Sydney Harbour Hospital: Lexi's Secret

by MELANIE MILBURNE

  Maybe he was being overly cautious about the career risk. Maybe a short get-it-out-of-his-system affair would clear the air between them. After it was over—and he knew it would be over within a month at the most because he never played for keeps—he could move on with his life and she could go and marry her millionaire. Of course he knew it was wrong; of course if he were the fiancé and she was having an affair with someone else he wouldn’t stand for it; of course it was madness. Sheer madness. But right now he wanted her too much to get tied up in moral knots over it.

  Susanne was behind the reception desk when Sam came back in. ‘There’s an organ retrieval scheduled at Sydney Met at six this evening,’ she said. ‘The patient’s family have decided to withdraw life support. He’s a twenty-seven-year-old motorcycle victim who sustained severe head injuries three weeks ago. His kidneys are going to Perth, his heart to Melbourne and his lungs here.’

  ‘Whose blood or tissues match have we got?’ Sam asked.

  ‘Mr Baker with the chronic obstructive airways disease,’ Susanne said. ‘He’s been on the priority list the longest.’

  ‘Right,’ Sam said. ‘You’d better call him and let him know. And organise theatre space. Things are going to get busy around here.’

  Lexi was in the main lounge room at the family mansion in Mosman when her father finally walked in. She had been pacing the floor for the last hour, anger roiling inside her like a turbulent tide.

  ‘Hello, beautiful,’ Richard Lockheart said as he sauntered in. ‘How was your weekend?’

  Lexi folded her arms and shot him a glare. ‘I’ve had better.’

  Richard moved to the drinks cabinet and poured himself a Scotch. He lifted the lid on the ice bucket to find it was empty. ‘Be a darling and get your poor old father some ice, will you?’

  ‘I think you’re perfectly capable of getting your own ice,’ she said through stiff lips.

  Richard smiled indulgently as he looked at her, his dark brown eyes crinkling up at the corners. ‘What’s up, baby girl? That time of the month?’

  Lexi suddenly realised how little she liked her father. Sure, she loved him, but she didn’t much like him. Why had it taken her this long to see through his easy charm to the ruthlessly ambitious man beneath? If people got in the way of his plans he removed them. If people displeased him he made sure they lived to regret it.

  She had always blamed her mother for deserting the family, but now she wondered if what Bella had said was right. Perhaps her father had had more to do with her mother leaving than anything else. She had heard rumours of his womanising behind her mother’s back, but as a little girl she hadn’t wanted to think of her father as anything other than blameless. It was a cruel shock to realise how she had been duped. How silly she had been to invest so much emotion and dedication in a parent who had callously used her for his own gain. Her whole life, both childhood and young adulthood, had been nothing but a house of cards that was now tumbling down around her feet.

  ‘I found out about how you blackmailed Sam Bailey five years ago,’ she said. ‘How could you do that? How could you play with people’s lives in such a heartless way?’

  Richard’s brown eyes hardened. ‘You don’t know what you’re talking about, Lexi.’

  ‘I do know what I’m talking about,’ she said. ‘You issued an ultimatum to Sam. He had no choice but to leave. He could have lost his career, but did you care? No. All you wanted was to get him out of the way so you could keep me under your thumb. You didn’t even have the guts to tell me he was being appointed here. I had to find out by myself. How do you think I felt?’

  ‘You’re in charge of fundraising,’ he said. ‘You have nothing to do with the hiring and firing of staff. Anyway, I’d assumed you’d forgotten all about him by now.’

  Lexi clenched her hands so tightly her nails dug into her palms. ‘Like you do with all of your lovers?’ she asked. ‘Just how many were there while you were married to Mum? Four? Five? Ten? Or have you forgotten?’

  Her father’s mouth tightened and he put his glass down with a loud thwack on the bar. ‘What is all this nonsense, Lexi?’ he asked. ‘I don’t expect to come home after a hard day at the office to this sort of behaviour.’

