Passion Restored

by Carrie Ann Ryan

  “Hmm,” Nancy said dismissively.

  God, sometimes Liz truly hated her job, and today was just one of those days that amplified that fact. Usually, she just had to think of the patients she could help in order to keep going, but it was a little harder today, and she resented that.

  If only she’d kept her mouth shut to Owen and walked away when she’d had the chance to keep her head held high. If she had, she wouldn’t have started down this path of self-pity and doubt.

  Once again, she pushed thoughts of Owen from her mind and focused on what was in front of her. Namely, who was in front of her.

  “Take a seat, Liz,” Nancy said after a moment. “We don’t have a lot of time to talk now thanks to the delay.”

  Liz held back a retort as the “delay” had been work-related, and the three of them were on the clock and had countless things to do. She took a seat across from the two of them, feeling as if she were headed into her own inquisition.

  “Yes?”

  “As you know, the budget is set to be finished by the end of next week. Repercussions for that decision will trickle down, but as we all know, cutbacks are usually swift and without mercy in our department.”

  Liz’s hands cupped her mug tightly. “So the cutbacks in our department are true, then?” Though, officially, there had only been rumors for the past couple of months, they’d had enough ring of truth to them that everyone took them as fact.

  Nancy nodded, giving Lisa a look Liz couldn’t interpret. “Yes, we will be losing at least one nursing position, and perhaps a second if things shift the way they look to be.”

  Two positions? Holy hell. Liz had no idea how the ER was supposed to get by losing one nurse, let alone two.

  “Do they realize upstairs that we’re already working long hours and don’t have enough staff?” Liz asked, her mind whirling.

  Nancy shrugged. “We’re just the underlings, Liz. Get used to it. But I called you both in here because you’re the two senior nurses under me. I cannot guarantee either of your jobs as that’s not my place, but performance reviews will most likely be part of the decision. Losing one or both of you will hurt, but it would help the budget according to my sources. We just don’t have the funding.” She met Liz’s gaze, but Liz didn’t blink.

  Her performance reviews were stellar, far better than Lisa’s, and everyone in this room knew it. But the rumors about Owen and Murphy hadn’t quit thanks to Lisa constantly churning up the waters.

  Liz would not let this petty bullshit cost her her job, however. She slid her chair back, the scraping sound echoing in the almost empty room. “Okay, then. When you have real details, let me know. I need to get back to work as the place can’t run itself.”

  Lisa rolled her eyes but didn’t say anything. Liz was about two eye rolls away from slapping the other woman so she turned away and started walking. She was not a violent person. Each time she even thought about doing something like that, she became more like her mother, and she’d be damned if she let that happen. That was why punching Owen like she had before had made her act as she had. That was not Liz—no matter what vile things her mother had put into her head. If only she could keep remembering that.

  Another hour passed during her shift, and the tension pulsating in her temples had yet to abate. She only had another hour or so go to before she could go home, but her feet were pretty much done. With a sigh, she glared at her orthopedics. It looked like it was time to get a new pair and break them in because if her feet hurt like this already, the darn shoes were on their way out.

  She kept her focus on her patients—the only people that mattered today—and ignored the whispers surrounding her. Apparently, Lisa was doing her best to keep the “Get Liz Fired” campaign going strong.

  Liz hadn’t done a single fucking thing wrong, however, and she had to keep remembering that. Lisa was just scared about her job and going about keeping it in an immature and shitty way. It wasn’t Liz’s fault that Lisa was so insecure she was spreading rumors about Liz and her patients. But hell, the fact that Liz knew people she’d thought of as friends were talking about her killed her.

  “Yeah, I don’t know which patient she’s with, but it might be both, you know?” another nurse, Freddie, said. “The way I hear it, she’s not really picky when it comes to getting it on after work. I mean, if she has all this time to make it with the people she treats, maybe she shouldn’t be here.”

