He tossed his pen down on the desk and rolled his neck from side to side. Since taking over this position, he’d been faced with every imaginable no-win situation. There were irregular stockroom shortages, underpaid, undertrained staff, daily threats of walkouts and work slowdowns, and of course the lawsuit of the wrongful death filed just before he took over the position. It was a respectable job, but he was a doctor through and through. And right now, playing doctor, as he so often put it, had been put on hold for a while.
His phone rang.
“Can it wait until Monday morning? I’m meeting my chief nursing officer in fifteen minutes,” he said, glancing at his watch.
“All right, I’m on my way,” Dominik said, then hung up. The first thing he thought was there was another legal charge against the E.R. department. Nowadays they averaged two a week since the news reported the scandal a few months ago. He grabbed his cell phone and dialed his brother’s number as he headed out of the office. Mikhail picked up on the first ring.
“Yo, what’s up? Don’t tell me you’re canceling on tonight.”
“No, not canceling, but it looks like I’m gonna be running late. I have to meet with Gilman and I have no idea what’s up, so I don’t know how long it’s gonna take.”
“All right, I’ll stop by there on my way. If you’re ready, fine. If not, I’ll head out without you.”
“Sounds good. See you later,” Dominik said, disconnecting. He spotted Donna Pullman sitting at a computer console. He sat beside her. She looked at him and shook her head.
“I don’t want to hear it,” she said.
“Gilman wants me in her office now.”
“You know, this is wrong,” she said.
“I know, but trust me, we’re gonna get this done. Just let me take care of this and I’ll be back and we’ll talk.”
Donna shook her head. “This is the same as before. What is it in the E.R. department-head job description to ignore us? Bowman did the same thing. I expected better from you.”
“Donna, this is me. You’ve always taken me at my word and I’ve never given you reason to stop. I will always respect you and your staff. You know this. I will be back and we will talk.”
She nodded. “Fine. Monday morning,” she said.
He nodded and left. As he headed to the main steps to the executive level, he heard someone say his name.
“Dr. Coles, I just wanted to thank you for everything. They have Anna up on the second floor. The doctor said she’ll be okay and they have her in overnight for observation.”
“Good. How’s she doing?” Dominik asked.
“Better, much better. She woke up earlier and sounded like herself again. My wife and I appreciate what you did for us. I don’t know what we would have done if this E.R. wasn’t here.”
Dominik nodded. “You’re very welcome. Why don’t you get some rest? Talk to the nurse if you’d like to stay here with your wife tonight.”
“Thanks a lot, Doctor,” he said, shaking hands.
“You take care,” Dominik said, heading toward the steps. Just as he opened the door, his assistant saw him.
“Hey, what are you still doing down here? Dr. Gilman’s assistant is looking for you.”
Dominik looked at his watch. “Yeah, I’m on my way now. What’s going on?”
Nora shrugged. “I hear she’s meeting with the hospital attorney about the lawsuits. What else?”
“An attorney. All right, thanks,” Dominik said, then shook his head ruefully thinking about the Cura Medical Group as he hurried up the stairs. As far as he was concerned, the Cura Group was a pack of vultures circling the hospital with greed in their eyes. The buyout had begun months ago. They promised new jobs and a revitalization of the hospital and the community. What Dominik saw was another private investment corporation intent on making money for shareholders on the backs of the needy and infirm. He knew companies like them. They were interested in one thing—making money.
He walked into the executive office and saw the receptionist at her desk. She was talking on the phone. Dominik pointed toward Gilman’s office. She nodded and motioned for him to go in.
As soon as he opened the door, he saw a woman standing at the window leaning back against the ledge. Her head was turned to the window. She seemed engrossed in her thoughts. He just watched.
For the first time in a long time, he felt a pull to just admire the perfectly shaped form in front of him. As a doctor he’d long since learned to distance himself from physical appearance. One body looked much like the next. He didn’t see color or shape or size; he saw pain and suffering and felt the need to heal. But watching her pressed his thoughts in a completely different direction. Her body spoke to him and he heard every single word it said.
Dressed in a sleeveless, formfitting, knee-length, dark blue dress with stylish matching high heels and a thick belt, she looked stunning. Her hair was pulled up off her long, slim neck and twisted with a clip. She wore a large necklace and small earrings with no rings or other jewelry. But it was what he didn’t see that interested him. Her neckline was high and the dress was low. The only bare skin he saw was her arms and long, shapely legs. Most women dressed way too obviously for him. She was understated and he definitely liked what he saw.
He nodded absently as if to answer a question stagnated in his mind. Yes, it had been a long time for him, too long. By no respects was he a monk, nor did he live a celibate life. Women came and went in his life, but his time and dedication were always focused on the hospital and his passion to heal. Most didn’t understand that passion.
As an E.R. doctor he worked for fourteen hours straight. But as the acting emergency-department director, his workday usually extended to eighteen or twenty hours a day. Basically, he worked and went home to sleep. There was no time for anything else. His job was demanding and took everything he had. He had no social life, he seldom saw his family and friends, and dating was completely out of the picture. He knew he had to unwind soon or he’d probably explode.
