She felt her body tense again. She held on tighter. He pushed faster, harder, and she demanded more and more. Then in a brilliant blast of red-hot rapture, they climaxed. Jerking spasms shot through them as he held her still and the streams of warm water flowed around them. They stayed like that awhile, neither moving nor wanting to move. Then he released and slowly eased her up to stand on the tile floor. But they still held on tight to each other.
An hour later they lay on the bed, eating breakfast, drinking tea and reading the newspaper. He peeked over his newspaper. “I like this.”
“What?” she asked.
“Lying naked in bed with you on a Saturday morning,” he said.
“You do, huh?” she said. He nodded. “Well, you can’t get too used to this. You know this date is gonna have to end sometime.”
“Not necessarily. It can go on for as long as we want.”
“Reality check, I’ll be leaving your fair city in two weeks.”
“Two weeks,” he said. “So soon.”
She nodded. “It may be even sooner than that. I finished the first two boxes and looked through the others. It shouldn’t take long to do them. The first two were the most detailed. I’ll have everything I need to make a determination soon.”
“And when it’s done, then what?”
“I move on to the next job.”
“Which is where?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t decided yet. I have two large clients—Relso Health Care and the Cura Medical Group. Cura wants me to check out a few centers on the West Coast. They’re thinking of expanding and want my input. But I’m not sure I want to go west for seven weeks. Plus, the constant traveling is getting tiresome. I have a condo in Maryland, but I haven’t been home in over a month.”
“You can always turn them both down and stay here.”
“My job is on the road.”
“Change jobs,” he said simply. “You obviously know a tremendous amount about the operation and management of hospitals, clinics and medical centers. Your knowledge and experience are invaluable. You can get a job helping in any hospital or medical center. Imagine turning one of them around from the inside.”
“I thought about it and I’ve been offered a number of very nice positions, but I’ve never accepted.”
“Think about it. Maybe it’s time to come home to stay.”
“Home is where the heart is,” she said, reciting the platitude.
“Where is your heart now, Shauna?”
She smiled. “Right now, it’s here with you.” She wanted to say more. She wanted to tell him that her silly high school crush was love and always had been. That every man she ever dated paled in comparison to her dream of him. And that now that dream paled to him. “Want to know a secret?” she asked. He nodded. “I had a huge crush on you in high school.”
“I guess that makes us even,” he said.
“How so?” she questioned.
“I have a crush on you right now.”
She blushed and right then, she felt the love she’d always wanted from him. Whether it was real or just for the moment didn’t matter. Right now she was with Dominik Coles and she was loved. “I still want to see that sunset you said was so phenomenal from up here.”
He smiled. “Yes, I did, didn’t I? I promise you will see the sunset and much more.”
“Careful, I might get too used to hanging around.”
“Want to hear a secret?” he asked, just like she had moments ago. She nodded. “That’s the whole idea.”
Shauna didn’t respond. She just smiled and went back to reading her newspaper article, although she had no idea what it was about. She read and reread the same sentence over and over again but couldn’t discern the meaning if her life depended on it. Her mind was too wrapped up in doing what she wasn’t supposed to be doing—feeling. She’d vowed she could take the emotion out of this physical attraction. She knew it was impossible when she agreed.
She had been in love with Dominik Coles the moment she spotted him in the eleventh grade. Nothing had ever changed. She’d had boyfriends and brief relationships, but there was always Dominik in her heart. Nothing changed. Nothing ever would.
Chapter 15
The next week went by almost as fast as their first weekend together. They worked and did their jobs, but every free second they found they spent together. They watched movies, ate romantic dinners, went dancing and even took a boat out to Cutter Island, his family’s vacation getaway just twenty miles away from Key West. It was six and a half miles of pure paradise and Shauna was amazed at how beautiful the island was. And the fact that Dominik’s family actually owned it was totally incredible.
They left early from work midweek, grabbed a picnic dinner from Nikita’s Café and headed out to Cutter Island. They stayed all afternoon swimming in the waterfall pond, walking, running and playing on the beach, sunning out on the tree-house deck and making love in the sweet grass beside the stream. When evening came, they lay out in a huge, freestanding hammock beneath the stars in each other’s arms and witnessed the awesome beauty of the heavens above. A billion stars shone down on them. “This is paradise,” Shauna said, snuggling close beside Dominik with just a colorful scarf draped around her hips.
“Now that you’re here, it is. I can’t imagine spending my nights any other way except with you in my arms,” Dominik said as he stroked her arm and kissed her forehead.
“You really need to stop saying stuff like that. It’s going to be hard enough leaving here next week.” She felt his body tense.
“Don’t go,” he said.
“I have to.”
“No, you don’t. Stay here with me.” He turned to face her. “I love you, Shauna. Marry me and stay with me,” he said softly.
“Dominik,” she said, quickly standing up and walking away from him, “please don’t do this to me.”
“Do what?” he asked, standing up, too. “Shauna, I love you and I know you love me. You can’t deny that any more than I can. We can get married right now if you want. I’ll set the GPS on the boat. Pick an island—Jamaica, Saint Kitts, St. Maarten, St. Lucia or Antigua. We’ll stay a few days, get our license and then marry.”
