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As soon as Marcy left Stephanie dimmed the lights, kicked off her shoes and settled onto her couch.
When she heard the bing from her computer that let her know she’d received an email, she ignored it. Unlike her parents and her ex-lover, she knew how to manage her priorities, and right now a quick nap was at the top of her list.
Only six o’clock and she felt as if she could sleep through to the morning. Too many late nights, early mornings, and busy days in between were taking their toll. She needed to take a long look at her schedule and eliminate non-essential functions for the next several months. Possibly longer. It was time to take care of herself.
At least for fifteen minutes.
Just as she was drifting off to sleep, her office door burst open, slamming back on its hinges.
“When were you going to tell me?” Jason demanded, more emotion in his face than she had ever seen. Unfortunately that emotion was anger—at her.
Sitting up too quickly made her light-headed. She blinked through the spots as she tried to gather her thoughts.
Caught off-guard, she thought fast before leading with her most calming reassurance. “I’ll take care of everything. There’s nothing you need to do.”
He waved a computer printout in front of her. “You’ve already done enough, don’t you think? How much was my reputation worth?”
“What?” Stephanie scrunched her toes, feeling vulnerable in her bare feet. Reaching up from the couch, she grabbed the emailed page from his hand and scanned enough to see the hospital’s law firm was informing all named parties of their agreement. “Oh.”
“Oh?” He grabbed the back of a chair, his knuckles white. “Do you believe I did anything negligent to cause that baby’s death?”
“No. Of course not.”
Was that relief she saw in his eyes as they settled into a less turbulent gray?
“Then why, Stephanie? Why make me the scapegoat?”
“To protect the hospital.” She stood, feeling vulnerable again with him standing over her as she sat on the couch. Still, shoeless, her standing didn’t make much difference. “Sheffield Memorial would have been gravely injured in the media circus they were threatening. Our lawyers felt that even if we won the lawsuit—which was unlikely—we would still lose in public opinion, which means funding and research grants and patients.
We’ve already seen some of that come true. Instead Isaac’s parents settled for an internal investigation, with the doctor responsible for Isaac’s death being officially sanctioned.”
“Sanctioned? How so?”
“I oversee all your cases personally.”
“I’ve got a standing invitation to join the Mayo Clinic. Maybe it’s time I accepted their offer.”
“Why haven’t you already?”
Wasn’t that what she wanted? Jason out of her life?
“I thought I had everything I wanted here.”
Did that mean her? Or only Sheffield Memorial.
Sheffield needed him. It was her duty to try to keep him.
What about the baby? She pushed away that intrusive thought. She would never use her child to bind Jason in any way.
“It’s only for a while. Six months or so.” She tried to placate him. Then she would be on maternity leave and someone else would supervise his work for the next six months. But she would save that for later.
“Anything else? Does this settlement come with other repercussions you haven’t seen fit to reveal to me? Or should I wait for the email?”
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