She rarely popped into Natalie’s life except to ask for a favor. Heaven knew what kind of fix she’d gotten herself into this time.
If only Patrick would bowl right into his office without noticing her! She wasn’t that lucky, however.
Hurrying toward them, Candy grabbed Natalie’s arm. “Sis, I’ve got to talk to you.” She stared at Patrick. “Who’s this? Are you a doctor?”
“Yes, I am,” he said.
“What kind?”
He blinked, a bit taken aback by her brashness. “A pediatrician.”
“Too bad,” she said. “Nat, I’ve absolutely got to have liposuction.”
“We can talk about this some other time.” Natalie squirmed. “Candy, I’m working.”
“I know that!” Her sister tightened her grip on Natalie’s arm. “I’ve got a shot at a swimsuit-modeling job next month. Have you tried on one of those new suits? Never mind, you’re only twenty-nine. Wait’ll you’re…thirty.” She’d just knocked three years off her age. “Now here’s what I want you to do.”
Patrick stood listening, making no move to go into his office. Judging by his expression, he was either shocked or fascinated by this strange creature.
Until now, Natalie had managed to avoid exposing him to her overbearing sister. Her luck had finally run out. She could only stand there and hope the racket downstairs would resume and be loud enough to drown Candy out.
ALTHOUGH HE’D WORKED with Nat for five years, Patrick hadn’t met any of her family until this past weekend. They were proving to be an interesting bunch.
“My insurance won’t cover liposuction and I can’t afford it on a night clerk’s salary,” Candy continued. “But you work at a medical center! You can find out how to fudge the paperwork so I can make the liposuction look like another kind of operation, something that’s covered.”
“That’s fraud,” Natalie said.
“Everybody does it,” scoffed her sister.
“Besides, the doctors at our clinics don’t perform liposuctions,” she said.
“Well, not Dr. Pedes here, obviously.” The woman pronounced it Peeds, as in Pediatrics. Patrick had to subdue a chuckle at being so casually dismissed, when most people treated physicians with excessive deference. “Maybe one of the doctors can perform some minor surgery on me and suck out the fat while he’s at it.”
“It doesn’t work that way,” Natalie said. “Candy, I’m not going to help you cheat your insurance company, and no ethical doctor would perform unnecessary surgery.”
“It is necessary! If I can’t get myself in shape in a hurry, I’m out of a career,” Candy protested, flinging back her long hair.
“How much does this operation cost?” Natalie asked.
“A couple of thousand dollars.”
“I’ll lend it to you,” she said. “But you’re paying me back in installments, starting next month.”
“All right.” Her sister made a face. “Although I think you’re being a chump. All you have to do is help and we could arrange this for free.”
“No.”
“It’s your money,” Candy said.
“On loan!”
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll let you know the exact amount when I get the surgery scheduled. Nice to meet you, Doc.”
“Nice meeting you, too,” Patrick said. Remembering how much work he had to do, he escaped to his office.
Before he closed the door, he heard Natalie’s sister say, “Hey, is that guy your boss?”
“Yes.”
“He’s got a great bod,” was the response.
Patrick thought he heard his secretary groan. He was more grateful than ever that his own ultra-dependable sister made his life easier, not more complicated.
Chapter Four
The second floor of the West Wing lay directly across the courtyard from the administration offices. From Heather Rourke’s waiting room, Natalie could see the outside of her own window.
It looked a million miles away.
She tried to read the novel she’d brought to pass the time while waiting for her appointment. It was no use. After skimming the same page three times without absorbing the contents, she gave up.
Her cheeks still burned as she remembered yesterday’s encounter with Candy. Her sister had been rude to Patrick and she’d proposed to cheat her insurance company.
Patrick hadn’t said anything critical, then or later, and Natalie knew he didn’t hold her responsible for her sister’s lack of ethics. But she hated to think that, when he learned about her deception, he might consider her and Candy to be two of a kind.
When she applied for the job, she’d known that her computer, typing, filing and front-office skills were all first rate. She’d taken secretarial classes and gained experience working for a temp agency.
The woman who handed her the application, however, had startled her by saying, “Dr. Grier insists on a certificate from a secretarial school. You do have one, don’t you?”
Instinctively Natalie had nodded. On the application, under “education,” she’d listed a certificate that, in fact, she hadn’t finished earning.
It had been a long time ago, and Patrick ought to understand. But he’d fired a lab technician for a similar offense.
“Nat? Is that you?” She looked up, startled, to see an old friend, Rita Lopez Beltran. “It’s been a long time!”
Rita’s husband, Sam, owned the car dealership where Natalie’s ex-husband, Ralph, had worked. The two women, near the same age, had gravitated to each other at company picnics. They still saw each other occasionally, since Rita’s sister, Loretta Lopez Arista, was the public-relations director for Doctors Circle.
“You look wonderful.” Natalie meant it wholeheartedly. Rita was glowing.
“I just found out I’m pregnant, and it’s thanks to Dr. Rourke!” gushed the dark-haired woman. “I’ve been wanting a baby for so long I’m floating on air.”
“Congratulations!”
“Please don’t tell my sister,” Rita added. “Loretta’s been trying to get pregnant even longer than I have, and I don’t want to upset her.”
“She’ll find out sooner or later,” Natalie pointed out.
“Maybe by then she’ll be pregnant herself,” Rita said.
“I hope so. I wish the best for you both.”
“How are you doing? Any word from Ralph?”
“He’s in Texas, working as a mechanic,” Natalie said. “Last month he sent a card and said he was thinking of me. I hope he’s not thinking too hard, because I don’t want to see him.”
“I don’t blame you, after the way he behaved. Well, I can’t wait to tell my husband the good news. Please remember not to say anything to my sister.”
“I promise,” Natalie said.
Shortly after Rita left, Heather’s nurse, Cynthia Hernandez, called Natalie’s name. The young woman proceeded to weigh her and take her temperature. She had a distracted air. There were dark circles under her eyes and a strand of her tied-back