Hollywood Temptation

But her mind instantly drifted back to Dr. Hot.

She ran a hand across the however-many-thread-count luxury sheets, and couldn’t help but smile. She imagined having some fun with her fellow sci-fi freak playing dress up. How about the good girl and the bad guy? Him, as Anakin Skywalker, and her as Padme. Hmmm…

She touched her hip. His hand had been there only an hour ago.

The gorgeous surgeon with the come-to-bed eyes was definitely turned on by her. It lit a fire inside her. Why? He must see women a whole lot prettier than her every single day.

But they’d connected. There had definitely been a spark from the second she’d laid eyes on him. She flopped back on the bed. Wow. Colt Travers. If only.

Working at Seacliffe would get her back on track. Maybe in the meantime she could have some fun? Because Seacliffe definitely had some major distractions.

Three weeks. Three weeks. Three weeks. She chanted the words over and over in her head.

Could she really hold out that long? Or more importantly, could he?

Chapter Five

It was official. Magdalena was a complete cow.

Not only that, it appeared the whole world revolved around Magdalena. Or so she thought.

She had eight “people” with her. And it still wasn’t enough. She was speaking to Selena as if she were her lapdog.

If she referred to her “Colty” once more, Selena was going to slap her.

Magdalena was currently holding court and talking at the top of her voice. “Do I smell dog in here?” Her perfect nostrils twitched as she sniffed the air around her. “I hate dogs. Mangy mutts.” She looked over a Selena. “Get some flowers to get rid of that smell. But they must be deep pink roses. Only deep pink roses—Charlotte Armstrong’s. Nothing else will do.” She waved her hand dismissively as she swept out of the room.

Revenge was a dish best served cold, and Selena knew exactly how to do it. She picked up the phone. “Mrs. Merkel? Hi, it’s Selena at the clinic. How would you like to come and join Dr. Travers for lunch today? You will? Fabulous. Oh, don’t worry, you can leave Toto with me. I’ll be happy to walk him for you.”

She replaced the receiver with a smile. Perfect.

Magdalena and Mrs. Merkel in one room? She couldn’t wait. The sparks would fly. Magdalena was bound to hate dogs and Mrs. Merkel would waste no time in letting her know that the world did not revolve around her.

“What you looking so happy about?” said Colt huskily.

Shivers down her spine at the mere sound of his voice. Wow.

She spun around in her chair. “Do you know what? We’re going to have to lay some ground rules. You’ve got a terrible habit of sneaking up on me and I don’t like it. It’s got to stop.” She almost chanted out loud Three weeks, three weeks… Anything that might stop her pulse rate from rising.

His eyebrows lifted in amusement. It seemed as if he spent most of his time hiding his laughter around her. He lowered his head and whispered in her ear. “How are you getting along with Magdalena? Has she complained about the smell or the temperature yet?”

Selena pasted a grin on her face. “Nothing I can’t handle. By the way, Mrs. Merkel called. She wants to have lunch with you today. I said you’d be more than happy to.”

There was the slightest waver in his smile. His voice lowered, laden with innuendo. “Did you set me up, Selena? Worried in case I distract you from work?”

She pretended to be shocked. “Colt, as if I would do something like that.” She batted her eyelids at him. “I responded to a client request, that’s all.”

The twinkle in his eye remained. “No problem. Now, let me take Magdalena out of your hair.” He straightened up and strode across the waiting room. “Magdalena, come with me. I’m so sorry to have kept you.” He kissed her on both cheeks.

Selena watched her skinny-ass sashay across the room. Not a tiny pick of fat on her skeletal but muscular frame. The fifty different types of fitness DVDs she constantly plugged on the shopping channels were obviously working. She wondered what part of her body Magdalena wanted surgery on.

Did she really do the DVDs, or did was it all just Photoshopping and airbrushing?

She breathed a sigh of relief. Magdalena was gone and it was time to get back to work. She already knew that her main task today was billing. Working in Seacliffe had piqued her curiosity. She could see the basics. Name, address, and real date of birth. But she couldn’t see anything in advance about what procedures people were coming in for. That information was only appeared on the surgical lists for the day.

