Theatre with a patient before you could check me out?’
Once again he cut in before she could finish and Joanna’s mouth thinned. She’d spent too many years fighting her corner whilst various male colleagues had tried to talk above her to let a new junior colleague get away with such tactics.
‘Perhaps you will do me the courtesy of letting me finish what I’m saying before you interrupt me again,’ she suggested coldly, then broke off when Tom and Lucy came out of Theatre, pushing the patient on a trolley. She saw them glance at her and Dylan before they hurriedly carried on to the recovery bay, but it was obvious even from that brief look that they’d sensed that something was going on. A little colour touched Joanna’s cheeks when it struck her once again that she might be making too big an issue out of this situation but she had to sort it out to her own satisfaction. She was in charge of this department and she wouldn’t rest until she was sure that Dylan Archer understood that.
She turned to him again, struggling to keep her tone as neutral as possible. ‘I’ll see you in my office as soon as you’ve changed, Dr Archer.’
He didn’t say anything this time although whether it was because he had decided to heed her advice, she wasn’t sure. Joanna hurried to the women’s changing room and quickly showered then dressed again. She checked her watch as she opened the door and sighed when she saw that she was already way behind schedule. She’d hoped to get an early start on the day’s list but it would have to wait until she’d cleared up this misunderstanding. From what she had seen so far, Dr Archer appeared to be perfectly competent at his job, but she needed to be sure that he wasn’t going to disrupt the workings of the whole team.
Joanna went back to her office and told Lisa to send Dr Archer in as soon as he arrived. She sat down at her desk, wanting to look suitably composed when he appeared. She frowned because she’d never had any difficulty taking charge of her staff before so why did it seem so important all of a sudden that she make the right impression?
She got up again and went to the mirror, tucking a loose strand of honey-gold hair into the heavy coil at the nape of her neck then running a finger over her eyebrows to smooth the tiny golden hairs into place. She never wore make-up when she would be operating and with her fair complexion tended to look rather washed-out in consequence. Maybe a holiday in the sun this year would give her a bit of much-needed colour?
‘Lisa said to come straight in. I hope that’s all right?’
Joanna swung round at the sound of that familiar, deep voice. She was a little embarrassed at being caught staring into the mirror but less so than she might have been if she hadn’t had a more pressing concern to deal with. Bearing in mind that she’d spoken to Dylan Archer no more than half a dozen times to date, how had the timbre of his voice managed to imprint itself so clearly on her memory?
Frankly, Joanna had no idea how to explain such a strange phenomenon so decided to ignore it and concentrate instead on the reason why she’d asked Dr Archer to come to her office. She sat down behind her desk once more and waved him towards a chair.
‘Please, sit down, Dr Archer. I shall be brief because we have a lot to get through today. I would have preferred it if you had waited until I’d arrived before you operated on that patient. As I explained to you yesterday on the phone, every new member of this team goes through a period of supervision. That rule applies to everyone who works here and there are no exceptions.’
‘Then I can only apologise once again, Ms Martin. I assure you that I wasn’t trying to flout your rules even though it may have appeared that way.’
His tone was nothing less than polite so Joanna had no idea why it should have set her teeth on edge. It was an effort not to snap back with some sharp retort but she knew it would be a mistake to do that. She had to remain in control at all times when dealing with Dylan Archer. Something told her it was the only way to handle the situation.
‘I accept your apology, Dr Archer. Now that you’ve assured me it won’t happen again we’ll let the matter drop.’
‘I’m sorry but I’m afraid I can’t give you any such assurance, Ms Martin.’
Once again his tone was faultlessly polite. However, Joanna had heard the steely note it held and her brows rose steeply. ‘I beg your pardon?’
‘If we are to avoid any future misunderstandings I think it’s only fair that I make my position clear, Ms Martin. Given the same set of circumstances, I would follow exactly the same course of action.’
His voice was even softer this time, soft and oddly dangerous-sounding. Joanna shivered when she heard the warning note it held. It was an effort to reply when she could feel the tremors working their way through her body.
‘Would you care to elaborate, Dr Archer?’
‘Certainly. If I had waited for you to arrive to supervise me then the patient could have died. I made my decision to go ahead and operate based on the experience I’ve gained over the last few years, and I believe it was the right decision, too.’ He shrugged, his broad shoulders rising and falling beneath his suit jacket. ‘Rules are all well and good, Ms Martin, but I will never endanger a patient’s life by blindly sticking to them. I’m a qualified surgeon, not a student, and I hope that you will pay me the courtesy of remembering that.’
Joanna was completely floored and had no idea what to say. She knew she would be within her rights to reprimand him for speaking to her like that, but she was also aware that she’d handled the situation very badly. Dylan Archer was a highly skilled surgeon, which was the reason she’d been so keen to have him on her team, and if she’d been in his shoes, most probably she would have done the same thing. The patient could have died if the operation had been delayed so how could she honestly object to what he’d done? Why should she even want to when the outcome had been so satisfactory?
Her breath caught because there was another question that needed answering, one which was suddenly more important than all the rest: was she really acting out of professional concern or because of the way Dylan Archer made her feel as a woman rather than a surgeon?
Dylan forced himself to appear relaxed but it wasn’t easy. He was used to making decisions and not having them questioned, yet Joanna Martin seemed set on treating him like the new kid on the block! He couldn’t help wondering if he’d made a mistake by accepting the job at St Leonard’s. He’d been happy enough in his last post, but he’d needed to broaden his experience, which was why he had applied for the job.
It was a well-known fact that Joanna Martin had worked wonders since she’d been appointed as head of surgery at St Leonard’s and Dylan had honestly believed he could learn a lot from working with her. However, he was rapidly having second thoughts. His life was going to be hell if she continually took him to task over everything he did.
Maybe she got a kick out of throwing her weight around, he mused, before he dismissed the idea. Quite frankly, she didn’t look any happier than he felt as she sat there behind her desk, her beautiful face set and her eyes so dark that he could see his own reflection in them.
Dylan’s stomach muscles suddenly knotted at the sheer intimacy of that thought and he sucked in a calming lungful of air, wishing that he’d thought everything through properly before he’d come charging up to her office. With the benefit of hindsight he could see now that he’d needed more time to get himself together before he had faced Joanna after that earlier revelation. Frankly, it was no wonder that everything was going pear-shaped. How, in the name of heaven, could he have known that he’d met the woman he was destined to fall in love with?
Frankly, it defied all logic, or at least the bit of logic he could still dredge up. All he could do now was to try and salvage something from this mess.
‘I’m sorry. I was way out of order for saying that, Ms Martin. I understand that you have a duty to the patients in this hospital and need to ensure that everyone receives the best possible care.’
‘I do, but equally I’m one of the people who interviewed you for this post, Dr Archer. If I’d had any concerns about your suitability I