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The doctor had the good manners to stand and extend his hand. His long fingers circled hers. The clasp was firm, warm. His dark brown eyes searched hers intently for a moment before he released her hand.
“Please, both of you, sit down,” Dr. Nelson said, taking his seat again.
Tiffani took the chair beside the doctor. He glanced at her before turning those sharp eyes on Dr. Nelson, who said, “I’ve explained the situation to Dr. Maxwell and he’s willing to give you his full support.”
Dr. Maxwell shifted in his seat. She glanced at him. His attention seemed focused on a small statue on the shelf behind Dr. Nelson’s desk. He didn’t look pleased.
The older man continued as if he hadn’t noticed. “Both of you are professionals. I know you’ll handle this project discreetly. With great aplomb. I expect a report in a week that I can give the board.” He paused to look at each of them. “I’m here to help and I look forward to this being a meaningful, productive and very successful project. Please, call on me if there are any issues.”
Dr. Maxwell stood, passing behind her chair on his way out. He was already in the hallway before Tiffani could gather her purse and bag. She looked at Nelson but he merely watched as she raced after the most important element to her plan. Her timetable required transforming her ideas into reality right away. That meant immediately getting better acquainted with Dr. Maxwell. He, however, was a good way down the long hall and using a stride she found difficult to match.
She called his name but he didn’t slow or even look back as he briskly continued. The rapid tap, tap, tap of her heels echoed off the walls so he had to know she was behind him. As he slowed in front of a closed elevator door she finally caught up and grabbed his arm. To her amazement, he looked surprised to see her and glanced at where her hand rested.
Tiffani released him and said breathlessly, “I’ve been trying to get your attention since we left Dr. Nelson’s office.”
“I have a patient waiting.” He pushed the button for the elevator again. The doors opened.
“We need to talk. I have plans to implement.”
He stepped into the elevator, his gaze meeting hers.
She pursed her lips, hitched her bag strap more securely on her shoulder and stepped aboard just as the door was closing.
His eyes widened. “This is a staff-only elevator.”
“Then 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 start pitching ideas to the media.”
Rex watched her continue to organize her papers. At this rate, it would be a long month.
“I have some very exciting ideas I want to run by you,” she said in a swift, cheerful manner.
Rex knew better than to ask but did so anyway. “Such as?”
“I’d like to do an ‘in-your-face’ campaign. I want to show the hospital trusts you enough to make you their ambassador. Put it right up front. ‘Neither I nor the hospital was guilty of malpractice. You can trust us with all your health needs.’” She pointedly looked at him. “If you gain people’s trust then the hospital will be trusted too. It all works hand in hand. I have in mind you doing a couple of medical segments on some morning talk shows. Maybe talk about sports health. Hopefully put an article in Memphis Magazine. But time might be against us there.” She was talking fast while flipping through her portfolio. “A newspaper ad on Sundays might be very effective. People need to get to know the real you.”
The PR woman was in her zone. A sour taste formed in his mouth. She seemed to no longer be aware he sat across from her.
Any hope of not being overly involved was waning fast. He had to put the brakes on this madness. A little louder than necessary, he announced, “People who have met me do know the real me. I have nothing to hide or be ashamed of. I’m not about to rub elbows and smile ingratiatingly at the same people who were burning me at the stake a month ago.”
She kept her attention on her file, which was now tightly clenched in her fists. “Yes, you will! Not everyone trusts doctors and hospitals. To have any hope of swaying public opinion in your favor, we need to get the media on our side ASAP.”
Rex narrowed his eyes and watched her closely. “So, what’s in this for you?”
With a startled jerk, she looked directly at him. “What do you mean?”
“I know why I should be so interested in improving the hospital’s rep, and even mine, but why’re you so enthusiastic about it?”
She studied him for a moment then said with a harsh note in her tone, “Because it’s my job.”
Had he hit on something? “It seems to me you’re going beyond the call of duty to sit in my office, waiting on me for who knows how long, working overtime on just another job.”
“If I pull this off, with your help, I have a real chance at a promotion I really want. Need, in fact.”
There was her blunt honesty again.
“I see.”
“I’m pretty sure you don’t but that isn’t the issue.” She looked away. “I want to have a couple of billboards put up around town. Have people see that the hospital is here for them and that you are part of what makes it...great.” She faltered on the last word. As if she weren’t sure it was the correct one.
“Me?”
“I want you on the billboard, standing in front of a picture of the hospital. With a healthy, happy patient. You know that kind of thing.” She absentmindedly waved one hand in the air.
Rex’s insides tightened. His hunger had vanished. This was starting to sound like what his parents had done when he’d been a kid. Make their family look all perfect on the outside. He turned his head to the side and looked down his nose at her. “You want my picture on a billboard?”
“That’s right.”
He shook his head. “No.”
“We need to put you out there in front of the public. Let them know who you really are.”
Rex leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms. “I don’t think me being on a billboard is going to tell them anything.”
Her expression was stony. “Dr. Nelson thought it was a good idea.”
She was playing hardball again. Rex felt the walls closing in. He was being left no choice. If he wanted to keep his job, or any chance of becoming department head anytime soon, he would have to go along with this. But he wouldn’t make it easy. “I don’t have time for these extracurricular activities. My surgical practice and responsibilities to my patients monopolize my time.”
“We’ll work around your schedule.”
His refusal, his objection hadn’t even slowed her down.
She studied him a moment. “One more thing. We need to work on your image.”
His gut tightened. This was getting worse by the minute. “What’s wrong with my image? My appearance is part of my identity.”
After looking him over for a moment, she answered in a quiet but steely voice, “You have a bad-boy image. One that has to be softened up a little bit.”
“And just how do you plan to do that?”
“A haircut here, some clothes there.”
This was going too far. “Not going to happen. I don’t do makeovers. You can talk to Nelson all you want but that’s stepping over the line.”
She slipped the now organized papers into her folder. “After this campaign, you can go back to your slouchy, unkempt look, but you will look sharp and reliable for the media. You think about it. From what I understand, this is all sanctioned by the board. I’m not telling you your business but can you really afford to go against them?”
He hated this. Everything about it brought back memories he’d thought he had gotten beyond. “Again, where do I find time for this makeover to happen?”
“Don’t you have a day off?” She sounded as if it wasn’t a big deal for him to get away.
Yeah, but not one he wanted to spend her way. “Tomorrow, in fact.”
“Perfect. I’ll make an appointment with my hairdresser for tomorrow afternoon. First we’ll do a little shopping. So, I’ll be on my way. Goodnight.” She stood, put her bag over her shoulder and turned toward the door.
