Daring to Date Her Boss

by Joanna Neil

  ‘Well, Mason,’ Tyler said, pulling up a chair and carefully examining the man’s injury, ‘I could have told you even without looking at the X-rays that you’ve broken your wrist.’ He glanced at Saskia. ‘Have you seen this kind of fracture before?’

  She nodded. ‘It’s a Smith’s fracture,’ she murmured, ‘and that’s a typical garden-spade deformity.’ She looked at Mason. ‘I expect you fell awkwardly off your bike and landed on the back of your hand. I suppose you can count yourself lucky you don’t have any other injuries—apart from cuts and grazes, that is.’

  The young man gave her a rueful smile. ‘I guess I can. Though this feels bad enough.’

  ‘I’m sure it does.’

  ‘We’ll get you sorted out in no time,’ Tyler said. ‘I’ll give you a local anaesthetic and a sedative, and then we’ll realign the bones for you and get you fixed up with a splint.’ He looked at Saskia. ‘I’ll need you to hold his elbow steady while I reduce the fracture—are you okay with that?’

  ‘Yes, of course.’

  A few minutes later, when their patient’s wrist had been fully anaesthetised, they worked together to manipulate the bones back into position. ‘Okay,’ Tyler said, checking the shape of the wrist and testing the pulses there. ‘That seems to have done the trick. We’ll get that splinted up and then do further X-rays to make sure everything’s as it should be.’

  Mason was clearly relieved some time later when the procedure was finished and had been pronounced a success.

  ‘Okay, we’ll see you back here in a couple of days to check how things are going,’ Tyler told him. ‘And in the meantime I’ll write up a prescription for some painkillers for you to take home with you.’

  ‘Thanks.’

  At Tyler’s signal, a nurse came to take Mason along to the nurses’ station so that she could go through the discharge process with him and give him his medication.

  Tyler turned to Saskia. ‘Thanks for your help with that. I’m sure he was relieved to get it over and done with.’ His glance moved over her fleetingly. ‘You’ve been very patient. You must be anxious to know the result of your interview?’

  She nodded. ‘Has it been decided?’

  He shook his head. ‘Not yet. I gave the others my input before I left the meeting, so I expect they’ll let us know shortly. Shall we go along to my office while we wait? I expect you could do with a cup of coffee.’

  ‘That would be good, thanks,’ she said, although all she really wanted to do now was get out of there and start working out what she was going to do for the best. She didn’t hold out much hope for a successful outcome.

  His office was everything she might have expected. It was a beautifully turned out room with satisfying neutral colours in soft greys and blues and an overall sense of calm. A good deal of light came in through deep, wide windows that looked out onto a paved terrace beyond, where stone planters were filled with bright chrysanthemums, adding a splash of colour.

  The furniture was made of pale golden beechwood. A desk with a pigeonholed upstand stood to one side of the room, and against another wall neat cupboards were interspersed with glass-fronted bookcases. There were even a couple of plants, billowy ferns that provided a pleasing touch of green.

  ‘Please, sit down,’ he said, waving her towards a chair. He switched on the filter machine, and soon the delicious aroma of coffee filled the room.

  ‘I’m sorry if I seemed a bit hard on you this morning,’ he said, placing a cup on the desk beside her. ‘I know it must have been difficult for you.’

  She took a sip of the hot liquid. ‘I had the feeling you weren’t at all keen on having me as part of your team,’ she murmured, ‘though I don’t really know what you have against me.’

  ‘It’s not that I don’t want you,’ he demurred. He went to stand with his back to the window. ‘I have one or two reservations, that’s all. I have the feeling that you’re inclined to be impulsive—which is not a bad thing at all unless it intrudes on your work, but it wouldn’t do to be making impulsive decisions in A and E.’

  ‘Unless they were based on instinctive knowledge, maybe.’

  He shrugged. ‘Possibly. The other thing is that I can’t help feeling you’re holding something back. I’m not sure yet what that might be.’

  He studied her once more, but she didn’t offer any explanation. Instead, she lowered her head and swallowed her coffee as though it was a lifesaver.

