Page 74 of Seduction
“Dr. Baker,” Deb said from behind me.
“Dr. Sparrow’s looking for Penina.”
“Sorry, can’t tell you,” Deb said, passing through the area like a streak of lightning.
I ran to catch up to her.
“Dr. Sparrow, why do you need Dr. Ross? If it’s a resident you want, then…”
“No,” I said and trotted ahead of her.
I walked backward, and she continued to walk forward until she stopped in her tracks.
“I want Penina.”
“Penina?” Her tone indicated that she had detected the personal way in which I’d said Penina’s name.
“Yes. Please tell me where she is.”
Deb straightened her posture. “You know, you are very self-important, Dr. Sparrow. You act like you own the place.”
I scratched my ear, fighting the urge to tell her that I did own the place, which meant that she had better start singing about where I could find the woman that I fucking loved or else. However, Deb was not the sort of employee a smart business owner pissed off. Without her, the internship and residency program would’ve crumbled a long time ago.
So I took a step back and steepled my fingers in front of my mouth. “I’m sorry you feel that way, Deb.”
She tilted her head, studying me. “Are you?” She obviously wanted to fight. Perhaps she had some pent-up frustration with me.
“Yes. I am.”
“She is in Tampa. Why?” I asked.
“You know she’s in Tampa?”
“Zara told me.”
Her lips twitched as if she’d stopped herself from saying something. “What’s going on between the two of you?”
I swallowed. I had a split second to make a decision. Revealing our relationship to Deb was different from telling Zara. One was her friend, and the other was her boss. Penina would’ve liked to choose how she was going to break the news of our relationship to Deb. I wanted to sniff at that, though, since at the moment, I wasn’t sure we were still in a relationship.
“Nothing,” I said.Fuck.I wanted to tell her the truth. “Personal. Nothing personal. We share a patient, and I think she’d want to hear an update.”
“What patient?”
“Leonard Moreau,” I answered just as fast as she asked.
“Well…” Deb heaved a sigh. “She’ll be back on Saturday, maybe.” She shook her head. “I’m sorry, Dr. Sparrow, but I made her a promise.”
I nodded. At least I knew Penina was not hurt. “Then an emergency came up?”
“Yes, sir,” she said.
I took in a deep breath, bowed graciously, and said, “Thank you.”
Deb narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “You’re welcome,” she said then tore down the hallway to do whatever she had set out to do before I got in her way.
I would have to wait until Penina’s flight landed in New Orleans. I scratched my head, thinking of my next move. She must’ve booked a round-trip flight. Deb had said she was returning to work on Saturday, which meant she was flying in sometime tomorrow on Freedom Airlines. I only had two morning surgeries for the next day. I would send Kirk to the airport just in case her flight arrived while I was in the OR. When I was out, and possibly while she was in the air, I would have him pick me up and take me to the airport, and I would wait for as long as necessary to meet her on the ground.
