Growing into the Job, Post 499: A Day at Far Horizons: Geriatrics (FHMA), p1

This wasn’t how my Monday mornings were supposed to go.

I sat hunched over the small desk in Exam Room 3, sitting on a stool and tapping at the old workstation. I was trying - and mostly failing - to focus on my notes for the three patients I’d seen this morning. This new EHR - sorry, Electronic Health Records - system is the WORST! Well, ugh, it’s probably not that bad. I’m just not always the best with new things, and over the weekend the new powers-that-be put the entire facility onto it, my - strike that - our Geriatrics practice here at FHMA included. I declined watching the training videos over the weekend and now I was paying for it. I’d do my best, like I always did, of ignoring the things that upset me or - for that matter - made my toes curl in soul-wrenching terror. Like the way my feet currently hovered over the ground. 

Yes, I had the exam stool at its lowest; I was just that short. Over the weekend I’d shrunk to 4’3”, and was just only now realizing how my height was affecting me in real life. Even using a computer felt different, more challenging, and not just because of my smaller hands, my shorter arms. My mind seemed different, too, more easily distracted.  Anyway, normally I’d do this in my office: in my own space, my own chair, my own routine. But I hadn’t been able to get into my office this morning.

The thought still sat in the back of my mind, an itch I couldn’t quite scratch.

I had woken up, as was habit these days, in Melissa’s arms. After a couple, uh, moments of intimacy where we talked a little about the movie from last night (I still can’t get some of those frankly pretty violent images of Nancy Archer out of my head; her hand around her husband’s neck, then later her hand around his whole body) I was made ready for the day - teeth brushed, face washed, toileted. Not, I must admit, all under my own power. Someone had found me some scrubs that fit, and I was likewise dressed into them by my Amazon of a girlfriend. No one had been able to find a white clinic jacket in my new size, but whatever, fine. Nonetheless, after efficiently readying me and herself and citing some early morning tasks before doors opened on this first day of the new wings, Melissa scooted downstairs a few minutes before me. She’d warmed it up but left me to finish my morning protein drink myself. I was actually starting to get used to these things. They were simple, and they made me feel good.

Anyway, me myself I’d still be working in the old Far Horizons Medical Associates suite, and got down to it around 8:30am. The place felt empty; where before we were wayyyy overstaffed, Melissa having hired far more people than we needed soon after her arrival back in August, now it felt a bit like a ghost ship. Most of the staff had been reassigned to clinics in the new wings, working alongside the horde of women that had shown up on the bus Friday and living upstairs in the new apartments. The administrative people, too, had office space in the new “Women’s Health and Wellness” wing. We here at the Geriatrics practice of FHMA - myself and a new practitioner I’d be meeting today - were left with a few medical assistants and two receptionists. We’d still be seeing our regular patients, while the Evolution study - still ongoing in its way, even after the Product got its FDA approval - had been moved to its own, separate wing. 

Anyway (I say that a lot, don’t I. Sorry), I figured I’d still have the retreat and solace of my old office, and was a bit annoyed when I couldn’t get into it. It wasn’t locked in the way an office might be locked after hours, when janitorial staff (those weird dudes in brown overalls, now) did their rounds. No - the old doorknobs were gone; they’d been replaced in the whole suite over the weekend. In their places were sleek, silver knobs with biometric scanners, fingerprint sensors.

I hadn’t been told about any new security measures. No emails. No memos. Nothing. I had tried my key anyway, out of pure habit. But any sort of lock was gone, and my key slid uselessly over the scanner plate. Somehow I thought that might work, but it didn’t.

I stood there for a few moments, staring, before I heard footsteps approaching.

“You need help, Dr. J?”

I turned to see Aubrey, one of the front-desk girls who would be staying on with Geriatrics - I heard she’d requested the placement herself, declining a management position in one of the bigger, new clinics. She was smiling with her usual, polite warmth and approaching, clipboard in hand. I tried to keep my eyes from goggling. 

I blinked.