Her heart thundered as her mind scattered in a million different directions. For so long she had wanted to hear those words come from his mouth. She was near tears and breathless at the wishful excitement of it all. But... “Dominik, please, I do love you, so much and for so long I can’t even say. But this is my fantasy. How can you possibly be certain you love me after just two weeks together?”
“First of all, this isn’t just your fantasy—this is our fantasy. And second, a few weeks, a few days or a few hours, sometimes that’s all it takes to start a lifetime together. My cousin told me that a few days ago. And you know what? He’s right—time doesn’t matter when it comes to love. I love you, Shauna, and you and I will be married, of that I am certain.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him as tears fell down her cheeks. She was so deliriously happy that she couldn’t speak. Maybe, just maybe she’d have that fantasy after all. And if not, at least this was her fantasy for right now. They made love again. This time it was slow and sensual. This was by far the most incredible day of her life.
The next day, Shauna didn’t seen Dominik all morning. She assumed as usual he was busy in meetings and in the E.R. They’d always kept their distance at work even though she was sure they weren’t fooling anyone.
She called Pearl, who was still away. Shauna had been trying to get in touch with her for the past few days, but her cell phone’s message kept coming on and all text messages bounced and failed. She was starting to get concerned when Pearl finally returned her call. “Pearl, hey, how are you?” Shauna asked, relieved to hear her voice. “I was really starting to get worried about you.”
“Hi, I’m hanging in there. My friend had a little bit of a relapse and I decided to stay awhile longer. I’m sorry we haven’t spent more time together.”
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“No problem, I’ll make sure to come back to visit more.”
“How’s work going?” Pearl asked.
“Actually, I’m almost done. I just have a few more things to wrap up. I hope I’m gonna see you before I leave.”
“Yes, of course you will. I’m on my way home right now. How about us having dinner tomorrow evening?”
“Yes, that’s sounds terrific.”
“Perfect. I’ll call Mae and Wanda and see if they’re available to join us.”
“That sounds great,” Shauna said.
“And maybe you can get the good doctor to come, as well.”
“I don’t know about that. He may have to work. As head of the department, his hours are always unpredictable.”
“Well, ask anyway, just in case.”
“Yes, I will.”
“And speaking of the good doctor, how is he?”
Shauna smiled to herself. “He’s great, amazing, actually.”
“Great, amazing. Wow, it sounds like you two got to know each other just a little.”
“Maybe a bit more than just a little,” Shauna said.
“Does he make you happy?”
“Yes, very much,” Shauna said.
“Shauna...”
“Pearl, I know what you’re gonna say. Yes, I do love him. I always have. I don’t know, maybe I always will. But being with him these last two weeks has been a dream come true for me. I wish what we have right now could last forever, but it can’t, and I can be happy with fond memories.”
“No, you can’t. Sweetheart, I told myself the same thing years ago. I was wrong and I’m not going to lie to you or have you lie to yourself. I can’t have you think that the memory of love will suffice, because it won’t. You need more. You deserve more,” Pearl said, then took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “But we’ll talk when I get home later. I’ll call you.”
“Okay,” Shauna said. “Pearl, are you okay? You sound tired.”
“It’s been a long week and a half. I’ll be fine as soon as I get home. We’ll talk then.”
“Okay, see you tomorrow night.”
Just as she ended her call, there was a knock on the conference room door. “Come in,” she called out.
The door opened and Dominik looked in. “May I come in?”
She smiled. “Sure.”
He closed the door behind him and walked straight to her. She stood smiling. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her long and lovingly. “Mmm, that was good,” he said. “I’ve been waiting to do that all day.”
She giggled as he caressed her rear. “I saw you in the cafeteria earlier. You had the look in your eyes. If anyone saw the way you were looking at me from across the room...”
“What look?” he asked, still leering.
She smiled at the hunger still in his eyes. “That look.”
“Oh, you mean this look.” He kissed her again. “I can’t wait to get you home tonight,” he whispered close to her ear, then nibbled her lobe.
“Oh,” she said, leaning back but still interested.
He nodded and raked his lower lip with his teeth. “Oh, yeah.”
“What do you have planned?”
“A romantic dinner and then strip poker,” he said. “You won the last game and I want a rematch. So, what time are you gonna be ready?”
“If I remember correctly, we both won that game. But actually, I’m gonna stay a little later tonight to finish up a couple of things.”
“Okay. I’m on my way to Margaret’s office. I’ll see you later. Clothing is optional.”
She laughed. “Go, leave. I have work to do.” He turned to go. “Oh, wait,” she called to him. He turned, smiling.
“Want to play now? I’m sure I can find a deck of cards.”
“You are so bad. No, but I spoke to Pearl earlier and she asked if you’d like to join us for dinner tomorrow night. The Pennington sisters will be there, as well.”
“Yeah, I would. That sounds great.”
She nodded. “Thanks. I’ll tell her and text you the address.”