She pulled up the latest one for today. One TV weathergirl was getting her breasts enlarged and one comedienne was getting a face-lift. Selena was guessing it would be around her twelfth surgery.

As for Magdalena? Nothing would be revealed unless she turned up on one of the surgical lists in the near future.

Colt had talked her through all the changes that had been made at the clinic prior to the leaks. Someone had accessed information via the computer system, so in the meantime, they were back to using paper records kept inside a locked room with only the surgeons holding the keys. The computer system was due to get updated with better security measures in the next few weeks, and everyone was antsy. The way people were talking, it would practically take a DNA test to get into the new system.

It made sense. Selena wouldn’t really want anyone to be able to access her medical records at the touch of a button. The only time she’d know what was going on was when she was asked to type up the operating-room schedules.

Magdalena’s people were using the free time to get some relief from her, so the waiting room was empty.

Selena pulled up some of the internal accounts. One of her responsibilities was to enter some of the staff data around their hours worked. It hadn’t been entered for a few weeks.

She blinked.

It took her a few moments to get her head around what she was seeing. Helen Ridgeway owned the real estate outright, but there were also files about ongoing costs—and they were big. Staff costs were virtually nothing in comparison.

Seacliffe spent money a bit like she used to.

Plus there was a planned revamp of the spa area with a huge amount set aside for it. There was also a large percentage of the clinic’s profits filtered toward Helen’s House. Colt had mentioned it to her—they did a huge amount of free work for women and children suffering from domestic abuse. There was also a separate special fund for children’s facial surgeries. Although all members of staff earned a comfortable living, it was clear they really weren’t in it for the money.

Something clicked inside in her head. No wonder Helen Ridgeway had been so terse around her when they’d met the other day.

If the bad publicity continued, and the stars stopped coming here for their surgery, then Helen’s House would be affected whether they liked it or not. She cringed when she realized she hadn’t paid her bill and was having to work off the costs. All the staff in the clinic were big supporters of Helen’s House.

No one had mentioned it to her. Not even Helen Ridgeway, and that woman had the scariest presence ever. She’d spoken to her in the corridor the other day.

So far, she’d only said around ten words to Selena. And that was plenty.

“Hey, Selena. Have you finished inputting the staff hours?”

She spun around in her chair. Lucille, one of the girls from the accounts office, was standing behind her. Her face was red and her hair all over the place.

“What’s wrong?”

Lucille was one of the first people in the clinic to go out of her way to make Selena feel welcome. And she hadn’t mentioned the fact Selena was actually paying off a bill, even though she must have known.

Lucille looked over her shoulder, shuffling the pile of papers in her hand and pushing her glasses back up her nose. “What do you mean?”

Selena stood up and gestured toward the coffee room. There was no one in the waiting room right now. The next

patient wasn’t due for another half an hour. She lifted the papers out of Lucille’s arms. “Let’s go grab a coffee and sit down for ten minutes.”

She shut off her computer and walked to the nearby coffee room, pressing the button on the shiny silver machine to deliver two lattes.

Even the staff room was pristine. The cream-colored travertine floor continued in here, with black, stylish units and a glass-topped table where the staff could sit. Selena pulled out one of the high-backed chairs. “Sit down, Lucille, while I go on a cookie hunt.”

She searched through a few of the kitchen units and eventually found a cardboard box. “Aha, I was sure I saw Colt bring these in this morning.”

She sat down at a small table and pushed some of the nearby patisserie’s chocolate chip and raisin and oatmeal cookies across to Lucille. “So, what’s wrong?”

Lucille let out a sigh. “I’m sort of struggling with some of the figures. Barney, the accountant, delegates a lot of the work. Most of the time, it’s fine. I’m familiar with all the system. But sometimes I feel in over my head.”

“Is there anything I can help you with?”

Lucille sighed. “Do you have a magic ball?”

“No, but I did get an MBA from Brown, specializing in accounts.”

Lucille’s mouth dropped open. “Really?”

Selena nodded. “Really.” She took a sip of her coffee. “Listen, I know I might not be great with my own finances, but that doesn’t mean I’m not capable of helping you out. Do you want me to look over the figures with you? I’m good at spotting anomalies. I might be able to see something that you can’t.”