Debauchery on Faculty Row

"Actually, it has been. And I'm so ready for some shut eye."

"You do that. Dinner will be ready at six, but come any time you like. I find I enjoy your company immensely."

"I'd like that. There's just something about you, Lady," he smiled, winking.

Chase loaded all his legal pads and the budget printouts, along with his laptop, in his backpack. He wasn't going to leave them in his office. His findings weren't for prying eyes. While his was a private office, access wasn't limited to him alone. Even the janitors had keys. The very same janitors he'd had no problem whatsoever getting to come in and clean the clinic nightly. Why hadn't that been done all along? So many strange irregularities.

With his mind still running amok dissecting various scenarios, Chase left the clinic and jogged over to the campus gym. He needed to blow off some steam. He changed into his workout clothes and spent an hour working out, going from the leg machine to the bag. When he finished, all the last twenty eight sleepless hours washed over him, weighing him down. He was exhausted.

He took a long, hot shower when he got back to the hotel, set his alarm for three, crawled into bed and went out like a light.

Unfortunately, he 'd only been sleeping for twenty minutes when the phone rang. It was Kay.

"I spoke with Steph, Chase. Unbudgeted expenses are limited to twenty thousand dollars without prior admin approval. Is something up?"

"Not that I'm ready to talk about at the moment, Kay. I'm just seeing a whole lot of discrepancies in the accounting that just aren't gibing. I may be way off base, but there's just too many oh shits not to investigate. I'll fill you in once I've had a chance to delve a little deeper."

"Well if you need any help, I'm a pretty good bookkeeper."

"I appreciate that, Kay. And please keep this to yourself. I may just be pissing in the wind."

"Mum's the word," she assured him.

"If I get in over my head, I'll let you know. And thanks for looking into that for me. I'll talk to you later."

The rest of the day was fifteen to twenty minute bouts of sleep interrupted by constant phone calls. He considered shutting off his phone but thought better of it. With all the changes and work orders he'd initiated, he needed to be available. He'd been thirty-something hours without sleep and it looked like he wasn't going to get any that day either.

***************

"Hi, You! I'm so glad you came a little early. Come on in."

It took Chase a minute to move. Abby was barefooted, dressed in a beautiful, short red skirt that truly showed off her awesome legs and a red pullover, V-necked blouse that, like the rest of her wardrobe he'd seen, showed her amazing feminine curves without advertising them. Her hair was fixed just so with a pretty red ribbon holding the outer edges over the back of her head in that certain way that only women could do. He was literally dumbstruck. He felt like a pimple faced teenager all over again.

"Abby, you look amazing," he managed to stutter out.

"You like," she smiled, spinning. "I like to be comfortable at home." He liked. Very much.

"What cha got there?"

"Oh. These are for you." He handed her a bouquet of roses he'd stopped for on his walk over. "And I brought a bottle of wine." He handed her the bag, still staring at that beautiful face. She was very obviously touched by the beautiful roses.

"I didn't know what you were fixing, so I got a red."

"Oh, Chase! These flowers are just so beautiful. Thank you so much!" She took a deep breath of the bouquet and reached up and pulled Chase's down to kiss his cheek exuberantly. She was smiling that dazzling smile while she went about getting a vase to put them in.

"And the red wine is perfect! We're having spaghetti."

"Wow! Breathtakingly gorgeous and she cooks, too. It smells wonderful."

"Thank you. It's an old family recipe. I hope you like it."

"I'm sure I will."

"The corkscrew's in the drawer by the sink, and the glasses are up over it. Why don't you pour us a glass while I fix the salad?"

Chase poured the wine and handed a glass to Abby.

"So, Doctor Revolutionary, what pots have you stirred today?" she laughed. "I was talking with Carol when the day shift relieved us this morning. According to her, you saved the president, cowered the chancellor, you're making friends and allies all over campus and you've only been here for four days."

"On the fourth day, I thought I'd be resting. Or at least I tried to," he laughed. "And contrary to popular belief, I'm truly not a revolutionary. I much prefer it when things run smoothly and quietly. But you have to break a few eggs to make an omelet."

"Well your entire grateful staff thank you for it. What a difference walking into that clinic yesterday compared to just a week ago. People are actually talking and laughing again; happy to be there."

