A Merger...or Marriage?. RaeAnne Thayne

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      Mercifully, though the elevator stopped on the second floor to pick up a couple of nurses, she didn’t recognize them and they didn’t seem to know her. One of them even gave her a friendly smile.

      So maybe David hadn’t yet gotten around to plastering up wanted posters throughout the hospital of her wearing devil horns.

      Beware of the evil HMO-mongerer.

      She wouldn’t put anything past her second-oldest brother, a gifted plastic surgeon who had recently returned to Walnut River as well. Unlike her, he had come back to a warm welcome, embraced by one and all—the prodigal son giving up a lucrative career in L.A. as plastic surgeon to the stars to share his brilliance with patients in his own hometown.

      On the fourth floor, the nurses exited with her. Anna stood for a moment, trying to catch her bearings.

      This part of the hospital had been renovated in the past few years and she was slightly disoriented at the changes.

      She remembered it as slightly old-fashioned, with wood-grained paneling and dark carpeting. Now everything was light and airy, with new windows and a far more modern feel.

      “Do you need help finding something?” one of the nurses asked, noticing her confusion.

      “Yes. Thanks. I’m looking for the administrator’s office.”

      “Down the hall. Second door on the right,” she said.

      “Thank you.” Anna gave a polite smile, grateful for any help she could find here in this hostile environment, then headed in the direction the woman indicated.

      The receptionist’s nameplate read Tina Tremaine. She greeted Anna with a friendly smile, her features warm and open.

      “Hello. I’m Anna Wilder. I’m here for a three-o’clock meeting with the hospital attorney and the administrator.”

      The instant she heard Anna’s name, the woman’s smile slid away as if a cold breeze had just blown through the room.

      “I’m here for a three o’clock meeting with the hospital attorney and the administrator.”

      “Phil Crandall, the hospital attorney, is not here yet, Ms. Wilder. But Mr. Sumner and your attorney are in the boardroom. They’re waiting for you.”

      Though she spoke politely enough, Anna thought she saw a tiny sliver of disdain in the woman’s eyes.

      She fished around in her mind for something she might say to alter the woman’s negative impression, then checked the impulse.

      She was working hard to break the habits of a lifetime, that hunger for approval she couldn’t quite shake. Did it really matter what J.D.’s receptionist thought of her? It certainly wouldn’t change anything about her mission here in Walnut River.

      “Thank you,” she answered, mustering a smile she hoped was at least polite if not completely genuine. She headed for the door the receptionist indicated, tilting her chin up and hoping she projected confidence and competence.

      This was it. Her chance to cinch the promotion at NHC and cement her growing reputation as a rainmaker there.

      Or she could blow the merger, lose her job, and end up begging on the street somewhere.

      Think positive, she ordered herself. You can do this. You’ve done it before. As she pushed open the door, she visualized herself handing over the signed deal to her bosses, both her direct supervisor, Wallace Jeffers—vice president for mergers and acquisitions—and the NHC chief executive officer who had given her this assignment, Alfred Daly.

      It was a heady, enticing image, one she clung to as she faced the two men at the boardroom table, papers spread out in front of them.

      Two men sat at a boardroom table talking, papers spread out in front of them. She knew both of them and smiled at J. D. Sumner and Walter Posey, the NHC attorney.

      “I’m sorry if I’ve kept you waiting. I didn’t realize there would be so much construction surrounding the hospital.”

      J.D. nodded. “Walnut River is growing. You just have to walk outside to see it.”

      “Which is one factor that makes this hospital an attractive opportunity for NHC, as you well know.”

      J.D. had first come to Walnut River as an employee of NHC. He had ended up falling—literally—for her sister, Ella, resigning from NHC and taking the job as hospital administrator.

      She didn’t know all the details but she knew Ella had treated J.D. after he was injured in a bad tumble on some icy steps when leaving the hospital. Something significant must have happened between them to compel a man like J.D. to fall for his orthopedic surgeon and leave a promising career at Northeastern HealthCare to take the reins of Walnut River General Hospital.

      She couldn’t imagine giving up everything she had worked so hard to attain for something as ephemeral as love, but she had to admit part of her envied her sister. J.D. must love Ella very much.

      She could only hope his relationship with Ella had turned him soft. Judging by his track record at NHC, Anna feared he would be a formidable foe in her efforts to make the merger happen.

      “Our attorney was caught up in the traffic snarl, as well,” J.D. answered. “He just called and was still parking his car but he should be here any moment.”

      Though he spoke cordially enough, there was a reserve in his voice she couldn’t miss.

      She had only known him casually when he worked for NHC, but their interactions as coworkers had always been marked by friendly respect. Now, though, they were on opposite sides of what was shaping up to be an ugly fight over the future of the hospital.

      He didn’t seem antagonistic, as she had feared, only distant. She had to admit she was relieved. He and Ella were engaged, from what she understood. This was bound to be awkward enough between them without outright antipathy.

      “I’m going for some coffee before we get started,” the NHC attorney announced. “Can I get either of you anything?”

      Anna shook her head at Walter, whom she had worked with before on these due diligence reviews. “None for me, thanks.”

      “Sumner?”

      J.D. shook his head. “I’m good.”

      As soon as Walter left the room, J.D. leaned back in his chair and studied her carefully, until Anna squirmed under the weight of his green-eyed gaze.

      “So how are you? I mean, how are you really?”

      She blinked at the unexpected personal question and was slow to answer, choosing her words carefully. “I’m managing. I suppose you heard I tried to stay out of this one, obviously without success.”

      He nodded, his brow furrowed. “I heard. Does Daly really think your family connection will make anyone happier about NHC’s efforts to take over the hospital?”

      “Hope springs eternal, I suppose,” she muttered.

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