Selena turned to him. “Magdalena?”
Colt shook his head. “Who else? She better not get too excited or she’ll burst her stitches. It’s the last thing I need right now.” He pulled into the parking lot. “Selena, go and man the phones. Cancel all appointments today. Don’t answer any press queries. I’ll go straight to the cottage and see Magdalena. Tell Ramon to hire as many staff as he needs.”
“What’s going to happen?” He couldn’t believe how pale she looked. Even with her usually light golden tan. The flush he’d put on her cheeks earlier had completely vanished. Why was that? He had the tiniest flicker of suspicion. Helen had already made a few comments about Selena, but he’d never taken them seriously. Could he be wrong? He didn’t even have time to think about it because Seacliffe had to come first.
“What’s going to happen? Take a good look around you, because this might be the last time you see Seacliffe. I imagine Magdalena’s about to sue us for breaching confidentiality. We’ll be lucky to survive.” He couldn’t hide the fury from his voice. It wasn’t directed at her—really it wasn’t—but the frustration was too intense. This leak could break the clinic and destroy all the charitable work they did.
No more pin board of children with corrected, smiling faces.
No more pictures of kids enjoying their first ice-cream sundae after their palates had been fixed. All because someone had sold a story.
But who?
He watched as Selena stepped down and wiggled her feet into her shoes. She brushed a kiss on his cheek. Her lipstick must have appeared on his cheek as she lifted her finger and wiped it off his cheek.
“Good luck,” she whispered as she tottered toward the entrance. There was a shadow in the glass above. A movement. Helen Ridgeway. Someone must have called her. And from the expression on her face, she was less than impressed.
But what was worrying her more? The leak? Or what she’d just witnessed between Colt and Selena? He didn’t have time for this right now.
He waved his hand at her and headed toward the cottage. The helicopter had moved overhead the noise was deafening, but he could hear shouting in the distance. If Magdalena was going to burst her stitches, he better be ready to repair them.
Chapter Eleven
Outside was absolute chaos. Inside wasn’t much better. For the last hour people were rushing here and there, answering calls and dashing in and out of rooms.
Helen Ridgeway was a woman not to be tangled with. Her looks and demeanor this morning toward Selena had been cold—ice cold, with a frosty nip in the air—in spite of the brilliant sunshine outside. She’d been holed up in her office for the last hour with some serious-faced guy. They hadn’t even wanted coffee.
Colt had spent the last hour with Magdalena, trying to placate her with little success. Between dashing between the cottage and the clinic for the last hour there was a murky thump currently going on in his head that he felt was going to stay there permanently. Magdalena’s screaming would give anyone a headache.
He walked back into the reception just as Josh appeared.
“Helen around?”
He saw Selena bristle as she recognized the voice. She spun around in her chair, pulling at the neckline of her shirt as if she was making sure there was no chance of him looking down it. “Mrs. Ridgeway’s in a meeting. Has been for the last hour. She told me she couldn’t see anyone else and not to put through any calls.”
Josh looked surprisingly relaxed. Everyone else in this place this morning was wound like a coiled spring.
“She’ll see me.” He breezed his way over to the door.
“I wouldn’t do that—” But it was too late.
“Selena, I thought I told you I wasn’t to be disturbed!” It was a shriek. He’d never heard Helen Ridgeway shriek before. It didn’t bode well at all.
Josh catapulted back out of the office looking as if he’d been stung by a scorpion. Helen appeared in the doorway her steely glare fixing on Selena.
Selena gave a sigh. She kept typing. “Sorry, Helen. I did tell Josh you were in a meeting and didn’t want to be disturbed.” She looked uncomfortable—jittery even and it was playing havoc with her sense of unease.
Helen stalked over to the side of her desk, the dark-suited man at her side. He had a strange air about him. As if he was looking down his very large nose at everyone.
“Selena, this is Alexander Hardy, our new attorney. I need you to give him any support or information he requires.”
What? “Our lawyer? Since when did we change?” Colt’s voice boomed as he strode across the room, his jacket clutched tightly in his fist.
“Since Magdalena hit you with a lawsuit.” Alexander Hardy thrust a sheaf of papers in toward Colt.
“Already? I thought I could talk her down. I’ve been listening to her for the last hour. She’s really furious. She never mentioned the lawsuit, but she did threaten to sue.”
“You’ve been talking with the plaintiff? Without legal representation present?” He turned back to face Helen. “This really isn’t good enough. And not what we agreed.”
“Dr. Travers wasn’t party to those discussions now, though, was he? I’m sure he’ll take your legal counsel now.” Helen nodded toward Colt as if he had no choice but to agree.
Alexander Hardy turned to face Colt and spoke to him as if he were addressing a small child. “Dr. Travers, you will not have any contact with the plaintiff. You will not speak to the plaintiff. You will not be in her presence—”
“Stop.” Colt held his hand up in front of the lawyer’s face. He counted off on his hands. “First off, she’s my patient, not the plaintiff. I have a duty of care to uphold. I’m responsible for her well-being following surgery. Second, she needs her stitches checked every day. There were a few complications with her procedure and I need to assess her on a daily basis.” Alexander tried to interrupt, but Colt wasn’t listening. “Thirdly, she has massive bruising and swelling. More so than expected. I need to arrange to give her some steroids to try and help alleviate her symptoms.”