  He appeared to be deep in thought for a while, but then he said, ‘I suppose the biggest hurdle for me was that I had a particular type of candidate in mind—someone who was on the ball, alert and ready to face up to the challenges of the job.’

  He smiled, gentle humour reflected in his eyes and in the curve of his mouth. ‘But instead you came along—and from what I saw back at the house you strike me as being...distracted, disorganised and probably stressed out with the strain of looking after your family. Medicine’s a difficult profession, even for the hardiest of people, and I can’t help feeling that this is probably not the best time for you to be taking on a responsible position.’

  Dismayed, she stared at him. ‘You can’t judge me on one meeting. You must realise that you came to the house at a particularly difficult time.’

  ‘Yes...but that one time made a big impression on me.’ He made a wry face. ‘The problem is I’m finding it difficult to be detached when it comes to making this decision. Try as I may to keep a clear mind, the fact is whenever I look at you, in my mind’s eye I keep seeing a beautiful, half-naked young woman surrounded by chaos. It’s kind of hard to shake off that image.’

  Her cheeks flushed with hot colour. ‘I... You caught me unawares. I wasn’t ready to receive visitors.’

  He chuckled. ‘No, I realised that, and I should have left right away, but I must admit, the temptation to stay was just too great.’

  She sucked in a sharp breath. ‘Tyler, I need this job.’

  He nodded. ‘I know,’ he said, becoming serious once more. ‘And the truth is we need a woman on the team to balance things up. I might be a bit concerned that you’re not exactly what I had in mind, but I suppose, since we would be working together initially, I’d be able to keep an eye on you.’

  Her eyes widened. ‘Are you saying that you voted in my favour?’

  ‘I am, albeit with reservations.’ The phone rang just then and he came over to the desk to half sit, half lean on the edge as he reached for the receiver. She was conscious of him being close to her, the fabric of his trousers stretched taut against his thigh, and she felt a sudden, unbidden, rush of heat race through her veins. ‘Okay, thanks,’ he said to whoever was on the other end of the line. ‘Will do.’

  He replaced the receiver and looked at her. ‘That was Dr Gregson. He said to tell you the job’s yours if you want it.’

  She gave a small gasp. ‘Really? Oh, I do. Definitely, I do.’

  His mouth curved, giving his features an irresistible sex appeal. ‘Good. That’s settled, then.’ His expression sobered. ‘Though there is one proviso I should add.’

  ‘And that is...?’ She frowned, on edge all over again.

  ‘We feel there should be a three-month trial period to give us all time to decide whether we think things will work out. It’ll be a mutual arrangement. After all, you may decide you don’t care for the way we do things here, and once your brother and his wife are out of hospital, you may want to go back to the mainland.’

  She mulled it over. Right now, she couldn’t see that happening, because she would always want to be close to her family, but it was true she had friends back in Cornwall, people she would miss.

  ‘I can see how a three-month trial might work both ways.’ She was troubled, though. This result was a positive one for the time being, but it wasn’t quite what she’d hoped for, not with this inevitable sense of insecurity ha
nging over her. Tyler was the one who would have pushed for that condition, she was sure. How could she convince him that she wouldn’t let him down?

  She said carefully, ‘Look, I know you have your doubts about me, but I’m sure I can show you that I’m as sensible and methodical as you or anyone else.’

  She thought about it for a moment or two and then added hastily, ‘In fact, why don’t you come over for supper one evening...Saturday, perhaps? Then I can show you that I don’t always live surrounded by chaos and upheaval. You’ll see, I can be every bit as efficient and on the ball as you are.’

  ‘You don’t have to do that—’

  ‘I know. I want to.’

  He inclined his head a fraction. ‘Then, yes, thank you. I’d like that—that is, provided I’m not called out to any sudden emergencies.’ He frowned. ‘I believe I’m on call over the weekend. I wouldn’t want to put you to any trouble unnecessarily.’

