Page 70 of Sinful in Scrubs

“I want the two of you on this project. Will you be able to coordinate with her and get it done?”

“I can do that,” I said as I left his office and headed down toward the emergency department. I paused in the hallway and sent Emma a text. I wasn’t sure if it would go through or if I was going to be blocked. I hadn’t attempted to text her since I knew she was back in New York.

As I stood there waiting for her to respond, I realized I might be a little too eager for my own good. The message I sent was still unread, and I reminded myself to check on it later. I tucked my phone away. I needed to give James an opportunity to reach out to her before I did since it wasn’t my place to let her know she might have a job at Manhattan Memorial again.

It wasn’t until later that afternoon that my watch buzzed and a message flashed. I let out a heavy breath. It was Emma, and it said,We need to talk.

With a quick flick, I quickly tapped out a response, inviting her to lunch.

Lunch? My place?I typed.

When?She responded.

My instinct was to say tonight, but I needed to give the kids a bit more of a heads-up before having her arrive. While Jason would be thrilled to see her, I needed to be respectful of my daughter’s feelings and make sure that Lily had adequate time to mentally prepare herself.

Saturday?I typed out.

Will Lily be around? She does not like me.

Lily will be around. But I promise she will behave. We’ve been in therapy.

You too, or just her?Emma asked.

Both, together and separately. She’s making a lot of headway. We both are, I admitted.

Okay, I’ll be there. I look forward to it.

Bring notepaper. We have some work to do.

Work?she asked.

This is a working lunch. Hasn’t James called you yet?

No, but I guess that’s something I need to look forward to.

I groaned as I realized I had just done exactly what I had told myself I wouldn’t do. It wasn’t my place to let her know about the job.But it’s too late now, I guess. I decided to go ahead and fill her in the rest of the way.

Can I call?I texted.

My phone rang immediately. It was her.

“What do you know that I don’t?” she asked as soon as I said her name. She sounded eager and excited.

“I had expected James to have reached out by now. So, I do apologize for jumping ahead here,” I said. “I can’t say exactly what he’s going to call about, but he did ask for me to coordinate with you regarding pulling together a proposal and presentation regarding what you pulled off last night.”

“Last night? All I did was keep everything moving.”

“Exactly. You kept the ER flowing smoothly during a very difficult time. We need to take what you did and distill it down into the actions and thought processes that made everything work,” I explained.

“But it was…” she started and then just stopped talking for a moment. “It was automatic.”

I nodded and hummed. Automatic. Of course something as intricate and complex as juggling so many patients in an intense crisis would come naturally to a woman like Emma.

“I guess we have our work cut out for us. Be prepared to stay through dinner,” I said.

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EMMA

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