Читать книгу Perfect Rivals... - Amy Ruttan, Amy Ruttan - Страница 9

CHAPTER TWO

DON’T DIE. DON’T DIE.

Flo glanced up at the monitors as she worked on Kyle Francis, and she tried not to think about the fact that Dr. Nate King was standing on the opposite side of the bed, working with her as they tried to stabilize him. If Kyle died, he’d judge her. He seemed like the arrogant type who would put the blame on her when really it was the management team that Kyle employed who would be at fault. They were the ones who’d put a stop to her helping him right away, insisting that Dr. King be flown in.

Making her and Kyle wait.

That wouldn’t have happened if she’d been allowed to put in the left ventricular assist device when Kyle had first come in, and she was going to make sure that Freya and James Rothsberg both knew that. Especially if Kyle died.

Come on.

Right now she’d like to throttle that acting management team. Their delay might’ve cost Kyle his life.

“Come on,” she whispered under her breath as she pictured all the thousand ways she’d torture Kyle’s managers.

There was a bleep from the monitor as the sensor picked up a faint pulse. Flo gave an inward sigh of relief. Thoughts of murder and disemboweling some Hollywood yuppies dissipating for now.

“Good job, everyone!” She took off her latex gloves as the nursing team stepped in to make sure that Kyle didn’t code again. “I need this man prepped and ready for surgery. I’m on my way to get an OR prepped. I want a repeat of his labs drawn.”

“Yes, Dr. Chiu,” said Olivia.

“Make sure that I’m informed of those labs as well, Nurse,” Nate said, not even glancing in the direction of Flo’s favorite transplant nurse.

Olivia looked at Flo for confirmation and she nodded.

Flo glanced at Nate, who was scowling as he monitored Kyle’s vitals. She thought maybe she could sneak past him. She didn’t want to deal with arrogance this minute. Moments like that just brought back the vivid memories of the time she’d collapsed during band practice. When her kidney had failed her at fourteen and she had been rushed to hospital.

They were jumbled memories, but her parents liked to tell that story about how she’d hovered near death. She’d needed a donor then and Kyle needed one now. But a heart and lung transplant match was tricky. The list was long and the United Network of Organ Sharing didn’t care who Kyle was. Placement on the list was prioritized on who got on the list first.

There were other people waiting for a heart and lung transplant. Kyle was at the top of two lists, one for the heart and one for the lungs. He had to have both at the same time from the same donor.

At least the left ventricular assist device would stabilize Kyle while they waited. By the time her kidney had failed, dialysis had no longer worked for her. At least kidneys could be donated by a living donor.

You could live with one kidney.

Flo always had.

Her stomach twisted as she thought of that, because her time was so uncertain. She’d had this kidney for fifteen years now. How much longer until she was on her sickbed? On dialysis and waiting for another transplant?

Another precious gift so she could go on living?

Which was why she had to continue to live life to the fullest.

“Going somewhere, Dr. Chiu?”

Drat.

She turned around to see that Nate had followed her out of Kyle’s suite. “I’m going to schedule our surgery.”

“I’m so glad you said ‘our’ surgery.”

Flo rolled her eyes and he fell into step beside her. “Really, I can handle this surgery on my own.”

“I know you can, but what would be the fun in that?” Nate asked, his scowl changing into a teasing smile.

“Trust me. It’s fun.” She grinned back at him and he chuckled. He had a gorgeous smile, perfect white teeth against that tanned face. There was a faint scar that ran through his eyebrow and another on his chin.

Definitely a jock.

“So where can I get set up with a pager and scrubs? I wouldn’t mind an office, either.”

“You’re not asking for much, are you?” Flo remarked.

“Well, if I’m going to be here a while I would like to continue my research.”

“Research? What’re you researching or is that a secret?”

“No. It’s no secret. I’ve published several papers on regenerative tissues as well as robotic and mechanical devices to prolong organs and life while waiting for transplants.”

Flo was impressed. She’d never read any of Nate’s papers, but the premise was interesting.

“Well, if you’re looking for a place to set up shop then you would have to talk to Freya Rothsberg, but she’s gone home for the evening.”

“Okay, I’ll talk to her in the morning. I don’t have to talk to her about getting a pair of scrubs, do I?”

Flo laughed. She couldn’t help it. The jerk was charming. She pointed to the OR charge desk, where a nurse sat behind her desk and was electronically entering patients’ details onto a vast surgical board. “No, just speak to that OR nurse and she’ll point you in the right direction.”

He smiled again, one that made her melt just slightly, before he headed off to get scrubs. She admired his well-defined backside as he strode away.

Don’t think about him like that.

Flo had no time for romantic inclinations, because the one time she had and Johnny had found out that she had a chronic kidney disease because of her time in NICU, he’d run in the opposite direction, breaking her heart. He had crushed her completely. It was easier to guard her heart than have it mangled by someone you thought you loved and who loved you back. She’d bared her most intimate side to Johnny, but the moment he’d seen her scar, the game had changed. Attraction had been replaced by disgust and fear. Even pity.