Aubrey. She’d been with us at the front desk for three years now, and I always thought of her as petite. Slim, delicate, all doe-eyes and careful grace, like something out of an old film. Quiet, bookish in fact. She had big, expressive eyes, and was young but had a refined kind of beauty that didn’t need much else to turn heads.

But now? Now that same delicate frame had been sculpted up into something impossible. She was still slender, still willowy in her own way, but - holy crikies, she’d grown.

My jaw may have dropped just gathering again how tall she looked. Yes, I’d lost several inches since I’d last seen her but when had she become so statuesque? Once one of the shortest girls here, now she was one of the tallest. Not Melissa’s height, but definitely taller than Josie, Lakshmi, even Randi and Amelia. Yikes. 

And just as dramatically, her proportions had changed, become exaggerated, put on curves where there shouldn’t be curves. She now had an almost surreal balance of tiny waist, shapely hips, and breasts that had no business belonging to a woman of her slenderness. 

And yet, somehow, there they were. 

She was dressed conservatively, as always - a crisp white blouse, fitted high-waisted trousers, her signature ballet flats. But there was no hiding the way the fabric hugged her now. The blouse, even buttoned high at the collar, was pulled taut across the heavy, round swells of her bust, the soft pearl buttons holding firm against a chest that had once been modest but was now, well…anything but.

The slacks, professional as they were, couldn’t disguise the way her waist dipped in sharply before flaring into full, sculpted hips. The kind of figure that made no anatomical sense, the kind that should’ve belonged to a woman twice her weight - but on Aubrey, it looked natural. Like she’d been born for it. She was still Aubrey, still composed, still carrying herself with modesty and grace but unlike before, she no longer tried to shrink herself down and disappear.

I swallowed. Even her dark hair, done up fetchingly in a loose bun, made me shiver.

“Uh…” I gestured at the door, willing myself to focus. “They change the locks?”

She smiled, but there was something too polite, too measured in it, as if she knew something she wasn’t saying. She hesitated a moment before answering. “Uh… yeah,” she answered, as she stepped up to be close to me. She looked down at me from on high, my own eyeline well under her bust. “Well. I mean, all the offices got upgraded. New security system and all.”

I frowned. Upgraded? “I, uh, wasn’t told about this.”

Aubrey tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Maybe you need to get your credentials re-registered? I think…register your fingerprint?...maybe…” she trailed off, then forced another little smile, “Melissa would be the one to do that for you.”

I blinked. Melissa? I felt it, between Aubrey and myself, that subtle shift, that unspoken change in who, exactly, held the authority around here. I exhaled, shaking my head. “Alright. I’ll check with her.”

I turned back to the door, but something else caught my eye - my nameplate was missing. I stared at the blank space where it had been for years. There was a faint rectangle of lighter paint, a ghost of its previous placement, but no sign of the metal plaque itself. 

My stomach twisted slightly.

They’re just redoing the signage, right?

That had to be it. All the new wings had been given all matching plaques - sleek, modern, with that polished, minimalist font. Maybe they were standardizing everything now. A small detail, sure, but a reasonable one.

I turned back to Aubrey. “They’re updating the signs too?”

She nodded quickly, almost too quickly. “Yeah. Doing them like how they did in the new clinics. They’re just…reformatting things.”

I exhaled, forcing a nod. “Got it. Thanks.”

She smiled again. “Of course, Dr. J.”

I smiled back up at her. 

Aubrey shifted her weight slightly, hands clasped neatly in front of her, as if debating whether to say something.

I exhaled, glancing back at the empty space where my nameplate used to be, then back at her. “Hey… thanks, by the way.”

She blinked, cocked her head. “For what?”

“For staying here,” I said, shrugging. “You could’ve transferred to one of the fancy new clinics. More opportunities, better equipment, all the prestige of the new - whatever - ‘Evolution Center’. But you stuck around.” I gave her a small, appreciative smile. “I, uh…I’m glad.”

Aubrey’s lips parted slightly, like she hadn’t expected that. Then - color bloomed at the tops of her cheeks.

