Drew walked over to the eighty-inch LCD screen that had been brought in for today’s meeting. He had Larissa rent it after discovering Travis County Hospital was still using the pull-down projection screens whenever someone had to give a presentation. In the grand scheme of things, updating the AV equipment didn’t even crack the top twenty on the hospital’s necessities list, but he was ready to donate his own money if that’s what needed to be done to bring them up to the current century.
“Is everything ready?” Drew asked Samantha Gomez.
“It is.” She looked at her phone. “We’ve got about twenty minutes, so we can just give everyone a chance to trickle in. Those are mine!” she called, looking past Drew’s right shoulder. “I ordered a couple dozen cupcakes. I figured a little late afternoon treat would put everyone in a good mood.”
“Works for me,” Drew said.
Hell, he would buy them all steak dinners if that’s what it would take to convince them to support Trident’s efforts here at County. If he had his way, he would move this meeting completely off hospital grounds, to somewhere with more space. This room wasn’t much bigger than the collaboration room at his apartment.
He’d finally gotten the full story on why they couldn’t utilize the largest conference room here at the hospital. According to the custodian he’d spoken to this morning, the main conference room was pulling double duty as storage after a busted pipe took out one of the storage rooms on the second floor several months ago. No move had been made yet to repair it. Trident had only been here a week, yet even that tiny glimpse into how this hospital was managed was enough to show Drew how it had gotten into such a pile of shit.
He didn’t want to get too far into the weeds when it came to this job—that’s what their project manager was there for—but Drew also knew there was too much work to be done here for him to return to the sidelines. He would pull back if his team asked him to do so, but he’d already resigned himself to being more hands-on.
He walked over to a cardboard coffee carrier delivered from a local shop—another thing Drew had insisted upon after tasting the hospital coffee. He filled his cup from the spigot and added a packet of sweetener, then turned just in time to see London walk through the door.
His body experienced that now-familiar jolt he always felt upon seeing her.
Last night was the first time since their class reunion that she hadn’t spent at least a few hours in his bed. It was scary to think that he’d gotten so used to having her there after just over a week, but he could still feel the disappointment that had assaulted him when she’d responded to his on your way? text with a pulled into surgery response. A few hours later, she’d texted that the surgery was over but she was too exhausted to do anything except sleep.
Drew had offered up his bed, strictly for sleeping purposes. He was only a couple of minutes from the hospital, and it just made sense for her to spend the night.
But she was already home by the time she’d read his text. And her follow-up response made it clear that her thoughts hadn’t changed regarding the boundaries they’d set. When it came to his bed, there was only one activity she wanted to engage in while there, and it wasn’t sleeping.
Drew had spent the rest of the night in a state of frustrated restlessness. It wasn’t that he had a problem with being London Kelley’s boy toy for the next few weeks. He’d gone into this former-high-school-classmates-with-benefits arrangement with his eyes wide open.
He wanted the sex, but he also wanted more. What that more was, he wasn’t sure yet. He hadn’t taken the time to define it. But after last night, maybe more was her being comfortable enough with him to crash at his apartment following a three-hour emergency surgery at the end of her shift. That didn’t seem all that outrageous.
She walked up to him and nodded at his cup. “That coffee doesn’t look like motor oil. Please tell me there’s more.”
He moved to the side so that she could see the coffee setup on the table. “Help yourself.”
“Is this a perk to working with Trident?”
“This is a perk to being anywhere that I am,” Drew said. “I’m not particularly picky about my coffee, but it must at least be drinkable. So, yes, there will be coffee brought in whenever this group meets.”
She sniffed the steaming coffee before taking a sip. She closed her eyes and released a satisfied sigh. “Maybe I won’t regret this after all.”
Drew chuckled. “I’ll be honest, I was surprised when I got word from Dr. Coleman that you would be joining us. After yesterday’s non-ambush, I was pretty sure you would turn down the invitation.”
She shrugged as she took another sip of coffee. “I had a change of heart.”
“Brought about by?”
“By the thought of this hospital potentially closing altogether. I’ve always been afraid of it being sold to a private corporation, but state-run hospitals get shut down all the time.”
“That won’t happen,” Drew said. “Trident will make sure of that. It’s why we’re here.” He paused, debating whether to continue with his thought. London had made it clear that she was against privatization. Drew didn’t want them to start off on the wrong foot by bringing it up before their first official meeting even started.