So Flo had given up on the notion of love. Which was probably why she was still a virgin at thirty.

She didn’t need it. Besides, if she involved someone else in her life they would tell her that her bucket list was crazy and no one was going to dictate to her how she was going to live her life. She’d been given a gift when she’d been given that kidney and she wasn’t going to spend the rest of her life like she’d spent her childhood, wrapped up in cotton wool by two well-meaning but overprotective parents.

No, she was going to live her life to the fullest, until her donor kidney failed and she’d go back on the list again. When she was waiting she’d have all these amazing memories to think about and not have any regrets if she died while on the list.

And no man was going to get in her way.

Not even the all-American hottie she had always pined for.

* * *

“Suction, please,” Flo said.

“With pleasure.” Nate suctioned around the area where Flo was working. Usually he was the one giving directions about suctioning or retracting, but instead he was the one on the other side of the table from the lead surgeon and it made him grind his teeth just a bit.

At least Flo had let him into her OR, because she was correct—she had every right to tell him to take off. She was the head of transplant surgery, he was just the patient’s doctor from out east. Nate was very aware that he was in Dr. Flo Chiu’s territory.

Scrub nurses and residents alike all respected and admired Dr. Chiu. Even though he should be bitter about the fact that she was working on his patient, he couldn’t help but admire her surgical skill. Her tiny, delicate hands handled the heart with precision as she carefully sutured in the device. A device that would allow Kyle to live a bit longer.

“It’s amazing how this can sustain his life,” Nate remarked.

“Yes. It is. Medical research such as yours, Dr. King, is definitely valuable.”

“You know, for a long time LVADs couldn’t be used on children or women.”

“I know, Dr. King.”

“I know you do, Dr. Chiu, but maybe some of your residents in this room can tell me why LVADs couldn’t be used on women and children in the past.”

Flo shot him a look. “There are no residents here. The Hollywood Hills Clinic isn’t a teaching hospital. All these surgeons are transplant fellows.”

“Well, a fellow still has to learn under a seasoned surgeon.” Nate glanced around the room. “Come on, someone has to know the answer.”

“Would someone answer Dr. King, please? And maybe after this Dr. King would stop subjecting us to his pub quiz on cardiothoracic surgery.”

There was laughter and Nate had to laugh to himself, as well.

Oh, she’s feisty.

He liked that in a woman. Strong and not afraid to stand up for herself.

Flo wasn’t afraid of much.

“The LVAD device was too large for the chests of women and children, that’s why it couldn’t be used on them in the past,” a surgeon finally said.

“Right, thank you.” Nate turned back to Flo. “See, this is why I’m doing my research and maybe this young doctor here would like to assist me while I continue with my research here in Los Angeles.”

“Thank you, Dr. King,” the surgeon said, stunned.

Flo shot him another look that said, Are you kidding me?

“I never questioned why you were doing your research, Dr. King. I admire it, but since Mr. Francis here will be stabilized, albeit bound to this hospital with his LVAD, maybe you could return to New York. I’ll let you know when UNOS has a heart and lung ready for Mr. Francis.” Flo continued with her work.

“Ah, but that’s the thing. They won’t be calling you, Dr. Chiu. UNOS will call me. I’m the one who put Mr. Francis on the transplant list.”

Her head snapped back up and she fixed him with a stern look over her surgical mask.

That got her attention.

“You are persistent in your need to stay here, aren’t you?” she said, with a hint of admiration in her voice.

“When it comes to my patients I am very persistent.”

She looked up at him briefly and he knew by the way her eyes crinkled in the corners that she was smiling behind that mask. “Me, too.”

“Dr. Chiu, I don’t see why we both can’t work together on Mr. Francis’s care. We don’t both have to stay at this hospital twenty-four-seven, waiting for a heart and lungs. Surely you have a life outside this hospital?”

“What’re you implying, Dr. King? Are you implying I don’t have a life?”

“On the contrary, I’m sure you have a life. Someone special.”

“What?” she asked, not looking at him.

“A boyfriend.”

There were a few titters in the crowd and Flo quickly shot them all a dirty look, which silenced the laughter.

“Not that it’s any of your business, Dr. King, but I don’t have a boyfriend. My work is my life.”

“Oh, that’s a shame.”

Flo groaned. “Don’t tell me you’re one of those kinds of men?”

“What kind of men?”

“Men who think that a woman is worthless if she doesn’t have a boyfriend or a significant other.”

“No, I’m not. It’s just...” Then he trailed off as he thought about Serena. “Life’s too short.”

She looked up at him, her brown eyes warm and tender as if silently agreeing with him. As if she knew personally how fragile life was, and he couldn’t help but wonder what had happened in her life. Had she lost someone she’d cared about?

Nate certainly hoped not. That was a pain he wouldn’t wish on his worst enemy.

“You’re right,” she said. “Life is too short. At least with this operation he won’t be one of the ten to fifteen percent who die while waiting. It will give him a chance to beat the odds.”