"I'm glad everyone's happy, but I'll be a whole lot happier when we're busy. We need to restore the student's lost faith and get them coming back."

"It'll come," she smiled, sticking a piece of cucumber in his mouth. "Word spreads like wildfire on campus. And last night was pretty busy. Thank God the flu season is almost over. Flu, alcohol poisoning, and STD's were about all we've seen all winter."

"I'm sure there'll be a run of sports physicals coming up soon. We're half way through the spring semester."

"Yeah," she giggled. "I just love doing sports physicals...not! Those horny jocks shaking their junk at us, lewd comments, gropes."

"I think you can handle it. I got three names yesterday for nurses applying to take Brunhilda's place. And one of them is a male. His references and resume are impressive. He's Army, like you, and definitely head and shoulders above the other two. I'm seeing him Monday. He can be your chaperone in those situations."

"I handle my own pretty well, thank you," she smiled.

"Of that I have no doubt. But a little backup never hurts. I mean, let's face it. Any guy who didn't hit on you would obviously be devoid of any common sense."

"I don't know about all that, Doctor," she giggled. "But I'm very glad you approve."

"Oh, I approve. You're like a breath of fresh air, Abby. I figured that the first few months here were going to be nothing but nose to the grindstone; but I've had so much fun when we've gone out together."

"Me too," she smiled. "With the exception of work, the only socialization I get is with Erwin. It's just so nice to go out and laugh and cut up and have intelligent conversation."

"It sure is. I tend to be a bit of a workaholic. I don't get out much either.

She looked at him with those big, heartwarming, brown eyes, a beautiful smile crossing those full, beautiful lips. "Was it a woman, Chase?"

"No. I mean, I've dated here and there, but never anything serious. Like I said, between medical school, my commitments in the service and the trials and tribulations of turning a hospital around, I didn't have a lot of time for socializing. I run most mornings, do quite a bit of time at the gym to blow off steam and keep in shape; and I work. I guess you'd say I'm kind of a dull boy."

"Hardly," she huffed. "If you are, you hide it well."

He could smell her irresistible cologne as she stood beside him chopping lettuce. On a whim, he wrapped his hand around her tiny waist, pulled her into his lap and kissed her softly. She didn't resist in the least. Her soft hands went to his face, holding it gently as their kiss carried on.

"I hope I wasn't out of line?" He was smiling as their amazing kiss broke.

"Honestly? If you hadn't kissed me, I was going to throw etiquette to the wind and kiss you!" She giggled, then resumed the kiss, this time separating his lips with her tongue, meeting his and slowly wrestling with it in his mouth. Her arms went around his neck. Holding her tight, beautiful little body in his arms felt like heaven. He could feel those firm, perky breasts pressing against him. She just fit him like she was custom made for him.

His hand went to her bare thigh, rubbing it gently. She immediately purred into his mouth.

When their kiss broke, she was smiling that beautiful, carefree smile.

"Hold that thought," she chuckled. "The water's boiling. I need to get the spaghetti going. We'll pick up where we left off after dinner," she laughed, winking.

"Abby, I don't know what your old family recipe is, but I'd love to have it. This sauce is amazing. The whole meal is. And you set a beautiful table." He smiled, waving his hand over the beautiful red tablecloth and the red candles. The light from those candles just made Abby's face look like he was sitting across from an angel. When the light flickered, those beautiful rays of sunshine glistened from her eyes caused his heart to skip a beat. She was the most beautiful, alluring woman he'd ever laid eyes on.

"Why thank you, Doctor. I love to cook. And it's so nice cooking for someone other than Erwin."

"I'm going to have to run an extra five miles tomorrow just to work off that amazing meal."

"Oh my. Aren't we complementary tonight?"

"How could I not be. I'm invited to dinner by a very beautiful woman who fixed this amazing meal. Everything was just awesome."

"Well why don't you take your wine and have a seat in the living room while I clean up?"

"Oh, no. After you cooked that amazing meal, I'll do the cleanup. You go and have a seat in the living room."

"Not happening. But if you'd like to dry while I wash, I won't complain."

"You got it."

"You know your wines, Chase. This is so smooth. It went perfectly with dinner."

"It was a crapshoot. To be honest, I bought a red as a sort of talisman. I was praying that you weren't serving fish," he laughed.

"No worries there. I'm allergic to fish."

