Chapter 41
"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage."
Lao Tzu –
But the next day when I got to the hospital, not only were there two additional people there, Jacobi looked even less interested than he had the day before.
After a brisk introduction, he left again to conduct interviews.
Thankfully, the two new hires, Evelyn, the administrator, and Helen, a nurse, were people I knew from town, so it hadn't been too awkward.
I couldn't help but mourn the loss of our privacy, though. How were Jacobi and I supposed to fall in love under this kind of circumstance, in full view of an audience?
As the days rolled into weeks,our 'audience' grew in number, adding two more auxiliary nurses, three qualified nurses, a matron, two doctors, three cleaners, and a janitor.
By the start of the fourth week, not only was the place fully staffed, we had opened our doors to the patients. I remained at the front desk and had to put up a brave smile to all the surprised looks from people, shocked to see the minister wife sitting behind a desk.
The real tragedy was how much further from my reach Jacobi got with every passing day and every new hire.
But the even bigger tragedy was how invisible I now was to him. It was almost like I'd imagined the whole thing; our mutual attraction and the wonderful time we'd had together, sitting in his office that first day, listening to Whitney Houston. It seemed like it had happened in another lifetime…and not this one, where he was my boss, and I was nothing but the minion hired to man the front desk.
But I didn't give up and, instead, showed up looking my best every single day. Whilst it only got me more catcalls from street boys,and a few lustful stares from the younger of the two doctors, Jacobi was as oblivious to my charms as if he'd pulled cloth over his eyes.
And then I came up with an idea. I finally figured out what would be the perfect tool to grab his attention.
"Do you have a moment?" I asked late one evening, when the last of the patients had left the building.
"zeynep, you're still here?" he exclaimed. "It's almost 9pm!"
"It's okay, I was studying, and I lost track of time."
"Studying?"
I nodded, happy he was catching the bait. "I've been thinking about what you said…about me furthering my education. So, I've decided to try my hands at the next GCSE."
A broad smile broke on his face. "That's fantastic, zeynep. I'm very glad to hear that," his smile waned a bit. "But it won't be easy, especially considering how long ago you were in school. What books are you reading?"
My mind raced for a suitable answer, considering I had been doing nothing of the sort. "Erm, just an old textbook I found at home."
"Tell you what, I'll try to get my hands on a few when next I'm in New-York, and maybe see if I can find a tutor who can come here to help you for an hour a day. How does that sound?"
Like a downright drag, was what I thought. I had not the slightest desire to put myself through the humiliation of returning to school, but as it was the most reaction I'd gotten from him in weeks, I decided to run with it.
"It sounds perfect!" I lied, with a megawatt smile of my own.
"And if that's not enough, I'll be glad to also lend a helping hand," he added.
Now that was more like it.
"Thank you, Jacobi. I'd really appreciate it," I said, loving him all the more for his selfless generosity.
He was everything I had dreamt about in a man. Everything.
True to his words, the next day, he presented me with a box full of books; new ones he'd picked from New-York and a few ones he had used himself.
"I know my books will be even more dated than anything you have, but I just figured they would be of a little help," he said modestly. Looking through the marked-up yellowed pages of the old books, with their accompanying perfectly answered past questions, I knew they would be of more than a 'little help'. If only I were interested.
"Thank you," I smiled at him and was glad when I saw a flicker in his own eyes.
He wasn't as immune to me as he made out to be.
"I wasn't able to find a suitable tutor," he said, quickly looking away. "I'll keep looking though, but in the meantime, just see what you can do on your own, and let me know if you need any help."
Oh, I most definitely would.
The next day was a Friday, and from the moment I left the house that morning, I was determined that would be the day I would make him mine. I left several buttons of the fitted shirt I wore undone, and paired it with a long, tight skirt with a slit that went thigh high. I left my long wavy hair down. There was no way, absolutely no way, he would be able to resist me.
Upon getting to the hospital and seeing the long line of patients waiting, I quickly buttoned up my blouse properly. There was no point having my cleavage on display for half the city to see.
I decided it was best to save the nudity for later.
By evening, after the last of the patients had left and the last of the nurses had clocked out, I knew there was no better time. Popping open the buttons again, I grabbed a random book from the pile and knocked on the door.
"Sorry to disturb you, but I seem to have a problem with…" I cast a cursory look at the book I'd grabbed and was appalled to see it was a literature book, "…this book."
He arched his brow. "Time to kill" by John Grisham . I got it because I was told it's one of the books in this year's syllabus, even though I wasn't sure if Literature is one of the subjects you're interested in. I haven't read it though, so I might not be of much help."
I walked to his desk, leaning forward such that my breasts were almost bursting out of my blouse.
"I'm not that good with literature, so maybe you could read it to me?"
He was momentarily flustered, looking away quickly. But not before I'd seen the look of raw desire in his eyes.
He wanted me, no doubt about it.
"Why don't you start with the other subjects you were good at before? You could try to freshen up on your Chemistry, Physics, and even Math. When we get you a tutor, he can help you with the rest," he said, small beads of sweat forming around his brow.
"It's okay, I'll just read this here," I said, sitting down opposite him, determined not to leave without winning him over.
He continued to type, but his tension was obvious. He seemed to be doing everything in his power not to look at me. After several minutes of struggling, he shut his laptop. "I think I need to call it a day. It's been a long week."
As he rose to his feet, I rose to mine as well. I stood there as he packed up his things and got a lot of satisfaction in seeing the slight tremble of his hands.
"Do you want me to give you a ride home?" he asked.
By now, even though he was standing about a foot away from me, it was the closest we had been since that first day in his clinic. And I knew I just had to grab the moment.
So, I kissed him.