STEPHANIE

My day shift had just ended which meant I had a little less than sixteen hours in a row to a twenty-four-hour shift, and I plan to get a good rest for him. I texted Leo informing him I was going out because he was already waiting for me in front of the hospital.

“Dr. Bennet!” I heard the voice of my mentor behind me.

I can't say that William's and my relationship at work hasn't changed, because it has. He paid me much more attention than other university students and sincerely tried to teach me as much as possible, but at least he tried not to address me by name in front of others and to remain professional.

"Dr. Limberg, good afternoon," I greeted him, because I knew he was working the second shift today.

"How was your shift?" He asked me.

"Okay, there were no critical patients. The report is on your desk."

"Stephanie, I have a question and I'd like it to stay between us..."

"Of course, Dr. Limberg, what is it about?"

I could not call him by name, regardless of his age, because he was my mentor all year and he will stay that way until the end of his specialization. The fact that I knew him as a child was practically irrelevant to me, because I didn't remember him best.

"What's going on between Keringen and Nicole, are they friends?"

Why would he be interested in this?

I think to ask him something about this, but then I remember that I am late again and that Leo is waiting for me again and more than necessary.

"Dr. Limberg, Max is my boyfriend's best friend, which is why he met Nicole, but the two of them are acquaintances who only know each other by sight."

"I have one request, I would like to surprise Nicole and I was wondering if you could give me the keys to your apartment?"

"Here, let me just let you know that we have a little Labrador in the apartment and I'm not sure how much he loves strangers..."

"Great, thank you Stephanie, I'll handle it. I think the boy is expecting you ..."

I noticed that his gaze wandered in the opposite direction and there I saw a frowning Leo. I knew he didn't like William, but still he had to respect the fact that he was my superior.

"You're free, I'll see you on duty tomorrow," he smiled at me and headed for the locker room, and I went to Leo.

He kissed me on the flash, and I did not object, for I missed him, and all my colleagues knew about our relationship anyway, so I didn't try to hide anything more.

“What did Limberg want this time?” He asked me in jealousy.

"He just asked me a question about the shift, why are you maybe jealous?" I laughed.

"Since when do trainees get young mentors?" He asked me the same question many times, "Besides, I already told you that I don't like that man at all..."

“Do you want to spend my free time thinking about him or do you want us to be together?” I asked him and climbed on my toes to kiss him once more.

My action made him smile, and I felt low next to him again.

"What kind of question is that?", He kissed me back, "He is completely irrelevant to me..."

"Could you reserve the Astra for the next two days, since I'm working?" I asked him when we got in the car, because I wanted to change the subject.

"Of course, I can take her tonight when I drive you home," he replied without thinking.

"I didn't even ask you what your responsibilities are, I don't want to cause you any problems, you still gave it to me, and I don't want you to think I'm irresponsible..."

"Don't talk nonsense, it's my fault you have one more obligation, and that puppy couldn't get a better owner than you. I just don't like her starting to growl at me, maybe I should send her to another dressage... "

"If you didn't dare, Astra is wonderful. It's so sweet of me to be jealous of you."

I remembered how she growled at Leo when he tried to kiss me, and she was in my lap. She is a wonderful and smart puppy, but Leo is not her favorite person.

"She's so beautiful, just to realize that you're mine..."

"Are you jealous of my Labrador, too?" I began to laugh.

"What are you talking about?" He asked me, but his cheeks began to turn red.

"Just wait for me to tell this to Max," I laughed out loud.

"If you hadn't dared, so you know what he's like, you wouldn't have let me live after that..."

I continued to joke with him because I liked the slight redness on his cheeks. He could run a corporation and maintain the attitude of a cold person, but in front of him he was a boy that any girl could only wish for. His phone rang loudly interrupting our conversation and answered immediately.

"Didn't I tell you not to bother me until the end of the day?!" He thundered at someone.

"How do you think you forgot to bring me to sign such an important contract ?!" He repeated more authoritatively.

Leo continued to argue and yell at someone, and I switched off by paying attention to my surroundings. I knew my boyfriend was authoritative and dominant, but I had never heard him so furious. This change simply seemed impossible to me, but at the same time I understood why everyone respected him.

"Stephanie, is it a problem to go to my company first?" He asked me, "My replacement is on sick leave, and the man who changed him forgot to bring me the papers that I urgently need to sign..."

"You don't even have to ask me something like that," I smiled slightly at him, and he just nodded and turned off the road to his apartment.

Leo stopped the car in front of a huge office building where his last name was highlighted in large letters. Security workers immediately ran to open the door for us, and he handed them the keys. As we moved towards the entrance, he tightened his tie and buttoned his jacket and his facial expression became serious.

