Page 23 of Hearts on the Table
Lainey glanced at me. “Really?”
“Really. No wonder Cedar poached him. You know Northwestern recruited himhard.” Lainey looked impressed. As impressed as someone could be when they, themselves, had been heavily recruited by literally every hospital in the country before she’d finished med school. Blake continued laying it on thick. “Are you going to his lecture tomorrow?”
“You’re doing a lecture?” She turned to face me. I hailed a passing server with a tray of water.
“Oh, yeah. ERCA holds a standing spot for him on the conference agenda. What is this, the fourth year you’ve done the interactive overview?”
“Hmm.” I nudged the water towards Lainey. “Want something stronger?”
Before she could answer, a frazzled-looking woman in an aggressively slick bun squeezed through the crowd and shoved a glass of wine into Lainey’s hand. “Sorry, I lost you back there. I noticed your glass was empty, so I went to get a new one, but they stopped serving champagne at six, so I tried to track some more down and—”
“Oh my gosh, Jessica, you didn’t have to do that! That’s so sweet. This is perfectly fine. Why don’t you take the rest of the night and enjoy yourself? You don’t have to wait on us hand and foot, you know.” Lainey squeezed the woman’s arm. Despite her attempts to soothe, a hectic air clung to the woman. “Blake, Sam, this is Jessica. My mother’s assistant. She keeps all our trains running. We’d be lost without her.”
“Well, thank you. I appreciate that. Especially when I’m trying to—” Her gaze sharpened, honing in on Blake and me. Suddenly, that frazzled energy turned focused. Hawk-like. “Where are you two sitting? For dinner.”
“Uh—” Blake started, checking around the ballroom for the tables currently being set for dinner.
“The McCrareys’ flight was delayed, so we have three open seats at our table, right up front. If we don’t fill it, it’ll be a disaster.” Jessica grabbed onto Lainey’s arm, imploring. “Do you know these people? Do they want to sit with you?”
“Want an upgrade, fellas?” Lainey glanced at us, laughter shining in her eyes. As we agreed, easing some of the tension from poor Jessica’s shoulders, Cooper edged his way around her to stand by Lainey.
“There you are. I need friendly faces. Everyone here only wants to talk about AI diagnostics and that last transplant I did.”
Jessica clicked her fingers. “Dr. Cooper. Perfect. You’re number three. Problem solved.”
She gave Lainey a smile, then whirled back into the crowd.
“I…what?” Cooper stared after her, bewildered.
“You’re sitting with us now. Primo seats. Front row.” Lainey patted his arm.
“Sweet.” They smiled at each other, then looked away at the same time. Cooper to survey the crowd around us and Lainey to glance up at me. I tried my hardest not to over analyze if they were standing too closely, or if that smile had been a little too friendly.
“Tell me about your session tomorrow.” Lainey leaned closer so I could hear her. The soft fabric of her dress dragged against my pants. Before I could respond, someone else popped out of the crowd.
“Lainey? Hi.” The woman was short by most standards. About an inch taller than Lainey. Blonde. She wore a soft smile on her face and a gauzy pink dress that hugged a small, unmistakable baby bump. Nothing about her seemed off or wrong, but Lainey’s spine stiffened as if the woman held a gun to her head.
A man walked over, putting his arm around the blonde woman’s shoulders. “Lainey, hey. Long time, no see. How you been?”
His smile didn’t quite meet his eyes. Lainey tensed even more, if that was possible. Her eyes widened a fraction before all expression left her face completely. “Excuse me,” she murmured, then walked away. I watched as she wove her way through the crowd.
The man cleared his throat, smiling at us without watching her leave. “Nathan McDaniels. It’s nice to meet you, Dr. Cooper. And Dr. Reese. I was hoping our paths would cross tonight. Word has it you have a few attending positions opening up.”
I tracked Lainey’s progress through the crowd and out the door. Her wine sat abandoned in front of me. Where was that glittering smile and charisma? The blonde was still watching her, too, looking at the door long after Lainey had disappeared through it. The man rubbed her arm. Her husband, I assumed, since they were both wearing rings.
“How do you know Dr. Carmichael?” I interjected, as the man was listing out some credential or other at Cooper. He paused, face tightening for just a second.
“We, ah, used to go to school with Lainey. At UT.” His smile looked more like a grimace. “I was always jealous she ended up here. My grandfather was head of surgery, back in the day. It was always my goal to end up at Cedar, too.”
Nathan’s name tag listed him working at Houston Presbyterian. So did the blonde’s—Kate McDaniels. The same institution Lainey had matched with before she’d ended up here for her residency. He was prattling on about something to Cooper, only marginally attempting to include Blake in the discussion.
“Anyway, I’m glad I got a chance to introduce myself. When those resumes come in, I’d appreciate it if you’d keep an eyeout for mine.” He flashed a winning smile at us. He was average height and blandly handsome in that way people looked when they had some money: Styled hair and good skin.
“We have two very talented fellows who will also submit their names for the job.” My statement sounded like a warning when it left my mouth. And maybe it was. I wasn’t sure. All I knew was I didn’t like the way Lainey had reacted to these people. I didn’t want this guy anywhere near her.
“Um, yes, obviously,” Mr. Average stuttered, grimacing with another smile. “I know Lainey is exceptiona—”
“Dr. Carmichael,”I interrupted, unable to help myself. Hearing this stranger say Lainey’s name like he knew her…it didn’t sit right.