  ‘Don’t worry about that. I always cook too much, anyway. I haven’t managed to work out everyone’s appetites yet. But if you can make it, that would be good. I’ll look forward to it.’ She hesitated. ‘Um—do you have any particular likes or dislikes about food? I mean, I’d hate to come up with something hot and spicy, for instance, if you couldn’t abide that kind of thing.’

  ‘I like hot and spicy, and I’m willing to try anything,’ he said. ‘But please don’t go to a lot of bother. I know you have enough to cope with already.’

  ‘I’ll be fine,’ she answered with as much confidence as she could muster, but her smile was strained as she left his office a few minutes later. What was she doing, acting as though she was so self-assured? How on earth did she know that she could carry it off? Life was anything but routine for her these days and heaven alone knew what she was letting herself in for.

  CHAPTER THREE

  ‘YOU MADE IT, then—there were no callouts to drag you away, after all.’ Saskia did her best to put on a cheerful front as she opened the door to her neighbour and soon-to-be boss. Everything had to go well today. She mentally crossed her fingers, smiling at Tyler as she stood to one side to let him into the house.

  ‘Not one,’ he agreed, stepping into the hallway and handing her a bottle of chilled wine. ‘I hope this is all right. I thought it might go down well with supper and it would help us to celebrate your new job.’

  ‘Thanks. That was thoughtful of you.’

  ‘It was the least I could do, to make some small contribution.’ He smiled, a faint curve to his mouth that had the unexpected effect of making her go weak at the knees, so that she had to inwardly shake herself to pull herself together. He was her boss—she had to keep remembering that. She wasn’t going to even think about him any other way. She’d been down that road before, and look where it had led her.

  It didn’t help, though, that he looked fantastic. His appearance was flawless as usual, with black chinos moulding his long, muscled legs and a deep blue, open-necked shirt resting easily against the smooth, flat line of his stomach. It was very unsettling.

  ‘Actually, I wasn’t sure whether you would still be up for it,’ he murmured. ‘Supper, I mean. I noticed you’ve been out for most of the day. I saw you all leave early this morning, and I knew when you’d come back because I heard the children.’ He looked concerned. ‘I can’t help thinking this must all have been a bit of a rush for you.’

  ‘Uh...yes, it has been a bit hectic, but it’s okay.’ She frowned, thinking about the trip they’d made to Cornwall, and a shiver of unhappiness snaked down her spine. ‘We went to visit my brother and his wife in hospital on the mainland.’

  She led the way to the kitchen and placed the bottle of wine in the fridge before turning to look at him once more. ‘It was a bit of a last-minute, spur-of-the-moment decision. The children have been desperate to go and see their parents, but neither Sam nor Megan has been well enough to receive visitors up to now. Then, when I phoned the hospital this morning, the nurse said they might be able to cope with a brief visit and I thought maybe we should make the trip over there.’

  She flicked the switch on the coffee filter machine and waved him to a chair.

  ‘It sounds as though they were involved in a really bad accident,’ he commented, frowning as he sat down by the pale oak table. ‘What exactly happened to them? Do you mind talking about it?’

  She shook her head. ‘No, it’s all right. I think I’m over the worst now. It was just such a shock before.’ She set out cups, a sugar bowl, and filled a small jug with cream. ‘Sam had a really bad chest injury—they had to open up his chest to give him heart massage. Megan’s was a blunt abdominal trauma, with a pelvic fracture.’ Just thinking about it gave her chills.

  He sucked in his breath. ‘That must have been horrendous. It sounds as though they’re lucky to be alive.’

  ‘Yes, it was touch and go for both of them.’ She slid a cup of coffee towards him and took a sip of hers to soothe her nerves. ‘It was a relief to be able to see them today.’

  ‘I’m sure it was,’ he agreed, ‘and I dare say it was good for them to see the children, too.’

  ‘Yes, I think it cheered them up a bit. It’s not easy for any of them, with the family being split up like this.’

  He nodded. ‘It’s bound to be difficult.’ He frowned, pausing momentarily before saying in a cautious tone, ‘Was everything all right when you arrived back home? Only I couldn’t help hearing a lot of shouting. Were the children upset by the visit?’

