Seducing Chase Read Free

easy.”
    “Seriously. Can we also agree we need to act immediately? I don’t want rumors floating around when we could be addressing the facts.”
    “Yes, I agree. The news has already spread. I don’t even know how so many people found out about it so quickly, but I’ve been getting calls since Saturday night, many of which I haven’t returned yet, since Doug hadn’t solidified a course of action. I’ve been working behind the scenes doing what I can in the interim.”
    “Good, good. I would like to know who’s contacted you. Doug wants to see both of us again in a little while. Can you bring a list to the meeting? That way we can figure out who to get back to first and who can be put off.”
    “Sure.”
    “You’re suddenly very agreeable.”
    I don’t have a choice. Val shrugged, not meeting his eyes. “We’re working together and it won’t help to be at odds with each other. And like Doug said, we’re all on the same side.” I need you to leave before I decide we really are and start to like you. A relationship with Nate would be a waste of her time and quite possibly cause permanent damage to her career if the affair came to light.
    “Yes, we are.”
    Her phone rang. It was Doug’s secretary, asking her to meet him and Nate in Doug’s office in an hour. Nate left to check into his hotel and, after making the list he’d requested, Val tried to work on some other projects and ignore her ringing phone, letting her calls go to voicemail since she had nothing to say yet anyway. The clock crept toward the top of the hour and she was finally able to make her way to Doug’s office for the second time that day.
    Nate and Doug were both already there. Val moved past Nate to the small table near the windows, setting down her pad and phone before seating herself. Doug and Nate also sat, with Doug at the head of the table and Nate directly across from her. It was less intimate than her office, but not much better for her sanity.
    Right in my line of sight with his infuriating, suddenly reasonable, hot self. Awesome.
    “First of all, Nate, you need to know the facts. This is such a mess—it could take down the entire hospital if we don’t handle the situation correctly.” Nate glanced at Val with a question in his eyes and Val shrugged. Doug was probably being over-dramatic, but better that than blasé, and if Nate was going to help he needed to take this stuff seriously too. “Our state and federal funding has been cut fifty-six percent in the past two years. We rely on grants and donations to keep our research department going, so something like this is a huge deal and potentially very damaging to the reputation of the hospital.”
    “I understand that, and I’ll do everything I can to help you. Now, I spoke to Val briefly and we have a couple of items we want to start with. First, ‘no comment’ is not only ineffective, but oftentimes does more harm than good. If you aren’t trying to hide anything, why won’t you comment? Trust me. You don’t want the press to think you’re hiding something. They’ll come after you like a starving dog to a bone.” Doug nodded. Unreal. In a few sentences Nate had done what Val hadn’t been able to in the hours of meetings yesterday. She’d said the same thing to Doug, but he’d stubbornly stuck to the “no comment” policy. Val’s jaw clenched and Nate continued. “Secondly, we need to start addressing this immediately. It’s already gone more than half a business day with no one crafting the message.”
    “Sounds reasonable,” Doug answered.
    “Good.” Nate motioned toward Val. “I asked Val to bring a list of all the media inquiries she’s received thus far, so we could prioritize who we’re getting back to. One thing—I shouldn’t be a public face in this. If the press finds out I’m here they’re likely to think this is a much bigger deal than you want them to. You and Val make the most sense as spokespeople for CCC.”
    Doug looked