Ally felt a stir of dismay. Carefully, she answered each question and then followed with one of her own. “Of course. No, I don’t. And what about the flight?”
“Specifically, I’m here to talk about how your new position as hospital liaison affects me and the patients I transport, as per my business arrangement with the hospital.”
“I see.”
“Do you?”
“This is about the clay?”
“Partially. Not entirely. I have more than one issue.”
Oh, good, she thought wryly. She was about to get grief from the pilot, too. Who was next? The charge nurse hadn’t accosted her yet. But it was early, not even lunchtime. Patiently she waited for him to continue.
“If we’re going to work together I think we need to establish some ground rules.”
“I agree.”
He got right to it. “I don’t have issues with alternative medicine per se—herbal, Ayurvedic, naturopathic, homeopathic, acupuncture, Reiki or any other type of traditional remedy, for that matter, is fine with me. I don’t care or interfere with what people believe or how they choose to treat their medical conditions. What I do have a problem with is when it directly affects my job, and more specifically, my ability to save a life.”
“And you feel like my use of medicinal clay falls into the latter category?”
“I do.”
“Please keep in mind that yesterday I was treating a family member in an emergency situation. I wasn’t on the job.”
“I understand that, which is why I’m here instead of in Dr. Boyd’s office.” He shrugged a shoulder. “Even though I do not understand why you would purposely put your cousin in danger.”
“Obviously, I don’t see it that way.”
“Obviously. You can see it any way you choose. But for the duration of time that we’ll be working together I need you to do it my way. My way is the right way.”
“Noted,” she replied calmly. “My turn.”
“What?”
Ally almost laughed at his look of utter confusion. “You said we were establishing ground rules. You gave me yours. If this works the way I think it does, then it’s my turn to outline my rules?”
Narrowing his gaze, he studied her like he was puzzling out this detail. His eyes burned into hers, and she couldn’t tell if they were green or brown. Inexplicably, the back of her neck began to tingle.
“Do you want to have a seat?” she asked, partially to stop his perusal, partially to bring him closer to her eye level. If Dr. Boyd hadn’t intimidated her, there was no reason this guy should. But it might be easier to manage if he wasn’t hovering over her.
“Fine.” Moving closer, he lowered his tall frame into the seat across from her.
Better, she thought, meeting his gaze head-on. Except now he seemed really...close.
Gathering her thoughts, she said, “When I’m out on a call and acting as the paramedic on behalf of Rankins Hospital my word is final. My way is the right way. I also have some ideas on how you can improve your efficiency. It took you too long to take off after you landed at the lake.”
He scoffed. “Are you kidding me? The only thing holding up my takeoff was you chatting with Jessie while I waited for you by the plane.”
Hands folded neatly on the desk in front of her, she went on. “I disagree. It took three minutes for you to get inside the plane and settled after I’d already boarded, and your dissension took at least another minute. Had you already been on board, we would have landed approximately five minutes sooner. I don’t think I need to remind you how vital five minutes can be in an emergency medical situation.”
Ally waited for him to respond, steeling herself for whatever came next. He didn’t look angry or upset, though. In fact, he was completely still. Too still?
“Hmm. You know what? Coming here might not have been the best idea, after all. Because I don’t need professional advice from someone who was still in grade school while I was getting my EMS certification.”
* * *
TAG WISHED HE could take the words back before they were even out of his mouth. A flicker of something was there and gone from her face faster than the beat of a swallow’s wing. Disgust maybe? Which he might deserve. Bering was right. Normally, Tag was the easygoing, slow to boil, diplomatic one.
Admittedly, he’d come here geared up for a possibly unpleasant conversation, but a professional one. Ally Mowak didn’t seem to have any problem maintaining a professional tone, whereas he’d just blown it. Her expression remained as unreadable as a slab of granite, and he couldn’t help but think he’d disappointed her in some profound way. Or maybe that was his own disappointment nibbling at him.
When she didn’t speak, he let out a sigh and tried backtracking, “What I was trying to say is that I don’t need anyone to advise me on how to do my job, Ms. Mowak. I’ve been at this a very long time.”
“Ally,” she said. “Please call me Ally. And the same goes for me.” Shrugging a shoulder, she continued in that same serene, not-quite-condescending way that he was fast learning was how she spoke. “But isn’t that what you’re really doing here now? Telling me how to do my job?”
“Uh, no.” He resisted the urge to scratch his itchy scalp because he sort of was, wasn’t he? He hadn’t meant to, not exactly. “That wasn’t my intention, anyway.”
“Did you or did you not see a woman who you interpreted as too young for this job and then decided that you’d teach her a thing or two? You, with your wisdom honed from years of experience, would come to the aid of an inexperienced, newbie female colleague?”
“No!” That he was not doing. “Nope. No way. Don’t even try that on me.”
“Don’t try what on you?”
“There’s no misogyny or ageism or sexism or racism or any other ‘ism’ going on here. I have four sisters and a boatload of female cousins, all of whom are younger than me. Each one is equally as smart and capable as I am, more so in many, many ways. This isn’t about any of that. This is about your workplace attitude, your approach and your lack of respect. After your behavior yesterday, I would have come in here today if you were an eighty-six-year-old man wearing a honey badger suit.”
One side of her mouth twitched. Only slightly, and he probably would have missed the movement if he wasn’t so intent on watching her, marveling at her composure.
“I don’t see how my attitude plays into this. My approach was honed through four years of military service, a civilian EMS-P certification, and a decade and a half of studying and practicing under the tutelage of a renowned medical expert. And as far as respect goes, I subscribe to the ‘respect is something you earn’ school of thought. And you being here right now and complaining about nonissues isn’t helping on that front.”
“Your résumé already got you this job, Ms. Mowak. You don’t need to recite it for me, and the fact that you are speaks to your insecurity, which I’m guessing has something to do with your attitude. Your approach is my concern because I have to work with you. And the respect I’m talking about is the respect you should innately have toward a fellow medical professional whose job and reputation you put on the line because you chose to smear mud all over a patient.”
“It’s clay.” Her tone was flat, but her shapely black brows arched higher and Tag had no idea what that look was supposed to convey.
Waving a hand, he said, “Whatever. Since we’re sharing our qualifications, I am going to give you a piece of advice based on my eighteen years of experience as an EMS-P, my fifteen years as a volunteer firefighter, and a lifetime