‘Dr Thorngate?’
‘Yes.’
‘Welcome. I’m Martha. Come through. Dr Edwards—he’s been acting head of department—is in your office ready to give you a quick run down on things before ward round.’
‘Thank you.’ Jennifer followed Martha into a large office at the end of the corridor, feeling pleased and excited and ready to get to work. She’d really made it to the top. It all still seemed a little surreal. As she passed the door, she paused to glance at the name plaque. DEPARTMENT OF ORTHOPAEDICS AND TRAUMA. HEAD OF UNIT. DR JENNIFER THORNGATE. She’d done it!
‘Dr Thorngate,’ Martha said, breaking into her thoughts. ‘This is Dr Edwards.’
Jennifer turned her attention away from the door to look at the man sitting behind her new desk, in her new chair. He took his time standing, as though he didn’t care he’d been found riffling through her papers. There was confidence about him and she liked that. He wore dark trousers, a crisp white shirt and a colourful tie. The shirt, however, pulled slightly across his arms as he pushed on the desk with both hands as he stood. The fabric outlined two very firm and well-toned arms and she couldn’t help but note how broad his shoulders were.
His hair was dark brown and his eyes were a smoky grey, filled with politeness as he came over and held out his hand. ‘Dr Thorngate. Welcome to Parramatta Hospital, although I understand from your file that you actually trained here.’
‘Medical school, yes.’ Why did she feel as though he was the boss and she was the new recruit? ‘Thank you for the welcome, Dr Edwards.’
‘Please. Call me Eddie. Most of the staff do.’
‘All right, Eddie. I understand you’ve been keeping the seat warm—literally.’ She pointed to the chair he’d just vacated.
He smiled at that and the effect made her do a double-take. Nice. Very nice. She swallowed and forced herself to look away. ‘That’s right.’ He turned to the secretary. ‘Martha, would you mind getting refreshments? I’m sure Dr Thorngate could do with a quick cuppa before ward round.’
‘Oh, I’m fine. I’ve already had two cups of coffee this morning.’ Jennifer quickly waved his words away, wanting to get control over her equilibrium. It wasn’t a common occurrence for her to be knocked off guard by a simple smile but that’s exactly what Dr Edwards…Eddie, she corrected herself…had done. With firm strides, she headed around the desk.
He leaned forward a little and raised his eyebrows questioningly. ‘Nerves?’
‘Uh…’ For a whole second Jennifer’s mind went blank. The man really was extremely good-looking and highly personable. If everyone in her new department was like him, she wasn’t going to have any trouble settling in. ‘Something like that.’
Dr Edwards smiled again. ‘Well, you’re probably going to need to top up at some point because you have an extremely busy day ahead of you.’ He didn’t move. Didn’t shift to the other side of the desk, as she’d expected him to. Instead, he stood there, his tall, firm body now close to hers. Close enough that she could feel the heat radiating from him and smell the fresh scent of his aftershave. Spicy and woodsy. Nice. Very nice.
Jennifer closed her eyes for a brief moment, forcing herself to shift into professional gear. Dr Edwards was just another colleague and while he was her equal when it came to qualifications, he wasn’t head of unit, which, in context of the hospital’s protocols, made her his new boss.
When she next looked at him, it was to find him studying her with a degree of confusion. ‘Something wrong? Caffeine headache?’
‘No. No. Not at all.’
Jennifer fingered a pile of neat papers stacked on the desk as Martha left, closing the door behind her. ‘Is this the usual inheritance?’
Eddie laughed. ‘I’ve tried to clear as much of the backlog as I could but there are things I thought it better for you to deal with.’
‘Then why don’t you take a seat…’ she indicated the one on the opposite side of her desk ‘…and let me know what requires my urgent attention?’
Thankfully, Eddie took the hint and moved, pulling the chair up to the edge of the desk. He was still close, still crowding her a little, but thankfully now there was a large slab of wood between them rather than just a few inches of carpet. The man radiated charm, manners and had an abundance of sex appeal. As he pointed to a piece of paper, she checked his hands. Both ringless—although that meant nothing. Was he married? Engaged? Attached in some way?
She sat there, looking at him, and realised he was expecting an answer. Clearing her throat as well as her mind from distracting thoughts of her new colleague, Jennifer forced herself to concentrate.