Nate nodded, but didn’t say anything further as they worked together to attach Kyle’s left ventricular assist device. Kyle was lucky that they’d brought him to Dr. Chiu, in light of the fact that he himself was based in New York.

There was talent here.

There was skill.

Together they could save Kyle’s life. There were always variables when it came to heart and lung transplants, but maybe together they could succeed.

No. You can’t. Not together.

Flo was the type of woman his old self would have pursued in a heartbeat and that thought scared him. If he had to work closely with her, then he would be tempted.

How could he not be tempted by a woman like Flo?

He had to keep his distance from her. It would be hard, but he had to put a wall between the two of them. It had to be professional. It had to be businesslike. That was all there was to it. Nate couldn’t risk his heart again.

Risk was a dangerous thing and he wasn’t willing to play around with that.

Look where his life of risk had gotten him.

Don’t think about Serena now. You don’t deserve to mourn her.

After the surgery was successfully completed, Nate didn’t say much. He just scrubbed out and then tried to find his way off the surgical floor. He needed air. It took him a few minutes, but he found his way back up to the roof, to the helipad. Maybe the height would get him out of the LA smog.

It was hot out, different from New York, where the bitter remnants of March still clung to the city. He’d forgotten how much he missed the heat of California. He took a deep breath and tried to calm his jangled nerves.

He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt like this.

Since Serena had died he’d been busy burying his feelings in his work. He didn’t usually connect with anyone, but Flo had got under his skin.

Even in the brief time he’d known her.

She made him forget. She made him forget how he had a tight rein on his emotions. Absolute control at all times.

“There you are,” Flo said behind him, making him jump slightly.

“Why did you follow me up here?” he snapped.

“Don’t get so testy. I followed you because I wanted to give you this temporary pass.” She held out the scan card in her delicate fingers. “If you don’t have this you can’t get access to Mr. Francis or basically get around the hospital.”

Nate sighed inwardly and took the scan card from her. “Sorry. Thanks.”

“I guess I could’ve kept it and you would’ve been trapped up here.” A smile played at the corners of her lips. “You would deserve it, too, asking all those personal questions during surgery. My team doesn’t need to know about my personal life.”

“I was trying to lighten the mood in there.”

Since when?

In New York City he was always serious. Residents and interns alike quaked in their boots around him. He wasn’t known for lightening the mood, or even chatting in an operating room. He didn’t know what had come over him.

She crossed her arms. “There was no need for mood lightening in there. Besides, from what I hear, you’re not exactly jovial all the time.”

“Who told you that?” he asked.

“Mr. Francis, when he first came in and was stabilized. When he found out his management team had called you he warned me about you. He said you were a bit of an arrogant brute.”

“I doubt he said arrogant brute.”

“You’re right,” she said, a twinkle in her eyes. “It was much more colorful.”

Nate chuckled to himself. That sounded like something Kyle would do. And when he glanced at Flo he could see a soft side to her. She gave off the appearance of being a tough cookie in the operating room, but there was a softness about her. A warmth.

Something he’d been missing in his life for so long.

“Thanks for helping me in there. I’m so glad he’s stabilized. Let’s just hope we can keep him that way until UNOS calls you.” She smiled at him. “I’ll leave you to it. If you need anything, just have me paged. I’ll be at the hospital for some time still.”

She turned to leave, but Nate reached out and took her elbow to stop her. Flo turned, a questioning look on her face.

“Thank you for being here to help my patient,” he said. “I’m glad a surgeon of your caliber was here to help him. And I’ll get UNOS to add you to the call list.”

Her brown eyes widened in surprise and then she smiled, a pink blush tinging her round cheeks as she tucked an errant wisp of hair behind her ear. “Thank you, and of course.”

Nate knew that he should let her go, only he couldn’t. He felt mesmerized by her and without thinking he pulled her tight against and kissed her.

For one moment, while he tasted her sweet lips, he felt her melt against him, which prompted him to wrap his arms around her, deepening the kiss. Her petite body was pressed against his, his hands in her hair as he bent over to kiss her.

Nate wanted to take this further. If they had been back at his place in New York, he’d be scooping her up in his arms and carrying her off to bed to make love to her, but he was standing with her on a helipad in Los Angeles.

He was tumbling down a dangerous path.

Then he remembered what he was doing.

That this was not keeping his distance from her at all. It was the exact opposite.

He broke off the kiss and took a step away from her, running his hand through his hair, trying to calm the erratic beat of his pulse and the longing in his blood.

Flo stood there, just as shocked as he was, her fingers pressing her lips, her eyes wide.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know...” He trailed off. He knew what had come over him and he was angry at himself for letting lust take over his senses, even for just one moment.

“No, it’s okay,” she said quickly. “The rush of the moment. I get it. We won’t talk about it again, Dr. King.” And then, before he had a chance to say anything else, she turned on her heel and jogged away, putting the distance between them that he should’ve done in the first place.