One Night in New York

by Amy Ruttan

  He stood back and rubbed his chin while she spun around. “Well, I don’t know. I guess you’ll do.”

  Mindy punched him playfully in the arm. “I’m so putting you on scut duty for a month.”

  He laughed out loud and grabbed her mittened hand. “You can’t do that, Dr. Walker. I’m not on your service.”

  “Oh, I can. I can have a few choice words with Dr. Chang…”

  “Blackmail. I see.”

  They both laughed and Mindy let Sam lead her wherever he was planning on taking her. Not that she was too impressed they were walking but, then, she found the wind wasn’t biting as much anymore.

  Maybe she was really getting acclimatized, which was a scary thought. She’d never thought she would ever get used to winter.

  “You’re frowning,” Sam remarked.

  “The cold isn’t bothering me.”

  He chuckled. “I knew you’d get used to it.”

  “Well, just because I’m used to it doesn’t mean I like it. Why couldn’t we have taken a cab?”

  “It’s not that far away.” Sam pointed. “See, it’s just across the street.”

  Mindy looked to where he was pointing and saw the red canopied entranceway to The Russian Tea Room.

  “Oh!”

  “I take it that meets your approval?” Sam asked.

  “It does.”

  “Come on or we’ll be late for our reservations.”

  They dashed across West Fifty-Seventh Street, dodging cars and taxi cabs. The door was opened for them by the doorman, who doffed his hat as they entered the exquisite entrance of the world-famous Russian Tea Room.

  “Wow,” Mindy whispered, as she pulled off her knitted hat. She’d seen pictures of it, heard about it and knew it was featured in several famous television shows, but standing in the lushly red decorated Russian Tea Room in person, well, she realized pictures and television didn’t do it justice. The dark green walls, with gold imperial eagles emblazoned on them, gave the room a vibe of decadence and mystery.

  Sam spoke to the host and they were escorted to a corner booth, which was offset and away from some other afternoon diners. They settled into the booth.

  “I thought it would be busier,” Mindy said, shrugging out of her jacket.

  “We missed the lunch crowd, it’s time for early tea.”

  “Tea?”

  “Well, I do come from Scotland. We do have tea and I frankly haven’t had a proper tea in a long time.”

  Mindy leaned on her elbow. “You know, the more you use the word ‘tea,’ the more it loses its meaning.”

  “Tea, tea, tea.” Sam opened the menu. “How adventurous are you when it comes to cuisine? I mean, you did tell me your favorite food was pizza.”

  “I think I’m pretty adventurous, but I draw the line at blood sausage. I know exactly what that is and I’m not interested.”

  “Oh, come on, it’s not that…you’re right, but it sounds worse than it is. Black pudding is more English than Russian, though.”

  “So what do you want me to try?”

  “How about caviar?” Sam asked. “It’s been a while since I had some.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “Very.” He cocked his head to one side. “Does the idea of caviar gross you out?”

  “No it doesn’t gross me out. I’m willing to try anything. Once.”

  Sam grinned and when the waiter came he ordered a royal afternoon tea for two. When Mindy glanced at the menu she had no idea where she was going to put all that food. She was hungry, but blinis, assorted sandwiches and caviar sounded a little rich.

  As she watched Sam conversing in a friendly way with the waiter, she smiled. She couldn’t help herself. When she and Dean had gone out to dinner, he had treated the wait staff, or anyone in the service industry, with disdain, like they were beneath him, no better than the dirt under his shoe. It had got to the stage that Mindy hadn’t actually liked going out with Dean half the time. Even after the awkward relationship with their waiter there hadn’t been much to talk about. They’d just eaten, possibly talked about cases.

  There had been no spark.

  She was spending the day with Sam and not once had she thought about when it would end. It was easy being with him. So easy.

  Too easy.

  No, she’d sworn now was the time she was going to focus on herself. She was going to find herself again.

  They could only be friends. Nothing more.

  It was a nice thought to entertain, because that’s all it could be. Just a fantasy.

