This "chapter" is another one-shot, farther along the journey, written in third person from Danny's POV. Additional notes at end...
"Everyone, style down. Where are Morgan and Peter? I swear, those two need a nanny..." Managing partner Dr. Jeremy Reed was attempting to gather the entire staff for a meeting. He had been trying to accomplish this for months but was always foiled by an emergency delivery or other random event. "Fine, I'll go find them." He said to no one in particular.
At the end of the rectangular table, the two remaining doctors sat across from each other. Mindy had her earbuds in and was in her own little world. Danny sat across from her trying to focus his attention on anything else and he, too, was failing. He would glance at the nurses chatting and giggling over their phones, and back to Mindy, then look away to see if anyone noticed.
It wasn't like he was trying to hide anything. It was just an unspoken agreement they had that they weren't going to go of their way to confirm, or deny, anything. It was too new, too raw, to expose to the prying eyes and gossipy tongues of the rest of the work crew. So Danny kept his distance and attempted to keep things as normal as possible while they were on the clock, and so far, so good.
But moments like this he found himself so drawn to her that he thought that anyone who looked at him would instantly know. She had her eyes closed, a tiny smile on her lips, and she was swaying to the beat of whatever pop tune she was obsessed with this week. It physically hurt him, how stupid in love he was, pain that was exquisitely sweet. . He was captivated, and as if she could feel his stare, she opened her eyes and stared back. Her smile tugged her lips upwards and then she mimed a kiss at him and closed her eyes again.
Danny quickly looked around to see if anyone had noticed. No one was even looking his direction. He had to admit, there was an extra thrill in keeping this little secret, having something only the two of them shared. Feeling safe, he gazed back at her. She had a new cadence to her movements, undulating her torso in a way that resembled how she moved on top of him this morning, and he was instantly flushed at the memory. A muscle pulsed in his jaw as he gritted his teeth, unable to look away. She had to know what this was doing to him.
Just then, Morgan entered the room with a loud exclamation of "My people!" Danny quickly looked away, but not before Morgan caught him, as evidenced by his squinting grin and the questioning tone in his voice. "Dr. C?"
Danny felt like a teenager caught peeping in the girl's locker room. He rubbed his neck and met Morgan's inquiring eyes and decided to man up. "Morgan. Sit down. Dr. Reed really wants this meeting to commence." Man up by ignoring everything, that is.
"Okay, Dr. C." Morgan obeyed and sat with a shit eating grin on his face. Danny knew for all Morgan's quirks, he was at heart a good guy, and decided there was no harm in letting him have whatever he thought he had... He didn't know. Not even Mindy knew how far gone he was for her, so what the hell was he worried about Morgan for?
Jeremy finally returned with Peter in tow and began his presentation. Mindy popped out her earbuds and gave a wide smile to the room in general, but lingered a bit longer when her eyes met Danny's. Jeremy had handouts and spreadsheets and instructions and Danny couldn't help but zone out as most of the subjects had already been run by him earlier in the week.
Until he felt a foot nudge at his ankle. He glanced at Mindy, who appeared to be listening intently to the discussion of sanitation issues, and moved his foot slightly away. The nudge returned, but this time, the stray foot slid under his pant leg to slowly caress his calf.
He looked back at Mindy, who would still not meet his eye, but he could see a smile playing on her lips. He decided to just ignore her silliness and tried again to move away.
The foot slipped off his calf and was gone for a moment, to his great relief, but it returned with a vengeance. This time, her foot slid up his thigh and landed in his lap. Danny inhaled suddenly and then began coughing violently, causing the room to quiet and all eyes to turn to him.
"Dr. C, are you okay?" Morgan asked worriedly. Danny nodded and gasped out that he was fine. Mindy looked ant the ceiling and stifled her grin, but her foot remained in place, stroking him gently. The presentation continued and Danny finally caught Mindy's eye, so he mouthed "stop it" before looking away. She sighed loudly before removing the offending limb from his lap.
By the time Jeremy was done lecturing, Danny's pulse was back to normal and the blood had returned to his head. As everyone rose to leave, Jeremy asked Danny to stay behind for a moment. Mindy seized this opportunity as she walked behind his chair to exit.
"Uh oh... Sounds like Danny has been a bad boy." She lightly ran her nails across his broad shoulders as she passed behind him. "Let me know if you need a spanking." She murmured in his ear and then she was gone. Danny cursed her ability to get him aroused at the slightest touch.
"What's going on, Jeremy?" He asked the remaining partner.
"Look, Danny, something has become painfully obvious. I believe we have an issue with employee fraternization." Jeremy crossed his arms across his chest and leaned in the table, looking down at Danny, who was suddenly more nervous and sweaty than usual.
"What, ah, what are you talking about?"
"Oh, come on, Danny. Really? Don't play dumb. All the lingering glances, the unnecessary touches, the tension - you don't think I've noticed?"
Danny was floored. Of all the people who would have picked up on it, Jeremy was probably the last he'd expect. He was just too self involved.
"Of course, it helps that Morgan is like an open book about that girl, but I'm worried. If she doesn't return his affections, we could have another harassment suit on our hands. He does strike me as the sort to go all stalkerish."
"Oh. Tamra. Morgan and Tamra. Right. Yes, we should definitely monitor that. Yeah." Relief flooded through Danny. Maybe they could keep this little secret for a while longer.
"Okay, then, just keep an eye on them and let me know if we need to talk to them about anything."
Danny agreed and hurried back to his office so he could settle himself down. This thing with Mindy had his head spinning for the last couple of weeks, and eventually, they were going to have to confront things. But for now, spending their evenings together while they ignored their feelings during the day was going to have to do. At least he could be alone in his office till his next appointment and maybe stop thinking about Mindy for a day.
He opened his top desk drawer, the one he kept current files and paperwork in, and was just reaching in to grab a folder when he spotted them. Black silk, lace trim, a tiny pink bow, and a post it note that read "Your turn."
Danny grinned and slipped the panties into his pocket. Maybe he could stop thinking about Mindy for a day, but no, today would not be the day.
Author's note - thank you all who take the time to read and extra thanks to those who review. Even the critical ones are appreciated. About that - the first story in this series got a review stating the story was too wordy and Mindy doesn't talk like that. Point taken, but let me explain my thoughts on how I wrote it. I have written a few first person stories in Mindy's POV and they are generally the light, dare I say ditsy voice that we see on the show. However, I feel like characters can have more than one voice. Mindy on the show is presenting a persona, where she is younger and hipper than she really is, but in reality she is a well educated woman in her thirties who graduated med school. The voice we run in our head can be very different from the voice we present to the world. We haven't seen much on the show that is a serious or introspective Mindy but I believe that it isn't out of line to expect her internal voice to differ from what she shows to the world. I do wish the guest who commented had finished the entire piece, but they probably aren't even reading this. Even so, I totes apprecsh that they took the time to give me feedback, as I appreciate every review. I do find first person tougher than third person as far as finding the characters voice goes, and Danny hardest of all, which is why I've never attempted to write that.
Seven weeks, peeps!
