by Janice Lynn
Why?
Why would he do this?
* * *
Matthew watched emotions play across Natalie’s face. None of them were good ones. She looked stunned, betrayed.
He hadn’t betrayed her. He’d gone after the position before he’d met her. He needed the relocation. Carrie needed to be with people who could take care of her.
Despite Dr. Luiz’s assurances that Natalie would be on board with the unexpected change, Matthew had known better. Then again, he knew the whole story, knew about their weekend fling.
Weekend fling. The label repulsed him, but it was what they’d shared.
Why the label bothered him so, he couldn’t quite define. He’d had flings before. Several of them. None had left him feeling raw. Then again, he’d never been in quite this situation, either.
Regardless, he had a little girl to think of.
Carrie’s counselor had advised Matthew to be sure to nurture the child over the next few months as she adapted to her new environment.
Nurture her. How did one do that exactly?
“As head of the surgery team, you’ll be working closely with Matthew, of course.”
Natalie’s golden eyes blinked. “I’m heading up surgery? Not Dr. Coleman?”
That she asked something Dr. Luiz had just explained in detail attested to how in shock she was.
“As head of the entire department, Dr. Coleman will oversee your work, of course, but I can think of no one better for him to have on his leadership team than a heart surgeon of your caliber.” Dr. Luiz pushed his gold-rimmed glasses up the bridge of his nose. “You knew I planned to step down, Natalie, and that I was counting on you to take on further responsibilities. Surely, this doesn’t come as a surprise?”
“I’m surprised,” Natalie immediately assured, face flushed. “Rather blown away. I thought...”
Everyone in the room knew what she’d thought.
“Never mind,” she murmured, seeming to pull herself together. She turned toward Matthew, stuck out her hand again. “Congratulations, Dr. Coleman.”
Matthew barely clasped her hand when she pulled it away, stood, and faced her former boss. “If there’s nothing else?”
Dr. Luiz regarded her through narrowed lids, then shook his head.
Before Matthew could speak, Natalie was out the door and Dr. Luiz was talking again, but this time it was Matthew not registering what he was saying.
“Excuse me,” he interrupted, not waiting for an answer as he took off after Natalie.
“Don’t touch me,” Natalie hissed when Matthew grabbed hold of her upper arm. Didn’t he know she’d left the room in a hurry to escape him, to be alone, not to have him follow her?
Of course he did, but it hadn’t mattered.
“That’s not what you were saying a few weeks ago.”
Suffering major shock for the second time that day, she spun and practically hissed at him, “How dare you say that?”
“Because it’s true.” His voice was calm, and that irritated her all the more.
He didn’t have to point that particular truth out, she thought, glaring with all her might, hoping that her evil thoughts about him were readily seen on her face.
“But inappropriate for our current situation, don’t you think?” she accused. He grimaced and she further attacked, “I don’t want you here.”
“I didn’t think you did.”
Flustered and just wanting to escape to her office to regroup her thoughts without him there to witness, she asked, “Then why are you here?”
He took a long breath. “That, my dearest Natalie, is a long story.”
“I’m not your dearest Natalie. I’m not your anything.”
Matthew raked his fingers through his inky hair, then glanced down the busy hospital corridor. “Is there somewhere we can go to talk?”
“Are you asking as my new boss?” Okay, her tone had been a bit snarky, but at the moment she didn’t care. “Because otherwise, my answer is that we have nothing to say to each other. Not ever.”
“Natalie—”
“Don’t Natalie me. From the moment we said goodbye at the airport, I’ve been Dr. Sterling to you. Nothing more. Your three days expired long ago.”
His expression taking on the dark and dangerous one he’d worn so well at the airport and on the plane, he nodded, as if her response didn’t surprise him. Then again, why should he be surprised? He’d known what he was doing: stealing her dream job.
“Fine. As your new boss, is there somewhere we can talk in private?”
Without a word, Natalie led him down the corridor of offices. When she came to the one with her name on the brass plate, she punched in a code, then twisted the handle.
Opening the door, she paused, facing him. “I’m only letting you in because you’re my boss now. No other reason.”
His expression just as terse as her insides felt, he nodded. “Understood.”
She moved aside, let him into her office, then shut the door behind her, wondering if she could claim temporary insanity if she lashed out at him for invading and upsetting her well-planned life.
If Matthew had had the slightest doubt as to Natalie’s intentions on inviting him into her office, she’d made it clear before letting him pass through her doorway, and immediately began reiterating her feelings the moment the door clicked closed.
“Is this some kind of sick joke to you?”
“A joke?”
“Taking a job in Memphis.” As if she couldn’t be still, she paced across the room. “Why in the world would you leave your research in Boston?”
“I didn’t leave my research, just relocated the parts I’ll remain involved with to Memphis,” he explained, wishing she’d sit down and let him tell her about the events that had led him to this moment.
Interest piqued, she lifted her brows. “Your research with the Libertine robot? How can you do that?”
