The Surgeon's Favorite Nurse Read Free

underway for almost two hours and judging by the crowd concentrated in this area, tours of the facility were complete. So if she wasn’t jumping through hoops for dignitaries, where was she? Before he could decide what to do about that question, the president of the hospital’s board of directors introduced himself over a microphone. Jake located former Congressman Edward Havens on a dais set up for the occasion.
    Ed introduced the governor, senator, mayor—blah, blah, blah. Then he ticked off the names of the campus president, department directors, etcetera. Finally he made eye contact with Jake and smiled, before announcing that the contract for trauma medical director was going to Dr. Jake Andrews.
    Jake nodded, waved, smiled politely at everyone applauding around him and mentally high-fived himself. He loved it when a plan came together, and in this case the plan was all about his career and long-term financial security. All the hard work had paid off. He would be able to write his own ticket now. No one would ever again look at him like he was something worse than dirt on their shoes.
    Searching faces in the crowd, he still didn’t see Hope. Suddenly he had an overwhelming urge to tell her “I told you so.” He wandered the facility and was oddly disappointed when his search didn’t produce the result he wanted. On his way back to the lobby, he passed the closed door of her office and tried the knob. When it turned, he pushed into the room and saw her there.
    “Knock, knock,” he said, then softly tapped his knuckles on the door.
    She looked startled before her eyes widened in recognition. “Doctor…Jake,” she corrected.
    He walked inside and closed the door. Her desk was littered with computer equipment and stacks of folders.Around the perimeter of the room were moving boxes with flaps opened. The office paraphernalia inside looked as if it had been rifled through but not put away. So she was still settling in.
    “How about a tour?” he asked.
    “Sorry. You’re too late.”
    Her eyes went from surprised to sad and he wondered what would make such a pretty lady unhappy. Then he wondered why he would notice at all. Or why he should care. It could have something to do with her bastard remark earlier. He liked that she didn’t scrape, bow and kiss his ass. That kind of crap got old real fast.
    Jake slid his hands into the pockets of his slacks. “You’re missing the party all locked away in here.”
    “It’s work to me, and I’m taking a five-minute break.”
    “Want some company? I’d like to talk to you about something.”
    Her gaze turned suspicious which was better than sad. “You’re not here to pester me about getting Bugs Bunny bandages, are you?”
    “Something like that.” He moved closer, near enough that the sweetly sensuous scent of her perfume nearly made his eyes cross. “I was looking over the names and certifications on the trauma team and wondered why there was no admitting specialist in the group.”
    She put her hands on her hips and her eyes narrowed. “So you want designer scalpels, Bugs Bunny boo-boo covers and a personal assistant?”
    “Yes.”
    “Are you aware, Doctor, that it takes a hundred and fifty million dollars of up-front money to open a facility like this?”
    “I think I heard that figure somewhere.” Although he found her figure in the snug little black dress with almost-not-there straps far more interesting. Mile-high heels made her legs look incredible. One glance was better than a shot of adrenaline to get his heart pumping.
    “Did you also hear that a new facility is expected to lose money at first, because there’s no revenue stream?”
    “Makes sense.” Unlike the fact that he couldn’t seem to take his eyes off her mouth.
    He knew she was attracted to him because he knew women and this one wasn’t very good at hiding her feelings. Her tone was full of Southern fried deference. She was trying to bow and scrape, but it was more about