Maybe she’d let down her guard and her smile had given her away. Laurie turned the corners of her mouth down. ‘In my experience, there’s always a catch...’
‘No one here gets a free ride, and I want you to work here, part time, for four afternoons a week. You can choose what you want to do. There’s a pile of filing in our basement that needs attention. Or you could make use of your doctor’s training. I have some patients that I think may benefit from your particular experience.’
r />
Seriously? Laurie had started to think that Ross had thought everything through, but this was the most bizarre thing she’d ever heard. Filing didn’t sound all that appealing and working here as a doctor was madness.
‘You want me...a completely unknown quantity...to work with your patients. You’re sure about that, are you?’
His dark eyes softened suddenly. They were his greatest weapon, the one that made her heart pump ferociously and her instincts tell her that she could trust him. Her head was having trouble keeping all that under control.
‘Sam tells me that a few of her patients have mentioned you’ve been encouraging them with their gym work and helping them pace themselves properly. Everyone here has some kind of stake in the clinic, and since you’re no longer a patient then the only other option is employee.’
He let the thought float in the air between them. Ross clearly had few qualms about admitting his motives, but then he had nothing to lose.
‘And it means you can keep an eye on me.’ Laurie felt a trickle of embarrassment run up her spine.
‘That thought did cross my mind. And I took the precaution of calling the director of the company that runs the chain of emergency GP clinics you work with this morning, and asking for a reference.’
‘You did what? Thanks for that. Now I expect they think I’m about to leave. It’s not easy to find a job in medicine that gives me the kind of time off that I need to train and compete...’ Laurie bit her tongue.
‘I imagine not. That’s why I told her that I was considering asking you to help out here for the next six weeks, as part of your therapy, and that you’d be back with them after that. Adele thought it was a great idea and it would give you a chance to widen your experience a little. She put me through to your immediate boss and I’m sure you’ll be pleased to hear that he gave you a shining reference.’
Laurie frowned. ‘Adele. You know her, do you?’
‘I know a lot of people. A clinic in an isolated location like this gets its referrals by going out and making itself known. And by being the best, of course.’
‘You’re sure about that? That you’re the best?’ Laurie knew that the Lakeside Clinic was the best of its kind, but she couldn’t resist the dig.
‘Yep. You’re well acquainted with what it takes to be the best. Once you get there, you know it.’ He leaned back in his seat, surveying the empty lake in front of him thoughtfully.
There was steel beneath that easygoing smile of his. He’d given Laurie exactly what she wanted and still she felt that he’d got exactly what he wanted out of the deal too.
‘All right. Filing doesn’t appeal all that much, but I have a good understanding of sports injuries and I think I can contribute something as part of your medical team. Are you going to pay me?’ Maybe if the hours she worked came at a price, he wouldn’t demand too much of her.
‘Of course. I’m also going to be watching you, because our patients come first here. Always.’
That put her very firmly in her place. But Laurie could work with this. The ability to help others, along with the freedom to dictate her own regime, was what she’d always wanted. What she’d fought with her father for. If she disregarded Ross’s watchful eyes, she could begin to persuade herself that this was going to be a piece of cake.
‘You think I’d agree to work for you if you said anything different?’
‘I wouldn’t sign off on your working as a doctor here if you said anything different.’ He gave her an innocent smile. ‘Do we have a bargain?’
‘You’re saying that as if I have a choice. But, yes, it’s a generous offer and it suits me.’
He shrugged. ‘There’s always a choice. I’m interested to know why you chose to row right past my window this morning when you could have quite easily gone in the other direction.’
Right. She should have expected that there was a catch to this. Apparently he felt their arrangement allowed him to ask awkward questions that she didn’t know the answers to.
‘No idea.’
‘Maybe that’s something we could talk about sometime...’ Ross’s smile was altogether too knowing, and much too delicious for Laurie’s liking. She got to her feet, trying to ignore the stiffness in her hip.
‘You can talk about it if you want. I’ll pass...’ She threw the words over her shoulder as she walked away.
CHAPTER TWO
THAT HAD...WORKED? Ross wasn’t entirely sure whether he’d done just what Laurie was hoping he’d do, or she’d done exactly as he’d hoped. It was difficult to tell, but when he told Sam about the arrangement she nodded, professing her approval.