Tariq remained beside Roji’s bed, taking his blood pressure every fifteen minutes.
“It has stabilized.” He put the cuff back on the rack.
“That’s good news,” Laurel said, going to the side of the bed.
Tariq looked at her. “I am sorry our ceremony ended like this.”
“I am not surprised. Our relationship has been a rather interesting one so far.”
His smile flashed, the sincere one. “On that we can agree. Now, to keep my promise. As soon as Zara returns we will visit the lab. Soon my country will learn about the remarkable woman I have married.”
Laurel couldn’t ignore the pleasure that flowered within her at his words.
CHAPTER FOUR
TARIQ TURNED SO that his back was in the corner of the car seat to better watch Laurel as they rode through the streets of Zentar. She had looked beautiful in his mother’s gown, and so fragile as she’d come to him. So much so, his chest had ached. Her hand had been shaking as he’d taken it and he’d pulled her close to support her, something he’d been surprised he’d wanted to do.
He had seen to it that they’d had an official who spoke English well to perform the ceremony. Laurel had made it clear she felt manipulated. He did not want that during the ceremony. Her words had been spoken softly. He’d had to concentrate to hear them, which had centered him.
When it had been time to kiss her he had intended to give her a perfunctory one, but the second his lips had touched hers it had changed. Just the initial timid hint of her soft lips against his had made him want more. Tariq had not missed her sigh, or the way her body had been drawn to his. Her fingers had flexed on his forearms. She had been as stirred as he.
At first he had been shocked that she had returned his kiss, then he had become aroused. The kiss had deepened and he’d had to remind himself where they were. He had received a number of reactions to his kisses but never one that had disturbed him like Laurel’s. She had placed some spell on him. Afterwards her eyes had been bright and shining.
He could have lived in that moment forever but she’d blinked then asked about the lab. Other women’s responses had reassured him he was more than an able lover so why had Laurel acted as if it was no big deal to receive his attention? His ego did not appreciate it. Anger had flashed through him that had soon turned to hurt.
Now he was just confounded. For a moment there he had believed Laurel might be interested in making theirs a real marriage. Instead she had questioned him about her work. Maybe he had misread her and all she wanted was to keep their relationship professional. Well, at least he was going to see that she saw her precious lab. Hopefully someday soon he would have a chance to kiss her again and she would admit to her desire.
At this moment he would concentrate on their business relationship. “When did you become interested in hemophilia?”
She did not look his way. He was not sure if it was because she was interested in the sights outside or because she could not meet his eyes. “I cared for a middle-schooler who was a hemophiliac. His case fascinated me. I’d never known anyone with the disease before that. The boy wasn’t an easy patient. It was summer break and he wished he was anywhere but in the hospital.”
Tariq loved the enthusiasm in her voice. She was passionate about what she did and why. It was just another confirmation that she was the right person for his lab. Where passion existed in one area of her life, surely it did in others too. He needed her to be passionate about her work, nothing more.
“I started asking the attending doctor questions about the boy’s care. He told me if I was that curious I should consider research and that he had a friend who ran a lab in Chicago. So when I finished my residency I contacted him.”
“You were impressive with your IV placement ability. It would not have been a pleasant experience for either Roji or me if I had done it.”
She gave him a small smile. “Don’t tell him I got all my practice on mice.”
He chuckled. That drew an odd look from Laurel so he explained. “For a small boy that might be an exciting thought.”
A smile formed on her lips. It changed her entire face, showing him a hint of the beauty he had seen the moment he’d looked up to observe her dressed in his family heirloom gown and coming to join him. She mysteriously peaked his interest. Quiet, blend-into-the-crowd women had never been his thing. In fact, far too often the King had hauled him on the carpet because Tariq had been in the tabloids with some flashy woman. Laurel was the type of person who had always been his girlfriend’s assistant. Not seen or heard.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were a doctor? It seems to me you might lead with that information if you were trying to convince another doctor to work with you,” she said.
