Читать книгу Perfect Rivals... - Amy Ruttan - Страница 11

CHAPTER THREE

FLO WOKE WITH a start and forgot for a moment that she was in an on-call room. Her arm had pins and needles because when she’d crashed, she’d crashed with her arm hanging over the side of the bed, clutching her pager, which was currently vibrating in her hand.

She glanced at it and saw that Freya Rothsberg was looking for her.

Drat.

She hoped it didn’t have anything to do with sharing her office with Nate. She wouldn’t have really minded or put up a fight before, but after yesterday Flo knew that sharing an office was a bad idea.

She’d been so surprised when he’d pulled her into his strong arms and kissed her. A little voice inside her head had told her to push him away, but she’d been unable to because the kiss had been the hottest kiss she’d ever had.

Every other kiss in her life, before Nate’s kiss, had been chaste in comparison. The moment his hand had cupped the back of her head, his fingers playing in the wisps of hair at the back of her neck, it had sent a jolt of pure longing and desire through her veins.

And she’d wanted him.

That side of her that lived for the moment had screamed at her to take him. Though the sensible side of her had reminded her that the last time she’d become close to a man, when she’d almost taken the plunge and had had sex, a certain scar had scared Johnny. It spoke to the world that she was ill. That her life was uncertain, and no one wanted to be tied down to a risk. Johnny had made that much clear.

He’d been afraid to touch her again after he’d seen the scar, and she’d told him why she had it hoping that would calm the issue, but it hadn’t. It had just made it worse. Besides, what did she really know about sex? She’d never had it before.

It was good that Nate had broken off that kiss, though it was going to be hard to work with him. Especially if Freya insisted that they share an office.

Flo got out of bed, tidied her hair and brushed her teeth in the on-call room, then made her way to her office. Thankfully, her administrative assistant wasn’t in yet, because Sally would certainly pepper her with a ton of questions about Kyle Francis and Flo’s bedraggled appearance.

You slept in the on-call room again, didn’t you?

Flo locked the door to her office and went to the closet to pull out the set of business clothes that she always kept on hand, because this wasn’t the first time she’d slept over at The Hollywood Hills Clinic and had needed to make an appearance in front of the bosses the next day.

She tossed her scrubs in the laundry basket and then pulled on a reliable white blouse and pinstripe black pencil skirt. She traded her comfortable running shoes for her black heels and hoped no one would see the dents in her ankles from the elastic in her socks after wearing them all night.

Flo fixed her hair, putting it up in a bun, and then slipped on her white lab coat, attaching her security cards and identification. With one last look she reached down and grabbed a tablet so she could bring up Kyle Francis’s file, because she was positive that Freya would want to talk about that.

Once she had everything she quickly made her way through the halls of The Hollywood Hills Clinic to the boardroom, where Freya had asked her to meet her, which also had Flo’s nerves on edge. She knocked and then entered the boardroom and tried not to blush when she saw Nate sitting in a chair at the table.

He was chatting to Freya amicably, but the moment Flo walked in those piercing blue eyes trained on her, and it took all her willpower to stop her knees knocking together. She would not let Nate get to her.

They were colleagues. That’s it.

Besides, even if something came of it, once he found out she was a transplant patient herself, he’d run, like all the others had. Her uncertain future like kryptonite to men. Which was why she kept it to herself, both in her personal and professional life.

“Sorry for running late, Freya.”

“No, it’s quite all right, Flo. Please have a seat.” Freya motioned to the seat directly across from Nate, on her left side. Flo sat down and tried not to look in Nate’s direction.

“I understand Mr. Francis has been stabilized?” Freya said, sitting down at the head of the table and brushing her long hair over her shoulder in that refined way she had.

“He has.” Flo pulled up Kyle’s file. “The surgical report is here if you need it.”

Freya held up her hand. “No, I’m not here to talk about Mr. Francis’s surgery. I’m glad to know that he’s been stabilized.”

“I thought you wanted to talk about Kyle Francis? The page said there was going to be discussion about him.”

“Well, it’s indirectly about Mr. Francis.” Freya brought up an image on the screen behind her with a click of the remote.