  “Yeah, we’re a good hospital. We don’t need that kind of negativity or reputation.”

  Liz froze in her tracks on her way to the next patient, her blood boiling even as her stomach dropped. Dear God. Was that what people really thought of her? That she was some slut who jumped from bed to bed and didn’t care about work?

  Well, for fuck’s sake, if she wanted to sleep with twenty guys in twenty days on her own time, she could if she wanted to. She was a single woman, who didn’t need to be ashamed about whom she slept with. Owen and Murphy weren’t her patients anymore, and she’d already told herself she wouldn’t treat them if for some reason fate led them through the door once again. These people were just petty fucking idiots that made her want to scream.

  And there was nothing she could do about it.

  She closed her eyes and took a deep breath; actually, there was something she could do about it. This wasn’t high school, and she wasn’t the lonely teenager too scared and shy to say anything.

  She pulled back the curtain where the two nurses were cleaning up something and raised a brow. “You might want to make sure that the person you’re gossiping about isn’t right behind you.”

  The younger nurse, Lydia, had the grace to blush. Freddie, one of Lisa’s friends, just rolled her eyes. Seriously, did these women have no self-respect or any other way to react?

  “First, we’re at work. Get your mind on your patients, and off whatever gossip you hear about me. Second, if I wanted to date someone out of this hospital, it has no bearing on my performance. Third, if I wanted to date the whole damn Denver Broncos starting line-up, provided they were single, it wouldn’t be any of your business. So maybe you should stop finding ways to cut another woman down and get to work. Because if you’re spending so much time worrying about who I might be sleeping with, you’re ignoring those who actually need your help.”

  With a huff, Liz stomped away and toward her next patient, aware that the staff was staring at her. Thankfully, the ER wasn’t that full today, and she’d been in the corner where they hadn’t yet admitted the next set of patients. With her voice as low as she’d made it, no one would have heard her other than the janitor and a few other coworkers.

  Hell, she’d made a fool of herself, but she was beyond caring. She just needed to keep people safe, stop the bleeding, keep their bodies intact, and walk away from whatever mess she might have just made.

  She was just so tired of it all.

  So an hour later, after she’d cleared her patients, made sure the next nurse would know what to do, and had grabbed her things, she shouldn’t have been surprised that her day wouldn’t actually end the way she wanted.

  Owen stood near the front doors, two paper cups of coffee in his hands as he leaned against the wall. He wore a very sexy leather jacket over his usual attire of slacks and a nice shirt, and she really wanted to gobble him up.

  But this was her place of business.

  The same place that made her feel like nothing.

  The place that made her feel as if everything she did was wrong—including knowing Owen and Murphy.

  And the last time she’d seen Owen, she’d broken in front of him after laying everything on the table.

  This was so not her day.

  “Tessa said you were off shift,” he said as he handed her a cup—the one with the L on the side.

  She wasn’t going to smile and let that warm feeling spread through her at the sight of his cute organization.

  Liz ignored the looks from the other nurses and orderlies in the room. “Oh? She’s working
the late shift tonight so she must be on her way in.”

  Owen nodded. “She knocked on my door when I got home from work since her battery apparently died in her car.”

  “Hell. I keep telling her she needs to replace that old thing.”

  “And she probably would if she hadn’t just bought a house,” he replied. “Which she explained in detail after calling the car all sorts of names not fit for public. But I offered to drop her off here. She said she has a key to your car, and mentioned that she could take yours home after her shift so I can take you home now.”

  Liz raised a brow. How nice was it that everyone was planning her life for her. Nancy, Lisa, Tessa, and now Owen.

  “She texted all of this to you, aware you only answer work things during your shift.”

  “I could have taken the bus,” she replied.

  “But you don’t have to. So say, ‘thank you, Owen,’ and come with me.” He leaned forward so only she could hear him. God knew what others thought just then, but she truly didn’t care anymore. She’d said her piece. “I know I’m one of the last people you want to see right now, but I told you I wasn’t going away anytime soon. So, come on, Liz. Let me take you home.”

