Page 43 of The Chance

When in the hell had that happened? He… cared about her. Really cared about her.

But was it love? How in the hell was a man supposed to know? Maybe he needed to ask Fields for some pointers. “What would you say if I told you that I did?”

Her eyes widened and her mouth parted. Just a little. Justin leaned in, and kissed her. Just to see what she would do. Her fingers tightened on his shoulders and she pulled closer.

“I’d say you were… off your rocker a little bit.” But her words were soft. “I thought we were just playing around here, Justin. I’m not sure I’m ready for more than that.”

“Maybe you should take a fucking chance? Rather than just sneaking around this place, for the excitement of it. Tell me, what do you want from the rest of your life? You’re what, thirty now?”

“Twenty-eight, asshole.”

“You going to go around being the mean girl bitch of Barratt County forever? What if you had something else to occupy your time?” What in the hell was he thinking here? That the two of them would ride off into the sunset, have a couple of kids together, and live happily ever after?

Not fucking likely.

Still… was there a softer woman side in her? Somewhere?

“Maybe. If the right guy came along, and could give me what I want. I like working at BCGH. I wouldn’t want to do anything boring like be a stay-at-home mom or anything. And why should Aubrey Fisher and Genny Hiller get the fairytale life instead of me?”

“Good question. Aubrey is going to become a problem.” Justin had told Mandy about the inconsistencies in his department before. And his suspicions about Dale, even if Dale worked in Internal Medicine—with Mandy. He should have turned Dale in to the COM. That he hadn’t… Justin was going to face consequences for that eventually. It was just a matter of time.

He didn’t want Mandy anywhere near that shit. They weren’t officially dating or anything but hell… in this moment it sure felt like it. He didn’t want her near Dale for even a moment. But she worked in his department every damned day.

Justin didn’t like that at all.

“Detective Aubrey on the investigation. That woman pisses me off completely.”

Of course, Aubrey did. Underneath Mandy’s vicious exterior was the little girl whose father would berate her and slap her around over every little mistake. It had made her a bit foul toward other women who had what Mandy thought should have been hers.

But he saw through that now.

He saw Mandy for who she really was.

34

Howard’s mouthtwisted into a bitter smile. “Don’t play dumb. You’ve been digging through reports, asking questions, pulling strings. You’re the one who pointed him in my direction. The only one it could have been. Everything was going just fine until you hired on as Caine Alvaro’s favorite piece of ass on the side.”

Would the entire hospital just stopsayingthat? She’d never even been alone with Caine outside of a professional setting.

“It’s my job to oversee compliance with drug regulations and with Carrington’s,” she said. “If you’ve been following the rules, you don’t have anything to worry about.”

“You think this is about rules? You’re trying to ruin me. You’ve been trying since the day you walked into this position. To destroy everything I’ve built here.”

“That’s not true,” she said, her voice firm. “I’m just doing my job.”

She glanced past him toward the security camera mounted near the corner. It was aimed in their direction, its small red light blinking steadily. The sight calmed her slightly. She wasn’t alone. Someone would see this. She really hoped someone would see this.

“I think we’re done here. You can voice your concerns with the Laughlins yourself. Or with Jordan or Dathan Carrington. Or Dr. Alvaro. I am just acting on their orders.”

“Sure you are. I know you’ve been watching me. Constantly. Watching, and planning to ruin everything. You have been since the moment you stole the assistant COM job from me.”

“I haven’t actually watched you at all. Your name didn’t even come up as problematic with the audits. Like I said, if there is a problem with the investigation by Thor Laughlin, you should discuss it with him directly. I have only met that man twice. Tennison is the one helping with the audits. Again, I have places to be shortly. People are waiting for me now. If you’ll excuse me…”

She shifted slightly, her back brushing against the wall. When had he moved so close? Aubrey pulled in a sharp breath. Slowly, she pulled the phone free and unlocked the screen. She typed quickly.

In hallway outside my office. Come now. I need you. Howard.

Howard’s gaze flicked to her hand. She kept her expression calm, her movements steady. Guthrie was in the hospital. If she sent the message, he’d come. She knew he would.

---