Watson by Kathi Barton (ebook reader txt) 📕

so and is going to take hers now. I think that might be the case with you. You’re not required to do this now, nor will it be held against you if you decide you want to wait. Because of you working in the hospital for us, even if you didn’t want to go ahead and test, you’ll be paid the wages of a nurse of your caliber. And you are a high-quality nurse, Ms. Oliver. The professors have enjoyed having you in their classes. The doctors that you worked with at the other hospital had nothing but rave reviews about your work ethic. I’ve not been able to say this to any of the others, nor will I to those that are still left, but I do believe you’re going to pass this test without any trouble.”

“Thank you.” She sat there for a second. “I was going to be working for Doctor Wilkerson while I was going to school. Just answering the phone and such. May I call him and see if it would be all right with him if I were to go to the hospital instead?”

“Yes, by all means. Here, you use my phone, and I’ll give you a few minutes.” She felt like she was being rushed, and it didn’t settle well with her belly or nerves. Taking a deep breath as soon as the door closed behind Mr. Elliot, she picked up the phone to call Wats. He was laughing when he answered her.

“Professor Elliot, I was just thinking—” She cut him off and told him that it was her, that she was in his office. “Is there something wrong? Are you hurt? Do you need me to come and get you? Honey, what is it?”

“You’re wonderful. I hope you know that. No, not a thing is wrong.” She let the tears fall, another thing she did when she was stressed out. Cry. After telling him what she’d been told, she asked him about working for him. “You see, they’re short-staffed. I don’t think they want me there all the time, just until they can get some better trained nurses. I want to work with you. Very much so. I have visions of you chasing me around the desk. I’m getting off track here. I want to help you both, but I don’t think that will do me a bit of good.”

“Okay, just let my mind get out of the thought of you being naked on my desk for a moment.” He didn’t say anything for several seconds. “Not going to happen. So we might as well move on. Honey, do you want to do this today? I believe, like Professor Elliot, that you’re going to do well at it. And the fact that you’ll be finished with it all an entire eight weeks earlier would be one less stressful item off your list. Right?”

“Yes. I have been studying since I started. I think I could pass it, but how well, I have no idea. I want to do this, but I don’t want to leave you in a situation that will make you short-staffed either.” Wats told her he could find someone to work for him and that it was the desk part he was most looking forward to. “How about we do this then. I do this today, and then you move into the bedroom that I’m in, and we have this sexual tension taken care of once and for all?”

She knew he was still on the line. His breathing, harsh and quick, told her that. Rayne smiled when he asked for another minute, and she had to laugh when he said he needed to sit down. Telling him if he didn’t want to do it they didn’t have to was mean, she knew, but it got him talking again.

“Do you have any idea how many cold showers I’ve taken since I’ve met you? Several times a day, let me tell you.” She giggled, a thing she’d not done since she was a child. “I agree to that, all of it. Take your test. I’ll take you out to dinner tonight, then I will make love to you for the rest of the week. How’s that for a plan?”

“I love it.” She nearly told him she loved him as well but didn’t want to make him feel as if he had to say it back to her. Instead, she told him she didn’t know when she’d be home, but she’d let him know when she was finished. “I don’t know what I’ll do for lunch, but I’ll figure something out. Wish me luck.”

“Wishing you all the luck you’ll need. However, I think you’re going to do just fine. Let me know when you take your break, and I’ll try to come and see you. I have a terrible need for a nice long kiss from you.” She said he’d distract her. “Good point. I’ll try very hard not to do that. All right, love. I’ll look forward to seeing you soon.”

Taking the National Council Licensure Examination, or NCLEX-RN for short, took six hours. That was all she was allotted anyway. She’d been told by other nursing personnel she’d worked with over the years that cramming for the exam wouldn’t help. It was something you had to prepare for throughout your studies. That was exactly what she’d done. Even during the months she didn’t have a heavy load, Rayne had gotten out her old notes and read over them to be ready. She’d been trying to get ready for this for a long time.

Being seated in a cubicle, Rayne could see that there were other people in the room with her. The proctor was there, and after he handed her the thick file for her to begin, he put her name on his chalkboard and the time she started. Opening it to the first page, Rayne closed it again and took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. This was it, she told