Page 52 of Doctor Charmer

She makes a slicing motion with the butter knife across the paper place mats advertising everything from a car wash to doggie day care. She stabs the blunt end of the knife into the ad for the funeral home. “Will it hurt him?”

I nod. “In the worst possible way.”

“What do I have to do?”

She lowers the knife, but she’s still on edge. She’s vulnerable, and I need to address her earlier concern. She must know I’m not using her. That another man isn’t manipulating her for their own gain. “If we do this, it’s for you. It’s what you want to do. I only want you to tell the truth. Nothing more.”

“About…” She puts the pieces together. “Me and Dr. Harriman?”

I nod. “Do you have proof of the relationship? You know he’s going to deny it.”

She reaches for her phone and begins to swipe. I raise both my hands, palms facing her. “I don’t need to see them. Any of them.”

She snickers, and I relax, happy to see a glimpse of her personality shine through. “Dr. Morgan, it’s just PG pictures of us in robes at the Four Seasons. Some others I’ve captured of him sleeping.”

“I thought for a second…”

She smirks at me. “Oh, I have those too, but no one but me and my late-night libido gets to see those.” She flips her phone face down, crosses her arms, and shoots another glare across the diner. “What’s the next step?”

Forearms to the tabletop, I lean forward. “I need you to amend the HR attestation. I need you to tell the truth. Divulge that you and Dr. Harriman are in a relationship. Sign it and submit it.”

She gives me a look of confusion. “Are you serious? No one reads those.”

I already know the answer, but I ask anyway. “Is that what he told you?”

A slow realization sweeps across her face. “He told me I worried too much. Sign it and nothing would happen. So, I did. And he was right. Nothing. It’s been over a year. Two years even.”

“HR does read them, and if you were found in noncompliance, they would take action. It could lead to a suspension or dismissal.”

“So you say.” Her eyes scan me up and down, confusion on her face. She’s assessing me, trying to figure out what I get out of this. She’s gun-shy. She should be. “Say I do this. Say I disclose this very embarrassing news to HR and sign the forms. Nothing is going to happen. Especially not to him. Even if they investigate, they’ll quickly find out that the relationship dates back three years. That I lied each of the prior two years. I’ll still be the one disciplined.”

I shake my head. “No, you won’t.” My gaze lifts toward Ivy. She’s put some distance between herself and Dr. Harriman. He’s tapping out a text on his phone, and she’s holding up the menu in front of her but looking in my direction with a quirk of her brow.What the hell is taking so long? This man is vile.

I pump a hand in her direction.We’re almost there.

“You work in the testing lab but are mapped to perform expedited work for the ER.”

She nods. “Yeah, you changed my role when you restructured the department after you came back from overseas. Something about that’s how they do it in Europe or something.” They don’t, but I don’t correct her.

“Because of the restructuring, for the purposes of HR, you report to me. As the department head, all the attestations come to me for submission to HR. I don’t have access to the contents of the documents—they are restricted and encrypted—but as department head, I must certify that I’ve collected it from all my direct reports and submit them in batch. I’ve not done that this year. Nor last year. Or the year prior.”

“Three years. Wait, is that why you were suspended?”

“Like I said, HR is taking things seriously.”

She reaches for me, her hand landing on top of my hand. “You got suspended for me?”

The final piece clicks into place. “That wasn’t the plan. I was hoping you’d see him for who he was and revise your paperwork on your own.”

“Damn, all this time, you’ve been…”

“Protecting you. That’s what I do for my people. And you are one of my people.”

She presses her hands to her heart.Thank you, she slowly mouths before wiping her face with the diner napkin. She takes a deep inhale and lifts her gaze. “He claims to have powerfulfriends. Has threatened to get me fired on more than one occasion.”

“He signed the paperwork. He’s submitted his three times. He won’t be able to explain that away. No one in the hospital will stick their neck out for him, not when the evidence is so clear. Not for what he’s accused of doing.”

“This will destroy him. His reputation is everything.” She doesn’t tell me anything I don’t already know.

---