Shauna turned and looked up, surprised to see Dominik standing in the center of the room. She didn’t realize he’d come in. She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. He smiled and all of a sudden she felt as if she was back in high school again. Apparently crushes never quite went away.
“Good afternoon,” he said, smiling seductively.
Her stomach trembled. The low, sexy rumble of his deep voice was still intoxicating. She hadn’t expected her reaction to hearing his voice to be so unsettling. “Hello,” she said.
“My name is Dr. Coles, Dominik, and you are?” he asked, crossing the room toward her. He walked with a cool, confident stride that nearly took her breath away. He extended his hand to shake as he approached.
“Shauna, Shauna Banks,” she said, leaning away from the windowsill and taking a few steps toward him. She reached out to take his offered hand. They shook politely, but then they each held on an instant longer than necessary. Shauna’s insides began to simmer. Just having him look at her made all those old feelings come back. It was so long ago, but right now it felt as if it was yesterday. Realizing it, she quickly released his hand and then stepped back. “I was here earlier...”
“Yes, I know. I saw you. You were in the E.R.”
“Yes, I was there when the man brought his wife in. Anaphylactic shock, I believe. How is she?”
He smiled. “Sorry, I can’t discuss patient care.”
“Yes, of course,” she said and halted. “I didn’t mean to imply... I just meant that I hope she’s better. I’m sure you took good care of her and I didn’t mean that I wanted her health history or anything like that.” She eased away, realizing she was babbling. “Um, as I was saying, I was in the E.R. earlier this afternoon and...”
“You were here early this morning, as well,” he interrupted knowingly as he moved closer.
She opened her mouth to speak, then closed it.
“Although,” he continued, “you were dressed far less professi
onally. I think I like this look better.” He slowly gazed down the full length of her body.
She was surprised. She didn’t expect he’d recognize her from the early-morning disguise. And his open appraisal and obvious flirting were driving her crazy. “Yes, that’s right. You threw me out thinking I was a reporter.”
“Obviously you’re not or you wouldn’t be here now.”
“No, I’m not.”
“So, what was this morning all about?” he asked. She didn’t answer. He nodded. “No need to answer. I’ll assume you got lost on your way up here and now you’re waiting for Dr. Gilman,” he said, moving to stand beside her, facing the window. He looked out at the open skyline. It had rained earlier, but now it seemed that the sun would be making its first appearance in several days.
“No,” she said. “Actually, I’ve been waiting for you.”
He turned and leaned back against the windowsill as she looked straight ahead at the bookshelf against the far wall. His smile broadened as he gazed at her profile. “You say that like you really mean it,” he said.
She turned to look at him. Then, realizing how her comment sounded, she blushed and turned away again. “That’s not how it was intended.”
“Are you sure?” he said.
She turned to him again. All the air in the room seemed to have been vacuumed out. She took a slow, deep breath. “Yes, I’m sure,” she said, tightening her stance.
“Do you ever loosen up?”
“What?”
“You seem so tight. Do you ever relax and loosen up?”
“No, I don’t loosen up.”
He nodded as a few seconds passed and neither spoke. “So, Ms. Banks, because you’ve been waiting for me, what can I do for you this afternoon?”
“I’m a consultant working with the Cura Medical Group and I’d like you to show me around the E.R.”
His expression instantly changed as he stepped back and shook his head. His eyes hardened. She knew the reaction well. Most doctors had the same problem with her, or rather, with her occupation. She audited hospitals, medical centers and doctors. As far as they were concerned, she was the enemy, the one who popped their demigod bubble.
“You were there earlier. You know the way,” he said. The icy cut of his gaze and the coldness in his voice chilled her even in the overheated office.
She nodded. “Are you going to make this difficult?”
“I’m not sure yet,” he said as his eyes narrowed.
“Okay, I’ll bite. What’s the problem? You were in full charm-and-seduction mode up until I mentioned the company I represent.”
He smiled, then chuckled. “I assure you, Ms. Banks, that was not my seduction mode. Had it been, you would have certainly known. Would you like to see seduction mode?”
Again, she was speechless. She took a deep breath. She knew answering him—any answer—would send this conversation to a totally different level. She knew she wasn’t ready for that. “As I said, I’m a consultant working for the Cura Medical Group. I’m here to...”
“You’re here to evaluate me,” he said, taking a step back.
“No, I’m here to evaluate the Key West Medical Center, specifically the emergency department.”
“Same difference,” he tossed over his shoulder as he walked away from her.
“No, it’s not the same at all,” she assured him as she followed him around to the front of the desk. “I’m guessing that you obviously don’t want the Cura Medical Group here, do you?”
“No.”
“May I ask why?”
“I don’t want this medical center to be ripped apart, and knowing your Cura, there’s a good chance that will happen. Hospitals and clinics have a tendency to close down right after the Cura Group steps in to save them.”
Shauna shook her head. “You have your facts wrong. The Cura Group did not close the hospitals.”
“No, but they resold them. The result was the same.”
