---- Chapter 8: Why Was He into Her? The next morning, Clara shook off her worries and headed to work like nothing was wrong. She'd graduated from medical school and had been interning and working at this hospital ever since-and honestly, things had gone pretty smoothly. These days, with jobs so hard to come by and tons of grads unemployed, Clara didn't have sky-high career ambitions anyway. So she'd stuck around this private hospital, quietly doing her thing as a pediatrician. Her outpatient clinic was always packed with kids-usually just runny noses and fevers, nothing too serious. She got along well with her coworkers, no office drama or backstabbing to deal with. Her department head knew she was a single mom and looked out for her, so she never got ---- stuck with overtime or night shifts. "Morning, Dr. Hartley!" The moment Clara stepped into the office, Department Head Steven Riley came over with a big smile. "You took yesterday afternoon off-everything okay? If you need any help, just say the word. I've got plenty of time!" If there was one thing about this job that bugged her, it was Steven's way-too-friendly attitude. Clara gave a small smile. "I was just feeling a little under the weather and didn't want to mess up my work, so I took the afternoon off." Steven's face immediately showed concern. "Where did you feel sick? Have you seen a doctor? I can go with you if you want." "No, no, I'm fine now!" Clara quickly assured him. "Hey, are you free tonight? A friend gave me two tickets to a concert..." Steven's cheeks flushed pink. "Sorry, my evenings belong to my son!" Clara ---- cut him off fast. "It's almost time-I better get to the clinic. See you!" Without waiting to see how he reacted, she bolted. So awkward! This kind of scene popped up every few days. Clara was beyond annoyed-she'd refused Steven both openly and subtly a million times. But since they worked together all the time, the awkwardness just hung in the air. "Wait up!" Nurse Mia caught up with her, a mischievous grin on her face. Once inside the elevator, she teased, "The top heartthrob among the nurses just got totally rejected by you!" Clara rolled her eyes. "Stop joking! You know I already have a man at home-Leo. No room for any other guys!" Mia laughed. "Ha! You're fearless! Mr. Riley's a big deal around here. Aren't you scared you're gonna get fired for offending him?" "Big deal doesn't want small fries like me. Let's go-lI just checked, over twenty patients are registered this morning. We're gonna be ---- slammed!" The elevator doors opened, and Clara dragged Mia toward the outpatient office. Yep, it was that persistent Steven, a thorn in Clara's side when it came to keeping her work mood intact. Thankfully, Steven was a decent guy-rich, handsome, and from a good family, but not spoiled. Every time Clara said no, he'd back off quietly for five or six days and never treated her any differently. Clara just couldn't understand why Steven was into her. Cupid must've really messed up on this one! Ina rare quiet moment, Clara glanced at her phone-thankfully, no messages from Aaron. Work was over-it was finally time for some fun! Sierra's car waited right outside the hospital. Elsie and Leo waved excitedly at Clara. Time to head out for a camping trip at the kids' park. Seven days of peace and quiet had passed. ---- Clara let out a breath and figured maybe she'd been overthinking things. Maybe Aaron was just caught up in the moment, unable to handle suddenly having a son, which explained his surprise visit. Maybe he was already juggling five, six, seven, or eight kids and didn't want one more fighting over the family fortune. It was just one sperm, after all-did she really need to be scared stiff? Besides, she wasn't planning to use that black card anyway. She'd earn the money for a house the old-fashioned way. Yeah, that house would come. She just had to keep going. Clara hugged her sweet little boy tight and drifted off to sleep.