Tempted by Her Italian Surgeon by Louisa George Read Free Book Online Page B

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    Now she had a clear idea of where she was headed—until, of course, the next crisis occurred. Because she had no doubt that it would. She could only hope it wasn’t more naked photos…because that scenario appeared to get her into hotter water than she wanted to be.
    She buzzed through to the next office. ‘Becca, would it be possible for you to line up some interviews for me for next week?’
    â€˜Sure. Hang on, I’ll come through.’ Becca appeared in her office, pencil poised and notepadat the ready, as if she was about to take dictation. ‘Who, what, why and when? And, please, please, let it be more bottoms to identify…peachy ones, of course.’
    Ivy tried to frown, but the thought of that… Work, girl . ‘You are incorrigible. It’s proper work. You remember that? The stuff we get paid to do? Look through my diary—any time apart from Thursday and Friday. I need to take a brief on the Partridge case. So, I need to speak to…’ She scanned down the list of names on the paper in front of her. ‘Maggie Taylor and Leslie Anderson from Ward Three.’
    Becca tapped her pad. ‘That’s the med negligence case, right? The feeding tube that became dislodged?’
    â€˜Yes. That hearing’s coming up in a couple of weeks and I need to be apprised of all the facts.’
    â€˜Certainly. I’ll organise that for you.’ Becca nodded. ‘But, you know, we always win anyway. Or we settle beforehand if we don’t think we’ll win in court.’
    â€˜Yes. I know very well how the system works.’ Ivy had personal experience on both sides, but that didn’t mean she liked it. Not if it meant mistakes were still being made, mistakes that could be avoided.
    With this job she’d found herself in a strange place ethically—on the one hand she wanted toensure the hospital was a safe place for all, and on the other hand she was responsible to the hospital board. Sometimes it was exciting and technically challenging, and other times she just felt stuck between a rock and a hard place. But she loved it nevertheless. There was still a lot to do here, and she’d always been up for a challenge.
    She looked at a pile of employment contracts and a thick file regarding a sexual harassment complaint against a catering manager, all ready for her review. Bedtime reading. Geez, bedtimes had never been such fun.
    And why, oh, why did an image of a naked Matteo suddenly flit into her head at the mention of bedtimes? It was impossible these days to think of anything without him straying into her thoughts.
    She was not going to go to the pub. She was going to stay here and work. Neither was she going to indulge any fantasies about him touching her or kissing her or undressing her in a lift…which was her most recent one…or perhaps something in the on-call room. She’d heard many a tale about that kind of thing happening in hospitals. But, no—it was all out of bounds.
    When she eventually looked up again she realised her assistant was watching her while dragging on a coat. ‘Yes, Becca?’
    â€˜I don’t know where your head was right then,but it wasn’t here. Maggie’s coming in on Monday at two, Leslie will come straight after her shift on Tuesday at three-thirty.’ Becca smiled. ‘So, you never did tell me why you came back from Theatre so early. Weren’t you supposed to be with Dr Delicious all afternoon, you lucky thing?’
    Oh. That. The hospital grapevine was alive and kicking and the news was bound to spread fast. She might as well front up to it, take the ribbing and move on. ‘You have to promise not to tell a soul. Or laugh. Or anything, at any point.’
    With a very serious look on her face Becca drew a cross over her chest. ‘My word is my honour.’
    â€˜I fainted.’
    Becca bit her lips together to hold in a laugh. ‘Aha. Hmm. Okay.