Ruby frowned. ‘I’m not sure. I was looking forward to hearing how things had gone at the surgery, but when she didn’t come back, I started to worry. Something must have gone wrong…but maybe I should have expected that. She’s definitely not herself these days. She’s not been well for quite some time, and I’ve been trying to persuade her for ages to go for some tests so that we can find out exactly what’s wrong. I suspect it’s a hormonal problem, with her body chemistry being out of synch ever since Becky was born, but she wouldn’t let me do anything to help. I was so pleased when I finally managed to get her to agree to go and talk to our GP.’
The SHOs nodded. ‘But something obviously didn’t go to plan?’ Olivia pointed out some available seats and they went to take their places.
Ruby shook her head. ‘I rang the surgery to see if she’d turned up there, and apparently she did, but then she didn’t wait for her appointment. I’ve absolutely no idea where she might be. I’ve tried ringing her, but she’s not answering her phone. Anything could have happened. She’s just not thinking clearly these days. I dare say I’ll find out later what went wrong.’
‘I’m glad you made it in the end, anyway,’ James murmured. ‘You of all people should be able to make the bosses see sense here. The way things are going, they’ll walk roughshod over all of us. How on earth do they expect us to give a viable service to the local area if they plan to get rid of staff and close units?’
‘I think that’s the least of their worries.’ Ruby set the baby down on the floor and glanced around as people began to troop back into the room. ‘What about the new boss, anyway? What’s he like? Has he not managed to come up with any reasonable suggestions?’
‘You have to be kidding.’ Olivia gave a short, humourless laugh. ‘He may well be an A&E doctor, but he’s management through and through, and reasonable isn’t in their vocabulary. No one seems to be paying any attention to what the people at the sharp end, those who actually have to do all the work, have to say.’
‘We’ll just have to do what we can to make them see sense.’ Ruby moved restlessly in her seat, then ran a hand through the length of her burnished hair, lifting it away from her nape to let a cool waft of air fan her heated skin. ‘It’s so warm in here,’ she commented, ‘with all that sunshine pouring in through the windows.’
She reached into the large linen bag she had brought with her and fished out the printed programme for the meeting. ‘Maybe this will do the trick.’ She leaned back in her seat and began to fan herself lightly with the paper.
‘Oh, that’s so much better.’ She murmured her appreciation of the cool drift of air just as she became aware of a stillness settling in the room. Glancing around, she saw that most of the board members had taken their places on the dais, while one seat remained empty.
A man came through a side door just then and strode purposefully across the back of the room. He turned into the corridor between the mass of seats, passing her just at the moment when she tilted her head back and lightly blew the tendrils of hair away from her brow. Becky gurgled contentedly, and he glanced briefly in their direction.
Ruby’s eyes widened, her senses responding to his presence with a faint frisson of dismay. His tall, lean figure was instantly familiar to her. He had that coolly confident air of a man who was in command of all he surveyed, the measured look of a man who was in control at all times. It was that suit that said it all, along with his authoritative demeanour, the assured way that he moved without faltering towards his goal.
His dark brows made an infinitesimal upward lift as he looked her over, and his expression showed…what was it…? Disbelief…recognition…along with a soupcon of amusement. There was definitely an element of wry humour in that glance, cleverly disguised so as not to be obvious, but it was there, all the same, in the faint twist at the corner of his mouth and in the dancing gleam in his blue-grey eyes.
Ruby stared at him, following his progress as he walked along the aisle and sprang up the steps to the dais with lithe ease. He took his seat at the table alongside the board members.
She frowned, dark brows meeting in her normally unfurrowed brow. Surely he wasn’t her new boss? A sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach told her that he most likely was.
She pushed the programme down into the linen bag. The action served at least to release some of the tension that had sprung up inside her and gave her time to think. Had she really told him that she was ready to do battle? Surely the means to winning any dispute lay in keeping an element of surprise to confound the enemy? And yet she had inadvertently given the game away. He must know that she was out to stop him. Had she cooked her goose already? She had the horrible feeling it was well and truly burnt, and he was going to be the man to carve it up.
‘Shall we make a start, ladies and gentlemen?’ The chairman rose and addressed the assembled crowd. ‘I hope that you’ve had time to calm yourselves and approach this situation in a clearthinking manner. We’re all going through difficult times, and I think we all know that none of our problems are going to be easily resolved. Even so…’ he turned towards the man who had come to her aid ‘…I have to say, I believe my colleague, Sam Boyd, is the person who will help us steer our way through choppy waters. Dr Boyd, would you care to address the meeting once more?’
‘Thank you, I would.’ Sam Boyd stood up and looked confidently around at the sea of faces before him. ‘I’m aware of how strongly feelings are running on this issue,’ he began, his deep voice flowing over them as smooth as silk. ‘I know that the measures we have to put in place will not sit easily with many of you. No one wants to see units closed down and services reduced.’
He let his gaze roam freely, as though he was addressing each person individually, and for a second or two his glance touched on Ruby. Her jaw lifted, letting him know that she would not be sweet-talked. He might have helped her out a short time ago, but this was business, and he was the enemy.
‘That’s why we’re here today,’ he went on, ‘to discuss the best way to deal with the problem. As you know, the trust is saddled with huge debts, and savings have to be made wherever possible…even at the cost of people’s jobs.’ He paused momentarily to let that sink in. Then he added, ‘This is your chance to put forward your opinions and suggestions. We want to know what you feel about the choices ahead of you.’
The room was silent as the doctors and nurses slowly absorbed what he was saying, and Becky chose that moment to blow a clear and succinct raspberry, followed by a gurgle of excitement as she discovered one of the plastic keys of her teething ring. More raspberries followed.
Sam Boyd appeared to be taken aback for a moment or two. Then his brows rose, and he said on a faintly humorous note, ‘Well, that wasn’t quite the response I was expecting, but I suppose it’s a start, at least.’
A general titter of amusement spread around the room. Embarrassed to be at the centre of attention, Ruby decided that attack was the best form of defence. She stood up and glanced around.
‘My apologies for the interruption,’ she said. ‘I’m Dr Ruby Martyn. As you’ve probably gathered, I’m having domestic problems at the moment, which means that I have had to bring the baby with me today. I know that on occasion allowances are made for such situations. I do hope that won’t be a problem for anybody here, but I was keen to attend this meeting.’ She glanced at Becky before adding, ‘As you can see, she’s not afraid to air her opinions.’ She hesitated, allowing time for the audience to settle.
‘I have to say, though, I entirely agree with Becky’s sentiments on the subject of staff reductions. You cannot remove key personnel and expect things to go on as normal. The doctors and nurses who work here are the lynchpins of this organisation. They are the ones who keep the system going, and reducing numbers will only result in stressed, overworked staff members. The end result will be to bring down morale even further than it has fallen already.’
Sam shook his head. ‘The alternative will be to close units down altogether. Is that what