Book 1 of the H&K Series : Path of Knowledge

Chapter 1

Tess sat across the table in the hospital cafeteria as the breakfast rush began, staring in disbelief into the face of Doctor Jim Martin, a doctor associated with the hospital she worked as a nurse. She went rigid as he reached across the table to place his hands over hers. He smiled as he continued to speak. She pulled her hands from under his and put them at the edge of the table. His eyes dropped to her breasts. His toothy smirk jolted her into movement. In a flash, she sprang to her feet, hastily pushing the chair back. She grabbed her purse and leaned forward.

"Listen and listen good," Tess whispered with venom in her voice. "I love my husband, and I would never cheat on him ever, especially not with you. If you ever touch me again or speak to me inappropriately again, I will file a sexual harassment charge with Human Resources. Do I make myself clear?" She turned around and stormed off.

"Think about it," Doctor Martin called after her.

She was fuming as she walked stiffly to the elevator that would take her back to her assigned floor. His words continued to ring in her ears. "You know you want me as much as I want you. No one will ever know. We can have fun here in the hospital and we can still have family outings, but no one would be the wiser. Samantha and Bob would never suspect a thing."

She was horrified that she had once thought of this man, this doctor, as an impressive, compassionate, family-oriented person. Now all she saw was a womanizing two-faced cheater who would proposition her. Their families had been getting together for holidays, barbeques, birthday parties, and the occasional weekend for years. His wife was a good friend. Their children went to school together. And he, this so-called man, was propositioning to have an affair with him? What audacity. What arrogance. What a scumbag!

By the time she had arrived on her floor, the staff was whispering and staring at her. Another nurse on the floor was nowhere in sight. She was known to be the biggest gossip and had caused quite a few issues with other staff members by exaggerating or outright making up things about them. Tess's cell phone buzzed as she walked down the hall to the nurses' station. Pulling the cell out of her pocket, she saw two messages waiting. She checked to see that the first was from Doctor Martin and the other was from Rose.

"You know you want to," Doctor Martin's text read. She fumed. That was it, she had warned him. He was continuing to harass her. Her next stop would be the Human Resource office to file a sexual harassment complaint as she stormed down the hall to the elevators. She glanced at the second text as she walked.

"You won't believe that Tess and Doctor Martin are having an affair," Rose's text read with an attached photo of them in the cafeteria when he had placed his hands over Tess's. It had been a mass text. Rose was probably unaware she had sent it to Tess. Tess exploded inside.

She spun on her heels, heading for the elevator. She still had twenty minutes left of her lunch. The elevator door slid open, and there stood Rose. Before Rose could step out, Tess shoved her back into the elevator, pushed the basement button, and slammed Rose back against the far wall.

Rose stood four feet six inches, a sixty-year-old woman past her prime, with shoulder-length gray hair, brown eyes, a turkey waddle neck, and a devious personality but tried to come off as a sweet, caring person. Tess, on the other hand, stood five feet eight inches tall, one-hundred-and-twenty-five pounds, forty years old, with long brown hair that reached her waistband, bright blue eyes, and a chest that drew men's and some women's attention right off. Being a mother of two, she had made it a point to try to work out at least three times a week with their home gym to stay in good shape. She had just recently begun taking karate and kickboxing classes with her two children and husband.

Tess held her left-hand flat against Rose's chest, her thumb on her left clavicle and index finger on her right collarbone. Fury burned in her eyes as she glared at the smaller older woman as the elevator doors closed and shot downward.