  ‘You don’t know what a hard day’s work is,’ she tossed back. ‘You spend most of your time at boozy business lunches and resort weekends paid for by other people. Grandad did all the hard work. You just sit back and enjoy the benefits. You pay other people to do the dirty work for you, like bring up your children, for instance. You don’t even take time out of your busy social schedule to visit Bella in hospital.’

  Richard’s face was almost puce in colour. ‘I will not have you speak to me like this in my own house.’

  ‘You told lies about me to Sam,’ Lexi said, her anger rolling in her like a cannonball on a steep slope, and she couldn’t have held it back if she tried. ‘You told him I was only sleeping with him as part of some sort of teenage rebellion. How could you have done that?’

  Richard thumped his hand down on the nearest surface so hard it made the pictures on the wall behind shake. ‘You were too young to know your own mind. I did what I had to do to protect you.’

  Lexi felt like screaming. The hurt inside her was like a bottle of soda that had been shaken and was fit to explode. ‘You had no right to interfere with my life,’ she said. ‘Not then and certainly not now.’

  Richard gave her a disgusted look. ‘I suppose he wants you back in his bed,’ he said. ‘Is that what this is about? You’d be a fool to jeopardise your engagement to Matthew. Sam Bailey will only use you to get where he wants to go. Don’t ever forget that, Lexi. He’s a boy from the bush who made good. A society bride like you would be the icing on the cake.’

  ‘You have no idea how much damage you’ve done,’ she said, too angry for tears.

  ‘The only damage you should be worrying about right now is raising sufficient funds for the hospital,’ Richard said with a sneer. ‘Carrying on like a lovesick teenager while you’re supposed to be concentrating on the ball is going to feed into people’s doubts that you’re not the right person for the job. I had to work hard to convince the board to agree to have you as Head of Events. If you stuff this up now, you’ll not only be made a laughing stock but you’ll make me look a fool as well.’

  ‘I hardly think you need any help from me in making yourself look a fool,’ she said. ‘You do a pretty fine job of it all by yourself.’

  Realising confrontation wasn’t working, Richard put on the charm again. ‘Now, now, baby girl,’ he said. ‘Aren’t you being a little bit melodramatic? Forget about Sam Bailey. He’s nothing to you now. You’re happy with Matthew. He’s perfect for you. You don’t want to upset him and his family when they’ve been so supportive of the hospital, do you?’

  Lexi glared at him. ‘Why is everything always about money with you?’

  ‘Money is a universal language, Lexi,’ Richard said. ‘It opens lots of doors and it shuts some others.’

  Lexi turned and walked out of the room with her heart feeling as if someone had reached inside her chest and ripped it out. There were doors she could never open again. They were shut tight against her. She had been locked out of her own life by walking through the doors her father had opened for her.

  But the most important door of them all she had slammed shut all by herself.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  ‘WHAT do you mean, the venue’s been cancelled?’ Lexi looked at her assistant Jane in horror a few days later. ‘The ball is in two weeks’ time!’

  Jane grimaced. ‘I know,’ she said. ‘The manager wants to speak to you personally to apologise. He said there was a fire in the kitchen that got out of control last night. There’s extensive water damage from the fire hoses. They’re doing what they can to redecorate but they’ve had to cancel all bookings for the next month. Shall I get him on the line for you?’

  Lexi nodded and took the call in her small office. It was as bad if not worse than Jan
e had described. After talking to the manager it was clear that the ball could not go ahead as planned. The kitchen was out of action, for one thing, and the ballroom was the worst hit in terms of water damage.

  What a disaster!

  Lexi felt as if everything she had worked so hard for had been ripped out from under her. She had put so much of herself into this job. She had invested a great deal emotionally in order to get her life back on track. Her father’s cruel taunt came back to haunt her. It wasn’t just her own lurking doubts about her ability to make a worthwhile contribution to society; it seemed everyone else felt the same. Everyone saw her as a shallow party girl with no substance. They didn’t know half of what she had sacrificed to protect Bella. They didn’t know how desperately she wanted to succeed. Bella’s future—her life, everything—depended on Lexi getting the funds for the new equipment.

  She had to prove them wrong. She had to show everyone, including herself, that she was up to the task no matter what last-minute hurdles were thrown at her.