“Oh - um,” she let out a soft, breathy little laugh, tucking some hair behind her ear. “Well, you know. I just…” Her fingers toyed with the hem of her sleeve. “Melissa asked me to. Me and Lakshmi.”

I frowned slightly. “Melissa?”

Aubrey nodded, pressing her lips together, before glancing up at me through her long lashes. “She wanted to make sure someone was around to… keep an eye on you. someone she trusted.”

I swallowed. “‘Keep an eye on me’?”

“Not in a bad way!” she hurried to add, shaking her head. “Just…in case you needed anything. At times when she wasn’t going to be around.”

I frowned again, but before I could ask what that meant, Aubrey shifted slightly, her posture changing along with something in her expression.

A small, shy smile curled at the corner of her lips. “Besides,” she murmured, voice lower now. More intimate, but still hesitant. “I know it’ll be quiet, fewer patients. I like that. But, really, I mostly just couldn’t imagine working with anyone else but you. I actually wanted to stay.”

I blinked.

She tilted her head, gaze warm but now decidedly flirtatious. “And honestly? I think it’ll be kind of nice, don’t you? Fewer people here, less distractions. More time…together?”

My throat suddenly felt dry.

Aubrey had always been polite. Sweet. But she’d never looked at me quite like this before. Or, well…wait. Was I remembering something? A time, up in my apartment? How-?

The moment stretched, just a second too long as she was watching my mind trying to catch something fleeting, that was fluttering away. Then, with a newly confident ease, she straightened her shoulders, smoothed her blouse down over her remarkable bust, and smiled. “Anyway, sorry about your office, but I should get back to the desk. Patients will be showing up soon. Bye Dr. J.”

She pivoted gracefully on her heel, walking away with her new, quiet confidence and those new, impossible curves.

Watching her leave (what a strut she had!) I caught it again, that subtle, knowing quiet. Like she’d known something I didn’t. Like she hadn’t been telling me something.

I exhaled, running a hand over my face. Jesus. Fine. I’d check with Melissa later about getting in to my office. Fingerprints or whatever. For now, I had patients coming. I needed to focus.

Yeah, I need to focus... 

That had been a couple hours ago, and I was still sitting in what now felt like a borrowed space, the exam room, trying to - yes - focus. I was typing notes into an EHR I didn’t understand at a borrowed desk, trying to ignore both the way my stomach hadn’t quite unclenched since this morning and the way my feet still hovered over the ground.

The air here was the same. The staff was the same, the walls around me were the same, the patients were basically the same. And yet, a lot definitely wasn’t the same. There was a shift happening, subtle but constant, like a tide rolling in. And, still doing my chart notes from my few morning patients, I was starting to wonder how far the water was going to rise.

I shifted on my stool, adjusting my posture in an attempt to get comfortable. The seat felt too off, too big. I frowned, and decided I might need to ask Melissa to order me some smaller stools. What else was going to outgrow me around here, besides my exam stools? Ugh. Shaking off the thought, I focused back on the screen in front of me.

Patient notes. Right. I really needed to finish my charting before my next patient. I didn’t like to get behind.

My fingers hovered over the keyboard, and I struggled to remember what I’d done with…that old guy. The one with the…thing. My brain, though, wasn’t cooperating. The morning had been…too odd.

I exhaled, rolling my shoulders, trying to ground myself in the familiar routine. You can learn some new software, I told myself, It’s just charting! Reviewing lab work, adjusting medications. Focus on the patients, I continued thinking, not on… everything else.

I exhaled sharply, rubbing my temple. But just as I started typing again, voices drifted in from the hallway. Two women, it sounded like, walking towards my exam room.

I recognized one voice immediately: Lakshmi, my medical assistant for years. I’d been happy to hear that she’d be staying on here at FHMA as well - even if it was ‘keeping an eye on me’. She was reliable, smart, serious when she needed to be. And I was thankful there’d be someone else in this place who still felt like a link to my old world.