  Sam was totally relaxed for the first time in…well, he couldn’t remember when. Mindy, when she wasn’t Dr. Walker, was a vivacious and funny woman to be around. The more time he spent with her the more he wanted to be with her.

  “You’re lonely. You need to find someone.”

  Kimberlyn’s words seemed to strike a chord with him once again. Maybe she was right after all. Settling down, having someone had never been on his radar. At least, not until after he had his career set, but even then he wasn’t sure if he could give his all to his career and a family.

  He hadn’t had the best role model when it came to surgeons and families.

  Then again, he knew colleagues who made it work.

  All he had to do was start by looking at his roommates. Especially Enzo and Kimberlyn. A relationship that had started with them being competitors. Then they’d both turned down a fellowship with Dr. Ootaka in favor of the other getting it. Now, that was love. And those two were joined at the hip.

  Maybe I can have it all?

  He shook that thought out of his head as fast as he could.

  No. He couldn’t have it all. At least, not with Mindy. It was bad enough that his mother’s reputation could ruin him if people found out he was her son, but to start up a relationship with an attending when that surgeon was responsible for deciding if he got a fellowship or not could not happen.

  He would not have that haunting his career.

  The waiter brought their tea and set down two glass tea cups that had ornate pewter handles and delicate pewter carving wrapped all around them.

  “Oh! So pretty,” Mindy gushed, and then set the cup down to let the waiter pour her tea.

  Sam couldn’t help but smile as he watched her.

  Dammit. Why her?

  Why had she had to walk into that bar that night? Why had he gone with her back up to her apartment? Why did he have to want the one woman he couldn’t have?

  “You never do things the easy way, son. You always take the hardest road to hoe.”

  Sam took a sip of his tea, mulling over his father’s words. It was true. Nothing ever came very easily for him. He had to work hard for things, but it made him appreciate it all the more when he achieved his goal.

  Sure, he could’ve done his fellowship at his mother’s hospital. He could’ve had his surgical training handed to him on a silver platter. Lord knew, he knew enough children of physicians who did just that, but he hadn’t wanted his training to be handed to him.

  And he most definitely didn’t want to work with his mother or be under her thumb.

  “This is really great,” Mindy said with a contented sigh. “It almost makes me not want to go into work tomorrow. Almost.”

  “Really? I didn’t think tea would have that effect on you.”

  “I have a busy caseload tomorrow. I have a mother being transported in from upstate. She’s pregnant with quintuplets.”

  Sam raised his eyebrows. “Quints? Do you need a resident tomorrow?”

  “I thought you had tomorrow off as well?” Mindy teased.

  “I can also switch a shift. How often do you come across quints?”

  “In my line of work, often enough.” Mindy leaned back against the booth. “Those mono-amniotic twins, however, those are rare.”

  “I’d like to assist if I may.”

  Mindy grinned at him. “When the time comes. I am trying to keep those babies inside her for a bit longer. I don’t
want them to be born too premature.”

  “So the quints are the only thing on your docket tomorrow?” he asked.

  “No, not the only thing. I have a few client consultations. I’m considered one of the top infertility doctors in the country, so it keeps me pretty busy.”

  “You’re a surgeon of many talents.”

  “I should hope so. I spent enough time in my fellowships.” She looked a little wistful. “Missed out a bit on things.”

  “Aye, but it must’ve been worth it.”

  “Oh, yes, it was. I wouldn’t change my education for anything.”

  Sam leaned across the table. “You studied at Stanford?”

  Mindy nodded. “Like I said before, I’m a native Californian. Never really traveled much. I liked the west coast too much.”

  “Which begs the question again, why did you leave?” He knew he’d touched a part that was hidden behind one of her walls. The sparkle in her eye disappeared and her spine stiffened. She wouldn’t look him in the eye either, just traced her long, delicate fingers over the filigree on her cup.

  “I told you, the chief made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.”

  Sam knew better than to press the subject. He didn’t want this day to end on a sour note. If he couldn’t have her the way he wanted her, he wanted them to remain friends. He wanted to continue to work with her, learn from her because she was a brilliant surgeon.