“Okay, see you later.”
Shauna watched him go and wondered what she was going to do when it was her turn to walk away. Her plans were set. She was leaving in three days. One last weekend was all she had left.
* * *
Dominik headed to Margaret’s office. He was walking on air. Everything was perfect. He waved at the receptionist as he headed back to the administrative offices. He knocked on Dr. Gilman’s door and waited. She called out for him to enter a few seconds later. “Hi, Margaret. You wanted to see me?”
“Dominik, come on in and have a seat.”
He sat down. “So, what’s going on?”
“Two things. One, I recently heard from a contact of mine at the Cura Medical Group. Apparently the review being done here isn’t showing in our favor. Shauna Banks has discussed some preliminary findings with her associate, Simon Patterson. At this point, with this knowledge, we’re assuming the Cura Group will pass on making an offer to purchase this facility,” she said.
Dominik nodded his understanding. He wasn’t surprised by her findings. The medical center had been mismanaged for years. Dr. Bowman was only the tip of the iceberg. And although Margaret, new to her position as director, was steadily cleaning up what had gone on for years, the damage had been done. “I understand.”
“As I’m sure you already know, I’m not at all happy about this and neither is the board. We don’t have the funds to keep this hospital open long if this deal doesn’t go through. If you have any influence on Shauna, like I hear you do, then I suggest you change her mind fast whether you agree with this buyout or not. It needs to happen. This place needs a buyer. We need funding.”
“So, if Cura falls through, can the board get another buyer?”
She shook her head. “No, we’re in too far and we’re on a shoestring budget right now. We don’t have time to start this process all over again. We were lucky to so quickly develop a relationship with Cura and have their interest. I can’t see that happening again, not in our time frame. More than likely the board of directors will just drag this out to the end and let it go. I’m concerned about this community. There’s no other place to go and get good, reliable medical attention.”
“I agree. There’s no other hospital close by to take over the lead.”
“Obviously this is not official, but it’s apparent Shauna will not be recommending us and I think it has something to do with her mother’s death. It has become blatantly clear that she never wanted Cura to buy this medical center and I believe I just found out why. You were right about her mother’s files. And in anticipation of this going south, I have been instructed by the board to file a preemptive report citing emotional and discriminatory practices by Shauna Banks.”
“What?” Dominik asked.
“I had no choice. I turned in my findings to the board and they drafted a response. It will hopefully save the hospital by giving us another chance with Cura, and I assume that’s still what you want.”
Dominik frowned. “Of course I want to save the hospital, but damaging someone’s reputation and possibly their career is a huge price to pay. She’s right, this facility is a huge risk. If Cura buys it just to resell, that’s not going to help us.”
“Still, you were right. This is personal for Shauna. It looks like she’s deliberately closing us down out of revenge for her mother’s death.”
“No, I don’t believe that.”
“Believe it. After her mother died, she filed a wrongful-death suit alleging hospital negligence complicit with her mother’s medical care. In other words, she sued us for malpractice.”
“Why would she file a malpractice suit?”
“It was alleged in transcripts that her mother came to the E.R., waited several hours, was seen and then sent home. She returned an hour later in more pain than earlier. She waited a few more hours in the E.R., which ultimately aided and accelerated her eventual
demise.”
“Did she? Were we responsible?” he asked.
“I don’t know. It’s not for us to say or to speculate now. Neither of us knows what happened that night. Triage could have missed the signs. Also, there could have been a number of equally urgent medical emergencies going on at the time. But the bottom line is, the hospital board reviewed and examined the situation and ruled the hospital and doctors faultless.”
“We examined and ruled on ourselves. That’s rich,” he said sarcastically. “No wonder she sued.”
“No judgments. That was a long time ago.”
“Not to a young girl about to start her life with the only parent she had left. No wonder she does what she does. She’s trying to help the next person sitting in the E.R. waiting to die with help in the next room but unable to get it.”
“That’s all well and good, but her intent now seems to be closing down this place. That said, we officially informed the Cura Group of her history with this facility. They assured me that they will look into the situation. We didn’t see any other alternative.”
“What about patient confidentiality?”
“Her mother was our patient. She’s dead. It doesn’t apply.”
Dominik shook his head. “Ethically that’s a thin line. We’re still betraying a medical confidence for gain—even if that gain is to save the hospital.”
“It can’t be helped. We’re talking about the needs of the many here. Can the doctors’ clinic handle this center’s closing?”
Dominik shook his head. “No, we can’t absorb the area’s medical needs. We’re already pushed to an overcapacity situation.”
“Exactly,” she said. “So, imagine this medical center closing.”
“There’s got to be another way.”
“There isn’t. It’s already done. This facility is the cornerstone of this community. We not only supply jobs and health care, but we also provide peace of mind. Imagine losing that peace of mind in closing the E.R. The implications are immeasurable. We’re in a critical condition here. Filing bankruptcy is the next step. No, the Cura Medical Group isn’t the best company to buy this place, but they are the only one offering. And right now we’re beggars and we can’t be choosy.” Margaret paused.
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