The Stone Beyond
Page 4
“Oh, um, well, I’m running a little late.”
“That all?” Jennifer glanced around the empty lot behind her, then back at the hefty guard in front of her. He went on, “Because you never know who might be watching you in a place like this.”
Jennifer felt her fighting instinct rising to the fore. “Is that so?”
“Sure is,” Willie said. “Y’never know where any of us security guards’ll be at any given time. You might not be so … so lucky next time, to find me right here.”
Jennifer swallowed hard, the tension becoming almost unbearable. She was alone with the man, twice her weight, and he was clearly as aware of that as she was. And there was still the matter of the other footsteps, no figment of her imagination.
“Yeah, that … that was lucky for me,” Jennifer said with a forced smile, “and now I’m going to work. I’ll let you do the same.” Jennifer pushed her way around him and into the hospital. But she could feel his stare on her, watching with what was without a doubt a disquieting interest, probably a great deal more.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Jennifer walked with her father down the hallway, each shaking their heads. Burton said, “I’m sure it won’t get too bad, Jennifer. Just give it a little time, it’ll blow over.”
Jennifer wanted to believe it. “What about the guards? Just … just a weird misunderstanding, right?”
But Burton didn’t answer quickly enough to give her much solace. And when he answered, he could find even less. “I’m sure they didn’t mean to hurt or frighten you, Jennifer, no, but … they might have been trying to make a point.”
“What point? That they can hurt me later on? What if they can find out where I live? They can, I’m sure they can!”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, Jennifer. Men like that, they’re … coarse, crude. They may strike, let’s take it as a sign of that, but nothing more … for now.”
Jennifer nodded, unable to contradict his logic yet again. But she wasn’t going to take any bullying from her security staff, not when something told her that they could be turned to her cause’s advantage.
“Okay, Dad —” Reading his glance at her, over the bridge of his nose, she corrected herself with, “Doctor Carlisle.”
He smiled and gave her a nod and walked down the hall just before another familiar voice called her name. Jennifer turned to see Shin Xu walking down the hall toward her. “How are things with the security team? You talked to them about the vagrants?”
“I did,” Jennifer said, wondering if Shin Xu hadn’t put Willie and the other guards to frighten her, hopefully scare her off the job. “And they were very friendly and cooperative,” Jennifer added.
“Is that so?”
“It is,” Jennifer said.
“So there’s no reason for me to worry that they’re going to go on strike?”
“Strike? I was supposed to make sure they kept the vagrants out of the bushes … nothing about a strike!”
Shin Xu looked her up and down. “I see. So your intention is to do the very least that the job requires. That’s most disappointing, Jennifer; I’d expected better.”
“You expected me to pull my skirt up over my head and go running back to Colorado, Admnistrator. And I wonder … why is that? It’s not just about my father, the nepotism. I threaten you, for some reason. And that can only be because you have something to hide, something you're afraid I’ll find?” Shin Xu just stared her down, saying nothing. So Jennifer went on, “Maybe I should start looking a little deeper then, Shin Xu? Maybe I’m on the right track after all.”
Shin Xu stared her down, neither woman willing to give. Finally Jennifer turned and walked away herself, down the hall and to the left. She wasn’t sure where she was going, or where she’d wind up. But she knew she had to keep moving forward; she’d come too far to stop.
Of all the things Jennifer had to think about, her father and Shin Xu, Parker and Tony, the growing crowd of protestors, her recent dream returned to her in vivid detail. There had been a mixture of past and present, there had been greater violence than before, and now that dream seemed to be coming true, at least in part.
Isn’t there something I can glean from that dream, Jennifer thought as she scoured her imagination, isn’t there some clue to find in all that subconscious stew? There must be, there has to be!
Jennifer knew she had to find a way to settle things at Flowerhill before they spun way out of control. And with her relationship with Parker getting more complicated quickly, Jennifer could only see bad things on the horizon; and they were getting closer fast. All she could do was hang on and hope the certain chaos wouldn’t obliterate the necessary order. Both would have to work together, just as she and Parker would have to work together; two sides of the same coin. They were about to be flipped, and she couldn’t know which would wind up on top. It really didn’t matter, because if the toss was in vain and Flowerhill lost, then all would be lost. It looked like more and more a certainty, and Jennifer braced for what she knew would be the fight for Flowerhill, the fight of her life.