"Maybe I should have stayed in the car after all..."

The clothes I wore were not suitable for a place like this, because my dark jeans and white tight T-shirt did not fit into this environment at all. Everyone around me was dressed strictly business and gave me curious looks as we entered.

“Why would you think something like that?” Leo asked me in surprise.

"My hair is tousled, and if you haven't noticed, everyone around me is dressed in expensive business suits, and I look like...", I couldn't finish my thought when he interrupted me.

"The most beautiful woman present here, Stephanie, don't bother with nonsense and trifles," he told me quietly and hugged me around the waist.

I continued to smile and greet everyone present, and Leo kept that authoritative attitude that I did not like. I only breathed a sigh of relief when he ushered me into a large room, which I assumed was his office. Even this color was in shades of black and white. It exudes luxury and style, but it was still too monotonous for me.

"You had to choose the top floor...", I commented quietly.

"The view is always the most beautiful from the highest height," he winked at me.

He approached me and kissed me gently on the hair, and then he smiled at me.

"Make yourself comfortable, I believe it will take me about twenty minutes to finish everything, but maybe it will take longer..."

"Just work for you, I'd definitely like some rest," I settled on the sofa at the other end of the room.

I looked around the room carefully, looking for some pictures or anything that might reveal something more about him, but I found nothing. There were no photos with his family or friends.

I’m not sure when I fell asleep, but I woke up covered in a jacket that smelled of him. I straightened up and saw him reading some documents in focus, then I walked over to him and settled into his lap.

"Sorry, I stayed much longer than I planned, you shouldn't have spent your free time on an uncomfortable sofa..."

I saw sincere sadness in his eyes, but I did not see the reason for his justification. I don't remember how many times I have canceled our meetings so far due to shifts and fatigue, and he did not resent me for a single moment, nor did he even blame me for it.

"It's all right, even if I fell asleep."

"Let's get out of here, I'll order us some dinner, I'm sure you're starving."

"No, to make up for the day I spent here, I want you to cook," I laughed, and he looked at me in surprise.

"Stephanie, I don't know how to cook."

"Take care," I laughed, shrugging.

"I don't want to cook," he frowned.

"Then I'm going to my apartment, I'm sure the Astra wanted me..."

"Okay, you won, but don't say later that I didn't warn you."

"Warning accepted."

By the time we left his company, all the employees had already left, except for a couple of security workers. Now I could calmly look around the place where he works, the latest models of equipment and spacious meeting rooms left the biggest impression on me.

“Do you like it?” Leo asked me, as if he knew what I was thinking.

"I would like to try all that equipment, but all this is too monotonous and boring for me," I told him honestly, and that made him laugh.

I felt like I was living a dream with him, neither of us was perfect, but it was as if we were complementing each other's flaws. We were so different, and yet so similar. All of this was happening so fast that it just seemed too good to be true.

When we arrived at Leo's apartment, I went to his room, while he, to my great surprise, really accepted cooking. I pulled my spare clothes out of his closet, then headed to the bathroom to take a shower and relax completely. By the time I finished the whole apartment was already smelling of burnt food and smoke, and I was honestly surprised that the fire extinguishing system did not turn on.

I went into the kitchen and found him with a burnt sherpa, that's what I need when I decide to ask a stubborn man to make dinner. He smiled nervously at me, and I couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"That's it, I'm ordering food," he angrily opened the trash can, but I still answered him.

"I'm sure it's not that bad," I took his sherpa and carried it to the already set dining table.

"Stephanie, I don't think you should eat that..."

It was hard to describe the disgust of looking at something that was supposed to resemble spaghetti, but he did this just for me and I would feel bad if I hurt him with my words. Definitely, cooking was not his strong suit, but his dedication and hard work really touched me.

"This could be you and me one day. We come back from work together, and then after a long day we have dinner together with our children...", he said suddenly, and I looked at him alternately, almost choking.

"Leo, I agree with you and I sincerely want it to be like that, but I think you're in too much of a hurry. We're only having fun for a few months, you're at the very beginning of your career, and I have exhausting years of specialization ahead of me. What I want at the moment is to dedicate myself to specialization and allow myself to enjoy life day in and day out with you. Besides, I couldn't dedicate myself to both the child and the specialization at the same time... "

I sincerely fell in love with Leo, but it was too early for me to think about marriage and all the obligations that go along with it. At the moment, I want to dedicate myself to my career and specialization to the maximum, and time will show whether we are destined to succeed at all. There was no talk about children, because I am still unprepared for such a big step that would change my life radically.

"I just exposed you to the possibility," he smiled at me, but I saw the sadness behind that smile.

