Her colleagues were still looking at the noticeboard and chatting. ‘Mr Rodriguez is presenting a paper and he’s allowed to take someone with him. If you want to go you have to sign your name and then they’re going to put the names in a hat.’
‘Very scientific.’
Only half listening to the conversation, Katy checked that her hair was neatly tied back and walked onto the unit without signing her name. She was struggling to cope with Jago in the impersonal atmosphere of the A and E department without subjecting herself to the intimacy of a foreign trip.
As far as she was concerned, one of the others was more than welcome to go.
The waiting room was crowded with people and Katy didn’t have time to give th
e trip another thought until one of her colleagues approached her at lunchtime with a rueful smile.
‘Well, you’re the lucky one.’
Katy stared at him blankly. ‘I am?’
‘Your name was pulled out of the hat. You’re going to Seville with the boss.’
Katy put her sandwich down untouched. ‘That’s not possible.’
She hadn’t even put her name on the board.
‘Finding it hard to believe your luck?’ The other doctor grinned at her. ‘You shouldn’t feel guilty. It was all done fair and square. I was the one who pulled your name out of the hat.’
But her name shouldn’t have been in the hat.
Totally appalled by the prospect of attending the conference with Jago, Katy got to her feet and knocked the chair over.
‘Hey, steady on.’ Her colleague looked at her in amusement. ‘I know you’re excited but you don’t want to injure yourself before you go.’
She didn’t wait to hear the rest of what he had to say. She needed to see Jago.
He was in his office, working on the computer, and she marched in without knocking.
‘How did my name get in that hat, Jago?’
She glared at him angrily, her irritation increasing at his total lack of reaction.
‘What hat?’
‘Don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about.’ Suddenly aware that they could be overheard, she closed the door firmly and stalked across to his desk. ‘I understand my name has been pulled out of the hat to go with you to Seville.’
‘Has it?’ His voice was a low drawl and he didn’t lift his eyes from the spreadsheet he was working on. ‘Don’t complain. That place was very much in demand.’
‘But not by me.’ Frustration bubbled up inside her. ‘You’re not listening to me!’
Finally he looked at her, his gaze cool. If he was playing games then there was certainly no sign of it.
She took a deep breath and tried again. ‘I didn’t put my name on that list. I don’t want to go with you to Seville.’
One dark eyebrow lifted. ‘It’s a first-class meeting with some excellent speakers,’ he said calmly. ‘You’ll find it very informative and useful.’
‘I’m sure the meeting will be great. This isn’t about the meeting.’
‘So what’s bothering you?’
He was bothering her. And he knew it.
She licked her lips. ‘Jago, I can’t go with you.’