She wrinkled her nose at the sight of the password. Was that really twenty-five jumbled letters, numbers, and symbols? “Wow. This is a bit convoluted.”
He shrugged. “It’s the way things have to be. You’ll have access to most things except the private medical files and details—only the medical staff can see those. You can make appointments for patients here.” He pulled up a screen. “There’s a key at the bottom telling you how long each consultation should last. First appointment, forty minutes. Review appointment, twenty minutes.”
She nodded. Something straightforward. Thank goodness.
His grin grew wider. “Now, payment methods.”
Her stomach clenched. The rat bag was enjoying this.
He pointed her in the direction of the credit-card machine. “Do you know how to use one of these?”
She pressed her lips together tightly and nodded.
“We can also accept cash payments, or checks. But we don’t bill. So everyone pays before they leave. Is that clear?”
Those big, blue eyes were fixed on her, watching her squirm in the leather seat. Were those words aimed purposely at her because she hadn’t paid her bill?
Best to ignore him. Boss or not. She cleared her throat. “How do I transfer calls?”
He gave her a quick rundown, along with a sheet of telephone numbers and access to the schedules of everyone who worked at Seacliffe. They were all color-coded. Someone had had a field day with this system.
She ran over Colt’s weekly appointments and was more than a little surprised. He was very busy. Between consultations and surgeries he hardly had any free time. “What’s this?” She pointed at the block on the screen, which was blank but blocked off so no appointments could be made. “What do you do every Wednesday between two and five in the afternoon?”
He leaned forward and shot her a smile. “Aha. That’s for me to know and you to find out.”
She spun in her chair. “You’re not going to tell me? How can I do a good job if I don’t know where you are? What if a patient calls for you?”
He shook his head and folded his arms. “Nice try. If I’m not here and you need me, page me.”
Her brain was going into overdrive. What did he do every Wednesday? Play golf? Work somewhere else? Have a weekly date with some hot woman?
And why did that last thought make her stomach churn?
“How’s the head? Was everything okay last night?” She could feel his warm breath on her forehead as he leaned forward for a closer look.
She’d removed the tiny dressing and left the wound open to the air. The stitches weren’t too pretty, but it would probably heal better this way. “Everything was fine.” Then she paused tugging at a strand of hair. “Thank you.”
He shifted. His hand came into contact with hers on the desk, but he didn’t move it. He didn’t pull it away. His head tilted slightly. “You’re welcome,” he whispered.
His face was so close to hers. If this were the dream she’d had last night, she would grab him and kiss him. Wrap her legs around him, and…
No. He was her boss. She’d messed up enough already. She had a debt to pay. There was a definite line that shouldn’t be crossed—for at least a month.
“It’s always a pleasure to help a new member of staff.”
She pulled back a little. Which was a shame, as she’d liked how close they’d been. But his words hit a nerve. Did he help all new members of staff like this?
Did he know the effects he was having on her body? Did the man have a probe going straight into her brain?
And “thank you” was exactly what she needed to say to him. Not just for the inquiry about her wound. But for the leeway he’d given her and the chance to pay back what she owed. Not everyone would have done that.
He changed positions. Standing up and moving toward the door to his office. He’d obviously realized she wasn’t going to reply. “Oh, I almost forgot. The perks.”
Her ears instantly pricked up. “What might they be?”
He gave a wave of his hand. “As a staff member you get free meals and free use of the spa—evenings of course, once the clients are gone.” A hint of a smile appeared. “Now get to work. I’ll show you around at lunchtime and introduce you to the rest of the staff.” He disappeared inside his office, leaving her with a prime-time view of his firm, curved backside. Italian tailoring had a lot to answer for.
It was official. The man did have a probe inside her brain. Did he really know she’d been thinking about spending the next month in the car? Where to eat? Where to get tidied up?
