Chapter 5. First Date

"What do you mean Rayleigh is in Bangkok?" Lauren Thompson, a pediatrician, yelled at the nurse station.

"Mam, her flight was last night." One of the nurses doesn't like how the pediatrician talks to her; "she must've already traveled around half the world right now."

"Why did nobody tell me? If I knew she went to Bangkok, I would follow her."

Lauren was Rayleigh's ex when they first studied medicine before they went to a specialist. She's one of Rayleigh's juniors, an intelligent and sweet girl, but she's also the one who betrayed Rayleigh by sleeping with Rayleigh's brother. The affair lasts for more than six months until someone tells her about what Lauren and Fraser did behind her back. Rayleigh ended their relationship the next day. Lauren didn't want to break up and mentioned to the older woman that she was wrong. Fraser kept seducing her, but Rayleigh didn't listen to any of her reasons.

They broke up when Rayleigh was 25 years old, and nine years later, the latter still hasn't had any serious girlfriends. She keeps everyone casual, and at arm's length, she can leave anytime soon. The longer relationship Rayleigh has—six months—is not because she's afraid her partner is going to cheat on her like Lauren did to her; she hasn't found someone good enough and worth all of her time. Lauren was easy to get along with; they're great together and share some information or medical cases. It was pleasant with Lauren. But they lack the spark; it's all lust and instant attraction. Once Rayleigh heard about Lauren cheating on her, it was the best time for her to let her go without feeling guilty.

Lauren is the one who keeps chasing Rayleigh, even though the surgeon already told her she's not interested in going back together with her. It's a public secret about their relationship—the famous one-sided love of Lauren Thompson. Rayleigh still talked to her, but she never let her do anything more than talk. She allows Lauren to do whatever she wants—bring her lunch, give her a drink, mostly anything. Sometimes she even helps Rayleigh clean her apartment; after that, Rayleigh takes her out to have some lunch or dinner together and drops her home without a kiss, just a simple thanks.

"Until when?"

"She'll be in Bangkok for three days and return to work on day five. She took her annual leave." Rayleigh's secretary and head department nurse gave Lauren the necessary information.

"Why would she need a day off? She's the vice director of this hospital."

"Doctor Rayleigh still needs her day off, especially after a long weekend of surgery."

"That doesn't make sense! I'll head to her home by the time she's arrived in New York." Lauren finally leaves; she's pissed with Rayleigh, and she thinks she has done enough to be closer to her again. However, after today, she knows that Rayleigh doesn't want to do anything with her. She texted Rayleigh on her chat application, asking where she was, only to get a reply from Rayleigh five minutes later. A picture of her iPad, along with her books on the airplane table in First Class, also showed her a ticket to Bangkok.

'Don't look for me.' This was the only sentence she received from Rayleigh.

-

Rayleigh Symposium is held at Queen Sirikit National Convention Center, Thailand's first international convention center, which has hosted over 20,000 national and international meeting, incentive, convention, and exhibition (MICE) events and has driven Thailand's MICE industry to success for 30 proud years. The convention center isn't far from the hotel she was staying in, and some of the doctors attending the symposium also remained at the same hotel.

This morning, she texted Isabelle at eight in the morning and got a reply at ten. She said she had just woken up and still didn't want to do anything for the next two hours. Rayleigh told her she'd be done for today at four p.m.; if she's not tired, maybe they can have dinner together. Isabelle answered, 'I'll be at QSNCC at four.' And with that text message, nothing and no one can ruin Rayleigh's day today, not even the most stubborn professor who will make her life a living hell today.

When it hit four in the afternoon, Rayleigh ran away from the convention room as fast as she could. One doctor knows her and Lauren; he stops her walk and says, "Rayleigh! It's good to see you! Your presentation today is interesting."

"Thanks, Dean." Dean Thomas is an orthopedic in the same class as Lauren.

"Are you alone? Lauren didn't come with you?"

"Why would she come with me?" Rayleigh starts to get annoyed when they arrive in the lobby. Rayleigh is looking for someone.

"Are you looking for someone? I thought you were alone."

