He put the pen down and lifted his hands, palms out towards her. ‘Nothing. Just teasing.’
Jennifer looked down her nose at him, needing to put him in his place because then she’d hopefully be able to gain better control over her own wayward emotions. ‘Well, I’d kindly ask you to keep comments such as those to yourself in future.’
‘Ah, and there she is. The ice queen who terrified medical students, interns and registrars at her previous hospital. When I met you this morning, I thought Ted McGinchley had been wrong, you were so sweet and charming. Although I guess if people are rubbing you up the wrong way you’re bound to hit defensive mode sooner rather than later.’
‘Let me guess, you enjoy rubbing people up the wrong way. Sparking a reaction and having a good chuckle about it later?’
‘I don’t chuckle about it. Sometimes, though, ruffling a few feathers makes life a little more exciting, don’t you think?’ His look was direct, his gaze unwavering, and Jennifer found herself unable to move for a moment. Her mind also seemed to have been wiped blank yet again and she had no idea what they’d just been talking about. She needed to regain control again, and fast.
‘Well, if you don’t want anything, I’ll head up to clinic.’ She turned and walked toward the ward doors, thanking the CNC on her way out. She knew Jasper was beside her, those long legs of his covering the distance without a problem.
‘I thought you had a meeting.’
‘It’s been cancelled.’
‘Right.’ They fell into an uncomfortable silence as they walked along the corridor towards clinic. Jasper wasn’t quite sure why he’d been teasing Jennifer. He guessed it wasn’t good to antagonise the woman who could give the green light to certain projects he was contemplating. As a trained orthopaedic consultant, Jasper was one of two surgeons employed full time by the hospital. Jennifer was the other. Usually consultants spent a certain number of hours at the hospital and the rest in their private practices, but as Jasper’s main interest was in trauma medicine, working in the hospital full time gave him the opportunity to continue being an orthopaedic trauma specialist. Jennifer, however, was now in control of the department’s budget so he’d do well to remember that.
He knew on a psychological level he should try to distance himself from her. He’d heard from his colleague in Melbourne that Jennifer Thorngate didn’t care about anything except her work. It was no wonder he’d been expecting the dragon lady, and he was still trying to get over his initial surprise at the way she’d smiled and laughed with him earlier that morning. He’d been even more surprised to discover he’d liked the way she looked, the way her eyes sparkled with mirth and the way he appeared instantly drawn to her.
He’d been further intrigued to learn not only about the connection with Sara but that Sara was trying to get Jennifer to date again. Again? What had happened in Jennifer’s past to make that a necessity? Had she lost someone close to her? Was that why she lived only for the job and nothing else? He, of all people, knew what it was like to feel the agony of losing a loved one and relying on work to get you through, but he also knew it was important to get back into life or you could end up losing yourself. If he hadn’t had the twins, he wasn’t sure he would have survived Elisha’s death, but he’d had to go on living, raising his beautiful girls, and he was glad he had. Sure, it wasn’t easy but life was about the journey, not rushing to the end.
However much he was intrigued by the new head of unit, he’d do well to keep the relationship strictly professional. She’d met his daughters. There was nothing he could do about that. He might even see her from time to time at the many barbecues and big family gatherings Sara loved to organize, and he could deal with that, too. But that would be the extent of their personal contact and if she was going to freeze him out, well, he just might let her.
They entered the clinic without another word spoken between them, as though they’d both been making firm resolutions and were now intent on keeping them. Jasper politely introduced her to the outpatient clerical staff as well as the nursing staff and then picked up a file and called his first patient through.
Clinic was as busy as she’d expected and she was glad she’d been able to help rather than being stuck in a meeting. The only glimpse she had of Jasper was when he was escorting a patient into his consulting room while she’d been escorting one out.
‘Professional,’ she whispered to herself as she went to have her identification photograph taken. She could handle anything so long as she maintained her professional persona.