Chapter One
Faith Daniels stared at Cheryl's closed fist and the short plastic straws it contained. Trepidation rippled up her spine. She hated this. Her gaze flew to Jolene, who chewed her lower lip nervously. The two of them were the last two nurses in the lounge left to choose. "Go ahead, Jo. Pick one."
Jolene's hand trembled as she reached out to grab a straw before she snatched her hand back. "I can't, Faith. You go."
"Well, somebody better draw. Nurses' report ended five minutes ago, and I know the night shift is probably more than ready to go home," Cheryl, the day charge nurse, urged.
"Oh, what the hell. I'll go." Faith inhaled a deep breath and grasped the smooth plastic. Not again. Please, God. Not again.
She pulled and out slipped the one inch stump she'd been dreading. Cheryl opened her palm to reveal the single straw that was about an inch and a half longer than the one Faith held. Her heart skipped a beat. Her silent prayer had fallen on deaf ears—again. A collective sigh of relief escaped the other nurses. They collected their stethoscopes and started to make their escape.
"Thank God!" Jolene said dramatically, wiping her hands on her hot pink scrub pants. "I couldn't bear the thought of putting up with him today." She gave Faith an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Faith, but better you than me." Jolene picked her stethoscope up off the table and left for shift report like her hind end was on fire.
"Damn. How do I always get the short straw, Cheryl?" Faith's gaze pinned the only nurse still left in the room. "What have I done to deserve this?"
"It's called Karma, Faith. You just don't have any." Cheryl chuckled. "Cheer up. At least he'll be in surgery for a while and won't be able to start in right away." She patted Faith on the back and followed the others.
Faith turned to her open locker and grasped her stethoscope. She wrapped it around her neck, then slammed the door shut with enough force that it bounced back open. She was going to have to deal with him for the fourth shift in a row. The thought depressed her.
Him.
Dr. Stone Lassiter.
God's gift to cardiovascular surgery.
At least in his own over-inflated opinion. A derisive snort escaped her and she closed her locker. Since he'd come to Deerborne County General last year, she'd made it a habit to avoid him as much as possible. But, when forced to deal with his anger when he was on a roll, she fired right back with an over-exaggerated sweetness guaranteed to get on his nerves. Her behavior was childish, she knew, but she couldn't seem to help herself. His superior, know-it-all attitude made him an easy target. She didn't like the way he treated the nursing staff. He was often rude and impatient when he gave orders.
Was it really necessary to snap and yell at people when things didn't go as planned? This was a hospital with living, breathing patients. Nothing ever went as planned. What did he expect, robots?
That's what was so wonderful about her job. A new challenge every day.
Wasn't there an old saying about honey versus lemons? Obviously, Doctor Granite-head hadn't heard of it.
What he needed was a healthy dose of his own medicine now and then, and Faith was very good at medication administration.
Staring at the bulletin board full of educational opportunities and kudos for excellent team work amongst staff, she sighed. Of course, it didn't help that he was six-feet of well muscled M-A-N. Half the female staff became tongue-tied in his presence. Worse, when they had him on the phone and heard that sexy baritone over the line, they'd forget why they'd paged him in the first place. Which only provoked more of his condescending attitude.
Faith couldn't blame those nurses, though. When she'd first seen his honey-blonde hair and deep chocolate brown eyes, she'd wanted to drool over the new doctor, too. His perfect physique would've given a Greek goddess reason to salivate. Then Stone Lassiter had opened his mouth and ruined the moment. Too bad his ego filled up any room he walked into.
Faith left the lounge and inhaled the familiar scent of the hospital. The unique smell tickled her nose as she entered the nurses' station—a combination of antiseptic and commercial cleaning materials. Her stiff shoulders relaxed a fraction, and she scanned the room. The low hum of conversation buzzed around her, along with the different chimes of call lights bleeping patients' needs and the heart monitor signaling minor changes in the beat of their hearts.