But the other voice? With Lakshmi out in the hallway? Unfamiliar, not one of the new MA’s I’d been working with this morning. Yes, it was young, female. But it was astoundingly clear, strong. It had a touch of something - warm but self-assured, with a bit of an accent, a musical, rising, intonation. Some type of British? Australian? Maybe…yes, South African?

I stopped typing, and listened. The voices were growing clearer as they approached down the hall.

“…but, poor Mr. Porter looked like he was about to have a heart attack,” Lakshmi was saying. She sounded amused but, knowing her, I heard a trace of concern in her voice.

A small chuckle from the other woman. “Ja, no, definitely, I noticed. He barely made eye contact with me.”

“Oh, Jewel,” Lakshmi said, “I think that was because he was too busy trying not to stare. You certainly…draw attention.”

I frowned slightly.

“Seriously,” Lakshmi continued, in a wry voice tinged with something almost like a scolding, “the man has been coming here for years. He expected to walk in and see the same people he always has, looking the same. Instead, he gets me - with this. It is twice the size since last time he saw me.” A pause. Was she talking about her, uh, bottom?  “A bigger me, with a bigger this.” Yes, she definitely was. I could, in fact, almost imagine her spanking her own butt. “But then, also, he gets you.”

The other voice - was her name actually ‘Jewel’? -  let out a small laugh. “Well, if he was startled by you, I can’t imagine what he thought when I walked in.”

“Oh, I know what he thought,” Lakshmi said dryly. “He thought he might have a heart attack, right there.”

The other woman laughed again, warmer this time. “That bad?”

“Oh, yes,” Lakshmi said, voice exasperated, “The man is almost ninety. He has a history of coronary artery disease. And you walked in there looking like…like that.”

I shifted slightly in my seat. Like what? I couldn’t help but wonder. 

The young, clear voice hummed in amusement. “Guess I should’ve eased him into it, eh?”

“Oh, please. There is no easing into…you.” Lakshmi’s tone was trying to be playful, but there was something else behind it - a certain concern. “I mean, wow. How tall are you, anyway?”

The sound of their footsteps had stopped. They were paused, just a bit down the hall from me. 

“Six-six.”

I stiffened slightly.

Lakshmi let out a low whistle. “And that is before the heels?”

A grin in the other’s voice. “Of course.”

Lakshmi chuckled. “And the rest of you? In that dress? How do you expect to not-“

“These are the outfits they sent with us from Coronado, they way they want us to dress.”

I swallowed, barely breathing now.

Lakshmi exhaled. “Well, either way, you make a very strong first impression. No wonder Mr. Porter looked like he needed oxygen. He thought he was seeing his normal doctor today, Dr. J.”

“Right,” the other woman mused. “Dr. J…”

At the mention of my name - or what people called me - my chest tightened.

“Yes,” Lakshmi said, her tone shifting slightly. Softer. “Poor Mr. Porter probably expected to see him, same as always.”

Jewel was quiet for a moment. Then - “So, what’s he like? Dr. J..? I’ve heard a little bit…”

Lakshmi hesitated. “He is…a good doctor. Dedicated to his patients. He has earned their trust, like he has from those of us who work with him.”

A pause. I could imagine Jewel nodding, taking that in. It made me feel good, hearing Lakshmi say all this. She’s a good egg, always has been. Even if the signage was missing and my office door wouldn’t open, it didn’t mean everything around here was changing. Right? Lakshmi still had my b-

“Used to run the practice, you know,” she added.

urk.

Jewel’s voice, in reply, was thoughtful. “Used to.”

Was that a question, or a statement?

Lakshmi sighed. “Yes. Things are just…different now.”

They began walking again, someone’s heels starting to <click-click> on the floor, the other feet in sneakers. They were getting closer. Their voices - clearer.

Lakshmi continued, “I feel a bit bad for him, honestly. He is trying. But-”

They were right outside the door.

“Oh! There he is,” rang out Lakshmi’s voice.

I looked up from my desktop just as she stepped into the doorway, but whatever greeting I’d been about to give immediately evaporated from my brain.

Because behind her…

Holy fucking shit.

