go isn’t going to change the situation, Sage. Deal with it,” he said, sitting back and crossing a foot over his knee.
“It’s just that . . . well, someone should have told me if there were plans on changing the supervising doctors. It might have made a difference on where I decided to do my residency.”
She was trying to calm down, but the longer he sat there with his trademark smirk and sparkling green eyes, the more she wanted to throw her hot mocha in his face and make some phone calls. She’d beg for another hospital to take her away from here.
“Like I said, it’s been very hush-hush. Only the board and I know he’s leaving. I can trust you not to tell—correct? It will be announced tomorrow.” He looked at her with eyebrows raised in question, implying that he might have made a big mistake in divulging the secret.
“I have no one other than Grandma and Grace to tell. It’s not as if I’ve had a chance to make friends or catch up with anyone since moving home,” she snapped. Not that she would run around town saying anything anyway.
Good ol’ trustworthy Sage. It was every girl’s dream to be that person. The person everyone ran to with their problems. She’d like to be the bad girl for once, the girl everyone ran to for a bit of fun. Of course, that was never going to happen, so it was useless to even think such thoughts.
“So, you’re my boss, but that’s just a title. I mean, it’s not like you’re going to be hanging around down here. You have much more important things to do. You’ll just . . . um . . . come in once in a while to check on how things are going, right?”
She knew she sounded almost desperate, but there was no possible way she could be around this man every single day. It wasn’t like she got much time off. Residents seemed to be working every waking hour, and she wasn’t allowed much time for sleep—not if she wanted to get through this and be a full-fledged ER physician when her residency was finished.
“I take a very hands-on approach with my residents,” he said, leaning forward and smiling with reassurance. He was playing—and he was doing it damn well.
“And how many residents are you in charge of?” Please say twenty, she added silently.
After an uncomfortably long pause, his lips parted. “Don’t worry, Sage, I will take a hands-on approach with all of you.”
She gulped as their eyes remained locked together. “I . . . uh . . . better get back to the ER.”
“Sage?” he called out when she was just beginning to open the door.
“Yes, Dr. Whitman.” Keep it professional, she told herself.
“I just want to give you fair warning,” he said, making her turn to look at him with a raised eyebrow. “I will be taking you out. In the interest of not breaking hospital rules, I’ll wait until you’re off the clock.”
She nearly gasped at his audacity before a cheeky grin flashed across her face. “Well, then, I have nothing to worry about. I’m never off the clock.”
She left the room, letting the door swing shut behind her. It would have felt far more like a victory if the sound of his deep laughter weren’t following her down the hallway. One thing she knew for sure—she needed to polish up her armor.
“How does it feel to be back home?”
Spence kicked back, sipped on his favorite cognac, and smiled. “It feels a lot better than I thought it would. When I was last here and Dad wasn’t feeling so hot, I got worried. So when the position opened up, I knew I had to take it.”
“I’m sure glad to have you here. Don’t get me wrong. Doc Thompson is great and has served the hospital well, but if I need to go to surgery, I think I’d rather leave my life in your hands,” Hawk said as he sipped his Pepsi. He was on the clock, and if the fire alarm sounded, he needed to be sober.
“Hell, Hawk, I think you could fix yourself,” Spence said with a laugh.
“Well, we both know I’d make a damn fine surgeon if I had any desire to be a cocky bastard like you and go to med school.”
“You’re so full of crap. There’s nothing you want to do that you won’t,” Spence said.
“Yeah, I guess that’s true. By the way, don’t think I