"My life doesn't revolve around Lauren, and I'm looking for my baby girl." Dean was taken aback when he learned that Rayleigh was searching for her baby girl, especially after Lauren had texted him this morning to ensure her safety. When Rayleigh departed from New York the last time he remembers, she was still single. With Lauren all over her.

Rayleigh's eyes capture a tall woman; her olive skin looks great with a gray sleeveless boho vintage style, and the dress is tight around her body, showing people her curves and tall, beautiful legs. She wears Jimmy Choo Dreece Sandals 110 and holds a Yves-Saint Laurent handbag. Her long brown, wavy hair is let loose. "Wow."

"Wow, indeed, that woman is hot," Dean murmured.

"She's mine, Dean; back off."

"She's what?"

"Mine." Rayleigh walks faster toward the beautiful woman, "Isabelle."

She turns her head to see her favorite doctor standing behind her, wearing an expensive suit with Trussardi black ankle boots and a designer bag. "Hi, doctor." Her smile was so bright that Rayleigh could see her future with her already.

"Hi, sweetheart. Sorry, did you wait too long?" She tucks her arms around her waist and gives her lips a peck.

"No, I just got here." Isabelle sneaked her two arms around to hug Rayleigh. "Just a peck? I thought I was your baby." Hearing that, Rayleigh smiled ear to ear, pulling the younger woman closer and kissing her senselessly.

"Wow, I didn't know you had a girlfriend, Ray." Dean is breaking the kiss.

"Rose, this is Dean. He's my coworker, and Dean, this is Rose."

"I thought her name was Isabelle?"

"That was for me only; you can only call her Rose." Rayleigh quickly makes her territory: "Now, if you excuse us."

A black sedan is already waiting in the lobby. Rayleigh helps her bring her bag and get inside the vehicle. Dean takes pictures of Rayleigh and her new girlfriend in Bangkok, showing how Rayleigh treats her and how possessive Rayleigh is over her.

"That's impossible; Ray will never do something like that for another woman!"

"That's what I saw, Laur. I think you need to let go and move on. It was your mistake, and it has been years! You need to move on! Ray has a girlfriend!"

"No, she's not! I'm going to ask her directly."

"Suit yourself!" Dean angrily closes her phone; he doesn't get why Lauren can't move on from Rayleigh. He can do much better than Rayleigh MacKenzie, but Lauren seems to have seen only the surgeon.

Lauren can't believe what she just heard from Dean; she knows Dean is joining the same symposium because he's in the same specialist field as Rayleigh. She called him as soon as possible; it was morning in Bangkok, and she told him to keep an eye on Rayleigh. However, right on day one, he already said to her that Rayleigh got herself a girlfriend—a beautiful one at that. She sends a text to Rayleigh, and within five minutes, she receives a reply from Rayleigh, and an unknown beauty inside the car is kissing her cheek.

'She's my girlfriend; stop texting me.'

"Who's she?" Isabelle asked when she saw Rayleigh groan after texting a message.

"My ex and I broke up when I was twenty-five; she cheated with my brother."

"Girl??" Isabelle gasped. Rose is now used to being called Belle by Rayleigh.

"I know; I left her and broke our relationship the day after, and she's been chasing me since."

"And how old are you now?" She's always weak with older men or women, especially hot, sexy older women, and she knows the doctor is probably older than her.

"Thirty-four, and you?"

"Wow, I'm eleven years younger than you." She bites her lips, staring at the hot blond doctor next to her. Rayleigh is truly hot, sexy, beautiful, smart, and quick-witted. Not to mention, she doesn't chase her like crazy; she knows her worth, and Rayleigh definitely knows Isabelle's worth.

"Exactly, a baby."

They talk better than they thought they would be together. Isabelle tells the older woman that her face and name are already all over the mass media for the thing she did yesterday on the flight. "Oh, should I be concerned?"

"I don't think it's a big deal." They get into Sra Bua by Kiin Kiin, the renowned modern Thai restaurant awarded a prestigious one-star rating by Michelin, the global hotel and restaurant reference guide. Sra Bua by Kiin Kiin was conceptualized by world-famous Chef Henrik Yde-Andersen, whose Kiin Kiin restaurant in Copenhagen is one of the world's very few Thai restaurants with a Michelin star rating.