“If you had bothered to check my order, you would know to call me if the levels were below what I expected.”

“Oh. I u—”

“Thank you,” he cut her short before hanging up.

Irene stared at the receiver in her hand, dumbfounded.

“What… what an asshole,” she mumbled under her breath.

Suddenly, Kiki was at her side, having heard her. “Dr. Warren?” she inquired with a giggle. “He’s normally cool, but he has his moments. Andy must have warned you not to step on his toes. Are you alright?”

Her eyes filled with worry as she scrutinized Irene’s face.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she started, waving off her concern. She took a cleansing breath and offered Talia a small smile. “Nothing I can’t handle.”

Talia’s explanation further solidified Irene’s dislike for the hot doctor.

A day later, she overheard Kiki talking about Dr. Warren with another secretary. Their voices were lowered, absolutely hot gossip spewing from their mouth. Irene used her keen listening and gathered that Dr. Warren was gorgeous. Also, his father, Dr. Warren Senior, was also ‘daddy’ material.

That had her curious. Any average-looking guy was more attractive in that white coat and the title of doctor. She didn’t buy their gossip. There was no doctor she would find attractive enough to date.

Still, she was curious.

Around five, she got some time to finish charting. She gathered all her patients’ charts at the table and got busy, forgetting that she hadn’t seen Andy in over an hour. Without his constant chattering, she had a moment of peace.

She was going through the first chart when she noticed someone sitting in front of her, across the table. She automatically looked up, and a gasp escaped her lips.

He was young, probably in his early thirties, with a prominent jaw and a light brown scruff on it. His nose was straight with a little curve to the side, and his lips were full. His eyes, set beneath thick brows, were looking down, hidden from her.

He didn’t look at her, didn’t even acknowledge that she was there. Instead, he opened a chart and began to look through its contents. She recovered quickly, worried he would catch her ogling.

‘Is this Dr. Warren?’

She was sure doctors this hot were only meant for television.

She lowered her gaze, irritation filling her as the conversation from the day before came back to her. He had been an absolute ass, yet he had no idea whom he had spoken to. There he was, sitting unperturbed, avoiding conversation and eye contact. Everything necessary for human interaction.

‘Yup, still an asshole.’

He suddenly addressed her. “Are you taking care of Mrs. Taylor in 458?”

Her gaze snapped to his, and she was instantly entranced by his emerald eyes that looked neither unkind nor cold. They looked tired. His voice was still silky smooth, and despite the short conversation, she couldn’t mistake him for anyone else.

This was Dr. Warren.

She pulled herself together. It took her a moment to find her voice, leaving her exasperated by how he affected her.

“Um... No. Sine’s taking care of her. Would you like me to call her?”

He stood up. “Please. Will you ask her to meet me there?” He walked away briskly without waiting for a response.

Irene refrained from gritting her teeth as she dialed Sine’s phone. She answered immediately, assuring that she was on her way to the room.

With Dr. Warren gone, Irene could finally breathe again.

They returned after several minutes. Eventually, he was sitting across from her again, nonchalantly charting without a thank you or acknowledgment. Irene didn’t allow it to bother her. Instead, she focused on avoiding him as well.

He put the chart back in the rack and left a few minutes later. He didn’t bother to say goodbye. This time, Irene did huff. Would some common courtesy kill him? This behavior was too common and tiresome.

She stood up, hoping to take a bathroom break. She pushed the door open, assuming it would be locked whenever occupied. Instead, she saw Sine standing in front of the mirror, with redness around her eye. They jumped, and an awkward pause ensued as they looked at each other through the mirror. A few seconds passed before Irene remembered what she was doing.