One would think Lakshmi Vallurupalli would be a woman impossible to overshadow. Four months ago I would not believe I’d ever be saying this but she was tall, with that impossible figure - her full, soft curves exaggerated, her lower body past normal human proportions. Her rear end had grown to the size of a small planet. But next to the other woman standing in my exam room doorway Lakshmi might as well have been trying to compete with the sun.

The woman - no, the force of nature - beside her was unlike any human I’d ever seen before. Well, besides Melissa, of course….though I don’t know if one could still count Melissa as human. 

She was stunning, yes, but that wasn’t quite the word. Stunning implied something - I dunno - passive. This woman’s appearance wasn’t passive in any sense. There was something undeniably aggressive about her attractiveness..

Her skin was a rich, warm caramel, glowing under the soft, natural lighting of the exam room. It was flawless, smooth as polished silk. Her hair, tightly curled and short enough to show off her elegant neck, had a mix of natural dark and blonde tones, giving it a highlighted, multidimensional look. The blonde, probably professionally colored, was subtly blended, adding contrast to her naturally dark curls while maintaining a polished yet slightly relaxed appearance. This combination gave her a striking, multiracial and professional look that would fit well here, in corporate America, or on a runway.

And her face…lord god.

High cheekbones. Full lips on a large mouth were painted with a deep, glossy shade that matched the wine-red of her wrap dress. Hugely expressive eyes were both wide and sharp, a piercing brown-gold that locked onto me the moment I looked up at her. The way she held herself was statuesque, poised - her spine long and straight, shoulders back. Regal would be one way to describe her posture, like an aristocrat surveying her domain.

And then - there was the rest of her.

She was tall, very tall. Easily close to seven feet in her heels. But it was her shape that made my throat go dry.

Though her body reminded me of Melissa’s in lots of ways - dramatic curves on a slim but athletic build - for some reason it actually called to mind some other women at Far Horizons, the redheaded Bianca, in particular. But this woman’s proportions were even more cartoonishly extravagant. She had the kind of figure that made the very concept of proportion seem meaningless; even ‘hourglass’ didn’t do it justice. Her body was an event horizon - a gravitational pull of curves so exaggerated they felt unreal, yet somehow, on her, they made perfect sense.

Over her deep red dress she wore a short, white clinic jacket, but I could still tell her breasts were astounding - full, high, impossibly round, and refusing to be contained in her uniform. They were the kind of curves that defied logic and yet sat proudly, firmly, as if they were meant to be this way. The deep wrap of her dress cradled them with almost mathematical precision, plunging low enough to hint at cleavage so generous it almost seemed excessive. Almost.

And then, there was her waist - cinched, tight, impossibly small, flaring outward into a set of hips that could only be described as criminal. They were wide, full, dangerous in her dress - one just barely appropriate for a medical clinic when stretched over a figure like hers. The garment clung to her like it had been painted on, accentuating every curve with cruel, almost weaponized precision.

I realized, abruptly, that I was staring.

I swallowed.

Lakshmi, watching me with something like concern, gestured toward the vision just inside the doorway. “Doctor,” she said, “this is Jewel Montgomery. She’s the new PA.”

The huge young woman smiled, slow and self-assured. And in a voice like velvet, low and tinged with an accent I still couldn’t quite place, she finally spoke:

“It is so nice to meet you, Doctor,” she said, and came into the room, ducking so that her head cleared the doorframe as she entered. She stepped towards me, causing a shift in gravity that I felt in my chest.

For a fraction of a second, I found myself unconsciously rolling back on my stool - this young woman was, by every conceivable measure, a larger organism and an ancient part of my brain recognized the presence of something bigger. Something that could exert will over me if it wanted to.

Six-foot-six before heels, she’d told Lakshmi outside - but she seemed so much taller. A quick glance down showed me why. On her feet? Five-inch stilettos. Jet black, patent leather, gleaming with each step. The kind of heels that made men nervous and women take notes. She obviously wasn’t someone that needed the extra height, but she apparently wore them anyway just because she could.