“Bruising like this?” Calla Roberts, one of the other plastic surgeons, had entered holding up a newspaper. The picture on the front page was like something from a horror movie. It was almost unrecognizable as Magdalena.
“How the hell did they get this picture?” Colt snatched the picture from Calla’s hands.
She shrugged. “Late edition. I picked it up on my way in.” She walked off to her office.
Colt couldn’t tear his eyes off the picture. He held it up one way and then the other, trying to spot anything recognizable. “This had to be taken in here. But where?” He held it in front of Helen’s face and squinted at the picture. “Do you think that could be OR recovery? How the hell would someone get access there?”
Helen took a deep breath and drew her gaze from Selena, who shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Was Helen getting at her?
“Gentlemen, I suggest we take this to my office.” She didn’t wait for their response, but turned on her impeccable heels and walked back into her room.
Colt looked over at Selena shook his head in confusion. She’d caught a glimpse of the picture of Magdalena. It was definitely front-page news, and the tabloids were having a field day.
He waited until Helen and Alexander Hardy had disappeared inside and handed Selena his patient notes. “Can you give this to my nurse? I’ve written out some prescriptions and orders for Magdalena and want her to get them as soon as possible.”
Selena nodded as she stood and straightened her skirt. “No problem. I’ll take them to her now.”
He jerked his head toward the office. “What do you make of the lawyer?”
Selena thought for the briefest of seconds, her finger twisting in her hair. “Big nose,” she said as she hurried down the hall.
He watched her leave, something twisting in his guts. Selena seemed nervous. What on earth was wrong? The whole place was in chaos right now; he didn’t have time to chase after her.
A sense of uneasiness crept over him. He just couldn’t shake it. Things were good right now with him Selena, and he didn’t want that to change. But things around the clinic were crazy. Only time would tell.
…
Three days later and things had finally calmed down in the clinic. Selena wasn’t fielding quite so many calls. Magdalena was still being treated at the clinic. But Colt, and only Colt, was allowed in her cottage.
He’d spent the last three days at her beck and call and it didn’t look as if it would end any time soon. Magdalena was apparently looking much better, but had decided she wasn’t leaving the clinic until she was ready to show her face to the world.
It was likely that Selena would be finished before Magdalena decided to leave.
The situation around here was tense—and she was just about to make it a whole lot worse.
She was proud. Proud of the pile of brown envelopes on her desk to be mailed. Proud she’d reshuffled her résumé a million times to suit a million different types of job she’d applied for. Colt had even given her a few suggestions to help, but in the end distracted her entirely. It had been a fun night.
She glanced at the calendar. Two days. Two more days until she’d paid off her debt to the clinic.
In a way it felt good. She was free.
In a way, it made her sad. She’d liked the last four weeks here. She’d liked the stability of having a regular job, whether she was getting paid well or not.
The clinic staff were warm and welcoming. It was a nice place to work.
Then, there were the obvious perks. None of them plastic surgery related.
All of them were around six foot four with dark hair and blue eyes. Julian McMahon, eat your heart out.
She picked up the folder sitting on her desk. It was time to stop putting this off and ignore her jangling nerves.
She knocked on the door.
“Come in.” Helen Ridgeway looked up and let out an audible sigh. “What is it, Selena?”
Her resolve started to crumble. Why was she even bothering? The woman couldn’t stand her. And telling her what she’d found wasn’t going to win her any popularity contests.
“I’ll be finishing in a few days, and I thought I should bring this to your attention. I’ve red flagged some anomalies in the accounts.” She pushed the manila folder across the desk.
“You’ve what?”
Selena tried to stop herself from squirming. She’d checked and double-checked. She was sure about this. Absolutely sure. MBA sure.
She held her ground and looked Helen in the eye. “I’ve been doing part of the accounts. Sorting the salaries and expenses. There are some anomalies in the accounting system. A few things that I can’t explain. I red-flagged them for you so you could look at them yourself.”
Helen’s gaze didn’t move. She hadn’t even glanced at the paperwork Selena had prepared. “And what makes you think you’re qualified to look at the accounts?”
Heat flooded her cheeks. Helen was intimidating. This was like being a five-year-old, but she couldn’t ignore what she’d found. It was too important.
Colt was passionate about the work he did at Helen’s House. The only way that could continue was if the clinic remained a profitable business. Bookings had already slumped. Who knew what would happen with the lawsuit?
She pulled back her shoulders. At the end of the day it really didn’t matter whether Helen Ridgeway liked her or not. Her life wasn’t going to change because of it.
What did matter were the actions she took. She had to be true to herself.
“I’m qualified to look at the accounts because my MBA specialized in accounting. I’ve not been here long enough to understand the complexities of your accounting system, but I do understand payments leaving a business account I can’t track or find a reason for.” She pointed at the folder again. “It’s not huge amounts of money, but it’s been happening for a long time. At first I thought they were going to Helen’s House, but I can see now that they’re not. I thought it best to bring it to your attention.”