“I’m sure those were very unique cases...”
“...that happened three times, the last three times.”
It was obvious he’d done his homework. Cura had resold the last three medical facilities even though she specifically warned against it, knowing that they’d thrive with the right kind of leadership. “I’ve read the initial reports. Whether you know it or not, a lucrative buy is the best chance this medical center has to continue. It’s vulnerable, and if Cura doesn’t purchase it, it may go under.”
“The devil you know or the devil you don’t.”
“Hardly,” she said.
“We’ve been doing just fine without Cura or any other private corporation where the faceless shareholders have a stake in patients’ health care. We’ll continue to do fine. Tell me what happens when the dividends drop too low—do you kick patients out of their beds and rent out the rooms as a weekend spa?”
She laughed and shook her head. His stubbornness knew no bounds. “Why can’t you just see that you need this? At this point you don’t have a choice.”
“I see enough,” he said more tensely than before.
“I don’t think so. The Cura Group operates over fifty quality health-care facilities up and down the East Coast. I have personally recommended they purchase twenty medical centers, hospitals, clinics and doctors’ offices. And I’m proud to say they are top-notch. Their medical staffs are dedicated professionals and Cura’s support staff is unparalleled. Cura’s goal is to improve, with exceptional health service, the health of every community they enter. Their national, regional and local ranking is unmatched.”
“That’s quite a speech.”
“If you weren’t so obstinate, you’d see all the benefits of selling and coming here.”
“How many people will lose their jobs?”
“Excuse me?”
“In your new regime, how many families will suffer?”
She shook her head. “You act like they’re coming here to bully and take over—like they’re the enemy.”
“If Cura is anything like you...”
“Meaning?” she said tightly.
“It takes more than a balanced bottom line to make a hospital work. It takes compassion, caring and empathy. It takes not walking in here with a chip on your shoulder the size of a two-by-four. It means being fair and reasonable without forgetting the human factor. There’s nothing at all wrong with this E.R. or this medical center, and I’ll do everything in my power to save it from Cura.”
“Fine, and I’ll do everything in my power to save it from ineptness, even if that means closing it down.”
“Do you know what your problem is?”
“Tell me, Doctor, what’s my problem?”
“Your problem is...” he began.
Shauna reached back to lean her hand on the desk and knocked over the huge pile of folders and papers. Everything tumbled and fell to the floor. “Crap,” she muttered, looking completely mortified at the mess she’d made. She quickly bent down to pick them up. Grateful for the distraction, she needed to get her emotions under control.
“Here, I got it,” Dominik said as he walked back to help her.
When the last paper was picked up, he stood and held out his hand to her. She took it and stood up, too close for comfort. Chest to chest she looked up into his dark, soulful eyes. Her heart stumbled and every nerve ending in her body tingled. Suddenly the high school crush she remembered from so long ago was standing right here in front of her. All she had to do was reach out and touch him. She licked her lips. An instant later she grabbed him and her mouth was on his.
The kiss took them both by surprise. Then neither expected what happened next. The impulsive kiss, once sweet and tender, changed to unrestrained passion and then to pure aggressive want. It was as if their bodies took over their reason. Shauna wrapped her arms around Dominik’s neck and he encircled her waist, pulling her close.
The kiss was all-consuming passion and beyond. She parted her lips and he delved deep into her mouth. Their tongues
twisted and teased, sucked and savored the sudden life-affirming sweetness. The moment was insane but she couldn’t stop herself. This was something she had longed to do for years.
He took a step and pressed her back against the front of the desk. A few papers fell to the carpet again, but she didn’t care. This was feeling too good to be true and her mind was wrapped too tightly in the pleasurable sensation of his mouth on hers. He kissed as if he’d invented it and her body responded to his every move.
His hand came up to her breast and squeezed gently. She moaned. He groaned. The kiss deepened. Her hand reached down to feel the imminent hardness between his legs. His excitement was growing more evident by the second. She shuddered inside. It was intense. It was fierce. It was everything she’d ever wanted and imagined. But she knew this was wrong. It was unprofessional, but it felt so damn good. Still, she knew she had to stop. Gathering all her strength, she jerked her head and pulled back.
Breathlessly they looked at each other. Words failed. She shook her head, then reached up and touched her lips swollen with the passion of their kiss. “Oh, my God, what was that?”
“A kiss,” he said softly and just as breathlessly, with a smile that made her want to grab him and do it all over again.
Shauna shook her head steadily. “No, no, what was that? What was I thinking? I can’t believe I just kissed you,” she said to herself. “Dr. Coles, I’m...” she began, still shaking her head in disbelief.
“Perhaps under the circumstances you’d better call me Dominik,” he said, smiling broadly.
“I’m so sorry about this. That was totally unprofessional. I don’t know what came over me.”
“Shauna—I may call you Shauna now—if you hadn’t noticed, I’m not complaining,” he said softly.
“You don’t understand. I’ve never done anything like this before. It was a reckless disregard for protocol.”
“Correction, it was a kiss, a very nice kiss, actually.”
“Oh, my God, you could be married with five kids and...”
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