Then again, he needed to be completely transparent with her, especially after not being straightforward about his working at County.
“We’re going to do everything in our power to make sure County remains in operation, but you need to understand that a takeover by a private corporation is still on the table, London. It may be the only solution.” He put his hands up. “I don’t know yet. None of us do. That’s why we’re here.”
“And I’m here to make sure we explore every possible avenue,” she replied. “I’m also here to make sure that your recommendations aren’t just a regurgitated list of the budget cuts Coleman and his cronies tried to shove down our throats last year.”
Drew took a sip of his now slightly cooled coffee before massaging the bridge of his nose. “How hard are you planning to make my life? I just want an estimate so that I can have my assistant adjust the amount of ibuprofen she adds to the shopping list.”
“First, of all, I am not here to be difficult,” she said. “And second, you’re in a hospital. Just ask one of the nurses for some. You don’t have to get your assistant to buy ibuprofen.”
“Actually, I do. One of the recommendations Trident will be making is that raiding of the supply closet for personal use must be curbed. Immediately.”
She laughed as if she thought he were joking. When Drew didn’t join her, her eyes widened with surprised amusement. “Wow. You come out swinging with those types of changes and you’ll be at the very top of everyone’s shit list, Mr. Sullivan.”
“That’s okay. Being seen as the bad guy isn’t new to me. The hospital is losing too much money. When you have hundreds of employees who think it’s no big deal to grab a box of latex gloves or bandages from the supply closet to bring home, it ends up costing the hospital tens of thousands of dollars per year.”
“I’m not saying you don’t have a point.” She raised a hand in concession. “I’m just saying it’s a good thing you bring your own coffee. Because once it’s revealed that you’re behind these changes, someone would probably spit in it if you bought coffee from the cafeteria.”
“Thanks for the warning,” he said with a laugh. He checked his watch. They still had about ten minutes before the meeting would begin. “What about you?” Drew asked. “Do you plan to spit in my coffee? Metaphorically, of course.”
“Spitting is nasty,” she said. “I have access to substances that would cause you a lot more pain.”
His brow arched.
“I’m joking,” she said. “Again, I’m not here to be difficult. However, I will not be silent if I disagree with something. And I do have a habit of playing devil’s advocate.” She shrugged. “I can’t help myself. I like to pose questions. I’ve seen how they can spark new ideas.”
Drew perched on the edge of the uncomfortable conference table and set his coffee next to him. Folding his arms across his chest, he said, “You don’t have to tell me about your penchant for playing devil’s advocate. I once sat in a classroom and listened to you argue about the patriarchal themes of Homer’s work with Mr. Brown. The man could hardly utter a word by the time you were done with him.”
A rueful grin curled up one corner of her mouth. “He tried to get me transferred to Mrs. Cornwall’s English lit class after that.”
Drew laughed. “You’re kidding?”
She shook her head. “Not kidding. He said that my strong attitude was a disruption.”
“You made some good arguments. The fact that women are literally given out as prizes in The Iliad is pretty messed up.”
“Goodness, that was so long ago. How do you even remember that?”
Drew’s gaze swept over her face. Softly, he murmured, “How could I forget?”
She stopped in the act of lifting her coffee cup to her mouth, her expression nonplussed.
“Drew, it’s two o’clock.” They both startled at Samantha’s interruption. “Time to get this show on the road.”
“Yes, of course,” Drew said. He motioned for London to sit in the open chair, but then he walked to the rear of the room and stood against the wall. He was confident in his project manager’s ability to lead the meeting.
As Samantha began her presentation, Drew observed the eight people the hospital administration had put forward as the best ambassadors for the project. They would be tasked with providing Trident’s team better insight into the day-to-day operations at County, but also assisting in encouraging the rest of the staff to participate in the analysis.
At least, that was the plan. How well Trident’s plan was received and executed would depend a lot on how things went in today’s kickoff meeting.
Drew’s anxiety level had decreased exponentially by the time Samantha concluded her presentation. He’d gauged the reactions in the room through every bullet point, and it was exactly what he’d expected from the hospital’s employees: curiosity, concern, and just a touch of dismay.
