Chapter 3. New Patient II

ADELINE’S POV

“Thank you for having me.” He says and I notice he has a slight accent. I mean obviously since his name is Dante Russo. He’s Italian. Also, he’s the most beautiful man I have ever seen before and I’m not even exaggerating. It’s part of my job to notice every single aspect of a person.

From their physical traits to their emotional and mental state of being. The physical aspect is generally what everyone notices first, but as a therapist, I usually check for any signs of self-harm, eye bags, if the patient is slouching, how unkempt their hair is, and what they wear. I usually do a full mental review on anything I see out of place before I even start talking to my patients.

But the man in front of me looks perfect. Which means if I can’t find anything wrong with him physically, then I’ll have to dig deeper mentally and emotionally and that is the most difficult part of my job.

People hate opening up and facing their problems. Humans generally find it easier to blame other people for the mess that is their lives. It takes a brave person to own up to their own faults.

“The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Russo.” His file says he’s 26 years old. I notice he has heterochromia; his left pupil is a light brown color, and his right pupil is somewhere in between grey and white. He’s basically a giant with his imposing height; his toned and muscular build strains under the plain white shirt he’s wearing with no tie, which makes me believe he should be a very easy-going person. I notice a snake tattoo on his neck just above his left clavicle, and long story short, the man is hot, like actually smoking hot.

He looks so clean, and I can smell expensive cologne from where I’m seated, which also leads me to believe he’s rich. If he weren’t my patient and a random man I saw on the street, then he would definitely be my type.

His hair sits perfectly on his head, meaning he’s an organized person and I don’t notice a ring on his finger so he’s either single, dating or married but doesn’t want me to know since he deliberately left his relationship status out of the file he sent me.

“You’re staring.” He suddenly says, and I stare straight at him, looking for any signs of discomfort or timidity, but he makes perfect eye contact with me. So, he’s not shy. Great.

“I’m observing,” I tell him using the most professional voice I can muster up so it doesn’t look like I’m drooling over the magnificence that is his voice.

“Find out anything yet?” He asks with a smirk and I raise my brows amusedly at him.

“That’s for me to know, for now, Mr. Russo…”

“Dante.” He says, cutting me off. “I’d prefer it if you call me Dante, please.” He says keeping a perfect posture in his seat as he keeps making eye contact with me.

The patients I normally work with are always agitated, can’t hold eye contact for more than two seconds, and have very low self-esteem.

“Have you ever been to therapy before Dante?” I ask him, using his first name. I always do anything to make my patients more comfortable around me. It helps them open up more.

“No, this is my very first time.” He answers easily.

“What made you come to the conclusion that you needed therapy, Dante?” I smile at him and he smirks back. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he was checking me out.

I’m not saying this is the first time a patient has looked at me weirdly. I’m pretty used to it by now, because by the time they can make a move, I remind them of the professionality of the situation and put them back in their place as fast as possible.

However, this is the first time I’m actually excited about a patient checking me out. He’s very subtle about it but it’s pretty obvious too. Maybe it’s his eyes, how intense and intentional they are. His heterochromia only makes him look even hotter and I feel hot even though my office has perfect air conditioning.

Or maybe it’s how perfect his body is. I wonder how much time he spends in the gym. Or maybe it’s the way he smells. His soft cologne filled my senses.

Great, Now I’m the one checking him out.

“I have mild issues.” He answers simply, and I let out a sigh. I can’t let him distract me. He’s the patient and I’m the therapist, and in this office, I have all the control.

“Have you ever been in a fight Dante?” I question, having my little pen and notebook in front of me, jotting down relevant information that will give me insight on the type of person he is.

“I don’t fight with people. I beat them up.” He answers me and I try as much as possible to hide my surprise to his response. He’s violent, but he has self-control, meaning he only fights when he has to.

“Any problems at home? Girlfriend, parents, siblings?” I ask, focusing on my little notebook and glancing at him from time to time.

“No parents. Dead sister. No girlfriend, and I live alone.” He responds, and I raise my brows in contemplation as I jot down in my notebook.

“What are you writing?” He asks, pushing himself up a bit from his seat to steal a glance at my notebook, but I close it up instinctively before he can take a look.

He smiles when I raise my brows at him, and the fucker has dimples. Fucking dimples.

“I’m writing down anything that can help me figure out why you’re here so we can address the issue and fix you,” I answer him and he smirks amusedly at me.

“You think I need fixing?” He asks me. That beautiful Italian accent is attacking my senses.

“Well, if you’re here, in a therapist’s office, it clearly means you have problems and need to be remolded,” I say. He flexes his neck, and I think I hear something crack. My eyes settle on his snake tattoo for longer than I like and I think he notices because when I look back up at his eyes, he’s smirking. He smirks a lot.

“And how would you go about remolding me, Adeline?” I love the way my name sounds coming from his mouth.

“That’s Doctor Fitz to you.” I correct him, and he pouts.

“That’s unfortunate. I thought we were on a first-name basis.” His eyes settle on mine. “And you do have a very beautiful name, Adeline.”

He’s a stubborn one. Great. I have two options now I can decline being his therapist this very instant and never see him again, or I can continue dealing with his cockiness until I find out why he’s here and fix whatever problem he has.

Something tells me I won't go for the first option, which I probably should, but the thing is, I like looking at Dante Russo. Also, I have never backed down from a patient, no matter how bad they are, and I am not about to start today.