She wrinkled her nose at Selena. “And how can I put any stock in what you bring me to review? You’re giving me advice on my finances when you can’t even manage your own. For all I know, you’ve tampered with the accounts yourself.”
“What?” She couldn’t help the rise in her voice. She couldn’t believe what she’d heard. “I know you don’t like me Helen, but that’s a step too far.”
“Why is it a step too far? You’ve had access to the accounts; if you specialize in accounting, you could have made changes to them. Changes that would get us to start looking elsewhere.”
“Elsewhere from what?” She shook her head, it felt as if she were having an entirely different conversation than the woman in front of her.
“From the publicity. The leaks.” The words hung in the air, the accusation apparent.
Selena felt herself jerk. “You think I had something to do with the leaks?” She walked around the desk and pointed to the paperwork. “I wasn’t even here when your leak started. You think I was the person who took a picture of Magdalena and sold it to the press?”
Helen folded her arms across her chest. “Maybe you thought you could jump on the bandwagon here and supplement your income. After all, somebody else has already done it. How hard would it be? And Magdalena was the perfect candidate. An international superstar who the press would pay top dollar to get a story on. You clearly didn’t like the woman.”
“Neither do you!” She was shouting now, but she couldn’t help it. “I don’t even have access to the operating rooms, nor would I want to!”
Helen shrugged her shoulders. “I have no idea where Dr. Travers has let you have access to.”
Enough was enough. She put her hands on her hips. “So this is about Colt? You don’t like the fact he’s seeing me. That’s what this comes down to?”
“No.” Helen’s voice was ice cold. Her favorite temperature. She stood up. “This comes down to a woman so flaky she has to work off her bill for seven stitches in our clinic for a month thinking she can come and give me advice about my business.”
This was Selena’s cue to be shame-faced and embarrassed, but Helen’s words lit a flame under her like a firecracker. “Well, you do need advice about your business, Helen. Everyone can see that but you. This place is going to fall apart at the seams and all the good work at Helen’s House is going to be ruined. Wake up and smell the coffee.”
“Selena!” Colt’s voice stopped her rant instantly.
She pivoted on her heel.
He was in scrubs and had obviously just come from the OR. His hair was rumpled and his paper hat was in his hands. His brow was furrowed and his teeth clenched. She’d never seen him so angry. His face was scarlet, and she could practically see the steam venting from his ears. How much had he heard?
But no matter how angry he was, his voice was low and controlled. “What is going on here? Why are you speaking to Helen like that? And, Helen, what business is it of yours who I see?”
There was silence.
Colt moved across the room, obviously determined to get some answers. “Okay, so what the hell’s going on with the accounts?”
Helen sagged back down in her chair. As if all the energy had left her body. She looked up at Colt. “This has gone on long enough. How much longer until she’s paid off her bill?”
Selena bristled indignantly. “She is standing right here. Are you really so rude that you talk about me as if I’m not here? The answer to the question is two days. In fact, less than that now.”
Helen waved her hand. “Then consider it paid.” She still hadn’t looked at Selena. “It’s time for her to go. I told you this would happen. Mr. Hardy gave me some advice this morning about Lara. We have to take her back on a temporary basis. We have grounds for dismissal, but you didn’t follow the proper procedures. She’s going to sue us, too—and she’ll probably win. But the settlement shouldn’t be too onerous due to her actions.” S
he ran her fingers through her hair. “I need to get a handle on what’s going on around here. We need to get on top of things, with no visible distractions.” It would have made more sense if she’d just lit up a big red arrow and pointed it at Selena. “I need to be surrounded by people I trust. And only people I trust.”
Now, she turned and looked at Selena. There was a slight tremble to her voice. “Thank you for your services, Ms. Harris. But they will no longer be required. Consider your debt to Seacliffe paid in full.” She patted the folder in front of her, still unopened. “I’ll take your recommendations under advisement.”
For the first time since she’d met her, Helen Ridgeway looked old. Her gray hair wasn’t serenely swept up in an elegant bun, it was disheveled. The lines and dark circles under her eyes were prominent, revealing the transparency and fragility of her skin and pale blue veins underneath.
Selena should be gutted. She’d just been sacked, dismissed from the one thing that had built up her confidence and given her a little stability and pleasure.
But her brain couldn’t get past the part about Colt.
He knew.
He’d known all along Helen planned to bring the other secretary back and he hadn’t said a word. Not when he’d been mixing her cocktails. Or flirting with her. Or buying her dinner. Or keeping her awake at night.
Not when he’d been whispering in her ear and telling her exactly what he wanted to be doing with her.
But more than any of that he hadn’t leapt to her defense when Helen had spoken. He’d barely looked her in the eye. She’s always known they’d been a million miles apart, but for the last few days she’d almost fooled herself into believing they might just have a future together. All of sudden the gap between them felt like the Marianas Trench. She could never be with someone who thought she could do something like this.
His eyes widened in horror and he moved quickly toward her. “Selena, I—”
“Don’t.” She held her hand up, mimicking the gesture he’d made to Alexander Hardy.
Hollywood Temptation Page 15