Flo almost fell out of her chair when she saw the headline of a local paper and the photograph that was underneath it.

Superstar Kyle Francis’s doctors locked in a kiss while actor hovers near death.

“And then there’s this one.” Freya clicked the remote again and a close-up photograph of Flo in Nate’s arms, lips locked, was emblazoned across a more reputable local paper with the caption underneath, Love match between heart surgeons.

“We’re not heart surgeons,” Nate joked, trying to defuse the situation. “We have cardiothoracic training, but we only transplant hearts when it comes to cardio care.”

Freya fixed her sternest gaze on him. “Yet the world knows Kyle Francis is waiting for a heart and lung transplant.”

“How did they know that?”

Freya sighed, “A paramedic leaked it. Not someone from our clinic thankfully, but still security and privacy measures at our clinic are now being questioned. Especially in light of a paramedic leaking the information about Kyle Francis’s surgery and then a paparazzo snapping a picture of two surgeons making out on the roof of our clinic. Our reputation is on the line.”

Flo’s stomach twisted in a knot and she felt like she was going to be sick.

How could she have been so foolish? She liked to live for the moment and take risks, but not when it jeopardized her career or the reputation of The Hollywood Hills Clinic.

“Freya, I’m so sorry...”

“There’s no need to apologize, Flo. There’s still a chance to solve this problem.” She smiled at them both. “Which is why I’m so glad both of you are dressed respectably. We’re going to hold a press conference in a few moments.”

“A press conference about what?” Nate asked.

“We’re going to talk about Kyle’s procedure. We have clearance from his management team. It will be good PR for him. We’re also going to talk about a pro bono case that both of you will be working on. We’ll be working in conjunction with the Bright Hope Clinic to help Eva Martinez. She’s a child in need of a kidney transplant. Her mother, a single mom and waitress, is a perfect match and is donating a kidney to her daughter. It’s caught the attention of the media.”

Flo’s heart skipped a beat as Freya brought up the dossier of Eva Martinez. Eva was twelve. Just a couple of years younger than she herself had been when she’d needed her kidney transplant. It struck a chord deep in her heart.

“Of course,” Flo said, finally finding her voice. “Of course I’m willing to work on a pro bono case for a child. That’s no problem.”

“Is that all?” Nate asked.

“No,” Freya said quietly, crossing her arms and leaning back in the chair. “We have to address the issue of two prominent transplant surgeons kissing on the roof of The Hollywood Hills Clinic and being caught doing it.”

“There’s nothing between us,” Flo said quickly. “It won’t happen again.”

Nate was eyeing her speculatively, as if she’d slapped him or something. “Of course. It won’t happen again. It was an impulse after a long surgery.”

“I don’t need to know why it happened. I don’t care if our surgeons date, but I do care about the fact those two surgeons were caught kissing on the clinic roof when we advertise privacy and security to our VIPs. So, I want you two to pretend you’re in a relationship.”

Flo blinked, because she couldn’t believe what Freya was saying. “Pardon?”

“The Hollywood Hills dream team is going to save the life of Eva Martinez and Kyle Francis. The positive PR this will bring to The Hills is too good an opportunity to pass up. We need to restore our reputation. Until that reputation is restored and our clients begin to trust us again, your wagons are officially hitched together.”

* * *

Nate knew he should refuse, get up and walk away. After all, he wasn’t a surgeon at the clinic. He was only here because of his patient and that’s why he couldn’t leave.

He also didn’t want to hurt Flo.

She was a surgeon here at The Hollywood Hills Clinic. Her reputation would be tainted because of this. He really didn’t have much of choice. He might not like it, but it was just a prettiness. It wasn’t like they had to do anything, and he didn’t have plans to surf the local single scene in California. It wasn’t going to put a damper on his style.

“Okay,” Nate said.

“Okay?” Flo asked, shocked, and she fixed him with an are you crazy look.

“I’m fine with the pretense and I’m more than happy to help that little girl. The fact that a match has already been found makes it all the easier. I don’t mind working on a pro bono case.”

Freya smiled. “Good. What about you, Flo?”