"I can't stand any of it. But for the record, if you had fixed it, I'd have happily eaten it," he laughed.

She turned to him, the sparkle even more evident in those mesmerizing eyes, and kissed him again. Then she handed him a plate to dry. "I bet you would have, wouldn't you?"

"Absolutely. Thankfully, I just hate fish, I'm not allergic to it. But I make it a point to never insult my host. Especially when that host is so utterly charming."

"Well thank you, Handsome. And just for future reference, I wouldn't have been insulted. I'd have just made you take me out to eat," she laughed. That beautiful, sweet, sincere laugh just turned him to mush every time he heard it.

"The whole reason I made the pasta is because I've never met anyone who doesn't like pasta," she giggled.

"There. The dishes are done. Now go and have a seat. I'll just wrap up the leftovers and put them in the frig. Then we can sit and relax."

"You convinced me." Chase laughed. He was dead on his feet, but he wouldn't have missed a date with Abby for anything. And as soon as he sat, Erwin was in his lap.

"Hey, Buddy," he smiled, scratching Erwin's ears. After a little pawing and indecision, Erwin stretched out across Chase's lap, then curled up in a ball, purring loudly. Chase just relaxed back into the couch, petting Erwin.

Before he knew it, he was sound asleep.

******************

When he woke, the room was dark. Moonlight streaked through the windows. He was covered in a blanket. Erwin was stretched out peacefully snoring on top of it. He gently eased Erwin to the side, scratching his furry belly, and sat up. He didn't remember taking off his shoes, but there they sat neatly beneath the table.

He rubbed his eyes and shook his head. He felt foolish. Rude, even. He just hoped he hadn't insulted Abby.

"All work and no play makes Chase a dull boy," she giggled.

When he looked toward the sound of her voice, she stood there in an oversized football jersey, her beautiful legs sticking out from underneath, smiling from ear to ear. The moonlight lit her up in such a way that she looked like a heavenly specter sent to earth to steal his heart.

"Oh, Abby. I'm so, so sorry."

"There's no need to be," she smiled, sitting beside him and kissing his cheek. "Remember me? The person who's seen you basically living at that clinic this week. Did you get any sleep at all today?"

"Not much. I had every intention to, but that damn phone rang every fifteen minutes."

"You should have shut it off."

"It's not that easy. I've got over thirty work request tickets in; not to mention more irons in the fire than I can count. It'll all balance out after a while."

"Well, Sir. I have a stellar idea. It's one-thirty. It's too late to go back to the hotel. Why don't you come in here with me, stretch out and get a good night's sleep?" She was slowly unbuttoning his shirt, locking those beautiful eyes of hers on his.

"I'd like that," he smiled, kissing her softly.

"No funny business tonight, Buddy. Just sleep. When, and if, you decide I'm worthy of your affections, I want you fully awake and alert," she chuckled, sliding his shirt off his shoulders.

"My God, Chase. You're an Adonis," she purred, blushing, running her soft, manicured hand over his rippled chest.

"My, aren't we complementary tonight. Especially after you fixed that amazing dinner and I just sat down and passed out on you." Now they were both laughing.

"Come on, you. Let's let you get some sleep." She took him by the hand and led him into her bedroom and pushed him down on the bed.

Without another word, she unfastened his belt and the button on his slacks, pushed him back on his back and slid off his pants and socks. Chase just lay there in awe, staring at her angelic face and her seemingly perpetual smile. She had to notice the tent that formed, and remained at full mast in the front of his briefs the second he saw her luscious legs sticking out from under that incredibly sexy football jersey.

She pulled down the other side of the bed covers and lifted his legs, covering him up.

"And I'm putting this in the nightstand," she said, holding up his phone. "Cynthia's on duty tonight. She can handle anything that comes up."

Without another word, Abby pulled the sexy jersey up over her head, standing there in just a skimpy pair of pretty red lace panties. Her luscious breasts stood proud on her tiny chest as she crawled in beside him.

"Sleep, Chase. You need it, Sweetheart." She kissed his cheek and snuggled in close to him, resting her hand on his chest.

The last thing he remembered was the sensual smell of her mind blowing cologne.

*****************************

When he woke the next morning, Abby wasn't snuggled into him. It saddened him.

He sat up, rubbing his eyes when the tantalizing smell of coffee and bacon frying wafted past his nose, waking him to a more alert level. He must have really gone out. It took a minute to shake off the cobwebs.