  She had to think.

  She had to think past the thick fog of panic in her head and find a solution. What solution? All the tickets had been sold. The silent auction items were organised and confirmed. Everyone was looking forward to the big night of wining, dining and dancing and now it was not going to go ahead, not unless she could find another venue that could house that number of people at short notice. She spent an hour on the phone in the vain hope of finding a suitable venue but nothing was available. It was wedding season after all.

  She pushed back her chair and went back to where Jane was sorting the silent auction placards.

  ‘Any luck?’ Jane asked hopefully.

  Lexi shook her head in despair. ‘Unless someone cancels their wedding at the last minute, I’m totally stuffed. Everyone’s going to think it’s my fault.’

  ‘I’m sure no one will think that,’ Jane consoled her.

  Lexi gave her a grim look. ‘Won’t they?’ She paced the floor in agitation. ‘I can hear them now: “Lexi Lockheart only got the job because of her father and look at what a rubbish job she did of it.”’ She stopped pacing to grasp her head between her hands. ‘Grr! I can’t believe this is happening to me on top of everything else.’

  ‘It’s certainly a difficult time for you with Bella in hospital and your wedding so close,’ Jane said in empathy.

  Lexi stopped pacing and looked at Jane. ‘That’s it!’ she said.

  ‘What’s it?’ Jane asked, looking shocked. ‘You’re not thinking of cancelling your wedding, are you?’

  ‘The hospital,’ Lexi said excitedly. ‘We’ll have the ball here.’

  Jane gaped at her. ‘Here?’

  ‘Yes,’ Lexi said, tapping her lips as she thought it through. ‘The forecourt is big enough for a marquee. The patients can even be a part of it that way, those that aren’t too ill, of course. We can get the caterers to do extra nibbles and desserts for all the patients on the wards. It’ll be brilliant!’

  ‘It sounds great but what will the CEO think?’ Jane asked.

  Lexi snatched up her purse and phone. ‘I’ll go and speak to him now. Wish me luck.’

  ‘Good luck!’ Jane called as Lexi dashed out of the door.

  Sam looked up at the clock on the wall. ‘Time of death: four-forty-six p.m.,’ he said in a flat tone.

  ‘You did your best, Sam,’ the anaesthetist said over the body of Ken Baker. ‘He’d been on the waiting list too long. He would’ve died anyway. He went into this knowing there was only the slimmest chance of success.’

  Sam stripped off his gloves and threw them in the bin, his expression grim. ‘I’ll go and speak to the family,’ he said, his stomach already in tight knots at the thought.

  Losing patients was part of the job. Every surgeon knew it. Sam knew it but he still hated it. He hated the feeling of failure. Even when the odds were stacked against him he went into every operation intent on proving everyone wrong. And he had done it—numerous times. He had won some of the most unwinnable of battles. His professional reputation had been built on his successes. He had lengthened people’s lives, given them back to their families, given them back their potential.

  But this time he had failed.

  And now he had to face the family and still act as if he was in control when he felt anything but. The clinically composed veneer he wore was so thin at times he wondered why relatives didn’t see through it.

  The family was gathered in one of the relatives’ rooms outside the theatre suites. Gloria Baker stood as soon as Sam came in. There was a son and a daughter with her, both teenagers about fourteen and sixteen. The son reminded Sam of himself at the same age: tall and awkward, both physically and socially. ‘I have some very bad news for you,’ Sam said gently. ‘We did everything we could but he wasn’t strong enough to survive the surgery. I’m very sorry.’

  Gloria Baker’s face crumpled. ‘Oh, no …’

  Megan, the daughter, wept in her mother’s arms but the son, Damien, just sat there, expressionless and mute. Sam knew what that felt like. The inability to publicly express the devastation you felt inside. He could imagine what Damien was going through. How he would have to step up to the plate and support his mother and sister. Be the man of the house now his father had died. He would appear to cope outwardly and everyone would marvel at how brave he was being. Sam had done the very same thing but inside he had felt as if a part of him had been lost for ever.

  ‘I’m very sorry for your loss,’ Sam said again.

