in bed. Just an empty motel room.
There would be no snafus. Sebastian would do everything in his power to make sure they were able to work together. As long as she was okay with keeping things purely professional.
And if she wasn’t?
Then she might very well make his life difficult. Or at least his job.
So he had to make sure that didn’t happen.
No matter how hard it became. At least for the next six months.
* * *
Sara was elated. Even though part of her had been dreading this trip for the last week.
Would she run into Sebastian? It had been five and a half weeks since they’d found themselves at that motel together. But they’d both had far too much to drink. He probably didn’t even remember that night. Not that she’d waited around to find out.
What did it matter? She had the job! Carrying her small suitcase up the walkway toward the huge modern hospital, she felt like she was coming home. She’d spent almost a year of her life at this place while her dad had undergone treatment—first chemo, and then surgery to replace part of his femur with an internal prosthesis, a surgery she hadn’t even known existed before they’d come here. That was when she’d realized how insulated her little world was.
Her dad’s care had been first class. His doctors had saved his life. And Natália, the neonatal doctor who had shared her personal story of surviving the same type of cancer, had infused him with the will to try. Sara really believed that. The two had become fast friends over the course of their time there. And if she had to face Natália’s brother at her new post, well, she would grit her teeth and bear it. He hadn’t tried to contact her since that night, but that was understandable, since she’d been the one to sneak out at the crack of dawn.
Her stomach gave a twinge of nerves, the butterflies she’d felt for the last week developing wings of steel as they flapped around her belly. Her dad was worried about her being this far away from home, but at twenty-six it was well past time she found her own wings and flew away. Even if they were waging war inside her at the moment.
She was pretty sure that in the big city men made love to women and then went on about their lives—wasn’t that how things were depicted on television? Thank God she’d never told her father what had happened that night. He would have been firmly against her coming here if he’d known, and it might tarnish his perception of Sebastian. Instead, Sara had simply told him that she’d spent the night with a friend after having one too many drinks.
And she had.
Pushing a buzzer at the entrance, she gave her name to the person who answered. The glass door promptly clicked open and she pushed through it, wiping Sebastian Texeira from her thoughts. At least for now.
The service entrance was well lit, the marble fittings she remembered being in the main corridor were echoed even here. Employees were treated well. You could tell by the care put into the details. They probably had to attract and keep the best talent in the country, so they treated them right. And now she was here. Among the best of the best. A place she’d never thought she’d be. The fact that it was only temporary made her determined to get as much as she could out of the experience. Maybe she would learn something she could introduce to her own hospital back home.
She swung into the door marked “Administration”, where she was supposed to meet some of the members of her team. As soon as she entered the room, however, she stopped, her heart stumbling for a beat or two. Sitting in a beige leather chair, one ankle propped on his knee, was the person she had just shoved from her mind. The wings in her belly turned into chainsaws, slashing at her innards and turning them to mush.
“What are you—?” She tried again. “I’m sorry. I’m supposed to meet someone here.”
A someone who isn’t you.
His long legs uncurled as he stood upright. And he was much taller than she remembered, her neck having to tilt to look into his face, unusual for her. Of course, when you were horizontal, differences in heights didn’t—Stop it!
“I’m assuming that person is me.”
“Excuse me?” Shock streamed through her, washing away the saws, the wings and anything else that might still be cruising around inside her.
“Not who you were expecting?” His lips thinned, face turning grim. Other than that, not a hint of emotion flickered through those dark eyes. No “Hello, nice to see you again,” or “How have you been?”
So that’s how he wanted to play this. He was going to pretend he didn’t know her. Or maybe he wasn’t pretending. Maybe it had meant so little to him that he could just lock it away and hurl the key out into the universe. Something she should be doing as well. Maybe people here in São Paulo were like the hospital: cold and clinical. Wiped clean of anything that didn’t belong. Where she came from things were very different. She’d been a willing participant in his little game, so she was going to have to live with the consequences.
She’d wanted this job, had practically gotten down on her knees and begged her little clinic for the opportunity to come once she’d seen the ad go up on the staff bulletin board. So she’d better get over it or she was going to ruin everything.
“You’re in charge of the screening program?”
“I am. Partly because of your father.”
Her brow furrowed. “I don’t understand.”
“He made me realize that not everyone recognizes symptoms of illness before they’re advanced. I want to help change that by going into the poorer communities and working with people who wouldn’t normally come to the hospital.”
Her dad had made that happen?
And what about what had happened between her and Sebastian? Should she bring it up?
Why? So he could sit there and wonder if she was hung up on what had happened over the course of a few hours?
No way. If he could act like it hadn’t happened, then she damn well could too.
“I’m grateful for this opportunity.”
“That’s good. Staff at Hospital Santa Coração are already stretched thin. I couldn’t ask anyone to take this on pro bono.”
“I wasn’t aware this was an unpaid position. My understanding was that the estágio brought in a stipend. They quoted me a figure.” How was she going to support herself if she didn’t get paid?
“You’re right. It does. You were the only one to apply for the position…” He nodded toward another man in the room that she’d just noticed. That person’s eyes were studiously fixed on some document in front of him. “Did you want me to say no?”
He could have. He could have turned her down flat.
She swallowed. He’d said she was the only one who’d applied for the position. So, was she the only one who had raised her hand when he’d been looking for a sleeping partner at the wedding as well? The thought made her feel physically ill.
Doing her best to choke back the sensation, she drew herself up to
