In the Doctor's Bed

Lucien wasn’t surprised they couldn’t make it out of the hospital and to the parking lot without encountering someone he’d rather not have seen. Nurse Tsang was walking toward them as they were leaving. She stopped, causing them to do the same.

“Good morning, Ms. Tsang,” he said, his tone formal.

“Dr. De Winter.” The woman then glanced over at Jaclyn with a speculative eye. “Dr. Campbell.”

“Good morning,” Jaclyn acknowledged.

“The two of you are leaving?” the woman then asked.

Lucien lifted a brow. “Yes, we’re going to get coffee. I think we’ve earned the right because we’ve been here for the last eighteen hours. We had one hell of an emergency.”

“So I heard,” Ms. Tsang said drily. She then looked over at Jaclyn and then back at Lucien. “Need I remind the two of you of the hospital’s nonfraternization policy when it comes to managers and their subordinates?”

Lucien looked down at the woman. He smiled a little, but the smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. “No. Just like I’m sure I don’t have to remind you of the hospital’s contact policy whenever an emergency occurs. I understand no one could reach you yesterday, Ms. Tsang. Nor did you call in.”

Her gaze sharpened. “It was my long weekend and I caught the train to New York. That’s why I couldn’t be reached.”

“I’m sure you had a nice time,” he remarked.

“Yes, I did.”

“Glad to hear it. Now if you will excuse us.” He didn’t wait to see if she would excuse them or not, nor did he care. He and Jaclyn walked off, leaving the woman standing there staring at them.

The woman had a problem with sticking her nose where it didn’t belong. He had mentioned it several times to Dr. Dudley, especially when the interns had come to him complaining, but it seemed the chief of staff always found some excuse or another for Ms. Tsang.

“If you want to cancel our having coffee, I’ll understand, Dr. De Winter,” Jaclyn said.

He glanced over at her and he knew the smile he gave her was a lot different than the one he’d bestowed upon Ms. Tsang earlier. This one not only reached his eyes but it also spread throughout his entire body like a beacon of light. “There’s no way I’m going to let Nurse Tsang’s nosiness dictate what I do and how I handle my business.”

He opened the car door for her, paused a moment and then asked, “I guess I’m the one who should be asking you if you still want to share a cup of coffee with me.”

She smiled up at him as she slid onto the leather seat of his car. “Yes, I still want to share a cup of coffee with you.”

He held her gaze. “You sure?” She nodded. “I’m positive.”

Jaclyn knew without a doubt that Lucien had no idea just how positive she was. Regardless of Nurse Tsang’s remark, she had no intention of turning down Dr. De Winter’s invitation to go someplace where they could talk. It didn’t matter that the only discussion they would have was about the Matthews lawsuit. All she cared about was that she would be sharing his space again somewhere across the bridge that hopefully wasn’t frequented by their colleagues.

“I like your car,” she said after she’d buckled her seat belt and waited for him to do the same. It was a silver 1980 Trans Am, all shiny and clean and expensively upholstered.

“Thanks.”

“And it sounds good. So what’s under the hood?”

He glanced over at her and chuckled. “This baby was a limited edition Indy car. Turbo, 210 horsepower, 4.9 cubic inch motor and it rides like a dream.”

“I hear. What’s the torque?”

“Three hundred forty-five pounds.”

“Um, four speed manual, V-8 and an 8-trac player that plays CDs. Very impressive, Dr. De Winter,” she said.

He took his eyes off her to return to the road. “Thank you, and because we’re away from the hospital a first-name basis suits me just fine.” He glanced back over at her. “Is that okay with you?”

She nodded, swallowed deeply and said, “I have no problem with it.”

“Okay, so tell me, Jaclyn, how do you know so much about muscle cars?”

“My dad made a living as an auto mechanic, but not just any auto mechanic. Back home people came from far and wide just to get him to look under their hoods. He was known as the Muscle Car King.”

“Now I’m impressed. Where is back home?”

“Oakland, California.”

“Any siblings?” he asked her.

“A brother who’s four years older.”

“The two of you are close?”

She chuckled. “Yes, but he stopped counting when he married a woman who became the sister I never had and they gave me a niece who everyone thinks is mine. It’s uncanny, but she looks just like me when I was her age.”

“Then she must be cute as a button.”

“Thanks.” Had he just given her a compliment? Was he insinuating he thought she was cute? She shifted positions in the seat while thinking she should probably take a chill pill because all her thoughts were wrong. He’s probably being nice to you because he doesn’t want to say anything to make you burst into tears on him again.