Perfect Rivals...

CHAPTER FOUR

FLO’S PULSE THUNDERED in her ears. She didn’t like crowds too much. Crowds like this just reminded her of junior high school when she’d been a sickly girl sitting off on the sidelines but wanting to be part of the action. Her mom had taught her to be strong, but that was usually in a one-on-one situation. There were a lot of people in this room. People who weren’t doctors.

Stand her in front of a bunch of other surgeons, doctors and nurses in a conference setting and she was fine. Press? That was new territory. Especially given the fact that she was on the arm of the hottest man in the room.

And usually good-looking men didn’t get to her, either. James Rothsberg was in the room and Flo had always found him attractive, with his golden blond hair, deep blue eyes and athletic frame. So what was it about Dr. Nathaniel King that made her feel so nervous?

Probably because you’ve never kissed James Rothsberg and have no desire to do so.

Whereas Nate King. Oh, yeah, she’d been fighting that craving since he’d first got off the helicopter.

Get a grip on yourself.

Freya was talking, but Flo really couldn’t focus on what she was saying. She was talking about The Hollywood Hills Clinic and initiatives with the Bright Hope Clinic. Flo glanced over and could see a petite woman with mahogany hair and hazel eyes smiling and nodding at everything that Freya was saying, and Flo recognized her as Mila Brightman, who ran the Bright Hope Clinic, but it was the look that James was shooting at Mila that caught Flo’s attention immediately. There was underlying tension there, something Flo recognized as akin to her own feelings regarding Nate and their shared passionate kiss.

Flo couldn’t help but wonder if there was something going on between James and Mila. James was usually so reserved in press conferences, so detached and cool, but this was different. Something was bubbling just under the surface of James Rothsberg.

Just like something was threatening to bubble out from her.

You can do this. Just stay focused.

All she had to do was keep reminding herself that as soon as Nate found out about her health condition, about how she had almost died from chronic kidney failure as a child because of complications from her premature birth and spending a month in a NICU, he’d turn tail and run. Like all of them did.

“And as part of the Bright Hope Clinic’s collaboration with The Hollywood Hills Clinic, we’re pleased to announce that our dream team of Dr. Florence Chiu and Dr. Nathaniel King, two of the best transplant surgeons in the country, will be taking on Eva Martinez’s case while they continue to provide care to Kyle Francis.” Freya motioned for Flo to get up and approach the microphone.

You can do this.

There was a round of applause and as soon as she got to the microphone she was hammered by a loud din of questions being asked rapid-fire. James stood up and bent over the microphone.

“Please, one question at a time. I’m sure Dr. Chiu would be more than happy to answer all your questions.” His tone was such that his word wouldn’t be challenged. The din quieted down and he stepped away, leaving Flo up there by herself.

“You, sir. What’s your question?” Flo pointed to a balding, pudgy man in the front row.

“Photographs of you and Dr. King have arisen that gives rise to questions about the state of security at The Hollywood Hills Clinic. Patients are wondering if their privacy will be protected and whether their doctors’ focus will be on them, or will it be solely on who to hop into bed with next?”

Flo could feel her cheeks burning with a flame of embarrassment. “I can assure you that my focus is solely on my patients’ care.”

Nate stood up. “Dr. Chiu and I are in a committed relationship. We went on the rooftop after a successful surgery involving Mr. Francis and got carried away. Are you telling me that you’ve never got carried away celebrating with your significant other before?”

Nate then flashed a dazzling smile to the audience, which had them all laughing.

Oh, he was good.

“That still doesn’t address the privacy and security concerns,” the balding reporter called.

“The picture was snapped by a paparazzo from an office window across from the clinic. We can’t control what happens outside our perimeters, but he was not able to get any photographs inside our facility, neither was he able to take photographs of our patients,” Freya said.

“What about the paramedic that leaked the information?” another reporter asked.

“My understanding is he’s been reprimanded and he will not be allowed back on The Hollywood Hills Clinic property in a capacity where he’ll have access to confidential health information,” James said brusquely.

