tightened around Leah’s heart, but she couldn’t avoid breaking the news any longer. Soon everyone would know.
‘Only acting head,’ she reminded Kelly, hoping she didn’t sound as bitter as she felt. She’d been carrying the full load for months while Donald had avoided coming to terms with his need for heart-bypass surgery. Due to her willingness to work herself to a standstill, her superior’s sudden death had hardly registered in the smooth running of the department, and she’d hoped that it would be little more than a formality for her unofficial position as head of the AR department to be given the stamp of approval.
‘That’s just administrative claptrap,’ Kelly declared supportively. ‘We all know you’re the best one for the position, especially as you’ve been doing it for so many weeks—’
‘Apparently, not everyone agrees with you, Kelly,’ Leah interrupted, her voice a little sharper than usual with restrained emotion. ‘The board has appointed a new head of department from outside the hospital. He’s supposed to be joining us in a matter of days.’
‘Oh, Leah,’ Kelly murmured, clearly stricken. At least that was some kind of sop to Leah’s ego. ‘Oh, damn, I’m sorry. Why didn’t you say something? When did you find out?’
‘Just a moment ago.’ She gestured towards the phone. ‘Apparently someone was supposed to have informed me of the board’s decision before the weekend, but in the excitement of snagging someone as eminent as David ffrench…’ She shrugged, trying to appear philosophical about hospital management’s total lack of courtesy.
‘David ffrench?’ Kelly frowned.
‘The name doesn’t ring a bell with me either,’ Leah agreed. ‘But, then, I just grabbed the minimum time necessary from the department to attend the interview. There just wasn’t time to hang around to meet the competition so I don’t even know where he’s been working.’
‘Well, if he’s such hot stuff, how come he’s free to take up a position here at the drop of a hat?’ Kelly demanded.
‘All I know is that he’s apparently been at a top-flight IVF centre in New Zealand and he’s come to Britain for family reasons.’
‘Is he a New Zealander?’ There was a definite spark of interest in Kelly’s dark eyes and Leah actually had to subdue a grin at the predictability of her colleague’s reaction. ‘Oh, tell me he’s one of those gorgeous seven-foot rugby-playing Maoris, please! That’s what this department could do with—a few really sexy hunky single men!’
‘Sorry I can’t oblige,’ said a dry voice behind them, and they both whirled in surprise to face the man who had arrived unannounced at the office doorway. ‘I’m not a New Zealander and it’s years since I played any rugby.’
That didn’t mean he was lacking in the looks department, Leah registered with an unexpected surge of awareness, something that hadn’t happened since…for ever.
At five feet seven, she wasn’t short, but she had to look up some way to meet his uncomfortably direct greeny blue gaze, in spite of the fact that she hadn’t had time to change out of her heeled shoes this morning. His bronzed skin was a testament to the fact that he’d just returned from a summer in New Zealand but his face was all planes and angles as though he’d recently lost more weight than was good for him. He certainly didn’t look as though he was carrying enough muscle bulk to be a rugby player now.
‘You’re English!’ Kelly’s gurgle of laughter startled her and Leah felt a wash of heat surge up into her cheeks. Had she really been standing there admiring the man’s physique, for heaven’s sake? Had he noticed?
‘Through and through,’ their new boss agreed with a slight smile, but Leah noted that, for all his pleasant manner, the smile hadn’t reached his eyes. ‘In fact, I did part of my training at this very hospital.’
And that would account for his appointment, Leah thought waspishly, then had to stifle a grimace.
She knew she was being illogical. No hospital would appoint a head of department without being certain that they were the best for the position, especially when they had several to choose from. She would just have to learn to console herself with the idea that it had probably been her age—or lack of it—and a lack of seniority in this particular discipline that had lost her the headship this time. David ffrench looked to be several years older at least, and had already headed a similar department in New Zealand. Added to that, her experience of holding the department together over the last few months had gone largely unnoticed by the hospital hierarchy as her head of department had been covering his tracks to conceal how badly his health had been hampering him. While the extra burden had been exhausting, Leah hadn’t really blamed Donald for wanting to hang on to the job he loved as long as possible. She knew what it was like to build your whole life around a special profession.
‘I’m Kelly Argent,’ Kelly was saying with the sort of blinding smile that would tell even the slowest-witted man that she was interested. ‘I’m Senior Sister in the department.’
‘David ffrench,’ he said, accepting her handshake but, as far as Leah could tell, not even registering any other offers. ‘I’m not actually starting till the beginning of next week but I was hoping to meet up with my second in command so that we could compare notes about the department and the case load. Is he here at the moment?’
‘He?’ Leah repeated in shock, her thoughts a whirling maelstrom. Had she lost out completely? Had she been so shocked by the announcement of his appointment over her that she’d missed a vital second part to that phone call? Had there been another appointment, replacing her without her knowledge? Was she now relegated to third in the pecking order, or even bounced out of the department altogether?
‘Lee Dawson,’ he said with a hint of impatience. ‘The chap who’s been holding everything together since my predecessor—’
‘Lee!’ Kelly giggled, clearly delighted with his mistake. ‘You mean Leah!’ She sketched a sweeping gesture in her direction. ‘And I bet the panel didn’t tell you that if it weren’t for her working twenty-six hours a day, there wouldn’t be a department for you to take charge of.’
Leah cringed with embarrassment when he turned the full force of those striking eyes on her. It had been for the sake of her—their—patients that she’d worked so long and hard, not to have fulsome praise heaped on her shoulders. She would far rather have had the position of head of department instead.
‘Loyal staff,’ her new boss said quietly, his eyes giving nothing away. ‘That speaks well of a department. I hope I can earn the same sort of loyalty as my predecessor.’
‘Oh, he wasn’t the one—’ Kelly began, but Leah quelled her with a glare. She might be disappointed to have lost the plum job but there was no way she wanted to start off a new working relationship with the rest of the staff taking sides.
A frown briefly pleated the smooth skin of his forehead, as though he’d suddenly become aware of unanticipated undercurrents, but with her deliberately noncommittal expression, Leah hoped that there was nothing for him to glean.
‘Well, then, Leah, if it’s convenient, I’d like to spend some time in the department today to see how things are run at the moment. I expect you’ve got everything ready for my arrival on Monday, but have you got time this morning to go over the current patient files?’
To see how things are run at the moment? Leah’s heart sank. That certainly sounded as if he intended