  “Right. I forgot.”

  The waiter brought a tray of assorted sandwiches and blinis with caviar. Sam thanked the waiter and then held out a blini with caviar on it.

  “So, you said you were how adventurous when it comes to your food?”

  The smile returned to Mindy’s face. “No way out of this, is there?”

  “Nope.”

  She held out her plate and he gave her one. The rest of the tea went well. They talked about the hospital, about cases, about New York, and neither of them pried further into the other’s personal life.

  It was a nice, friendly tea.

  When it was over he hailed a cab and they took a taxi back to her apartment. He walked her to the door and stood under the canopy with her, not wanting their day to end but knowing that it must.

  “I had a great time today, Sam. Thank you for showing this California girl around New York.”

  “It was no problem. I’d been meaning to revisit some of those spots myself. I hadn’t been to the Statue of Liberty since I was a young boy.”

  “Well, I’m glad you took me.”

  “Me too.”

  An awkward silence fell between them. They just stood there. He wanted to reach out, run his hands over her cheek and pull her into a kiss. That’s usually how he ended dates when he was dating.

  Only he couldn’t with her.

  “I’ll see you in the morning, Sam.” Mindy turned and disappeared inside.

  Sam sighed, jammed his hands into his pockets and left to catch the subway back to his lonely flat in Brooklyn.

  Not that he’d be alone as most of his roommates were off tonight, but without Mindy the world seemed like a pretty hollow, lonely and empty place.

  It was the same world he woke up in every day, but after spending one day with Mindy he realized just how lonely he was.

  CHAPTER NINE

  MINDY TRIED NOT to let her gaze wander to Sam as she walked into the boardroom. It had been a week since their day in New York together. When he’d walked her to the door of her apartment she’d lingered.

  She didn’t know why. Perhaps it had been habit. She had been waiting for him to kiss her, even though kissing him again wouldn’t have been wise.

  Yet she’d waited there and he hadn’t done anything. Just stood with her, his blue eyes dark, his face unreadable.

  She actually didn’t know why he’d waited there either, but the more he’d lingered the more she’d fought herself over inviting him up to her apartment. Of course, the last time she’d done that they’d slept together and she couldn’t do that again.

  Though she’d wanted to.

  Being with Sam was so easy. She admired and respected him as a surgeon; he was fun, sexy, intelligent. Sexy.

  Stop thinking about sex and his sexiness.

  Only she couldn’t when she was around him.

  Focus.

  Right now she had in front of her a skilled team of pediatricians, neonatologists, nurse practitioners, residents, anesthesiologists, just about anyone who could possibly help with her quint case. Mindy had been keeping an eye on Mrs. Jameson for about a week, but it was apparent to Mindy that with Mrs. Jameson’s condition they would have to prepare an elite team of practitioners in preparation for the quints’ birth.

  It was coming sooner rather than later.

  She glanced up quickly to see that Sam was sitting next to Dr. Chang, leaning back in the chair, focused on her intently. When their gazes met he smiled, just briefly.

  It sent a zing through her.

  Before she could get started, though, there was a knock and Professor Langley stepped into the room.

  “My apologies, Dr. Walker. I hope I haven’t missed anything.”

  “No, of course not. Come in.”

  He nodded and then waved to someone else who was standing just outside the door. “I hope you don’t mind, but I read the case file on the quints. I noticed one of them had a brain bleed that might need to be addressed.”

  “Yes. I was about to talk about the medical conditions of the babies.”

  “I thought you might want the help of one of the finest neurosurgeons. So I brought in Dr. Hanley.” He stepped aside and Dr. Hanley stepped into the room.

  Mindy’s eyes widened. There was a collective gasp. Everyone knew who Dr. Hanley was. Who didn’t? She was one of the most renowned and respected neurosurgeons.

  “Thank you for allowing me to join you.” Dr. Hanley’s gaze fell on Dr. Chang and Sam. “Dr. Chang.”

  There was an odd tone to Dr. Hanley’s greeting and as Mindy glanced at Sam she could see he was not happy. His lips were pressed together in a firm line of annoyance.