  She let out a breath. “Okay.” He gave her a pointed look. “Thank you for the ride.”

  Owen smiled widely, and she was pretty sure Lisa and Freddie gasped softly behind her. Yeah, Owen in a leather jacket was sexy. Owen smiling while wearing a leather jacket was something else altogether.

  And, apparently, he’d claimed her as his.

  Now Liz just had to figure how what she was going to do about it.

  ****

  Owen was exhausted and yet exhilarated at the same time. Now that he was alone in his small hotel room with the TV on low, talking about the news of the day, he could undo his tie and try to relax a bit before things got interesting. He’d spent the entire day in meetings with the Roland Group, going over the final details of the upcoming project. He had a great feeling about it. They’d seemed truly excited about the proposal Owen had laid out. He didn’t have the final plans, as he’d need Murphy and Graham for that, but he had enough that he knew no one could walk away from this unless they were holding onto loyalties that didn’t make sense. He might not be in his own bed that night and was missing Liz something fierce, but as soon as he got home, he’d celebrate.

  Well, as soon as Clive Roland signed on the dotted line, that was.

  Gallagher Brothers Restoration worked on a varied amount of projects throughout the year. Sometimes, they worked on homes; other times, on large estates or businesses, doing their best to keep the history alive and honored while at the same time upgrading and modernizing some things for safety and convenience. It was a delicate balance, but it was what they excelled at. Between the four Gallaghers, they each got the job done, and had slowly but surely been gaining a reputation for good, solid work, as well as meeting their deadlines.

  It was everything they had wanted in the first and second phases of their company projection plan. Okay, maybe it was Owen’s plan, but the others had been on board since he’d made them color-coded charts and graphs. Owen was the one who planned and set things up, Murphy made sure their ideas would actually work as well as stay in line with their goals, and Graham made sure things got done. And, in the end, Jake came in to make sure the other three knew what they were doing and could mesh it all together.

  They always worked as a team on each part, which made the fact that Owen was here on his own a bit different. But the others had been so busy with their other projects that they’d pushed Owen into taking over the initial business proposals and getting things signed. They would come in later and finish the mock-ups as well as do the heavy lifting once everything had been signed. He’d shown his plans to the others, of course, and they’d agreed on everything, but this was truly on Owen’s shoulders this time. It wasn’t how they normally worked, but Owen hadn’t really minded. He liked the responsibility and knowing that he was actually producing something that could be worked with. Each of them knew how to do each other’s jobs in case they needed to switch off, but they also had their specialties.

  It was nice getting his hands deep into the project from the start and knowing that he would be part of something that was his idea and that his brothers actually agreed with him. It wasn’t always easy to work with family—especially his family since they were all loud, bearded, and tended to punch first and ask questions later—but they got shit done.

  And after today’s meetings, Owen would get even more shit done.

  This project, in particular, was special because of the land it was on. It wasn’t just one house or one estate; it was an entire central town that needed to be restored. An entire Main Street in a small, Artisan, mountainside town outside of Denver that wanted to attract more tourists in the ever-competing market. Owen’s plans were to use what they had and enhance the history of the place while cleaning it up. He knew some would start from scratch and make it look as if it were a newly faced historical landmark. Meaning they’d bulldoze their way through it and build new while trying to make it look like it had been there the whole time. That was the faster way to get things done, but Owen didn’t like it. It wouldn’t stay true to the bones of the buildings, and the area’s rich history.

  The Roland Group had seemed to agree with him, and now he only had to wait for Clive to call and let him know what direction the Group was going.

  Of course, that meant Owen was alone in a hotel room, away from his family and the woman he wanted to spend time with. He’d call Liz his girlfriend, but that word would scare her so he would be a little more careful. At least, she hadn’t pushed him away recently. In fact, they’d almost been acting like a tried and true couple, going out on dates and spending time together rather than hiding what they had and what they were to each other in the bedroom.

