Seducing Chase (12 page)

The following morning Nate was in a meeting with both Val and Doug, trying to once again force back his raging lust, with little success. Doug’s secretary stuck her head in the office, asking to speak with her boss, so Doug left the room and Nate sat back. His gaze was naturally drawn to Val, whose head was down as she wrote notes. He cleared his throat and she jumped.

“Do you think we should go on, or wait for Doug?”

“We might as well wait, at least for a few minutes.”

“All right. I’m gonna go get some coffee. I’ll be back in a minute. You want anything?”

“Not coffee from this floor. If you’re going down to the cafeteria I’ll take a coffee though. It’s still not very good, but it’s better than anything they have around here.”

Nate smiled. “I can go to the cafeteria. Cream and sugar, right? Two of each?”

“Have you been spying on me?”

“I’m observant.”

“Yes, two creams and two sugars. Like I said, the cafeteria coffee isn’t as bad as what they have up here, but it needs to be doctored up to make it drinkable.”

“Of course.” The corners of his mouth kicked up.
Val and her coffee...

“Are you laughing at me?”

“Maybe.” Now the grin broke through.

She sniffed. “I like coffee. Sue me.”

“I’d rather do something else to you,” he mumbled as he rose.

“What’s that?”

“Nothing. I’ll be back in a minute.”

Nate jogged down to the cafeteria and returned about ten minutes later, juggling two large cups of coffee. He set Val’s down and at her murmured thanks found his dress pants tightening.

Down, big boy. It’s just a thank you. It’s not like she stripped and offered herself to you…

This was getting ridiculous. A few minutes later Doug opened the door and stepped inside before leaning heavily against it. He looked as if he’d seen a ghost and Nate regarded him with concern.

Val looked up from her notes. “Doug? What’s wrong?”

“The Board just fired me.”

Nate heard Val gasp beside him. “They what?” Her pen fell to the floor with a clatter.

“They fired me. I didn’t even fight them on it. Why would I? I deserve no less.” He ran a hand over his face and Nate’s temper flared.

He stood and began to pace, looking for any way to change the board’s mind. “Like
hell
you deserve to be fired! What grounds did they give you?”

Even Nate was surprised at the anger that shot through him about his friend being fired unfairly. Yes, he felt horrible for his friend, but he also knew deep down this was a mistake for the hospital itself–a place he cared more about every day. These people were doing something worthwhile with their lives. Anyone would be impressed if they could see it.

Doug turned surprised, yet tired eyes on him. “They said there had to be a scapegoat in order to change the perception of the way the case is being handled. They think the public wants blood.”

“But they didn’t say you’d handled the situation badly or anything like that?” Val asked, seemingly as incredulous as Nate.

“If you’re worried about your job–”

“I’m hoping I shouldn’t be,” she said. “But really I just want to know what happened and why they felt such a drastic action needed to be taken.”

“I can’t tell you more than what they mentioned. After they fired me they escorted me out of the room. In fact, security should be here any minute.”

Nate snapped into take-charge mode, unable to deal with this whole crappy situation until things were under control. “Before they block access to your office, which they will, the bastards, are there any papers or anything we need to take?”

Doug looked around, and Nate knew he probably wouldn’t be able to come up with much considering the shocked state he was in, but hoped he wouldn’t forget anything important. He couldn’t believe this had happened. Doug was a good man, one of the best he’d ever known. A scapegoat? What was the board thinking? This was a knee-jerk reaction that could be as bad for the hospital as Dr. Godlowski’s theft of the money. Now CCC had no clear leader.

Pointing to the folder that had been in front of him, Doug said, “Probably just that. Anything else you need you can probably get from my secretary. I don’t see why the board would withhold information you guys need to do your job.”

“You can never tell,” Nate answered. He had been hoping they’d gotten somewhere, and then the board did this. Running his hands through his hair, Nate shook his head. It didn’t make sense; at least not to him. Why fire someone who only had the hospital’s wellbeing in mind? It wasn’t like he’d been holding the door for Dr. Godlowski. Sometimes life sucked. And then there was the effect on Val. He knew how much she wanted this place to succeed. This was going to be a big blow to them all.

There was a knock on the door and a man stuck his head in. “Hey, Doug.”

Doug nodded to the man. “I’ll be with you in a sec. I just need to gather a few personal items.”

“We brought you some boxes,” the head of security said.

“Thanks.” The guard brought in the boxes then stood near the door, looking uncertain, and Doug said, “I understand your position. I know you’re just doing your job.”

Doug set about putting some family photos and other items into the boxes and Nate stood there, watching silently and feeling helpless. The situation left a distinctly bad taste in his mouth. He wasn’t used to not being able to twist the state of affairs to his liking. Now his friend was out of a job. He didn’t care about his own employment—he had his own company to go back to—but at the same time, he couldn’t leave Val here to deal with this all by herself if they dismissed him along with Doug. Nate resolved that even if the board fired him too he would continue to help Val as long as she needed it.

If she doesn’t go down with the ship too.

Doug approached him and Nate pulled his old friend into a brief hug before stepping back and offering his hand. “Good luck, man. I’ll call you a little later. Go spend time with your lovely wife and kids. We’ve got this.”

“Thanks. I only wish I could’ve been here to help. I love this place,” Doug responded. His voice cracked on the last word and he shook his head as if to clear it. Then he glanced at Val. “Help her as long as you can.”

“I will. Don’t worry about things here.”

“You’re a good man, Nate.”

Nate waved the compliment off. “I’m only doing what’s right.”