Once they were satisfied another reporter stepped forward. “How long have you and Dr. King been in a relationship?”

“For a couple of months. We met to discuss Mr. Francis’s care while our patient was in California to shoot a movie.”

Nate nodded and touched the small of her back. Just the simple touch made goose pimples break out on her skin. Good thing he couldn’t feel them.

“Can you tell us a little bit about Mr. Francis’s procedure?”

“Of course. Mr. Francis is in congestive heart failure, but because he’s been in heart failure for some time, this has put a strain on his already weak lungs. Mr. Francis had a pre-existing struggle with asthma for many years. Because his lungs are so damaged by the extra strain his heart is causing, he will require a heart and lung transplant. We were hoping to perform a domino procedure, but now that Mr. Francis is on a left ventricular assist device, he is no longer a candidate. We will have to wait for a set of lungs and a heart that matches Mr. Francis’s blood type, but the LVAD will prolong his life while he waits.”

Nate gave her a thumbs-up and Flo gave an inward sigh of relief. She sat back down next to Nate and he took her hand and held it. It was reassuring and made her feel good, but then she remembered this was all an act.

He’d pretty much said that he wasn’t interested in her and that their kiss had been a mistake.

That’s what you wanted, wasn’t it?

“Now, if there are no more questions we’ll conclude this press conference,” Freya said. “Please make sure you take the statement with you. If you have any other questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me. Thank you all for coming.”

Flo took another deep breath.

“See, that wasn’t too bad,” Nate said, but he didn’t let go of her hand as the journalists filtered out of the room slowly.

“No. It wasn’t.” She let go of his hand and got up to leave, but Freya and James were talking to the side and motioned for her over.

Oh, no. Now what?

“Good job, Flo,” Freya said.

James nodded. “Yes. You handled that well.”

“Thank you.”

“I think that will help salvage the reputation of The Hollywood Hills Clinic and help reinforce our joint effort with the Bright Hope Clinic.”

“I think it will,” Mila said, joining them and extending a hand to take Flo’s. “Dr. Mila Brightman. A pleasure to meet you, Dr. Chiu. I’m so pleased that you and Dr. King will be working on Eva Martinez’s case.”

“It will be a pleasure to do so,” Flo responded.

“All this good publicity for the clinic will put my mind at ease,” said Freya.

“A good thing, given your condition—” James cut off abruptly at the sharp stare from his sister and the surprised looks from the rest of the group.

“Well, since some people clearly don’t know how to keep a secret, I guess the cat’s out of the bag—I’m pregnant!” Freya announced.

James smiled sheepishly. “I’m so happy for you, Freya.”

Then he turned to Mila and Flo noticed something pass between them. It was as if he wanted to embrace Dr. Brightman but held himself back. She couldn’t help but wonder what was going on there, but, then, she liked her privacy, as well. She felt a bit humiliated that that private mistake of a kiss between her and Nate had been caught on camera so it wasn’t her place to pry.

“Well, I’ll leave you all to it,” Flo said. “I’m going to go check on my new patient. I assume that Eva Martinez has been admitted to the transplant floor?”

Freya nodded. “Yes, thank you, Flo.”

Flo walked away briskly. She was done with awkward situations. It was bad enough she had to be pretend to be in a relationship with Nate. That was uncomfortable, especially with the way he affected her.

She needed to focus on her new patient.

Eva’s case struck close to home for her. Only, for Flo, it hadn’t been her mother who had donated a kidney to her. Flo’s kidney donation had come from a deceased organ donor. Being of mixed heritage had caused a bit of a cross-match problem for Flo. It didn’t happen often, but Flo’s case had been a hard one from the moment she’d been born prematurely thirty years ago.

If it hadn’t been for that anonymous donor, who, of course, had sadly lost their life, Flo would’ve lost hers. Of course her nǎinai had always said she’d been a tough cookie from the moment she’d been born. Flo had been fighting her whole life. It’s why she fought so hard for others; it’s why she wanted to live in the moment.

