Brad made introductions. “This is Dr. Kara Dickson, a colleague from work. Kara, this is Olivia Marshall. She’s in her second year of nursing school, and she plans to go on to medical school.”
Kara shook her hand, appraising her looks. Interesting. As petite as Grace was, her sisters were all very tall and thin. Not as tall as Kara, but all over five feet eight inches. Olivia was quite attractive, with sharp brown eyes and long brown hair flowing in loose curls. She could potentially become more competition for Brad.
Kara told Olivia, “Good luck with that. I guess if you don’t get in, you can just stick to nursing.” Olivia narrowed her eyes, pressing her lips together, as if biting her words.
Brad frowned and his voice was stern. “Olivia won’t have any trouble getting into medical school. She has a three point nine GPA, and she’s already taken Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry.”
He moved Kara to the next sister. “This is Hannah. She’s a sophomore in college. What are you studying, Hannah?”
“This week, it’s Journalism. I’m not sure what it will be next week.” She laughed, her auburn curls bouncing around in a fetching manner.
“Nice to meet you,” Kara said, turning her attention to the next sister in line. This one was younger, but returned her gaze with a no-nonsense stare. She had straight brown hair, cut in a fashionable angled bob. Her lips formed a straight line as she offered her hand to Kara.
“I’m Claire,” she said. “I’m a senior in high school, and I’m going to be an accountant.”
Kara had a sense this girl was ready to pick a fight, so she kept her response to a stiff smile. She turned her eyes to Grace, carefully schooling her expression to give no sign of recognition.
“You must be Grace. I’ve heard about you.” She was surprised when Grace simply turned her back and walked away.
Judging by Grace’s scowl, she must have realized her deception, recognizing Kara had given a false name and neglected to pass on the flowers and card to Brad. She was prepared to deny the entire incident if she reported it to Brad. She could handle the tiny spitball, no matter how angry she was. And her tall sisters appeared hostile as well, but they were of no consequence. Kara had plenty of contacts, highly influential and wealthy people she knew through her father’s business partner—the same man who’d given her his season tickets to the baseball game. She and Brad would have no shortage of friends. And they wouldn’t have to squeeze into a small dining room in a low-rent apartment every week for dinner. But Kara knew how to play the game.
“Mrs. Marshall, you have a lovely home. Thank you so much for having me. It’s so hard for me to be here in New York City while my family is all the way across the country in L.A. This just makes me feel so at home.”
“Oh, you’re welcome,” she said, blushing at the praise. “You can call me Connie. And this is my husband Joe.” Kara returned a brilliant smile. Common people were so easy to flatter.
From behind her, Brad muttered in Grace’s general direction. “I thought I was going to meet your new boyfriend tonight.”
“We’re not together,” said Grace.
“You mean he’s not here? Or you broke up?” Brad asked.
“We... We never really got together.” Kara saw Grace’s face turn pink, contrasting with the strange orange-brown color of the hair peeking out from under the stylish hat perched on her head. She’d obviously had a hair-color mishap since she’d seen her on Tuesday. Kara was exultant Grace’s mistake had played into her plans to steal Brad from her. Really, it was too easy to be called stealing—Grace had practically handed him to her.
However, the next arrivals were Brad’s brother, Ben, and Josh Branson, who both regarded her with barely concealed enmity. Since Dr. Branson was her supervising physician, it wouldn’t do to be on his bad side. Still, he was a man—she knew she could handle him. He would soon be eating out of her hand. In fact, if things didn’t work out with Brad, she could always go for Josh instead. He was equally handsome, with blond hair instead of brown, and gorgeous green eyes. Although at the moment those intense eyes were studying her as if they could read her mind.
“Hello, Dr. Dickson,” said Josh through tight lips.
“Hello, Dr. Branson. I’m so honored you and Dr. Gates are including me in your dinner. I don’t think I’ve seen you out of scrubs. You clean up nice.”
“I’m surprised you have time to go to dinner. Shouldn’t you be studying for board exams?” Josh asked.
“I studied all day. I need a break.” She stretched to emphasize her fatigue and draw his attention toward her low-cut blouse. To her annoyance, Josh’s eyes never dropped from hers. However, Ben’s eyes were bugging out of his head. “And you must be Dr. Gate’s brother.”
Brad said, “Yes, Dr. Dickson. This is my brother, Ben. Ben, this is my colleague,
Dr. Dickson.”
Ben cocked one eyebrow at his brother. “Your colleague, huh? Not your date?”
Grace appeared between them, having evidently been pushed there by one of her lanky sisters. She shifted her feet and cleared her throat a few times before she craned her head to look up at Kara. When she spoke there was a distinct quiver in her voice.
“So I thought your name was Leanne? When we met the other day at the hospital, I’m sure that was the name you gave me.”
Ever the consummate actress, Kara gazed at her, blinking with confusion. “I’m sorry, but I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Grace put her hands on her slim hips and straightened to her full miniscule height. “I think you know exactly what I’m talking about.”
Kara continued her wide-eyed, straight-faced perusal of Grace. Despite her crazy hair-color, she was quite becoming. Her short hair only emphasized her huge hazel eyes. She knew she shouldn’t underestimate her opponent’s appeal. She was wearing a skirt with wedge heels that gave her a greatly needed boost in height, but Kara still had a five-inch advantage on her. Shaking her head, Kara said, “I’m really sorry, but we’ve never met before. You must have me confused with someone else.”