I’ll get off when you do. Right now, I am going to talk to you.” She was determined to pin him down to a time they could meet. Timing was everything in this campaign.
He gave her a pointed look. “Ms. Romeo, I don’t have time to waste right now.”
They faced each other like two bulls in a box. She had no intention of letting this man dismiss her. Meeting his obstinate expression with one of her own, she said tightly, “It is Ms. Romano. How soon can you meet with me?”
“I don’t know how long this surgery will take. You handle things without me.”
The elevator stopped. There was a ding before the doors opened. He almost jumped in his haste to get out. Tiffani didn’t hesitate to follow. “So I’m to make the decisions and give you the details?”
He kept walking. “Works for me.”
She stayed with him, saying in a stern voice, “This project will only be successful if you play a significant part.”
They soon faced closed double doors.
Eyes locked on those doors, he removed his badge and swiped it over an ID pad as he announced, “Look, I have patients to see. I have neither the time nor the interest in being a part of your PR campaign.”
The doors opened. He went through.
She did too. “Dr. Maxwell, Dr. Nelson told me you’re willing to give this campaign your full support. Did you lie to him or was he lying to me?”
He stopped so suddenly she almost bumped into his backside. “You can’t be in here.”
“What?” She didn’t understand the abrupt change in the conversation.
“This is the surgery suite. Didn’t you read any of the signs?” he asked, as if she were a four-year-old.
“Uh, no, I didn’t.”
“Are you planning to follow me into the OR?”
“No.” She certainly had zero interest in doing that. She’d seen enough gore to last her a lifetime, having had to help care for her father. She had started cleaning and bandaging his wounds while she’d been in middle school.
“It was nice to meet you, Ms. Romano,” he said stiffly, before he turned and walked away, dismissing her.
Furious, Tiffani backtracked her way to Dr. Nelson’s office. The return trip calmed her and she sighed. Somehow, she had to gain Dr. Maxwell’s cooperation. Without Dr. Maxwell there was no successful PR crusade, no promotion and no escaping her past.
* * *
Rex had been fairly certain when he’d entered Nelson’s office that he wasn’t going to like whatever the meeting topic was, and then Nelson had caught him off guard with the stupid PR project. Rex had barely been able to conceal his disgust. He hated being forced to be part of another dog-and-pony show at this point in his life, his career. The hospital would survive the recent bad press, just as he had. All that was needed was time. That was what it had taken after the bubble had burst when he’d been a kid. He’d gotten over the lies and what he had believed about his family. He was a better man, a bluntly honest one, thanks to the experience.
No, participating in a cover-up to make everything squeaky clean was something he refused to do. Shouldn’t have to. Proving his abilities as a surgeon was unnecessary. He already knew he was good. The people he’d saved before and after Royster were proof enough.
* * *
Late that evening, with his patient doing well, he finally got back to his office. The voice mail light was blinking. Ms. Romano’s, stating she would like to meet with him first thing in the morning, was the third message. Rex harrumphed. He’d bet she had no idea that his day started at five thirty. She could figure that out on her own. He didn’t feel like dealing with her nonsense.
With her dark hair twisted tightly and her expensive-looking navy blue business suit, Ms. Romano struck him as an uptight bit of fluff. Someone trying to project an aura of authority, with her don’t-mess-with-me attitude. The only hint that she might have a softer side had been the glimpse of cleavage in the V of her white silk blouse.
Long ago he’d gotten beyond being impressed by what a person wore. Still, something about Ms. Romano’s attire made him think she was trying to make a point to the world. He wasn’t interested in being a part of her road to redemption or whatever she was after.
His allegiance lay with the free spirits of the world, those willing to live their lives without worrying about public opinion. Ms. Romano’s job alone said she cared too much about what people thought. He’d leave making the hospital look good to her and go on about his business.
* * *
The next evening it was well past dinnertime when he finally made it back to his office. Intent on grabbing his jacket, finding a hot meal and going home to bed, he opened the door and froze as he reached for his coat. Ms. Romano sat in one of his two visitors’ chairs.
She jerked upright in her seat. The file that had been in her hands fell to the floor, scattering papers everywhere.
Had she been asleep? “Ms. Romano?”
“Uh...yeah.” She pushed a loose tendril of hair back from her face. “The cleaning person was coming out when I arrived. I told him you were expecting me.”
Rex would have to speak to the housekeeping staff about letting people into his office when he wasn’t there. Obviously Ms. Romano didn’t mind doing whatever it took to get her way. Ignoring her wasn’t going to be as easy as he’d thought.
She bent and started gathering her papers. “You didn’t return my calls.”
Rex went down on his heels to help her. “I’ve been here since 2:00 a.m.”
Lowering her chin, she said, “I thought you were just dodging me.”
Guilt pricked him. Ms. Romano said what she thought. She was honest. He respected that. Continuing to pick up the fallen pages, he was adding them to the growing stack in his hand when he glanced down at one of them and saw his name. He looked at her. “Is this your research portfolio on me?”
Her dark green eyes rose to meet his. “You’re an important part of my plan. I need to know all I can about you.” She took the papers from his hands and stood.
Rex did as well, snapping, “The hospital should be the focus, not me.”
“This is about you too. I can drag you in kicking and screaming but you’re still going to be a part of the campaign.”
He took a deep breath and exhaled through his nose. “And just how do you plan to do that?”
“As I said before, Mr. Nelson assured me you would cooperate with me.” Her obstinate expression didn’t waver.
Rex detested her threat of blackmail, but he didn’t want Dr. Nelson aware of his determination to take as small a role as possible in this PR nonsense. “Look, I’ve had a long day. I’m tired and hungry. Can’t we do this later?”
“No. We’ve already lost twenty-four hours. We don’t have time to waste.”
He let out a deep sigh of disgust and sank into his desk chair. “Then let’s get on with it. I’m hungry and need some sleep.”
She apparently wasn’t in the least bit sympathetic that he’d been at the hospital for eighteen hours.
She placed the folder on his desk in front of her, opened it and sorted papers with precision.
Maybe all he’d be required to do was to listen while she talked. He had naught to contribute, except that he wanted nothing to do with this complete waste of his time and the hospital’s resources.
“I need to go over a few things with you so I can make calls first thing in the morning. We have such a small window of opportunity we’ve got to immediately