I shook my head. “You know what I want. If we can approve this zoning then I can be through with them forever.”
“You think it’ll be that simple?”
“It had better be.” I met his gaze and held it. “I’m not going to let them roll over me. I’ve already negotiated them down to this.”
“And yet now I’m involved.” He let out an annoyed breath. “After all the fighting with them, it comes down to this.”
“Please, Fred. I wouldn’t ask you this if it weren’t important.”
He looked at me again then sank back down into his chair, looking defeated and exhausted. “I’m sure it took a lot to come to me like this.”
“Yes, it really did.”
That was an understatement. I knew my career was on the line. Fred Martin was a powerful figure in this city, and he could make or break me on a whim. If he decided that I’d gone too far and gotten myself mixed up with unsavory characters, then he could toss me out in the trash and I’d never work in a Philly-area hospital again. I’d have to start over somewhere else—and though that wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, it wasn’t what I wanted, not right now in particular, when Erica’s mom was still in her coma and on life support.
I wasn’t the kind of man that asked for help or favors. I’d worked hard my whole life and gotten here all on my own, and now my fate rested in the hands of someone else. I hated it and wished I could do something to change it, but this was my best option. He looked at me for a moment and let out a long sigh before nodding, seemingly resigned.
“I’ll do this for you, Gavin,” he said, voice soft. “But if I do, you’ll owe me. And you can forget about getting that promotion.”
I noticed Erica stiffen beside me. Her eyes went wide and she stared at me like Fred was about to plunge a dagger in my heart.
I leaned forward and nodded. “That’s a deal.”
“Fine. I’ll push their zoning request through.”
“Gavin,” Erica said, but I put a hand on her knee.
“Thank you, Fred.”
He nodded and waved a hand. “Listen, I’ve got a patient soon, so if you wouldn’t mind?”
“Of course.” I stood up. “I’m sorry for dragging you into this, but you’re saving my life.”
“I’m not doing it for you,” he said. “I’m doing it because you’re trying to help her out, and because you’re willing to sacrifice to make it happen. I admire that in a man.”
I nodded once and turned to leave. Erica lingered, and I knew she wanted to fight this, but I wouldn’t let her. It was over, and this was our path now, whether she liked it or not. I pushed open the door and walked outside, and she reluctantly followed.
“Why did you do that?” she asked on our walk back to her mother’s room.
“You know why.”
“The whole reason we got involved was to get you that promotion.”
I smirked at her. “That was my excuse.”
“What, now you’re pretending like you didn’t want the promotion after all?”
“Of course I did, but that’s not why I did this.” I stopped walking and faced her. She looked up into my eyes and wrapped her arms around herself, shutting herself off from me. I could see she wanted to fight, and didn’t want to take my word for it, but I wasn’t going to let her pull away, not again. “I did this because I wanted to help you, and that’s what I’m doing.”
“Come on, Gavin. You told me you wanted to make a deal.”
“Because you wouldn’t have let me marry you otherwise.” I stepped closer, heart beating in even, rough thuds as I put my hands on her hips. Nurses hustled past pushing a patient in a wheelchair, and I moved Erica off to the side to get her out of the way. “Tell me you would’ve married me if I hadn’t used that excuse.”
“Of course I wouldn’t have.”
“Then I made the right call. There will be other jobs, but there’s only one you.”
She tightened her hands into fists. “I never wanted to drag you down with me.”
“You’re not dragging me anywhere.” I tilted her chin up toward me and kissed her softly. “I feel like I’m getting the better part of this bargain.”
She opened her mouth to argue but my pager began to beep. I looked down and sucked in a breath.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Sorry. Emergency, I have to go.”
“Right now?”
I nodded and kissed her cheek. “I’ll talk to you later, okay?”
She said something, but I couldn’t hear. I strode off as fast as I could, half jogging toward the elevators, my mind already slipping away from that conversation in Fred’s office and onto my patients. Even in the midst of something difficult and distracting, my patients were the most important thing, and I’d do anything for them.