Even though pretending to be Nate’s girlfriend made her feel uncomfortable, because it was a temptation that she was in danger of indulging in, she was going to do what had been asked of her. What could it hurt?

It could hurt your heart.

Flo shook that thought away. This wasn’t a serious relationship. It would never be a serious relationship. She didn’t have serious relationships because of her health issues and she’d made her peace with that a long time ago.

Have you?

She caught sight of Nate in the hallway, talking with a group of doctors and what looked like members of Kyle’s management team. Just the sight of Nate standing there made her heart flutter with insatiable need. She turned on her heel and quickly headed in the opposite direction.

Focus, Flo. She had to forget the carnal urges that Nate stirred in her. She had to remind herself that this was all an act. This would be fun. She could do this. What did she have to lose?

Pretending to be his was going to be so difficult. So dangerous. Even if she was a tough cookie, like her nǎinai said.

* * *

Nate glanced over his shoulder to see Flo retreating in the other direction, which was unlike her. She had never seemed fazed or frightened by anything before. She hadn’t backed down from him when they’d first met.

He admired that about her.

Don’t think about her that way.

He tried to turn his attention back the conversation he’d been having, not that he could really remember what he’d been talking about. It hadn’t really been that important because all of his focus had been on Flo, and it bothered him that he was so absorbed with her that he’d agreed to play along with The Hills’ ridiculous request.

His hospital in New York would never have asked him to do such a thing, but then again the hospital in New York wasn’t a private upscale clinic that prided itself on the security of its clients. Neither did he like the fact that Freya had conspired with Kyle’s management team about the idea.

Only problem was, he wasn’t a good actor.

A few years ago and he might’ve gone along with it, but now he liked to maintain control in all aspects of his life. One little slip and that reckless man he’d once been started to creep toward the surface.

And he couldn’t let that happen. Only when he was around Flo, she made him forget his control. He lost all reason. That’s why he’d pulled her into that kiss on the roof and got them into trouble in the first place.

They were in this mess because of him.

“Dr. King?”

Nate turned and saw James Rothsberg standing behind him. Beside James was an attractive redhead.

“Are we interrupting?” James asked sardonically.

“No. Not at all.”

James nodded. “This is Dr. Mila Brightman from the Bright Hope Clinic. She wanted to meet you.”

Mila stuck out her hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Dr. King.”

“The pleasure is all mine.”

It was then that Nate caught a flash of something in James’s eyes, something akin to jealousy or a silent warning maybe to keep his distance, and Nate couldn’t help but wonder if there was or had been something between Mila Brightman and James Rothsberg.

Not that it was Nate’s concern, but he couldn’t miss that underlying tension between them, the same current that ran between him and Flo.

It’s all in your head. You’re paranoid.

“I want to thank you and Dr. Chiu for working on Eva. She’s a special child,” Mila said.

“It’s no trouble. I’m here and glad to help. If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to check on my patient.” Nate extracted himself from that situation. The tension was uncomfortable and when he glanced back briefly he could see the awkwardness between James and Mila. They barely said anything, barely looked at each other before wandering off on their own separate ways.

This was exactly the reason why he didn’t want to get involved with anyone. Especially not at work. His focus was surgery.

He should just tell Freya that he wasn’t going to play along with this PR stunt, but where would that leave Flo?

Who cares?

Only he did. Just a bit, because it was his fault, his weakness that had got them into this situation. If he had been stronger he wouldn’t have been tempted by Flo. He could’ve kept his distance. He should’ve kept his distance. He could do this.

Who are you kidding?

He had to get out of the hospital, had to head to his hotel and swim. He had to relieve this tension that was building up inside him, because if he didn’t he was liable to crack and do something he would enjoy thoroughly but also deeply regret.

CHAPTER FIVE

WHAT AM I DOING? What am I doing?

The scent of chlorine stung her nose. She’d never really liked the smell of chlorine, probably because it reminded her of the many hours she’d spent poolside, watching her brother and sister swim competitively, something she’d never been able to do because she’d been sick for so long.

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