  Maybe he should call her his girlfriend just to see what she did.

  And maybe he should stop thinking like he was in high school and get over himself.

  His phone buzzed on the nightstand, and he scrambled to pick it up, only to deflate when he saw Murphy’s name.

  “What’s up?” he answered.

  “I’m just working late on the Jefferson project and was getting a little slap happy. I thought I’d call and see how things went.”

  Owen sat up a little straighter, trying to get comfortable. Hotel beds were never as good as his own, in his opinion. Plus, he always did his best not to think about what kind of germs lived on the damn thing.

  He held back a shudder before speaking. “How are the plans coming? I know you wanted to do that addition on the back, but the couple wasn’t sure about how big they wanted it to be.”

  Murphy mumbled something Owen couldn’t catch, and he smiled. Murphy might look like the baby-faced Gallagher, but he cursed more than any of them. “These damn people keep changing their minds, hence why I’m working late. I finally figured I’d just draw up five different plans and see which one they like.”

  “And if they choose none of them?”

  “They’ll fucking choose one. Even if I have to have you add colored-coded charts onto it to explain how amazing my work is.”

  Owen snorted. “I can add color-coded charts to anything you want. Just ask.”

  Murphy sighed. “I just might. This couple spends more time fighting with each other than me, at least, but I don’t know how well it’s all going to work out.”

  Owen ran a hand through his hair, noting he needed a haircut soon. “They fight but then they look at each other after they do and you know they’re just growling at each other so they can make out later. Graham and Blake do the same thing.”

  “And Maya, Jake, and Border,” Murphy added with a laugh. “Hell, you and Liz fight just the same way.”

  Owen couldn’t help but smile. “And the making up part is worth it.” Usually, but he wasn’t going to get into that. He and Liz were slowly working on what they had, and he’d just
bide his time until they could take things to the next level.

  “Whatever you say, man. Anyway, you never answered my question. How’s the deal going?”

  “Good, so far. They really liked what I had to say about our plans. Since it’s a board and not just one person, they have to make a decision as a group, so it’s taking a while.” Longer than he’d hoped, but this was the first time they’d worked with such a large group outside of their normal area of the city.

  “Makes sense. Hey, Owen? I don’t know if we said it earlier, but Graham and I really appreciate you doing all of this. I know the three of us usually do this part together, but these past couple of months have been crazy. We won’t force you into this position again, though because I know you’ve been doing twice the amount of work you normally do, and that’s not exactly fair.”

  Owen frowned. “We’re a unit, Murphy. If someone needs to pick up the slack, we do it. And you know I don’t mind organizing things.”

  His baby brother laughed. “I know you don’t. I swear you were reorganizing my stuffed animals by size before I could walk.”

  “Well, of course. They needed to be properly aligned so you could have maximum playing time.”

  “You’re an idiot, but we love you. Okay, I need to get back to this project from hell. Text the rest of us when you hear any news.”

  “Will do.”

  They ended the call, and Owen rested his head against the headboard. He wanted to go to bed, but he had a couple of hours yet where Clive could call. He let out a breath, staring at his phone. Maybe he’d call Liz and see how she felt about phone sex before he went to bed. That was something they hadn’t tried as of yet.

  As soon as he reached for his phone, however, it lit up with Clive Roland’s name on the screen. Heart racing, he picked up, doing his best to keep his voice casual.

  “Hey, Clive. Good to hear from you.”

  “Owen. Good, good. Well, I’m sorry to say this over the phone since that’s not how I like to do things, but you’re a young kid, so you understand. The board has decided to go in another direction that will be more cost effective for us. We know this other firm better, and since they have connections to our board, we feel like it would be the best idea. Thank you for showing us what you have, but as you know, kid, business is business, and you can’t win them all.”