Flo was sitting back in her chair, still in shock. “I guess that’s okay. I’m fine with the pro bono case and...yeah, I’m fine with the other angle.”

“Good,” Freya said, and stood. “I’ll let the press into the press room and we’ll get this conference started in ten minutes.”

Nate watched as Freya walked out of the boardroom, leaving Flo and him by themselves. They didn’t say anything to each other. There was lots he wanted to say to Flo; he wanted to apologize to her, because it was his fault they were in this situation. He was the one who’d been unable to control his desire for her.

He’d acted impetuously. Something he hadn’t done in a long time.

This is why I need to maintain control and keep my distance at all times.

If he didn’t maintain that tight control on himself, he acted irrationally and people paid for his indiscretion. Which was why he always tried to remain in control. Control of his life was the most important thing.

“Well, perhaps we should get to the press room.”

“What was that?” Flo asked, her arms crossed.

“What was what?” he asked.

“Why did you agree so easily? I thought you would’ve put up a fight. I mean, you don’t work for the clinic. You could just leave, go back to New York.”

Nate snorted. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

Flo rolled her eyes. “This doesn’t have anything to do with Kyle’s surgery.”

“Doesn’t it?” Nate stood and leaned over the boardroom table. “You’ve been trying to get me to go back home since I first arrived. You don’t like another surgeon sniffing around your territory.”

Flo grinned. “You’re right. I don’t, but I had resigned myself to the fact you were staying. Honestly, if it were my patient I would probably do the same thing. What I don’t understand now is why you’re being so accommodating.”

“Look, it was my fault what happened up there. I shouldn’t have done it. I was an idiot and not thinking clearly. If I could go back in time and change the fact that I kissed you I would. It was a huge mistake.”

A faint trace of disappointment crossed her face. “Okay.”

“Let’s just put on our best professional facades out there and play nice. Besides, I look forward to working on a kidney transplant with you. It should be a simple surgery.”

A strange look passed over her face again, one he couldn’t recognize as other than pain, but it was just fleeting as she stood up and straightened her lab coat. “Right. A nice pro bono case. Good PR.”

There was a hint of bitterness to her tone.

“Are you okay?” Nate asked.

“Now you care how I feel?” Flo asked.

“Well, I am supposed to be your boyfriend. I might as well get into the act.”

Flo shook her head and sighed. “Come on, then, Mr. Dreamboat. Let’s get this press conference over with.”

“That’s Dr. Dreamboat to you,” Nate teased.

Flo stuck out her tongue and they walked out of the boardroom and headed toward the press conference, with a lot of gazes fixed on them. A few whispers. So word had got out already about the “dream team”.

Nate took Flo’s hand and she flinched, so he leaned over, the scent of her soap tickling his senses.

“Relax, we’re supposed to hold hands. We’re a couple.”

Flo nodded and then held her head high as they walked hand in hand to the press conference. Though he shouldn’t like it, he did. Her delicate hands, the ones that had so expertly stitched in that left ventricular assist device just yesterday, were strong and soft in his.

And it felt right.

Too right.

The moment they stepped into the press conference they were met by a ton of flashes and questions being fired at them. Flo looked a bit shell shocked. Perhaps she wasn’t used to press conferences, but Nate was.

He often spoke to the board and at conferences about transplant surgery. This was an old hat for him. The only thing that was a bit new for him, and unwelcome at that, was pretending to be Flo’s significant other.

Well, it wasn’t totally unwelcome to pretend to be Flo’s boyfriend. What bothered him was that he wanted to act on it. He wanted another kiss. All the previous night in his hotel he’d thought about her, to the point he’d been unable to sleep and had spent most of the night in the hotel’s swimming pool, swimming laps to burn off energy.

Energy that he’d wanted to spend in a different way.

Don’t think about it.

“It’s okay,” Nate whispered in her ear, reassuringly. “Just smile. This is for The Hollywood Hills Clinic, remember?”

“Right,” Flo said through gritted teeth, and she nodded as they made their way to the podium, taking a seat on either side of Freya.

He could do this. Keep his cool.

He could go with this charade.

He was made of strong mettle.

This was just an act. Just a risky, foolish act. One he should be keeping far away from.