"One day, Leo," I went to his place and sat on his lap, then pressed my lips to his, "We're going to have little boys who will be the same as you and give me headaches every day."

“Boys?” He looked at me in surprise.

"But I'd rather have girls with your long hair..."

I don't know why, but I burst out laughing. We were alone and enjoying ourselves, and then we suddenly started arguing about children as a married couple.

"Okay Leo, we're going to have a son and a daughter. Are you happy now?"

“Just two?” He looked at me questioningly.

"How many children would you like, Mr. Anders?"

"The whole kindergarten is with you," he said and kissed me passionately.

I enjoyed his lips until someone’s cough interrupted us and we both turned to the uninvited guest. Maximilian stood in the corner of the room and watched me in disbelief in Leo's lap.

"Leo, I thought you were alone..." he began to justify himself.

I laughed at his words, because this was the first time I had seen the stern Max as embarrassed. I got up from Leo's lap and settled into the next chair.

“As you can see I didn’t, and you could stop entering my apartment without prior notice,” Leo was annoyed that he interrupted us.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to interrupt you in..."

"Talking about children and the future," Leo interjected, and I felt like I was going to fall to the ground from the shame.

I stepped on Leo's leg with all my might and gave him a killer look, letting him know to shut up.

"Are you hungry?" I asked Max, because I didn't want them to start a conversation about our relationship.

“I did, but what burned in your apartment?” He asked me as he approached the table.

“Did you two decide to get poisoned or what?” He pointed to the sherpa in front of us.

"Leo decided to make us dinner, don't be so cruel," I began to defend my boyfriend.

"Leo, did you start cooking that too?" Max raised an eyebrow, and a wicked smile appeared on his face.

"If I hadn't heard you start..." Leo threatened him, and Max pulled the phone out of his pocket and ordered food for us.

"Well, then you could have been in the commercials for the restaurant chain we are planning to open, just imagine how popular he would be..." Max suggested without taking the evil smile off his face.

"Max, shut up."

"Come on Leo, imagine you in a chef's uniform, women would go crazy..."

"You would cook, too, for that handsome doctor only if she agreed..." Leo replied, but he immediately interrupted him.

"But Leo, did you sign a contract to build a new building?"

I didn't know that Max was in love, now I was really interested in which doctor managed to get into his thoughts.

Maybe it's someone I know from work? I'm going to have to talk to Leo about this...

"Yes, they're starting construction next week."

The two of them continued to talk about work, and since I had little to do with construction and entrepreneurship, I decided to settle on the corner set and wait for the food that Max had ordered. I glanced at my phone, but there was not a single message, not a missed call. My mentor and Nicole must have had a good time when she forgot about her sister.

After dinner, I was already exhausted, and Maximilian and Leo had to go back to the company to look at some contracts again. Since Leo's car had only two seats, we finally settled in Max's.

“Are you sure you’ll be able to take the Astra?” I asked him.

"I already told you I could," he kissed me gently on the forehead, and Max joined in the conversation.

"Will the meticulous Leo bring puppies into his company?" Max asked him with a sneer.

"Yes Max, I'll bring Stephanie's dog into my firm."

"If I hadn't heard this with my own ears, I would never have believed..."

"Max, I live in the next building...", I interrupted their conversation, and he nodded and parked the car in the first free place.

"I'll be right back," Leo told him as we left, but Max was already in front of the car.

"I can join you, becauseI'd like to say hello to Nicole."

I was surprised by Maximilian's words, but I didn't complain. Leo took my hand in his, and Max walked behind us.

I unlocked the door of our apartment and headed to the living room looking for my sister, and there I had something to see. Nicole slept in my mentor's arms, while the movie they had probably watched before was still going on. They looked so happy and in love, which made me smile sincerely. I don't remember seeing my sister sleeping so peacefully. I wasn't happy that she was with my mentor, but in time I'll probably get used to it.

Astra ran up to me and I immediately lifted her into my arms because I didn’t want her to wake them with her barking.

"Leo, I forgot I had a conversation to do. I'll wait for you in the car," Max's face suddenly became expressionless and his voice cold.

"See you, Stephanie," he said and left.

"See you, Ma...", I tried to greet him, but he was already gone.

I packed Leo all of Astra’s favorite toys, food, and leash, and then briefly explained to him how to take care of her. I handed the puppy to Leo, and she whimpered in his arms.

"Princess, I'll see you in two days," I gently stroked her head, because I didn't want to part with her.

"Princess?" Leo looked at me in astonishment, "I'd better buy you a turtle, because she picked up all your attention..."

I pulled him by the collar of his shirt and kissed him, and he reciprocated by deepening our kiss. He kissed me like there was no tomorrow, and I enjoyed every moment.

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