* * *
Dear Reader,
I hope you enjoyed being a part of Jennifer and Parker’s exciting and steamy adventures at Flowerhill General Hospital. Keep reading below for a sneak peek at the rest of their love story. If you sign up for my newsletter, I’ll let you know when you can continue following their journey
Love, Anna
A RECKLESS AFFAIR
Flowerhill Medical Romance Series Book 1
Welcome to Flowerhill Medical Center in glamorous and dangerous Los Angeles, California. Orderly and disciplined administrator Jennifer Carlisle has arrived at just the wrong time; controversy is looming over the hospital, and if Jennifer can’t figure out a way to stop the onslaught of controversy; budgetary fallouts and other pressures may bring Flowerhill and everybody in it to their knees.
But there’s even more on Jennifer’s plate. Her father Burton is the Chief of Surgery at Flowerhill, which drudges up old feelings and insecurities. Also contributing to those insecurities is dashing and intriguing surgeon Dr. Parker Stone, something of a rascal but much more a champion of patients’ rights; a dedicated lifesaver who is more than attractive to Jennifer. Ethical and practical considerations abound, forbidden fruit hanging too close together.
Can these two find love in each other’s arms, or will social pressures do more than simply tear them apart? Will greed prevail, will innocence die, as well as countless innocent people? Everything is on the line, and all rests squarely on Jennifer’s shoulders. Though it seems Jennifer cannot succeed, she absolutely cannot afford to fail!
THE STONE BEYOND
Flowerhill Medical Romance Series Book 2
Administrator Jennifer Carlisle hasn’t been at Flowerhill General Hospital in Los Angeles for very long, but things are getting complicated fast. After a fling with a neighbor, Jennifer begins a serious relationship with Flowerhill’s brilliant surgeon, Dr. Parker Stone. And in addition to all the possible personal and professional complications which could ensue from that alone, there are other concerns. A new policy means the hospital will be turning away patients, and that could cause protests and strikes which threaten to cripple Flowerhill unless Jennifer and Parker can prevent it. Her father may be the chief of surgery, but that may only make matters worse as Jennifer’s past and her present start to collapse around her
Will her new love with Parker be all she hopes it might be, or be all she dreads it will be? Everything is at stake for each of them, for the entire hospital. Neither can resist, and this will be either their fatal mistake or their salvation; both will carry a terrible price.
COMPLETE SURRENDER
Flowerhill Medical Romance Series Book 3
Jennifer’s position as an administrator at Flowerhill General Hospital is becoming more complicated and dangerous by the day. Angry citizens protest the hospital’s new policy denying ACA claims, and Jennifer’s position as a liaison to the increasingly disgruntled janitors and sec
urity guards puts her in real physical jeopardy.
When tragedy strikes the ward, Jennifer and handsome surgeon Parker are swept up into the center of the ensuing controversy. More heated scrutiny falls on them and onto the hospital, inspiring more protests, increasing tension in the hospital, and turning friends and associates against one another in a power struggle which none of them will be able to contain.
Will Jennifer’s new love with Parker survive, or will it collapse under the weight of the pressures that continue to mount around them? Will the hospital survive, or will greed and sorrow be the undoing of the venerable Los Angeles institution. Lives are at stake, perhaps even her own, but Jennifer can’t back down; there’s too much lose, and she’s come too far. Whatever the price, Jennifer will pay it, even the ultimate price.
SHARDS OF DESTINY
Flowerhill Medical Romance Series Book 4
Jennifer has only been an administrator at Los Angeles’ Flowerhill hospital for a short time, but she’s already at the center of a controversy which could bring down the entire hospital. An eager media makes her a symbol of the healthcare struggle, but the risks that go along with that could be deadly. Her job is threatened, and so is that of Parker, her lover and the crown jewel in the hospital’s surgical team. It seems either Jennifer or Parker will have to go, unless one of them can find a way to save countless lives, their new romance, and the entire hospital.
Will good intentions be enough to lead Jennifer and Parker to heaven, or take them directly into a hell of their own making? Will two people who have dedicated their lives to the benefit of others ever have a chance at the happiness they’ve earned, or will they be crushed under the wheels of the media and the medical industrial complex? Time is short, alternatives are few, and everything is at stake.
LIGHTNING’S EDGE
Flowerhill Medical Romance Series Book 5
Things in Jennifer’s life have fallen apart. Her love affair with Parker is in jeopardy, along with her job at the embattled hospital. Old wounds are still festering, and leaving Los Angeles may not be enough to put things right.
When tragedy returns to the halls of Flowerhill, Jennifer finds herself in a race against time, and against fate, for one last chance to save her future and the hospital, even at the cost of her own life.
Will Jennifer and Parker find the love they’ve both worked so hard for, and lost so much for, or will destiny prevent their shared happiness? Sacrifices are called for, a price must be paid, and Jennifer and Parker both dread who will pay that price, and how terrible it may be.