be right too.’ Mia hung her coat in her locker then took a comb out of her bag and tidied her hair. ‘I wish they’d invest in some new trains. I mean, they wouldn’t break down as often if they weren’t so old, would they?’
‘Ah, but new trains cost money and nobody has any these days, or so they claim.’
Penny picked up the spreadsheet she used to sort out where everyone was working. There were fifteen bank nurses and they covered all the departments as and when they were needed. It was a system that worked well and had reduced the high costs of hiring agency nurses to provide cover.
‘Right, you’re down for Cardiology this week. The ward sister has sprained her ankle and she’s off sick. You might end up there a bit longer, in fact.’
‘Fine by me. I’ve not covered Cardiology before so it will be nice to do something different,’ Mia agreed. ‘Anything I should know beforehand?’
‘Not really. Oh, apart from the fact that one of the consultants is a bit of a tartar so watch your back.’ Penny rolled her eyes. ‘Jackie was there a couple of weeks ago and she’s refused to go back if he’s on duty.’
‘Heavens! He sounds a real sweetheart, I don’t think.’ Mia grimaced as she took her ID out of her bag and clipped it to the pocket of her navy uniform top. One of the other nurses arrived just then so she left Penny to deal with her and made her way to the third floor where the cardiology unit was situated. Everything looked very peaceful when she arrived and she grinned at the staff nurse who’d been holding the fort until she got there.
‘Either all your patients are extremely well behaved or you’ve sedated them. Which is it?’
‘Neither.’ The staff nurse grimaced. ‘They’re simply too scared to kick up a fuss.’
Mia laughed. ‘You don’t look that scary to me.’
‘Oh, it’s not me who’s terrified them into submission.’ The younger woman looked over Mia’s shoulder and groaned. ‘Here’s your culprit now. And that’s my cue to beat a hasty retreat. Good luck. You’ll need it!’
Mia looked round, the smile still lingering on her lips as she looked at the man walking towards her. He was tall with dark hair lightly threaded with silver and chiselled features…
All of a sudden the room started to whirl, spinning faster and faster until she felt quite giddy. What on earth was Leo Forester doing here?
‘THESE NOTES ARE incomplete, Sister. Make sure the file is updated before I return for my afternoon round. I shouldn’t need to remind you that it’s your job to ensure that all the information I require is available.’
Leo handed the file to Mia Adams. He turned to the two new F1 students who had joined his team the previous week, ignoring the wary look that passed between them. Maybe he had been rather hard on Sister Adams but he wouldn’t tolerate incompetence in any shape or form.
‘Mrs Davies will be having bypass surgery tomorrow. What needs to be done beforehand to ensure the operation goes smoothly?’ he demanded, ignoring the voice in his head that insisted he was being unreasonable. So what if Mia Adams had taken charge of the unit only that morning? As ward sister, it was her responsibility to ensure that everything was up to date. Far too many errors occurred because staff had omitted some vital piece of information.
The thought reminded him rather too pointedly of the error that had been made over Noah. Finding out that the child he had believed to be his son had no biological connection to him and Amanda had been a terrible shock and he still hadn’t got over it. He loved Noah with all his heart and there was no way that he was prepared to give him up, but he still needed to find out the truth, prove that Mia’s child—Harry—was his real son. After that, well, he had no idea what would happen. It all depended on what Mia Adams decided.
The thought that so much was hanging on her decision wasn’t easy to accept. Leo was used to running his life his own way and rarely made allowances for other people. It was little wonder that his tone was brusquer than ever when the students failed to answer. He didn’t want to be beholden to Mia Adams, but he might not have a choice.
‘I fail to see why you’re finding it so difficult to come up with an answer.’ He pinned the unhappy pair with an icy stare. ‘This is something you should have covered in your first year as students. If you can’t answer a simple question like this then you are of no use to me.’
‘May I suggest we take this into the office?’
Leo looked round in surprise when Mia Adams cut in. He wasn’t used to being interrupted and didn’t appreciate her making suggestions. He opened his mouth to tell her that in no uncertain terms but she had already moved away. Leo frowned as he watched his team follow her to the office. They hadn’t waited for his permission; they had simply done her bidding and it was a shock, an unpleasant one, to realise that they preferred to follow her lead rather than his.
‘I’ll come back to see you later, Mrs Davies,’ he said politely, noticing for the first time that the woman was trembling. She gave him a wan smile as he moved away from the bed and Leo found himself wondering what was wrong with her. She’d appeared perfectly composed when he had arrived but obviously something had upset her.
His mouth thinned as he strode towards the office. It was Mia Adams’s fault, of course. Mrs Davies had picked up on the tension and reacted accordingly. Well, he intended to take Sister Adams to task and make sure she understood who was in charge before she upset any more of his patients.
‘A word, please, Sister Adams,’ he began as he entered the office.
‘Just a moment, Mr Forester.’ She barely glanced at him as she carried on issuing instructions to one of the nurses and Leo felt his temper leap up a couple more notches. He was the consultant and although he didn’t consider himself to be next to God in the pecking order, he did expect to be treated with due respect.
‘After you’ve sorted that out, Sally, can you take Mrs Davies a cup of tea? She’s a bit upset so sit with her, will you? It will help to calm her down if she has someone to talk to.’
Mia smiled at the younger nurse, giving no sign that she was worried about keeping him waiting, and Leo had to clamp down on the urge he felt to do something drastic, like shake her. Bearing in mind that he wasn’t a man given to violence on any level it was a surprise to find himself reacting this way. It was little wonder that he was caught flat-footed when she turned to him.
‘There’s something you wish to say to me, Mr Forester?’
Her tone was cool in the extreme and he saw several members of his team glance at each other in amazement. Nobody spoke to him this way. Nobody queried his decisions or interrupted him either. Nobody had ever dared—until now. Leo’s temper, which had been hovering just below boiling point, peaked and he glared at her.
‘Yes. Let me make this clear, Sister Adams. When I am with a patient I don’t expect to be interrupted. Do you understand?’
‘Perfectly. However, I think it’s only fair that I make my position clear too. The patients are my responsibility while they’re on this unit. That means that if I notice that someone is in pain or upset I shall do something about it.’
