hair.
Something deep in the pit of his stomach told him that it wasn’t going to be that easy.
CORI WOKE FEELING as if she’d been run over by a steamroller in the night. Perhaps she’d feel better once she’d had a shower and got moving.
There wasn’t much choice in the matter. Her supervisor had told her that Dr Shah, Head of Paediatrics, had taken extended medical leave, and that the acting head had expressed concern about her being allowed to work in the unit. She wasn’t going to give him any excuses to dismiss her before she’d even had a chance to show what she could do. Not turning up on the first day would be like presenting him with her head on a plate.
She’d packed everything she’d thought she might need for the day in a large canvas bag, which sat in the hall. Taking the heaviest and least essential items back out, she pulled the strap across her shoulder, decided she could manage, and called a taxi.
The two miles to the hospital was easy, but by the time she’d found her way through the maze of corridors to the paediatric unit her shoulder was on fire and she needed to sit down. The entrance doors to the unit were locked, and pressing the bell didn’t elicit an immediate response.
‘I thought I told you to stay home for a couple of days.’ The voice behind her was unmistakable. Dammit. What was he doing here? A and E was on the other side of the building.
It was just as well that Cori could only turn slowly as it gave her time to think. ‘Actually, you told me to take it easy for a couple of days.’
He didn’t look best pleased. ‘So I did. And I can see that you’re following my instructions to the letter.’ He reached past her and punched a code into the pad by the door, then held it open for her. Dressed in a suit, instead of the dark blue chinos he’d been wearing yesterday, he seemed a lot less approachable, if no less handsome.
‘Thanks. I’m looking for the admin office …’ Hopefully Tom wasn’t going to be staying around long enough to mention that she’d turned up to work against doctor’s orders. That wasn’t the start she’d been hoping to make.
‘I’m Tom Riley.’ He pulled the door closed behind them. ‘Acting Head of Paediatrics.’
Suddenly Cori’s shoulder stopped hurting, in response to an instinctive urge to either fight or fly. The effort of doing neither left her staring at him in dumb horror.
A flicker of remorse showed in his eyes. ‘I didn’t realise who you were yesterday, until you’d gone.’
At least he had some idea of the position he’d put her in. And if this wasn’t quite an apology, at least it wasn’t a declaration of out-and-out war.
‘I didn’t catch your surname.’ She flushed, remembering that Adrian had kicked him before he’d had a chance to say it.
‘Let me help you with the bag.’ He was suddenly closer than she’d like. ‘I know you’ve got to be hurting.’
Cori thought about telling him she could manage, but it was much too late for that. He’d already seen the bruises. She’d already betrayed far more about herself than he needed to know, and then she’d allowed herself to fantasise about those innocent-as-sin blue eyes. The detached professionalism which she’d intended to hit Dr Riley with this morning wasn’t going to work.
‘Thanks.’ She grabbed at the strap of her bag, trying awkwardly to lift it over her head, and he came closer still to help, grimacing when he felt its weight.
‘How did you get here?’ It was probably just concern on his part, but Cori couldn’t help but feel there was an edge of criticism to the question. She took a breath, lacing her answer with a smile.
‘By taxi. If I’m going to be reckless, I’d prefer to do it the easy way.’
Taking the gamble of joking with him didn’t come off well. He seemed about to smile and then reconsidered, turning abruptly to lead the way past the reception desk. Cori followed him along a snaking corridor, her eyes fixed on his back, trying not to count the number of ways that she might be in disgrace.
He threw open a door. ‘We’ve set a room aside for you.’
‘Thanks …’ Cori caught her breath. The health authority scheme, linking art therapists with local hospitals, had produced a set of guidelines that stipulated a separate room, but most of the therapists in her group had been given a large cupboard at best. Tom might not approve of her presence, but he’d given her a bright and airy room, with two large tables to work at and a small seating area in one corner.
‘This is …’ Perfect. Wonderful. Suddenly it was quite unbelievable. ‘Are there any limitations on when I can use the room?’
‘Nope. It’s all yours for eight weeks.’ The breath of a smile played around his lips. ‘That’s what the guidelines requested.’
‘The guidelines asked for more than anyone expected to get.’ Cori looked around. ‘This is perfect, thank you.’
His nod indicated that he’d heard, but conveyed nothing else. ‘I have a meeting in a minute, so I hope you don’t mind if I leave you to it. I’ll get Maureen, the unit administrator, to show you around and then perhaps you can use today to get settled. It would be good if you could draw up a list of proposals for the kinds of activities you want to run, as well.’
She already had a list of proposals. Okay, so she hadn’t seen the space she was going to be using, but she’d made sure to include options that covered almost anything from a broom cupboard to Buckingham Palace. But Tom seemed to be intent on getting out of the room as quickly as possible and was already halfway to the door. Taking a breath and thinking first, before she said anything rash, was the thing to do now.
‘Thank you. Maureen, you say …?’
Was that a smile? Maybe he was congratulating himself at not having to bother with her any more this morning. ‘Yeah. She probably won’t be in yet, but I’ll leave a note on her desk. If you stay here, she’ll find you.’
‘Okay, thanks.’
This time there definitely was a smile. As swift as it was melting, it sent warmth tingling through her followed by a sudden, empty feeling of loss as it was withdrawn. She almost choked.
‘Coffee machine’s in the main office. Help yourself.’ He was gone. Taking with him his smile, the fresh scent that Cori had tried not to notice, and any hope that she might have had of winning him around at their first meeting.
She sat down with a bump, wincing as she did so. This morning hadn’t quite gone as she’d intended, but she was still here. And she was still in with a chance of finding out exactly what Tom had against her being here, and of changing his mind.
Not so long ago, the only thing expected of Tom when a pretty young woman arrived on the unit was that he would turn on the charm and ask her to dinner. But then Dr Shah had suffered a heart attack, and it had fallen to Tom to keep the unit running while he was away on extended leave.
It was a mystery to him that Cori was even here. He’d seen the bruises and knew that she must