She tried to run things through in her head. If she could get in here early enough in the morning, she could shower and sort her hair before starting at eight. And if she ate as much as she possibly could during the day, she wouldn’t need anything at night.
She could sleep in the car for the rest of the month.
A tiny weight lifted off her shoulders. Maybe she could last the month out here. Maybe things would actually be all right.
…
Four hours later things weren’t going according to plan. The phone never stopped ringing. It looked like LA’s richest clientele all came to the Seacliffe clinic and all expected personal and immediate attention. Heaven help her if she dare suggest she phone someone back once she’d found the answer to their query.
So far this morning, she’d seen three soap actresses, one faded pop star, and one health guru who claimed he got his beautiful body thanks to his workout DVD. Apparently not.
No wonder the clinic was worried about secrets leaking. This place held secrets like teenage girls kept diaries. What did Colt do every Wednesday afternoon? She’d need to ask around and see if she could find out, otherwise it would drive her plain crazy.
Then again, another half-dozen minor celebrities had phoned to cancel their appointments, taking their business elsewhere.
A sharp yelp attracted her attention, and she jumped from her seat as a little yappy dog ran around her ankles, its high-pitched bark echoing around the room. Were dogs allowed in here?
It had a pink coat and hair band in place. She shuddered. She hated yappy dogs. She liked big dogs, like sheepdogs or Labradors. Something you could actually get hold of.
“Is this someone’s dog?” she queried across the empty waiting room.
“Me, dear,” came the reply. There was a tiny woman still stuck in the elevator. Selena hadn’t even heard the door opening.
She hesitated. Should she go and help her? Keep the door of the elevator open? She didn’t do this kind of people stuff. It wasn’t really her forte.
She glanced at her screen. It was lunchtime, so there was no one due in the clinic right now, and to be honest, the elderly lady didn’t really look like a Seacliffe client. She walked slowly across the empty waiting room.
The old woman shuffled out of the elevator, leaning heavily on one stick. “Can you feed Toto?”
Selena couldn’t help but let her mouth fall open. “What?” She didn’t recognize the lady. Was she someone famous? A celebrity with a bizarre list of requests? Because in all the office jobs she’d applied for, she’d never seen this in the job description.
“The dog, dear. Feed the dog.”
Selena didn’t move for a few seconds. Not because she was stunned by the bizarre request, but because she was blinded by the amount of bling on the old lady. She had gold everywhere.
About forty chains of varying lengths hung around her neck. The bangles and bracelets around her wrist jangled with every step. She had a ring on every finger. And earrings almost as big as dinner plates hung from her tiny lobes.
She had never, ever seen anything like it. Unless she was at a costume party.
“Are you stupid, dear? I told you to feed the dog.”
Selena started. The walking, talking gold ornament had just been snarky with her. That didn’t go down to well with her. She paused for a second, resisting the overwhelming temptation to tell the old lady to feed her own dog.
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She’d give anything right now to say those words. Well, almost anything.
Except the chance to give up the job she’d just gotten her hands on.
The opportunity she’d gotten to pay back what she owed and hopefully create a good impression in the meantime.
If she did well here, they might give her a reference for somewhere she could actually earn a salary. And that meant more to her than the twitch currently going through her leg, urging her to shoo the dog away.
She gave her best LA smile. “I’m new here. No one told me where the dog food is kept.”
She looked downward, half in the hope that Toto might have moseyed off to find his own dog food. But Toto hadn’t budged. He was now trying to chew on her stiletto heels. Enough was enough.
She grabbed the furry creature around the waist—did dogs have a waist?—and deposited it on the desk.
The old woman waved her hand at her. “Toto doesn’t eat dog food!” Disgust dripped from her words. This old woman was nobody’s fool. Of course the dog didn’t eat dog food. That dog probably had a better diet than she did.
The pasted-on smile remained on Selena’s face—time to get rid of dog lady. “What’s your name? Who are you here to see?”