  ‘Can we see him?’ Megan asked.

  ‘Of course,’ Sam said. ‘I’ll organise it for you. Take all the time you need.’

  Gloria wiped at her eyes. ‘Thank you for being so kind,’ she said. ‘Ken knew he might not make it. He’s been sick for so long. I just wish you had been here earlier to help him.’

  ‘I wish that too,’ Sam said.

  ‘You can come through now,’ one of the scrub nurses said to the family.

  Sam stood to one side as the Baker family walked into Theatre to say their final goodbyes. There were some days when he really hated his job. He hated the pain he witnessed, he hated the ravage of disease he couldn’t fix, he hated the blood loss he couldn’t control, he hated the long hours of tricky, delicate and intricate surgery that ended with a flat line on the heart monitor.

  He let out a sigh and turned for the theatre change room.

  He couldn’t wait for this day to be over.

  After a prolonged and difficult meeting with the hospital CEO Lexi had finally been given the go-ahead to restage the ball in the forecourt of the hospital. Her head was full of ideas for how the marquee would look. She still had a heap of things to do but she had already organised the layout and decorations. The caterers were booked and she had selected the menu. A wine supplier had donated several cases of wine and champagne and the hospital florist had offered her services for the table arrangements. Lexi had even sent out emails to all ticket holders on the change of venue and was now in the process of pinning flyers to all the staff notice-boards throughout the hospital. After that horrible panic when she’d first received the news it felt good to be back in control of things.

  The lift opened on the doctors’ room floor and Lexi stepped out with her bundle of flyers. She ran smack bang into Sam’s broad chest and the sheaf of notices went flying. The air was knocked out of her lungs and all she could manage was a breathless ‘Oops!’

  Sam narrowed his eyes at her. ‘Don’t you ever look where you’re going?’ he snapped.

  Lexi gave him an arch look. ‘I thought you always used the stairs?’

  His jaw clenched like a steel trap as he bent to retrieve the flyers. Lexi watched as his gaze ran over the announcement printed there. ‘What’s this?’ he asked, swinging his nail-hard gaze to hers.

  ‘It’s a flyer about the ball,’ she said, angling her body haughtily. ‘There’s been a change of plan.’

  His dark brows met above his eyes in a frown. ‘You’re
having the ball here? At the hospital?’

  Lexi bent down to pick up the rest of the scattered bundle. ‘Yes,’ she said, tugging at one of the flyers beneath his large foot. She looked up at him. ‘Do you mind?’

  He stepped off it and she straightened, making a point of smoothing the flyer out as if it was a precious parchment he had deliberately soiled with his footprint.

  ‘What happened to the other venue?’ Sam asked.

  ‘A fire in the kitchen,’ Lexi said. ‘The firemen went a bit overboard with the water. The place is a mess.’

  Sam was still frowning. ‘But surely this isn’t the right place to have a function like that. Where are you going to house all the guests? The boardroom only fits twenty. That’s going to put a whole new spin on dancing cheek to cheek. It’ll be more like cheek to jowl.’

  ‘I’ve organised a marquee,’ she said with a toss of her head. ‘It’s all on the flyer if you’d take the time to read it.’

  ‘Have you thought this through properly?’ he asked. ‘You’re going to have people all over the place, some of them heavily inebriated. What about security? What about the disruption to the patients? This isn’t a hotel. People are here because they’re sick, some of them desperately so.’

  Lexi rolled her eyes impatiently. ‘I’ve already been through all this with the CEO. He’s given me the all-clear.’

  ‘A busy public hospital is not a party venue,’ Sam said. ‘It’s a ridiculous idea. What were you thinking?’

  Lexi was furious. She had only just managed to get the CEO on side. If Sam went up to him and expressed his concerns, the decision might very well be revoked. Her heart started to hammer in panic. She had to make this work. There was no other option. Her reputation was riding on this. She had to pull it off. ‘Why are you being so obstructive about this?’ she asked. ‘Is it because I’m the one planning it? Is that it?’

  ‘That has nothing to do with it,’ he said with a brooding frown. ‘I just don’t think you’ve thought it through properly.’