She was smiling warmly, but there was something beneath it, something in the way she positioned herself, in the way she wanted to take up space. Maybe I was imagining it but she moved towards me like she felt every inch of her was meant to be seen, and was meant to be overwhelming.

And it was working because as she came closer, and closer, and closer, I had to crane my neck to keep eye contact, a small and humiliating detail that wasn’t lost on me.

“Oh my gosh,” she breathed, her accent thick but musical, her voice clear and strong and - jimminy crickets - so close. She stood over me.

She crouched down,  her impossibly long, sculpted legs bending at the knee. She crouched down in a slow, smooth, deliberate descent that seemed to stretch out in time, like she was purposefully making me feel the sheer presence of herself. She crouched down so she could lower her enormous head closer, bringing that face - god help me, that face - right up to mine.

Flawless caramel skin. Wide, sharp, shockingly intelligent golden-brown eyes. Full, wine-dark lips that curved into a devastatingly knowing smile with dimples that could cut glass.

She was too close.

“Oh my gosh,” she repeated, voice a warm purr as she settled just inches from my face, gazing directly into my eyes, holding me there. Her next words sent an electric shiver down my spine:

“You are just adorable, aren’t you?”

I felt my stomach plummet into my shoes.

My mouth opened, but whatever I had planned to say turned into a complete and total system failure.

‘Adorable’.

I was a grown man. I was a doctor. I had years of medical experience, I had seen thousands of patients, I had built a practice from the ground up, I had-

But here I was. Feeling small. Feeling…managed. Feeling like I could just look into those eyes forever.

Holy shit.

Jewel’s perfectly arched brows lifted slightly, gauging my reaction. Enjoying it.

Before I could even begin to recover, she tilted her head, in interest, as if fascinated by my reaction to her. Then she tilted her head the other way and smiled even bigger.

God her smile is huge.

“I have heard such good things about you, Doctor,” she continued, her voice low, rich, almost a coo.

I swallowed. Hard. “r-r-reaLLY..?” I managed, my voice both stuttering and cracking at the same time.

“Oh, yea,” she went on, “Lakshmi has been telling me all about you.” She didn’t break eye contact, even as I struggled to maintain mine. “And Melissa - your girlfriend, right?”

“Y-yeeah…” I muttered. Why did I feel like I shouldn’t be looking at her this way?

“She said nice things. And everyone else too, really,” she continued, “Everyone has told me just how smart you are. How dedicated.” Her lips curled at the edges, voice lowering just slightly. “How much you care.”

A muscle in my chest tightened. I croaked something.

She exhaled, as if utterly delighted, and her eyes gleamed - taking my breath away again. “I am just so, so excited to be working with you, Doctor.” She absolutely beamed, tucking a stray curl behind her ear, her fingernails glistening like polished metal. “To be your physician’s assistant.”

I barely managed a breath.

“To help you.” She touched a manicured hand to her own chest, making her full bust rise with the motion and tempting me to glance down into it. Somehow, I resisted, even as she redoubled her assault of fawning praise. “You are just so amazing, and I can’t wait to make your life easier.”

She was saying everything one would want to hear - compliments, praise and flattery - and I admit it was giving me butterflies. And yet, somehow, I felt more and more off balance. I also was aware that, in the periphery, Lakshmi was watching. She hadn’t spoken yet, she hadn’t moved yet, but I could feel her tension.

Lakshmi was stiff, her arms subtly crossed, her expression too neutral. Like she was already trying to keep herself out of whatever was happening here. Like she wasn’t sure if she liked it.

“There are so many things I could do for you,” Jewel continued, “like - what are you doing right now, on the computer?”

I struggled to clear my throat, turning awkwardly on my too-big stool next to this too-big young woman. I needed to regain control of myself in this conversation, to get back to something that felt…safer. “I, uh-” I started, blinking rapidly, forcing my gaze back onto the screen in front of me rather than the stunning PA crouching just inches away. “I was just, uh, finishing up my notes from this morning.”

Jewel tilted her head, her curls bouncing ever so slightly. “Oh, your charting?”