“I was meeting you as the Minister of Health.” He liked it when her ire was up. At least she was not dismissing him, like she had earlier.
“Where did you do your training?”
“I studied at Harvard.”
Her eyes widened. “One of the best in the country.”
“Yes, but now I do more administrative and public appearance work than practice medicine.” He wished it was the other way around.
“I’m sure what you do administratively is very important.”
He surveyed her. Her fingers were long and narrow with fingernails neatly trimmed, which would be necessary in her profession. Then he added, “But I do miss caring for people. When I get the clinic and lab open and running, I plan to put in some time actually working there.” Part of his push to help was for selfish reasons. The research would benefit his family.
“The other day you didn’t strike me as being a particularly humble man.”
He gave her a narrow-eyed look. No one, other than the King, had dared speak that freely to him since he’d been at school. Her shocked look and pink cheeks made him chuckle. He laughed more often since she had arrived.
“I’m so sorry. Sometimes things just come out of my mouth without me thinking. The downside of working in a lab all day by myself.”
“Apology accepted.” Had he come on so strongly she had been intimidated by him? Maybe he had. He’d been so focused on getting the best person to lead his clinic it had never occurred to him that Laurel might not want the job. After all, she had not been looking for the position. He had just assumed she would never refuse his offer since she had no other funding. Then he had made it worse by insisting she marry him.
A few minutes later he escorted her through the automatic sliding doors into the coolness of the building. Pride flowed anew through him. It was like being a new parent, showing off his baby for the first time to somebody he wished to impress.
“To the left is the clinic. There is an additional entrance on that side where the majority of the patients enter. This section...” he pointed to the hallway running down the center of the building “...is the administrative offices. You will have an office there. This way to the lab.”
They stopped before a solid door on the right side of the building. Tariq pulled a plastic card out of his pocket and swiped it. The door clicked open. He allowed Laurel to enter ahead of him then led her down a short hall to a glass door. There he put his forefinger on a reader, then swiped his card again.
Tariq’s attention returned to her lab. A far more comfortable subject. “There is three-step entrance security to your lab. To get into it will require a retinal scan. The security is state of the art. A guard also patrols twenty-four hours a day. You will be issued a card tomorrow.” The door slid sideways.
“Impressive.” She sounded as if she meant it. There was far more enthusiasm in her tone than there had been when they had been reciting wedding vows.
His chest swelled a little larger. “Your lab is this way.”
The door closed behind them. They walked down a hall with glass-walled rooms on either side.
“Those work
ing with you will report tomorrow. I wanted them to start under your leadership, not mine.”
Laurel gave him a long inscrutable look.
He returned it. “Is there a problem?”
“No. Just thinking that was considerate of you.”
From her tone he was confident that was not what she had been thinking. “I hope I am most of the time.”
She huffed.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“I doubt that’s true.” She observed each room they passed.
“You may be right. My job doesn’t often afford me that pleasure.” He stopped in front of a door to a lab twice the size of the others. “This is yours.” He put his eye next to the retina scanner. The door opened with a swoosh. They stepped into the outer chamber. He was in the process of removing sterile covering when Laurel stopped him.
“Don’t do that. I’ll go inside tomorrow.”
Tariq nodded. “Here you will have to use your card again to enter. Once you are inside no one can enter without you allowing them in. The system will recognize that there are two people coming in at the same time and will not allow that unless you unlock it with a code. This is to be changed daily by you.”
Her attention was less on what he was saying and more on the room in front of her. In fact, she had gone off into her own world and seemed to have completely forgotten he was there. That bothered him, but it was still fascinating to see her in her element. He could imagine the excitement that bubbled in her. Never had he been so alert to a woman’s emotions. Laurel definitely had a curious effect on him.
“This is amazing. It lacks for nothing. You even have a couple of machines that are considered the latest diagnostic equipment.”