He stood, threw on his pants that Abby neatly folded and placed on the chair beside the bed, and walked out into the kitchen. Abby was, unfortunately, back in her football jersey-although she looked so damn sexy in it-busying herself at the stove.

He walked up behind her, wrapped his arms around her tiny waist, and kissed her soft neck.

"Not that I'm complaining, but if you distract me, you're liable to get charred bacon and eggs," she giggled. "I'll take a raincheck on that, too. Now sit. I'll bring you a cup of coffee."

"I could get used to this," he smiled, kissing her cheek and taking a seat.

"I just hope you got some sleep last night, Chase. Poor guy. You were exhausted."

"How could I not get a good night's sleep? I had an amazingly beautiful woman snuggled into my side."

"And I could get used to that," she smiled.

"It's Friday, Chase. Just a half day. What's your day look like?"

"I've got a meeting with the doctors first thing. Then a meeting with class scheduling at ten. Oh, I forgot to tell you. I'm sending all of you NP's and the RN's for the advanced ACLS certification training. Everyone is going to recertify annually from now on."

"Wonderful! Tony and I have been requesting it forever, but our requests kept getting declined."

"That's something else that has me in a quandary. Recerts are an every two-year requirement. You're all working out of compliance. And I just can't understand why? They offer the course on campus and staff can take the classes for free. I don't see what the big deal would have been for my predecessor to send everyone for the training and keep everyone's certifications up to date?"

"I was shocked when I went through all your files. You haven't certified in three years and you're an ENP. Tony hasn't certified since he was in school and Beverly and Eileen have never certified. The clinic will pay for all your books and class supplies, but that's hardly going to break the bank. If the nursing board, or the medical regulatory commission got wind of this, we'd be in a real mess."

"I believe it was Jenny shooting those requests down. I doubt the invisible Doctor Lindstrom ever even saw them."

"I just can't understand how this was allowed to go on for so long. I'm not going to elaborate, Abby, but something's rotten in Denmark."

"How so?" she asked, setting breakfast down on the table. She slid into the chair beside him and rested her hand on his thigh. That sexy jersey rode up, exposing those lovely legs and mouthwatering lacy panties just inches from him. He was so enamored; he almost lost his train of thought.

"I can't elaborate right now, but there were a lot of expenditures for things that just aren't there. Repairs that were paid for but never done. And I find that getting things done around there, things that common sense would say were no-brainers, doesn't take a whole lot of begging, pleading, or promising your first born."

"The two maintenance guys I hired had those two on call rooms whipped into shape in no time. I have a cleaning crew coming in every night now that took nothing more than a requisition. Come to find out, all cleaning and repair costs are part of normal campus services. No departmental budgetary expenditures. Yet the janitorial costs I've seen in last year's budget were through the roof."

"You saw the shape the clinic was in when you arrived, Chase. That place hasn't seen a janitor in ages. I know I've never seen any cleaning people in there. Some of us just took it upon ourselves to clean this and that."

"My point exactly. There was also a massive payout for a new digital Xray machine last year. Our Xray machine is eight years old."

"Boy. I knew you were walking into a hornet's nest, Chase, but it just gets worse by the day, doesn't it?"

"The weird part is that after I finish reviewing all the spreadsheets, I don't know who to bring the complaint to? I don't trust Zeigler as far as I could throw him. And from what I've been told, Zeigler oversees all the budgeting and accounting."

"He was hinting last night-strongly urging, actually-that I should turn the books over to some accounting firm, not the university accounting office to, quote, unquote, take some of the burden off of me. Not that I'd even consider it, but who pays for that? I mean, they gave me a fairly liberal budget for this first year to get the clinic whipped into shape, but I won't be getting that kind of money every year. And even the liberal budget isn't a windfall. I've been looking for sale priced supplies and bulk discounts."

"Tread lightly, Chase. That guy gives me the willies. There's lots of rumors circulating about him. And considering who his sister is, there's obviously a bad gene in their gene pool. You're right not to trust him. I hear President Billings is a pretty stand-up guy, though. And I'd say you're in his good graces right now. Maybe you should run it by him."

"I don't know. I've still got a lot of things to look over and a lot more numbers to crunch. If what I think's going on, really is going on, this is some serious business."