“Yeah,” I muttered, desperate for something - anything - to stabilize myself, “Just getting caught up.”

She lit up immediately. “Oh, Doctor,” she gushed, voice practically dripping with admiration, “You are so diligent! I love that.”

I felt my stomach tighten.

Lakshmi still hadn’t spoken.

Jewel’s eyes went to the desktop computer in front of me, her brows furrowing just slightly. “Wait…are you still using the desktop system for charting?”

I blinked, thrown by her sudden shift in focus. “Uh… yeah?”

She made a tiny, thoughtful hum in the back of her throat, then slowly - so slowly - rose to her full height again. It was an event unto itself, a deliberate extension of her staggering frame that forced me, once again, to tilt my head up just to maintain eye contact.

Jewel placed one hand on her hip, her nails glistening in the soft exam room lighting. “Doctor,” she said, voice gentle but playfully chiding, “you’re not using the tablet system?”

I hesitated. “I, uh… no, I-”

She pouted.

My breath caught.

It wasn’t a huge pout - nothing ridiculous, nothing exaggerated - but it was just so intentional. The slight downturn of her glossy, wine-dark lips, the way her brows drew together just so, the small shift of her weight from one impossible hip to the other. It was the kind of pout that made men apologize for things they hadn’t even done yet. She was making me want to please her.

“Doctor,” she said again, softer this time, almost teasing. “The tablet is sooooo much better. It integrates directly with the new AI. You don’t even have to type out notes anymore -  the system helps you. It’ll listen to you during exams, fill in everything it hears you do.”

It was then that she drew my attention to the earpiece she wore in her left ear, tapping it with a manicured nail.

“I, uh…” I hesitated. I had heard about the tablet option, the AI. I’d opted to stick with the desktop version. I’d told myself - and was now awkwardly trying to explain it to her, too - that it was because I was just more comfortable that way, but-

Jewel sighed dramatically.

“Doctorrrr,” she chided, tilting her head, her gold-brown eyes gleaming and dimples carving her cheeks, “You’re making your life so much harder than it needs to be!”

I swallowed.

Lakshmi exhaled sharply through her nose, arms still folded, gaze still too neutral.

Jewel’s smile returned, slow and pleased, like she already knew she was winning. Winning what, I didn’t know. “You should really try it.”

I fought the urge to adjust my pants because I was, uh…

Jewel stepped forward again, and suddenly I could smell her - a warm, honeyed floral scent that was way too intoxicating for a professional setting. “Tell you what,” she purred, leaning into my space again by putting her hands on her knees and turning towards the desktop, “I can show you how to use it.”

I blinked. Gurk. Those tits. They were right there in my side vision. “Y-you mean, uh… now?”

“Oh, now?? I’d love to!” she beamed, straightening up a bit, her impossible bust shifting with the motion. “We can do it right here! I’ll go get a chair!”

Her eyes glittered with expectation.

I felt my pulse jump in my throat. “Uh… I don’t, I mean…“ I still had patients to see. In fact, I think I had one waiting. “M-maybe later?”

Jewel’s smile widened. “Oh! This afternoon?”

I opened my mouth, then hesitated.

Something inside me was screaming at me to say ’no’. But instead, I heard myself reluctantly mutter: “Sure?”

Jewel lit up.

“Yay!” she squealed, practically bouncing, every lush, gravity-defying curve responding in kind.

Lakshmi visibly tensed.

“Doctor, you are going to love it,” Jewel gushed, clasping her hands together right beneath her full, impossibly high bust. The effect, of course, made my eyes goggle - which didn’t go unnoticed by Lakshmi, or Jewel herself I’m sure. “And I’m going to teach you. I’ll make it so easy for you. It’s a date, later today after clinic, maybe five o’clock?”

I swallowed hard.

Lakshmi exhaled.

Jewel grinned.

And I nodded.

“S-sure…” I stammered.

And somewhere, deep down, I knew-

I had just made a big mistake.

Just another one to add to the list.

=====================================

posting this one a little early as we here in the main office are on corporate retreat over the weekend. the next one might take a day or two extra.