“The Libertine research will continue in Boston, but it has gotten approval for use and will soon be available to other areas. Expanding my work to a second location, bringing my experience, will be of benefit to the medical community as a whole.”
“You just happened to choose Memphis for this expansion?” She shook her head. “I’m not buying it.”
“Even if I didn’t have personal reasons, with Memphis Children’s Hospital and St Jude’s located here, it’s a great location for my research. You can’t deny that.”
“Personal reasons?” She glared at him with pure loathing. “If you think for one minute your being here changes anything between us, you’re wrong.”
His being here changed everything, including how he could think of Natalie. What had been a pleasant interlude from reality had turned into a nightmare for them both.
“I chose Memphis before I ever met you.”
As what he said sank in, her eyes widened. “You knew about this when we were in Miami? That you were moving to Memphis?”
Matthew raked his fingers through his hair again and sought for the right place to begin, to make her understand how they’d ended up in this exact moment.
“How could you?” she accused before he got a word out. “How could you smile and laugh with me when you knew that we were going to have to see each other day after day, that you were going to be my boss. You had sex with me anyway?”
The vehemence in her voice had him internally flinching, but he stood his ground. “When I boarded that plane to Miami, I was under the impression my moving to Memphis was a no-go and Dr. Luiz’s position would be filled by someone other than me.”
“Right.” She rolled her eyes. “You, the great Dr. Matthew Coleman, interviewed for my job and you thought they weren’t going to hire you? Puh-lease.”
“I was never told it was your job, Natalie.” He wanted to be clear on that. “Dr. L
uiz, nor the board, ever mentioned any intent to offer the position to you. Not once.” She acted as if he’d intentionally taken something of hers. He hadn’t done anything wrong. He’d needed this opportunity in Memphis and when it was offered he’d taken it. “Were you told they were going to offer you the position?”
The pain that flittered across her face stabbed into Matthew’s chest. Never had he wanted to hurt Natalie. Far, far from it. But they needed to clear the record on what had happened, to establish some professional ground rules if they were to work together. Maybe it would even be easier on them both if she hated him.
“No, but I was given reason to believe it would happen.” Her face full of accusation, she asked, “For the record, if you had been aware of the possibility that the job would otherwise be mine, would it have changed anything?”
Technically, he had known it was a possibility, but even if he’d been point-blank told the job was hers if he said no, his reasons for wanting to relocate to Memphis took precedence.
Carrie took precedence.
He shook his head. “No.”
A steely resolve settled into her eyes. “I don’t want you here.”
“I think you’ve already established that.” He moved toward her, stopped when she flinched and backed away as if she couldn’t stand the thought of him being close enough to touch her.
He rammed his hands into his pockets to keep from doing something stupid. Like doing just that. The last thing he needed was to touch Natalie. They were work colleagues now. Nothing more.
“My reasons for relocating have nothing to do with you,” he assured. “I met with the hospital board and Dr. Luiz the day prior to flying to Miami, but the hospital initially wasn’t willing to meet my terms. I thought that was the end of it, until Dr. Luiz called to say the board had reconsidered.”
She didn’t look any less ticked, just more suspicious. “When was that?”
“A month ago.”
A fresh wave of betrayal blanched her already pale face. “Dr. Luiz has known for a month that the job was yours? He...he never said anything.” She winced, paced back across the room, turned and met Matthew’s gaze with a world of hurt shining in her eyes.
A desire to take away her hurt hit him, to somehow undo what had been done. Impossible. He knew that. But he hated his indirect role in the pain she was suffering.
“He should have told me. I deserved to know before an announcement was made.”
“He told you today. Before an announcement was made,” Matthew pointed out. “He has great respect for you. He was adamant you have a prestigious place on my team.”
“As your second-in-command,” she bit out, not impressed. “Just as I’m his second-in-command.”
“You’re young, Natalie.”
“What does that have to do with anything?” she huffed. “I have been with Dr. Luiz for years. Did my residency at Memphis Children’s. I’ve worked my butt off to build our neonatal cardiology program. I’m more than qualified. What does my age have to do with anything?”
She was right. Had Matthew not intervened, she would have been named Head of Neonatal Cardiology with Dr. Luiz’s semi-retirement.
“I don’t know what to tell you, Natalie. I can’t speak for Dr. Luiz or the hospital board. I interviewed for a position that I needed, and when my terms were met, I accepted.”
“That you needed?” she scoffed. “You head up your team in Boston at one of the most prestigious hospitals in the world. Why come here?”
She was right. He’d never have chosen to leave Boston had it been just him involved.
“Relocating to Memphis makes Carrie’s life better.”
Taken aback, she stared at him, then asked in a voice he barely recognized, “Who is Carrie?”
Matthew took a deep breath. “My...daughter.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
THE HOSPITAL WAS abuzz with news of the handsome new heart surgeon taking Dr. Luiz’s place. How wonderful for the hospital that such a gifted surgeon had taken over their department. Blah, blah, blah. Natalie was sick of hearing about Matthew.
