Page 133 of Toxic Salvation
“I can neither confirm nor deny.” He chuckles under his breath, then gets serious. “You sound tense. Is something wrong?”
The fact that he can sense that over the phone is amazing. And very inconvenient. For a moment, I consider telling him about the mysterious stranger sniffing around stairwells and asking for me. But that’s likely just going to freak him out and screw up the rest of my day at the hospital.
“The board is refusing to hire the replacement I’ve picked for my maternity leave.” I lower my voice. “Not enough funds in the budget, apparently.”
“Richard said that?”
“I’m with him now.”
“Tell him that he’ll have enough funds in the budget by tomorrow. Pick the doctor you want and I’ll have him make an offer immediately.”
“Seriously?” My jaw drops.
“I want you to enjoy your maternity leave,” says Kovan. “You’re not going to be able to do that if you’re constantly worried about your patients.”
I can’t believe him. “You’re amazing.”
“Does that mean I’m allowed to get up now?”
I smirk. “Fine… but no more shootouts, please.”
“I’ll do my best.”
I hang up and turn back to Richard, who’s watching me with obvious curiosity and what looks like nervousness.
“Good news, Mr. Lovell. It seems the budget issue has been resolved. You’ll have the funds to hire either Dr. Patton or Dr. Walters by tomorrow.”
His face turns white. “I… How is that possible?”
“Does it matter? What matters is that my patients will have the best possible care while I’m on leave.” I can’t lie—I’m kind of enjoying his discomfort, though I worry that it makes me a bad person. “I’d like you to reach out to both candidates today. Offer them whatever it takes to secure one of them.”
“Of course. Absolutely. Whatever you need.”
I stand up, smoothing my white coat. “Excellent. I knew we’d understand each other.”
As I walk toward the door, Richard clears his throat. “Mrs. Kr— Er, Dr. Fairfax?”
I turn back. “Yes?”
“Please give my regards to Mr. Krayev.”
“I’ll be sure to do that.” I step out of his office feeling victorious.
Nikolai looks at my satisfied expression and raises an eyebrow. “Good meeting?”
“The best.” I start walking toward the elevator. “Come on. Let’s go home. I have some celebrating to do.”
“What are we celebrating?”
“The fact that my boyfriend just proved why I fell in love with him in the first place.”
Nikolai grins. “He’s good at that, isn’t he?”
“The best,” I repeat, already planning how I’m going to thank Kovan for making my life easier. Again.
Some days, being Mrs. Krayev doesn’t sound so bad after all.
45
