Page 6 of Cooper

Wendy was a doctorfrom another large hospital because he had one very rigid policy,never dipping into his pool. No matter the temptation, he never getsinvolved with the staff at Hope General, where he was a traumasurgeon.

He had workedincredibly hard to make them take him seriously, which was not easybecause of his last name. He was from an old family, thepharmaceutical company that had been in operation for several hundredyears.

He was the heir to afortune, and it constantly irked his mother that he had chosen tobecome a doctor instead of taking his rightful position at thecompany. He attended the requisite board meetings and was present forall the signings of relevant documents, but his heart was inmedicine, and he loved what he did.

“Darling, Iwanted to practice my culinary skills with you.” She said witha pout. She picked up the towel and dried her hair as she stared athim. “Or we could go out to dinner.”

“We both are onearly rotations tomorrow.” He reminded her. He knew what sheexpected of him. After dinner, she was going to suggest they head onup to his bedroom and try and get him to allow her to spend thenight.

The sex might happen,but as for her spending the night, he was going to nip that in thebud.

“Let’sorder takeout. I have to call and check in on my mother and sisteranyway.”

“Didn’tthey invite you over for dinner?”

“I managed toduck that by telling them I had some things to take care of.”

“I would loveto meet them.”

He gave her asurprised look. “You already did.”

“That was atthe charity where we were trying to raise money for the pediatricward. I am saying that I would have loved to meet them in a lessformal setting.”

He knew what she washinting at, and he would not play. Sela Rochester was very exactingand had a very rigid code of conduct. Cooper enjoyed women and wouldgo as far as to say that he loved them the way he loved and admired afantastic work of art objectively.

But he had never beenin love or felt the need to take one home to meet the family. He hadtoo much respect for his mother and sister to subject them to someonehe was having a casual fling with. He would never do that to them.

“Shall we?”Rising, he held out a hand to help her up, letting go before shecould start to cling. “Make yourself at home. I will order themeal and then call my family.”

They stepped into thelarge entryway of the loft, their footsteps leaving water marks onthe glossy black and white tiles. It was a relatively new building,part of the construction that had been put up only a year ago and wasowned by the pharmaceutical company.

He was a doctor anddetermined to save lives, but he would do it while taking advantageof his position as the heir to a fortune. The loft was ultra-modernand designed to his specifications, and downstairs boasted a large,functional kitchen in creamy shades of yellow and white.

The downstairs areawas open and spacious; the living room was decorated in light bluesand greens, with a large fireplace covering up one whole section.There was a fully equipped gym, a home office, a powder room, and atheater. Upstairs, there were three-bedroom suites with a wrap-aroundbalcony.

He had a maid whocame in twice a week to care for the domestic side. He could havecontinued living at the elegant townhouse with his mother and sisterbut had decided he needed his own space.

Making his way intohis office, he peeled off the damp shorts and dragged on a pair ofsweats he had brought downstairs earlier. “Mother.”

“Darling, Ithought you could have called a little earlier.”

“If you are inthe middle of something, I could always call back.”

“No, yoursister and I just reviewed the quarterly reports. We have a boardmeeting tomorrow, and you must be there.”

“What time?”

“Nine.”

He checked hisschedule with a grimace and knew he would be in for a battle. “Ihave surgery first thing in the morning.”

“You know therules, Cooper.” The cultured voice was implacable.

“Saving livestrumps sitting at a table surrounded by crusty old men and talkingabout restructuring the company, which will not happen. We have beenlobbying for the R&D department to have bigger accommodation forthem to do a better job than they are already doing, and this hasbeen going on for months.”

“Nevertheless,you are a Rochester, and the board needs to know that as part of thefamily that owns the majority shares in the company, we are on thesame page,” Sela told him firmly. “We do not require muchfrom you, darling, just that you turn up for these meetings.”

He looked up as Wendystepped into the doorway.

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