Case of Desire. Jacquelin Thomas

felt dirty all over.

      She scrubbed her hands until they were sore. Camille wanted to erase the memory of Dr. Dudley’s touch.

      Afterward, Camille had hoped that watching television would help to ease her mind, but it didn’t. She couldn’t stop thinking about what happened.

      I’m so glad Maxwell was there. I don’t know what would’ve happened if he had not intervened when he did.

      A wave of anger coursed through her veins and she silently debated whether or not to have a conversation with the chief of staff on Monday morning.

      Camille picked up a pillow and angrily tossed it across the room.

      When did I morph into a knight in shining armor? Maxwell wondered as he drove back to his hotel.

      Normally, he would’ve never let such a beautiful woman walk away without so much as a kiss. Most of his goodbyes ended at dawn. Maxwell hadn’t missed the pain and fear that shined bright in Camille’s eyes. She looked terrified of what she was facing and his heart felt for her.

      Camille was in such a fragile state of mind, Matthew thought it better just to make sure she got home safe. He would never do what Dr. Dudley had tried to do.

      A wave of anger coursed through Maxwell. He was furious with Dudley and planned to have a long conversation with him. The chief of staff was not only placing his career in jeopardy, but the reputation of the hospital as well. If he didn’t keep his hands or comments to himself, Hopewell General would find itself in the midst of a huge sexual harassment lawsuit. The hospital had enough legal problems already.

      Fifteen minutes later, Maxwell strolled into the beautifully appointed lobby of Morrison House, a hotel surrounded by the historic neighborhood of Old Town Alexandria. He loved the classic American redbrick building that housed the four-star hotel where he would be staying during his time in Virginia.

      Maxwell stifled a yawn. He was more than ready to dive into the four-poster bed in his suite. He unlocked and opened the door to a room decorated with a soothing color scheme of golds, creams and cranberry reds with accents of forest green.

      He strolled to the adjoining parlor and laid his keys to the rental car on the writing desk. Maxwell’s thoughts traveled back to Camille and how stunning she had looked in her black dress.

      His cell phone rang, cutting into his thoughts.

      “Hello, Kendra.” Maxwell hid his irritation. Although they were no longer seeing each other, she still had a way of getting under his skin and not in a good way. He had finally had the good sense to end things for good.

      “Hey, baby. How are you?”

      “I’m fine,” Maxwell responded dryly. “Why aren’t you out somewhere with your posse?” he asked, referring to the camera crew that followed her around.

      Kendra released an audible sigh. “Maxwell, I know how much you hate my doing this reality show, but, baby, I have to think about my career. I am worth so much more now because of it.”

      “It’s intrusive.”

      “I have nothing to hide,” Kendra stated. “I’m a celebrity supermodel. People want to know all about my life. At least I make money by inviting my fans into my world. Hey, the network is considering doing another reality show to help me find Mr. Right. I told them that I’ve already found the perfect man for me.”

      “Kendra …” Maxwell began.

      She cut him off by saying, “Baby, I love you and I know that you love me, too.”

      “Now you’re telling me what I feel?”

      “Are you saying that you don’t have feelings for me?” she inquired.

      “Kendra, I care about you, but you know what we had is over. We’ve talked about this more than once.” He was growing tired of having the same discussion over and over.

      “Maxwell, I don’t believe we’re over,” Kendra argued. “Don’t you remember how good we were together?”

      He shook his head and sighed in resignation. Once Kendra made her mind up, there was no changing it.

      “When are you coming home?”

      “Not for another week or two.”

      “I miss you, Maxwell.”

      “I’m surprised you have time to miss me or anyone else. You’ve been pretty busy with the show and your public appearances.”

      “We could be filmed while on a romantic date,” Kendra suggested.

      “No,” Malcolm stated. “I told you from the beginning that I wanted nothing to do with that show of yours, Kendra, and I meant it.”

      “People want to see me with the man I love.”

      “I can’t help you.”

      “You mean you won’t help me,” she countered.

      “Kendra, I don’t want to argue with you. I’m tired and I have a breakfast meeting in the morning. I’ll talk to you later.”

      She slammed the phone down in his ear.

      Her actions no longer fazed Maxwell. He and Kendra had been in and out of a relationship for years and he was tired of the cycle. It was time for something new, as far as he was concerned. There were scores of beautiful women in the world—too many to settle for Kendra’s drama.

      An image of Camille formed in his mind.

      Maxwell was concerned about her, but he hadn’t thought to ask Camille for her home or cell number. He would just have to wait until Monday to see how she was doing.

      Maxwell wondered how Camille would interact with Dr. Dudley after what happened earlier in the evening. From a legal standpoint, Hopewell didn’t need any hint of a sexual harassment lawsuit. However, harassment, in any form, was never to be tolerated.

      The decision to file a complaint was solely Camille’s, but he hoped to avoid another scandal while dealing with the Matthews case. Ray had already consulted him on another pending lawsuit in which the hospital admitted fault in giving a patient the wrong medication. Yes, the last thing Hopewell needed was a sexual harassment lawsuit.

      However, he vowed to support Camille in whatever she decided.

       Chapter 3

      Camille had planned to do some Christmas shopping that weekend, but after what happened last night with Dr. Dudley, she decided to stay home. She was still too shaken to be around a crowd of people. Right now she desired to stay in the security of her cozy two-bedroom townhome.

      She spent most of the morning researching sexual harassment, although she wasn’t sure filing a complaint was the right move to make. Dr. Dudley clearly had had too much to drink last night, so most likely it was the alcohol talking. But then, this wasn’t the first time he’d made sexual innuendoes. She had heard comments from Isabelle and some of the other interns about Dudley, but she had chosen to believe that he was harmless until recently.

      She had always been accused of believing that there was good in every human being. Camille wanted to believe it, but the actions of her chief of staff left her with doubt. She had heard the rumors about him and Nurse Tsang, but had dismissed them as nonsense, especially since Dudley had instituted a non-fraternization policy in the hospital. Nurses and interns—even the doctors themselves—often gossiped.

      Dudley appeared to be a happily married man, although his wife and children traveled frequently to visit family. However, if the rumors were true, Camille could not understand why he would resort to extramarital affairs when he had such a lovely wife at home.

      Camille was torn.

      She didn’t want to say anything out of her affection for Mrs. Dudley and the children. Perhaps she should sit down with the chief and try to get him