a psychiatrist, he’d been charming. Funny. In the emergency room, although he’d challenged her several times, he’d allowed her to take the reins and handle Michael Callahan the way she saw fit. And then there was the picture she’d seen in the paper. The one of him standing in the hospital waiting room as he waited for news on Rebecca Hyatt. His expression had been fierce...and worried. His actions along with his job told her he was a complex but decent man. But even complex, decent men could lose control when they were pushed.
“Thankfully,” she replied softly, “using force wasn’t necessary. Because I was there. Because I’ve been trained to deal with people like Michael when he’s suffering a psychotic break.”
“How long did you spend in school? We can’t all have that kind of medical training.”
“But you can have more than you do now.”
“At what cost? You don’t think we’re overworked enough? While we’re spending time learning to be kinder and gentler to people who are endangering others, crimes are being committed. And people are getting away with them.”
This was pointless. Neither one of them was going to change the other’s mind. Not today. “It’s fine if you disagree. In the end, you’re not the one making the decision about the benefits of the program. But we need to work together. And I hope you won’t make it any more unpleasant than it has to be.”
He smiled tightly. “I wouldn’t place much hope on that if I were you.”
As he watched her walk away, Simon wrestled with his anger, but also his attraction to her.
It was the same attraction he’d felt for her at the hospital.
The same attraction he’d felt every time he’d seen her.
It had been tempered by wariness then anger and now resentment, but it was still there, impossible to ignore. And it wasn’t one-sided, either.
But like him, she did a great job ignoring it.
Because it was the professional thing to do? Or because he was being such a major asshole?
On some level, he knew that was exactly how he was acting. Fuck, he might as well have thrown himself on the ground and beaten the floor with his fists. Elaina Scott had called to complain about him with far less reason. Could he really blame Nina if she did the same thing?
Simon sighed and ran his hands through his hair.
Asshole-ish behavior aside, he really was at a loss.
He knew he wasn’t getting out of this partnership anymore than he’d been able to avoid seeing Dr. Shepard that first time. While that hadn’t ended badly, he also knew if he spent any significant time around Nina Whitaker, things were gonna get complicated.
He’d had more than enough complications for a lifetime. Dating and then losing Lana had wreaked havoc on his life. He’d entered a kind of stasis after her death. He’d focused on his work. Been content with being by himself. But suddenly his body wasn’t content with that any longer.
It wanted her. Nina.
Yet even if he allowed himself to have her, she’d made it more than clear that she wouldn’t allow it.
With that thought, another followed. He straightened and grinned.
He had to agree to this partnership, but nothing the Commander said could make her participate in it if she didn’t want to. If she decided she didn’t want to work with him or requested someone else, that couldn’t be blamed on him, now could it?
CHAPTER NINE
THE DAY AFTER SHE AGREED to participate in Stevens’s shadow program, Nina called Karen about Stevens’s offer. Of course, Karen was thrilled and generous with her compliments despite the fact shadowing Simon had been far from her idea. Nina told her boss that several times, but it didn’t seem to matter to the other woman. Nor did Nina’s concerns about her current patients and the appointments she’d have to miss. Karen assured Nina that she’d look into it and would call Nina back in the morning.
Sure enough, Karen called Nina’s office the next day. “It’s all been arranged. Dr. Anderson and Dr. Rodriguez will work together to cover your geriatric duties over the next week. Now, I promised you drinks. Tell me where you’d like to go. Later, you can fill me in on how next week goes.”
Nina envisioned Karen toasting a victory far too prematurely. “The drinks you promised were conditional on the police giving the program the green light, remember? That hasn’t happened yet, Karen. And we don’t know if it will.”
“I know that,” Karen reassured her. “I’m sure Stevens