Sick. Of. It.
She simply could not escape him.
At work, everyone was talking about him.
At home, he invaded her sleep.
With her friends, well, she was seriously considering placing ads for their replacements if they didn’t quit going on about how lucky she was that her fabulous holiday lover had shown back up in her life. Permanently.
“You’re thinking hard on something,” Dr. Luiz said, drawing Natalie’s attention to where he had entered the break room just off the neonatal cardiac care unit where Natalie had made rounds. She’d stopped to get a cup of coffee because she’d been dragging.
She’d been dragging since she walked into Dr. Luiz’s office expecting to celebrate the culmination of years of hard work and instead had come face to face with her vacation fling.
Stirring the one packet of sugar she’d added to her cup with a tiny red straw, Natalie cut her gaze to Dr. Luiz, but didn’t meet his eyes. How could she, when she felt so betrayed?
“It’s been a busy morning,” she mumbled.
She’d had two new patient consults, plus had checked in on a five-day-old who she hoped to be able to transfer to a step-down unit soon.
Besides, what else could she say? She couldn’t really scream and yell at Dr. Luiz, could she? If so, what would she say? That she felt as if a man she’d trusted, her mentor, had betrayed her by bringing in Matthew?
“The Harris case?” She should have been thinking about the Harris case rather than what, or more truthfully, who, she couldn’t get off her brain. “The board approved the procedure,” Dr. Luiz continued. “I thought you’d have scheduled the surgery the moment the board gave you a thumbs-up.”
“I’m not sure Delaine Harris is the right first case.”
She’d been over and over the woman’s file. Delaine Harris was twenty-five years old and was pregnant with her first child. She’d already signed consent forms for the experimental procedure. They’d only been waiting on the board’s approval, which had come through the day before. At just under five months pregnant, Delaine had known her baby’s heart didn’t work properly due to her vessels being transposed since her first ultrasound. If they were going to do the surgery in utero, precious time was ticking away.
Timing was everything.
Natalie wanted to make sure Delaine Harris’s baby had every fighting chance and that doing the procedure in utero improved those odds, that nothing went wrong.
“Any particular reason why?”
None that she wanted to share.
Which was disconcerting, as she’d always discussed everything with Dr. Luiz. He’d mentored her from day one of her residency, when she’d been lucky enough to work with him.
Now, because of the situation with Matthew, she felt as if he’d let her down. Logically, she knew that wasn’t what had happened, but it wasn’t logic guiding her emotions.
“I’ve known you too long not to recognize that you’re upset about Dr. Coleman.”
Yeah, he’d also known her long enough to know she’d expected to be in Matthew’s place. Still, what could she say? Dr. Luiz and the board had done what they believed was best for the hospital. She couldn’t present a valid argument that said otherwise.
“He’s an excellent pediatric heart surgeon,” she said, for the sole reason that Dr. Luiz waited for a response.
“He’s someone whose work you’ve admired for years.”
“True.” But only because he hadn’t snatched her dream job. Which was unfair, but she didn’t care. Fair quit being a priority when he’d slept with her knowing he’d interviewed for her job and he hadn’t bothered telling her.
“It caught the board and myself off guard when he approached us about working at Memphis Children’s
.”
“I can imagine.” For all her gruff over Matthew being at her hospital, she did recognize his credentials.
“He’s told you his reasons?”
Oh, he’d told her all right. He had a daughter.
She’d not let him tell her more. She hadn’t wanted to know, because at this point, what had it mattered?
A daughter.
That seemed like a big something to have not mentioned while they’d been in Miami.
While they’d been in bed and...
She took a sip of her coffee, ignoring that the hot liquid scalded her tongue.
He hadn’t lied to her. Not exactly. He’d said he wasn’t married or involved with anyone, but he hadn’t said he didn’t have children. Not that she’d asked. Silly her. She’d add that to her list of things to know about a man before sleeping with him.
Ha. As if. Between Jonathan and Matthew, she was finished with men.
Not that she supposed Matthew’s being a father mattered for their weekend purposes. Still, a woman should know something like that about a man she spent three days having sex with.
She should also know if he was vying for her job.
“I never met Dr. Fisk, but I think it’s admirable what Matthew is doing to raise that little girl.”
Dr. Fisk. So, the girl’s mother had been a doctor. Why was Matthew raising the child on his own? Had something happened to “Dr. Fisk” or had the woman walked away?
The question of the girl’s mother had haunted Natalie for the past week, but she’d refused to talk to him further about it. She just wanted to forget Miami, to forget him.
Pain throbbed at her temple and she resisted the urge to massage the ache.
What did it matter why he was raising the girl by himself? It was nothing to do with Natalie. He was nothing to her.
Other than that he had ousted her from her dream job and she’d once spent a weekend all wrapped up in him. No big deal.
Despite the fact she’d barely touched her coffee, she poured the remainder down the sink. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to clinic. I’ve a full day ahead.”