“It’s Mrs. Merkel to you.” The woman tilted her head to the side. “And I think I’ll see Jeremiah today.”
Selena pulled the screen up. As far as she was aware, there were no patients scheduled for this time. She’d been planning on having her free lunch in just a few minutes. “You don’t have an appointment with Dr. Lazarus,” she said.
“He’ll see me. They all will.” Mrs. Merkel took a seat in the waiting room, still clutching her dog to her chest. She gave Selena a perfunctory nod. “Tell him I’m here.”
Selena picked up the phone. She hadn’t even met Jeremiah Lazarus yet. He answered on the first ring.
“Hi, Dr. Lazarus. It’s Selena, the new receptionist. I’ve got a lady in reception who’s asking to see you, even though she doesn’t have an appointment.”
“Who is it?” He didn’t seem surprised. He had a deep, dark throaty voice and even though she’d seen him regularly on the TV, and women regularly seemed to throw themselves at him, he just didn’t have the same effect on her as Colt did.
“It’s a Mrs. Merkel.”
There was amusement in his voice. “So, it’s my turn today, is it? That’s fine. Tell her to go on down to the restaurant, and I’ll meet her there.”
“Okay, no problem. I’ll tell her.”
“And Selena? It is Selena, isn’t it? Can you do something with the dog?”
“What?” She couldn’t hide the surprise, or the horror in her voice. “The dog?” But it was too late. He’d already hung up. Now the surgeon was asking her to take care of the dog? This was normal around here?
She stood up. “Mrs. Merkel? Dr. Lazarus says if you go on down to the restaurant, he’ll come and meet you for lunch.” How annoying that he was so unperturbed about the unannounced arrival. She swallowed the lump in her throat and held out her hands. It almost felt like swallowing her pride.
I need this job. I need this job.
If she kept saying it over and over in her head, it might actually sink in. The amount of debt she was in might set in. Paying off this bill at the clinic was only the first step. She wore a smile on her face like a TV hostess. She’d need to get used to this—even if it did make her face ache. “If you want to leave Toto with me, I’ll make sure he’s sorted out.”
Mrs. Merkel stood up and gave Selena a knowing look. The old devil had a real twinkle in her eye. “Do you own a white car, dear?”
About to sit back down in her chair, Selena froze. She looked at the woman suspiciously. “Yes, why?”
Mrs. Merkel gave an amused nod. “I thought it must be yours. I know all the rest of the cars in the parking lot.” She stood up and made her way over to the elevator, stepping inside as it opened. She pressed the button to go down and gave Selena a beaming smile. “Just to let you know, there’s a tow truck picking it up.”
The doors slid closed.
“What?” Her heart thudded. Selena ran over to the window, but she couldn’t see the parking lot.
She ran for the stairs—no time to wait for the elevator. Mark might have called the police. He could have reported the car stolen. Not that she was worried about the car. But she did care about its contents. Her entire wardrobe was in there.
Her feet pounded along the path, her thighs burning. Twice in two days. This was a nightmare. Running was definitely not her forte.
Please don’t let Colt Travers be anywhere about. She’d die if he could see this.
The tow truck was about to pull out of the parking lot. The white car was already locked and loaded.
“Stop!” she screamed, throwing herself in front of the truck.
The driver slammed on the brakes. He was an older man and stuck his head out of the window, “You crazy—”
“That’s my car!”
He shook his head. “Not anymore it isn’t.” He pulled a clipboard perched on top of the dash. “According to this paperwork, it belongs to a Calvin Hunter.”
Selena jumped up on the running board. “Yeah, yeah. What about my stuff?”
She was going to have to use her charm. There was no way she could let it go into impound with her clothes still on board. No doubt there would be a fee to access the contents of the car and she didn’t have the funds. She shot the old man her best smile—all perfect white teeth. “Can you please just let me get my case out of the trunk? Please?” She batted her eyelids at him. Desperate times called for desperate measures.
