‘Next time I would like to be kept in the loop,’ Rob barked at her. ‘I expect to have my orders followed. Is that understood?’
I was following orders, Ellie felt like saying. You hadn’t indicated that James wasn’t to discharge your patients. She knew the appropriate discharge procedures had been followed. ‘Yes, Dr Coleman,’ she replied, hoping he’d go away and leave her alone if she didn’t argue. She couldn’t believe he was treating her this way but she was powerless to prevent his verbal lashing and he knew it. Her meek and mild attitude had the desired effect. With one final glare in her direction Rob stormed from the ward.
‘Boy, you’re in his bad books today. I’ve never seen him that irritated.’ Sarah, a first-year nursing graduate, who had been keeping her head down throughout Rob’s tirade, spoke up the moment he left. ‘What have you done to upset him?’
Ellie blinked back tears. She wasn’t going to let him get to her. She knew exactly what she’d done to annoy him. She’d gone against his wishes and she knew Rob was annoyed over her refusal to continue their relationship but she couldn’t believe he was choosing to take it out on her in this fashion. He had no cause to query her work performance; she was good at her job and she took pride in that. She knew what the problem was but there was nothing she could say, or do, that wouldn’t put her in the spotlight. She couldn’t tell anyone else why he was treating her this way. So she shrugged.
‘Maybe he just got out of the wrong side of the bed,’ she proposed.
‘I see his mood hasn’t improved at all.’
Ellie looked up from her paperwork at the sound of James’s voice. How long had he been standing there, she wondered and what had he heard? She was only just feeling brave enough to face him after seeing him at the beach on the weekend and now he’d witnessed her latest embarrassing moment. She was ready to crawl under the desk at the thought that he’d heard that exchange with Rob.
‘Any idea what that was all about?’ he asked.
He was watching her with his chocolate gaze, seemingly oblivious to her discomfort.
‘He was annoyed because George Poni has been discharged without his say-so,’ Ellie told him.
James frowned, a crease marring his smooth olive forehead. ‘I wonder why he didn’t say anything to me about that.’
Ellie shrugged. ‘Maybe I’m an easier target.’ There was no reason for anyone to think that Rob’s earlier behaviour was related to her in any way, shape or form, especially not if she appeared unfazed.
‘He was biting people’s heads off in Theatre too this morning so unless you did something to upset him before that I think you’re off the hook,’ James said.
And then he smiled at her, a wide smile that brought those lovely creases to the corners of his dark eyes. Instantly Ellie felt her confidence restored, just his presence helped to soothe her frazzled nerves and his smile almost completely eradicated all thoughts of Rob’s tirade from her mind. That hum of electricity she could feel when he was present made everything else recede. Harsh words, colleagues, nothing else seemed to matter so much and once again Ellie had to force herself to concentrate on the tasks at hand.
She breathed a sigh of relief. ‘So it’s not just me, then.’ She paused briefly and mentally crossed her fingers before asking, ‘He didn’t explain why he was so cross?’
‘Are you kidding? He’s an orthopaedic surgeon, he doesn’t have to explain himself to anyone!’
Ellie closed the file she’d been working on and looked up at him. There were two bright spots of colour on her cheeks and her blue eyes were glistening but the panicked look he’d seen there a moment before had vanished. Her earlier nervous expression had been replaced by a smile as she laughed at his flippant comment.
‘Are you here on a social call or is there someone you want to see?’ she asked.
As she spoke her blonde hair bounced around her shoulders, catching the light and distracting him. Why had he come to the ward? He struggled to recall what he was doing there. ‘I’m here to see Mavis Williams. I was paged, something about her temperature?’
Ellie nodded. ‘Yep. Let me grab her file and I’ll come with you.’
She collected the case notes and led the way and he trailed a couple of steps behind, enjoying the way her hips moved as she stepped out in front. She was a petite woman, several inches shorter than him but perfectly proportioned. Her waist was tiny, her hips narrow but they swayed enticingly.
She’d intrigued him since the first time he’d seen her at the Stat Bar and he’d celebrated his good fortune when he’d discovered that not only did she work at the hospital but she worked on the orthopaedic ward. She’d be working with him.
When he’d seen her at the Stat Bar it was as though they had been the only two people in the room. She’d been surrounded by others but it was as if they had receded into the distance, leaving her standing alone, silhouetted by her own golden glow. It had been an odd sensation for James.
He’d felt her presence at the beach too. It had been more than just the feeling you got when you knew you were being watched. There had been something extra. Despite her cap and sunglasses, he’d known instantly it was her. He’d felt her and it wasn’t until she’d walked away that he’d noticed she wasn’t alone. She may have been walking with a friend but he’d only had eyes for Ellie.
She was the first woman to catch his attention in months, in almost seven months to be exact. Perhaps he was ready to move on.
‘Morning, Mavis,’ James greeted the old lady as they entered her room. ‘You’re running a temperature, I hear.’
Ellie retook Mavis’s temperature as James checked her other symptoms. ‘The nurses might be right, Mavis. It’s possible you have a UTI. It’s a common complaint in hospitals, I’m afraid. If you can stomach cranberry juice that’s often a good natural combatant but I’ll organise some tests and if necessary we can treat it with antibiotics.’ He glanced at Ellie, who immediately picked up on his silent request.
‘I’ll go and organise the things for the urine culture,’ she said.
James watched her go. She made him think of summer and sunshine and happy times. She was golden and if he believed in auras that would be how he would describe her. She had a golden aura and it seemed to envelop him whenever he was near her. It ensnared him and made it difficult to think past her and just being around her made him feel good.
‘You’re enjoying your new job, I see?’ Mavis said with a smile.
‘It certainly has some perks.’ He wasn’t embarrassed at being caught watching Ellie. Most of the males on staff did the same, he’d seen them. Almost everyone seemed captivated by her and he wondered if she was aware of the effect she had on men.
‘You’re not married, then?’
He hadn’t been embarrassed until Mavis made that remark. Did she think he’d still be watching Ellie if he were married? He shook his head. ‘No. I never quite made it down the aisle.’
‘Why don’t you ask Ellie out? She’s single too,’ Mavis the matchmaker replied.
‘Is she?’ His heart rate increased with the announcement. ‘How do you know that?’
‘You don’t get to my age without learning a thing or two about people and, besides, I’ve been here so long I’m starting to feel like part of the furniture and when people get used to having you around they forget to watch their conversations. Trust me, she’s single. You should ask her out.’
‘I might take your advice. Thanks, Mavis,’ he said with a wink as Ellie returned to the room. But even as he spoke he wondered if he would issue an invitation. What would be the sensible