  Mindy knew he had issues with Professor Langley, but open hostility wouldn’t be good for his career and could impede his fellowship.

  “You can proceed now, Dr. Walker,” Professor Langley, the chief of surgery, said, taking a seat next to Dr. Hanley.

  “Thank you.” Mindy turned to the computer and brought up an ultrasound and Mrs. Jameson’s medical records. “As you can see, Mrs. Jameson is a thirty-four-year-old female whose LMP was approximately thirty weeks ago today. She is Gravida One and Parity X. That pregnancy resulted in a forty-week-term delivery of a healthy baby boy who weighed approximately eight pounds seven ounces. There were no complications.”

  Mindy went on with her presentation, explaining about the different quints, and began to set out the teams that would be responsible for each baby. Most of the babies didn’t seem to have a whole lot of medical problems. The fact that Mrs. Jameson had gotten to thirty weeks was a blessing, but she was starting to have frequent contractions and Mindy knew she had to get the teams prepared now, because once one of the waters broke that was it. It was time to get those babies out.

  “As you can see, it’s baby C that has fluid buildup around his brain and baby C is the one we’re most concerned with.” Mindy clicked on a close-up of baby C.

  Dr. Hanley got up and walked over to the screen. “Hmm, I would need some more comprehensive films, but it looks like a simple shunt would take care of that. We should closely monitor that buildup of fluid, Dr. Walker. If it continues, we shouldn’t delay in delivering the babies.”

  “I agree, Dr. Hanley,” Mindy said. “I’ll have that set up for you right away.”

  “Do.” Dr. Hanley didn’t even really acknowledge her as she headed back to her seat beside Professor Langley.

  She’d heard rumors that Dr. Hanley was a piece of work. She could see why. Unfazed, Mindy went on with her presentation and went on to assign the teams that were responsi
ble for each baby.

  As she was about to assign Sam to Dr. Chang’s team, Dr. Hanley stood up.

  “If you don’t mind, Dr. Walker, I would request that Dr. Napier be on my team for Baby C. I would like him to work on the shunt with me.”

  Sam’s eyes narrowed and he scowled, not at all impressed.

  “I think Dr. Chang requires Dr. Napier’s assistance,” Mindy said, and then regretted it. She didn’t want anyone to think she was playing favorites.

  Dr. Hanley glared at her now. “Nonsense, he’s a resident and I require his assistance.”

  “Dr. Napier can work with Dr. Hanley,” the chief of surgery said, standing up. “I trust there were will be no further discussions. Keep us updated on the patient, Dr. Walker.”

  He excused himself and Dr. Hanley followed him.

  Mindy was absolutely confused. She knew that Dr. Hanley was a brilliant surgeon but so was she. Yet they were bending over backwards to accommodate Dr. Hanley.

  As people began to disperse Dr. Chang leaned over to a visibly angry Sam and whispered a few words, but he rebuffed her, stood and stormed out of the room.

  What in the world?

  She knew Sam didn’t like orders from Chief Langley and didn’t like time taken from pediatrics, but he was having a shot at working with Dr. Hanley. He shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth.

  Dr. Chang sent her a furtive glance but didn’t say anything else. She just left the room quietly. Mindy couldn’t help but wonder what was up between Dr. Hanley, the chief and Sam. Any time Professor Langley was mentioned Sam would tense up.

  What did he have against him?

  Curiosity killed the cat.

  Even though she really wanted to know what was going on, she knew it wasn’t her business. She wasn’t going to pry or push. When Sam was ready to tell her, he’d tell her, though she was really dying to know. Besides, she didn’t exactly open up to him and she wouldn’t. There had to be a good reason Sam kept it secret and she’d respect his wishes. Some things could destroy a career very fast.

  Mindy sighed and cleaned up her presentation. She shouldn’t be fussing over why Sam was upset. The teams had been set up. Her focus should be on her patient. On those babies. That’s why she’d come to West Manhattan Saints. She’d come to provide the best medical care, to focus on her career.