  ‘Oh...’ It was disturbing that he was so aware of everything that was going on in her life. ‘Um...they were all a bit unsettled, but I suppose that was to be expected. Charlie, especially, was shocked to see his mum and dad looking so ill.’ She pulled a face. ‘But I think the shouting was over something different. That was because of Boomer.’

  ‘Oh?’ He gave a wry smile. ‘More trouble?’

  ‘Oh, yes.’ She grimaced, remembering the havoc that had greeted her on their arrival home. ‘I think he objected to being cooped up on his own for so long. He’d taken out his frustration on the rug in the living room—we found it in bits all over the floor.’ She saw his frown and said quickly, ‘I’ll pay for a replacement, of course.’ As the landlord, he must be wondering just how much damage this family could inflict on his property.

  She hurried on. ‘Not content with that, he’d sunk his teeth into Caitlin’s electronic photo album and Charlie’s steering-wheel—you know, those things they use with computer games? Then Caitlin had a set-to with Charlie over him rummaging through things in her room, and Charlie started arguing with Becky over tidying up his toys so well that he couldn’t find something he wanted.’ She shrugged awkwardly. ‘Things blew up out of proportion. I think it was probably something to do with the aftermath of the visit—they were all a bit strung out. So everything escalated and it was as though all hell was let loose in here for a while.’

  He seemed perplexed by the sheer chaos she described. ‘I’d no idea family life could be so fraught. I’m much more used to an orderly way of going on. I’m not sure I could deal with what you’re having to put up with of late.’

  He finished off his coffee and said briskly, ‘But that was bad luck with the dog—don’t worry about the rug. Hopefully, it was a one-off and we can mark it down to experience.’ He was thoughtful for a moment and then asked on a reflective note, ‘Isn’t it going to be a problem for you when you start work? I mean, Boomer’s not going to take kindly to being left at home, from the sound of things. That could prove to be something of a problem.’

  She winced inwardly. She might have known he would pick up on that. ‘Yes, that’s true, and I’ve been giving it some thought.’ She pulled in a deep breath. ‘I’ve arranged for someone to come in and walk him a couple of times a day. She’s the wife of someone who knows my brother, Sam, through his work, so I know she’s trustworthy and I’
m pretty sure she’ll be dependable. She likes dogs and offered to help when she heard I’d be going out to work. She even said she’d lend a hand with the children if ever I was stuck, so she’s a good friend to have.’

  ‘It certainly looks that way.’ He glanced at Boomer, who was sleeping in a corner of the room, worn out after his rampage, and said with a faint smile, ‘It’s a shame she wasn’t around earlier today.’

  ‘Yes. Unfortunately, when I made the phone call I made up my mind to go there and then and I didn’t think too much about what would happen while we were out.’ She frowned. She’d been far too busy making arrangements for them to get to the ferry on time and trying to work out how she would fit in all the preparations for supper once they got home. She’d only just remembered in time to take her travel sickness pills.

  Of all the days for Boomer to decide to create havoc, this was one of the worst. Five hours there and back on the ferry hadn’t done much to help anybody’s temper and her stress level had been rising steadily since they’d arrived back.

  Still, she wasn’t doing too badly. She’d found time to shower and change into a little black dress that clung to her in all the right places and that at least helped to boost her confidence. She’d seen Tyler’s glance skim her figure more than once since he’d arrived, so perhaps it was having the desired effect. Things might not be so bad after all.

  As for supper, she’d chosen a Mexican theme—it was a favourite with the children and she hoped Tyler would like it, too.

  The enchiladas, filled with tender chicken and vegetables then topped with sauce and a generous coating of grated cheese, were baking in the oven—a quick fifteen minutes was all that was needed to melt the cheese—and the rice was steaming gently on the hob. She went over there now and lifted the lid on the pan so that she could peer inside.

  Tyler sniffed the air appreciatively. ‘Something smells good.’

  ‘Oh, thanks. I thought I’d go for something spicy...chicken enchiladas and Mexican rice.’ A sudden qualm hit her. ‘Would that be okay for you? I mean, if not I could—’