It shocked him how clueless most people were about the financial health of their workplace. There was no doubt they had heard the rumors floating around, but Drew could tell by the disturbed looks on their faces that this was the first time they’d understood how dire the situation was here at County.
Samantha brought the meeting to a close and informed everyone that she would be setting up a private Slack channel where they could all communicate. She then had to explain what Slack was to the two members of the team who were obviously Dr. Coleman’s contemporaries.
He went over to Samantha. “Good job,” Drew said. “Everyone has their marching orders, so we shouldn’t have to meet until Friday, right?”
She saluted him. “Aye, Captain.”
Drew made his way around the room, introducing himself to everyone they’d brought in to work with Trident. By the time he arrived back to where London had been sitting, the chair was empty. He left the conference room and took off down the hallway. He caught up with her at the elevator.
She glanced over at him. “Did I leave something in the conference room?” she asked, her voice droll.
“Unfortunately, it would appear you brought that attitude along with you.”
She kept her head facing the elevator, but Drew caught the smile playing at the corner of her mouth.
“Have your feelings about what Trident is doing changed at all after getting a closer look at what we’re up against?” he asked.
“Not yet.”
The elevator dinged with its arrival. She boarded it. He followed.
“Don’t you have anything better to do?” she asked him, her eyes on the numbers above the door.
“Better than convincing this hospital’s most influential staff member that we need her to be on our side? No, I don’t think so.”
“Hmm,” she murmured. “Tell me, how much money is the hospital shelling out for you to spend your time harassing me?”
Such a smart-ass.
“Trident’s fees will show up in next year’s audit,” he said. He leaned over just as the door opened on the third floor, and said in a lowered voice, “And this isn’t harassment. It’s aggressive campaigning.”
She shook her head, that grin still on her lips. Drew walked in step with her as they made their way to her office.
“I literally have fifteen minutes to catch my breath before I have to make my afternoon rounds,” she said. She yawned as she sat behind her desk. “I was hoping to catch a quick cat nap, but I guess that’s not possible because of you and your aggressive campaigning.”
“You wouldn’t be so tired if you had come over to my place last night,” Drew told her.
She laughed. “I’m pretty sure I would be even more exhausted if I’d done that.”
“To sleep,” he reminded her, sitting in the chair across from her desk.
“Do you really think I would’ve spent my time at your place sleeping?”
“Yes, because that’s all I was offering you last night. However, tonight I’m also offering dinner.”
“Haven’t we had this discussion? All I want from you—”
“Yeah, I already know what you want from me, London. But I think we need to redefine this imaginary line that you’re not willing to cross.”
She hunched her shoulders and shook her head. “I don’t think we do. I’m pretty damn happy with things the way they are.”
Drew sat back in his chair and crossed his ankle over his knee. He rubbed his thumb back and forth over his chin as he stared at her.
“What if I’m not?” he asked.
Her brows nearly touched her hairline. “Really? You seemed pretty damn happy Sunday night.”
“What if being pretty damn happy isn’t enough for me?”
She released a sigh. “Drew, don’t mess this up.”
“It’s dinner, London. A simple meal between fr—”
“Two people engaged in a mutually satisfying sexual arrangement,” she finished.
“Would it really kill you to think of yourself as my friend?”
“We’re not friends.”
“I want us to be friends.”
“Ugh. Please stop.” She dragged her hands down her face. “I want a nap.”
“London.”
“Drew, I can’t just tell myself that we’re friends after spending the past fifteen years hating you.”
“You’ve spent the past fifteen years hating the idea of me. And after spending the past week sleeping with me, I think we’ve moved to at least a base level of friendship. I’m not saying we spend the night doing each other’s hair and watching rom-coms, but dinner seems reasonable.”
She burst out laughing. A genuine laugh this time. It felt as if Drew had scored his biggest win since he’d arrived in Austin.
“So?” he asked.
“I can’t have dinner with you tonight,” she said.
“Why?”
“Because I’m having dinner with my mom and stepmom tonight.”
He wanted to believe her. Honestly, she had no reason to lie to him. It wasn’t as if she would try to spare his feelings.
“What about tomorrow night?”
She sat back in her chair and folded her hands over her stomach, regarding him with cool but intense scrutiny.
“Maybe. If my schedule allows it,” she finally answered. “But even if I do agree to have dinner with you, I am still not your friend, Drew Sullivan.”
He grinned. “Yet.”