“Well, I don’t know, missy. I’m supposed to pick it up the way it is.”
“But then I’ll lose all my clothes. My ex is already taking the car. Can’t you help a lady out?”
The old guy hesitated then blew out a long breath. He pulled his key from the ignition. “Just your case?”
She bit her lip. “And my shoes?”
“Okay, but hurry up. You’ll have to climb up onto the back of the truck. Can you do it without breaking your neck? Last thing I need is a lawsuit.”
Selena nodded and jumped up quickly. She took the key from her purse and popped the trunk. “Can you grab this?” she shouted as she heaved the case out as quickly as possible. She had to try and get rid of this tow truck as soon as possible.
The old guy nodded and held out his hands to take the case. “Jeez, lady, what you got in there? A baby elephant?”
She grabbed a plastic bag holding last night’s toiletries and her vanity case. She’d also transferred some of her shoes into another bag. Satisfied she’d gotten everything she needed, she slammed the trunk and climbed down. “Thank you so much.”
He shook his head and waved his hand dismissively. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, lady. I never saw a thing.”
She paused as she gathered her bags. “How did you know the car was here?” She looked around about her. The clinic parking lot wasn’t exactly in the middle of the busiest area.
He pointed up toward the entrance. “Cameras on the highway.” He shrugged. “Happens all the time, someone reports the car stolen and the number plate goes in the system. It gets flagged every time you pass a camera. We just get told where to pick it up.”
Fear prickled across her skin. “Will the police come looking for me?”
The driver was climbing back into the truck cab. “Wouldn’t think so, honey. Who’s to say who was driving? I think once we’ve impounded it, that’s the end of the story.”
She breathed a sigh of relief as he pulled out of the parking lot. Part of her was sorry to see the car go. How was she going to get about? Using public transport in LA? She wouldn’t even know where to start.
She tugged the handle up on her suitcase and balanced the rest of her bags on top. She gave a yank and ground to an immediate halt. She’d forgotten about the missing wheel.
She tilted the suitcase on
to one wheel and tried to balance the precarious pile along the path. As she got inside and pressed the button for the elevator, she was struck by an overwhelming fear. Where was she going to hide her bags? She would have to find somewhere to stash them until she decided what to do.
The doors pinged open, and she traveled back upstairs. The waiting room was still empty and she tried to stow the bags under the reception desk, kneeling to push them to very back corners of the desk.
“Selena? What are doing?”
The voice made her start and she banged her head on the underside of the desk. “Ouch! Colt, what have I told you about sneaking up on people? Do you have some kind of sick sense of humor?”
He glanced at his watch and arched his eyebrows in amusement. “And here I was thinking I’d made plans with you for lunch and to show you around the rest of the complex.”
“Oh. Yeah. I’d forgotten about that.” She stood up and straightened her dress, trying not to breathe a visible sigh of relief that he obviously had missed the shenanigans with the car. “Lunch. Let’s go.”
Great. Now her plans for eating herself silly would be thrown out of the window. Colt walked her over to the staff stairs, his hand resting lightly at the small of her back. Was it deliberate? Or was he only trying to steer her in the right direction?
They wandered down to the spa area she’d been in the day before and he introduced her to some of the staff. One guy appeared to be holding court at the desk, without actually doing anything. He was handsome in a scruffy sort of way. Tall and in his midtwenties, with slightly too-long sandy-colored hair, blue eyes, and a firm build.
“Who’s that?” She pointed at the young man.
Colt glanced over. Did she imagine that, or did he roll his eyes? “Oh, it’s Josh Ridgeway. He’s the owner’s grandson. You’ll meet Helen later on today. Josh is supposed to work here, doing… I’m not entirely sure what. He’s got a huge trust fund he’s due to inherit when he turns twenty-five. But in the meantime, he spends all day charming the clients.”
Selena glanced over at him. Was it the words ‘trust fund’? Because already she didn’t like him.
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