The Billionaire's Christmas Wish. Tina Beckett

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СКАЧАТЬ a personal diary, Theo.

      And if it had anything to do with Ivy, didn’t he have a right to know what was in it?

      His palm slid across the smooth wooden surface of the desk, and he had to lean slightly to reach it. His fingertips landed on the cover, preparing to drag the item toward him, when a slight breeze swept across his nape, sending the hairs rising in attention.

      He pulled back in a hurry, turning to face whoever’d entered the room.

      Damn.

      It was Madison, and she’d caught him red-handed. Well, not really, since he hadn’t got a chance to crack the cover on that book.

      “Theo, this is a surprise. Were you looking for me?” Her voice was slightly breathless, and she hurried around to the other side of the desk and opened a drawer, sweeping the offending item into it.

      There was definitely something in there she didn’t want him to see. And that just made him want to look even more.

      Dressed in a black cowl-necked sweater that hugged its way from her shoulders to the tops of her slender thighs, it set his senses on high alert. Just like the last time they had been together. He swallowed and tried to regroup and remember his reason for coming here. It certainly hadn’t been to ogle her.

      “I was, actually. I wanted to know how Naomi fared with Ivy. She told me you changed tack a bit on her therapy. You’re no longer actively trying to get her to walk?”

      “Not at the moment.” She dropped into her office chair and explained her reasoning pretty much the same way Naomi had described the plan to him. And he had to admit he agreed, even if it felt like they were giving ground to some hidden monster—one that was busy pulling a rope from the hidden safety of a screen. It might be out of sight but the effects were apparent to anyone watching the display. They couldn’t use brute force to overpower the lurker so they were simply trying to stop it from gaining traction.

      “What’s our next step?”

      “I’m not quite sure. The treatment team is meeting today. I’ll digest their findings later.”

      “I’m aware of the meeting. So what are you bringing to the table?”

      “Table? I’ve been to one or two of the meetings, but wasn’t planning on going to today’s.”

      Theo’s heart chilled in an instant, even though he’d been the one to say she wasn’t required to go to them. “Reason?” Maybe this was where she conceded that she was giving up.

      “I wasn’t invited.”

      That made him sit back for a second. “You’re always invited. And they’ll want you there. I want you there. If you’re waiting for a formal, gold-foiled envelope to arrive on your desk, that probably isn’t going to happen.” He forced a smile he hoped reflected reassurance, although it certainly didn’t match what was churning around on the inside. What if she decided she wanted to focus on other cases and not spend the bulk of her time on Ivy anymore? Or, worse, what if she’d noticed the tugs of interest he’d felt—even just a minute or two ago—despite his efforts to sweep them under the rug and out of sight? Would she think he was using his position to try to pressure her to prioritize Ivy’s treatment above anyone else’s?

      His instinct as a father was to do exactly that. Help his child in any way he could. Use whatever means he could.

      And yet he knew he had to push all of that aside and hold tight to his professional ethics. He’d started this hospital as a way to help people. If he chucked that aside and gave anyone preferential treatment, he would be flying in the face of his convictions.

      Madison pulled her hair to the side and let it flow over her shoulder, the golden highlights contrasting with the dark knit of her sweater. And there it was again. That tickle in his midsection that was wreaking havoc with his objectivity.

      Dangerous territory. Yes, it was. And his earlier thoughts about her trespassing? If he was the one putting out the welcome mat, he could hardly accuse her of wandering where she wasn’t invited.

      She leaned forward, some of those silky strands of hair brushing across the surface of her desk.

      He swallowed again, trying to think of something to say to cover the moment. She beat him to it.

      “I know this is going to sound strange, but I’ve been sending my findings to the group, and they’ve relayed any information they wanted me to have. It’s how I’ve always worked, even back at my own hospital in the States. I look at all the pieces and try to put them together to form a diagnosis. It’s hard for me to do that with a bunch of voices and emotions tangling with each other.”

      Like the ones going round and round his head right now?

      Maybe this was why she wasn’t getting on with one or two of the doctors at the hospital. He knew some of those sessions could get heated, with specialists vying for a chance to be heard, but Theo had always thought that was a healthy atmosphere. Hope Hospital emphasized working as treatment teams with the idea that more input was better for the hospital’s patients. He was finding out that Madison’s file was right. She preferred prowling around the outskirts.

      But she was much sought after in the States. So maybe they shouldn’t try to stuff her into a box she didn’t fit into. Even if Theo himself had created that particular box.

      “I understand. And I’ll respect that decision. To a degree.”

      What had happened to not pushing Ivy’s needs to the forefront? Or telling her that those meetings were optional?

      “I’m sorry? What does that mean?”

      “Just that the hospital uses these meetings not only as a chance to bounce around ideas but also to provide accountability to all the players.”

      “Accountability.” Her palms pressed against the surface of the desk, an edge of tension beginning to infuse her words. “As in you don’t think I’m carrying my weight here?”

      She was getting angry, and hell if he didn’t like the little hints of emotion: the sideways tilt of her head, the color sweeping up her cheeks...the way her gaze remained riveted to his face.

      Especially that last part.

      Damn. So much for keeping this cool and impersonal.

      “I phrased that badly. Let’s call it curiosity. I would like to know your thoughts on their thoughts. I was hoping to get to that meeting today as well.”

      Her hands dropped into her lap and the tension seemed to flow out of her.

      “I’ll be happy to share my thoughts. I just don’t want to waste my...” She smiled. “Sorry, badly phrased. I don’t want to spend two hours in a chaotic team meeting when I could be looking down other avenues. I promise I do glance over what the team discusses. It just takes me a while to get into my work mode, and having my day cut into pieces with meetings makes it doubly hard, especially if I’m trying to piece together a complicated list of symptoms.”

      “Understood.” Theo, whose days were often “cut into pieces,” as she put it, often wished he could just put a “Do Not Disturb” sign on his door and get in eight hours of uninterrupted СКАЧАТЬ