Doug shook Val’s hand and left his office. Val and Nate followed shortly thereafter and went back to Val’s office. When they got there, Val closed the door behind her and dropped into her desk chair. He followed, folding himself into a guest chair. “So what do we do now?”

“The same thing we’ve been doing, just without Doug’s guidance.” He leaned across her desk and squeezed her shoulder. “You can do this. No matter what steps we have to take, no matter what we have to do, this hospital will survive. It will thrive. The work is too important for it not to.”

She looked surprised. “Thanks.”

He sat back and cleared his throat. “Anyway, we should keep working.”

“Yeah.”

*****

Nate and Val worked doggedly through the morning, including sending out a press release regarding Doug’s removal. They’d decided not to hold another presser and secretly Val was intensely grateful she didn’t have to face the vultures right now. By the time lunch came a lead weight had settled in her stomach. Nate insisted they go out to get away from the hospital for a break and she went without a fuss, knowing she needed to be on top of things later and hoping getting out of the oppressive environment would help, even if it was a brief respite.

They went to a little coffee house that also served a light lunch menu and found a pair of comfortable armchairs in a corner. Val balanced her plate on the arm of the chair and picked up her turkey panini. She hadn’t really been hungry when Nate had suggested they break to eat, but the panini was delicious and she polished it off in no time. If only she’d had a glass, or three, of a dry, crisp white wine to go with it the day would’ve looked up.

They’d been quiet for a bit, as they began eating, Then Val couldn’t stand it any longer. “How are
you
doing regarding Doug’s firing?”

Heat, and not of a good kind, shone in his eyes and he took a moment to chew and swallow before saying, “I don’t get it. I understand the concept of a scapegoat, of course, but this is ridiculous. It’s a horrible time to leave the hospital rudderless, and none of this–none of it–is Doug’s fault.”

“No, it’s not,” she agreed softly. “Are you really going to stay here even with Doug gone?”

Val was surprised how much she was anticipating that he’d stay. Though she hated the thought of relying on anyone else, Val could admit, at least to herself, she was counting on his strength. In both her personal life and her professional life she’d been alone for far too long. She had no staff yet, since the hospital had wanted to see more results from her PR efforts before they hired some assistants for the department. Now that might never happen. Despite that, it was nice to have someone else around to pick up a little bit of the burden. She knew it would be a rough go without Doug there, but was determined to see the hospital through this crisis.

Nate’s jaw set. Through obviously clenched teeth, he said, “I’m not leaving.”

“Oh, okay. Good.”

His eyebrows drew down. “Did you think I would? You heard what I told Doug.”

“I wasn’t sure. I thought maybe you were trying to placate him. I wouldn’t blame you for fleeing this disaster. Doug was the reason you were here and now he’s gone.”

“You’re still here. I’m not leaving,” he repeated. “I’m pissed as hell, but I’m not abandoning you. No freaking way.”

Val nodded, so choked up she didn’t trust herself to speak, and they continued their lunch in charged silence.

When they returned, Nate went back to his office and Val sat down to make her nearly daily phone calls to the press. She also called the local AM radio station about their annual trip to the hospital. One of the afternoon hosts was a cancer survivor and every year he came and did a remote from the hospital’s lobby. Val was in the late stages of crafting talking points for their star doctors and going over the schedule with the station manager, but with Doug gone there was a hole left right at the beginning of the show. She was hoping the host had some ideas for a filler there but, if not, she had a few suggestions of her own, like talking to one of the patients in the pediatric ward, or highlighting one of the hospital’s myriad fundraisers.

After she delivered the bad news about Doug being fired and she and the station manager had decided on a course of action to fill the hole, she called one of the cable stations that was slated to come in the next month for a documentary to make sure they hadn’t changed their plans. Thankfully they hadn’t and, after going through the shooting schedule again, she hung up and sat back, considering the hospital’s current position. The doctor still hadn’t been found, but they finally had some leads—she had to believe they were valid leads or she’d go crazy—and other projects were still on, despite some having been canceled. All in all, things might be looking up, even when she considered Doug’s firing.

Thankful for having something to do that didn’t involve their current mess, and with the deadline for getting it to the printer looming, she was working on the quarterly glossy donor magazine, when Nate stuck his head in through her doorway. “How’s it going?”

“Good, actually. I just talked to WBRN and we decided to use a pediatric patient to fill the hole in the schedule left by Doug’s departure.”

Nate nodded. “Excellent plan. People love hearing about kids.”

“Yes, and they’re always very positive. They amaze me. It’s one of the things I love most about this place. It’s a truly top-notch pediatric center department.”

“In spite of everything that’s happened you still think this place walks on water, don’t you?”

“Is there something wrong with that?”

“No, not at all. I wish there was something in my life I could believe in.”

He sounded so dejected, so un-Nate-like, and Val wasn’t sure what to say in answer, so she changed the subject.

“I also spoke with the cable network doing the documentary on the hospital’s lung reduction surgery program. I’m sure Dr. Zhang will be relieved to hear they’re still planning to come.”

“I’m sure she will.”

“I feel bad—she’s been nothing but gracious since she got here and I feel as if I’ve thrown her to the wolves.” In retrospect Val was happy that epic disaster of a press conference had ended without Dr. Zhang having to face that hostile crowd, and the cable channel sounded excited, but who knew what would happen? There were still a few weeks until shooting started.

“How late are you planning on staying?”

Val glanced at the clock on her monitor and gasped. “Oh my God, I guess time flies when you’re having fun, huh?”

“Yeah, fun.” Nate rolled his eyes. “We didn’t even go to lunch until almost one-thirty.”

“Yeah, but I can’t believe it’s already nearly six. No wonder it got so quiet around here.”