Nurses were paired together as they quietly discussed night shift's accounting of each patient's condition. She spied Chad Thorson sitting by himself next to the central cardiac monitor. Thinking he had her patient assignment, she plopped down in the vacant chair next to him. "Hi, Chad. You must have the patient in SI-7 going for open heart surgery today."
"And, you must be the lucky nurse to have drawn the short straw," Chad said. "Again," he added, a mischievous glint in his brown eyes.
"Yeah, yeah." Faith grimaced. "Have all the fun at my expense you want, Thorson. Rub it in. Go ahead. But remember who wants my tickets to a certain concert next week. I may decide to forgo studying and tell the new pharmacist I'm available for a date after all." Faith slipped two tickets to the Van Halen concert out of her pocket and waved them in front of Chad. "Who knows when Eddie and David will be able to come to terms and tour again after this? Rumor has it, this is their last concert, but don't fret—I'll pick you up a T-shirt."
Chad's shoulders straightened and he sobered instantly. The dimples disappeared from his cheeks and he raked a hand through his black hair, sending the thick waves into disarray. "Oh, come on, Faith. I was only razzin' ya. This is the concert event of the season."
She smiled and handed the tickets over. "I know, but it was fun to see you humbled, if only for a moment."
Chad grabbed the tickets and kissed them fervently. "Yes! You're the greatest." His glance slid over to Jolene. "She's going to love this. Hey, when we're done with report, walk with me back to the lounge and I'll pay you for them."
Nodding, Faith pulled the pen from behind her ear and took the patient clip board from him. "Okay. What can you tell me about this lady?"
"Mrs. Humphrey is a seventy-two year old woman who came in during the night complaining of chest pain. She received the usual meds in the ER—aspirin, a couple doses of morphine, and was started on a nitro drip which we are to titrate to relieve her pain. Currently, I have her on fifty-five micrograms per minute, and have steadily advanced it. She's still having intermittent tightening in her chest."
"Is her blood pressure tolerating that high a dose?" Faith asked, concerned, knowing how quickly nitroglycerin can drop a patient's blood pressure.
"Yes. In fact, we started her on a beta-blocker and gave her three separate five milligram doses of IV lopresser because of her hypertension. That seemed to help. Not only did it bring her heart rate down from the 120s, but her blood pressure had been 184/97. After the lopresser and the nitro, she's now hanging out in the 140/80 range."
"Okay, so if she's just a chest pain, why is Dr. Lassiter on board? Couldn't they just take her to the cath lab and do angioplasty to open her arteries up?"
Chad laughed. "You wish. Then you wouldn't have to deal with you-know-who."
Faith glowered at him.
Chad held his hands up in mock surrender. "All right, I was only teasing you. They did whisk her off to cath lab from the ER to try and open the blockages in her heart, but the occlusions are in difficult places to reach and they were unsuccessful. So, Dr. Lassiter was consulted to do her bypass. Since she's still having intermittent pain, he bumped his other case and is going to operate on her first. She's already had the two hibiclens scrubs to her chest and legs, the pre-op checklist is completed, and her consents are signed."
"Good. What about labs? I'm assuming her cardiac enzymes came back positive."
"You'd be right, of course." Chad grinned. "Just like I'm going to bet you'll draw the short straw again tomorrow."
"I'd take that bet," Cheryl said.
"Me, too," Jolene chimed in.
"Face it, Faith." Chad leaned in. "The odds are in my favor." A round of laughter erupted from all the staff present.
Her suspicion returned, burning in the pit of her stomach. Had they been rigging the straws? It seemed unlikely she'd get the same one four shifts in a row. She caught the shared secretive glances and smirks on their faces. From now on, she'd pay closer attention.
"Oh, you guys are a riot. It isn't my fault I pulled that damn straw four shifts in a row. Maybe we should change it to rock, paper, scissors—even the playing field a bit. You guys probably color code the straws or something." Faith held her head between her hands and feigned a severe headache. "Maybe I'll call in sick tomorrow."
"You never call in sick." Jolene gave Chad a knowing glance. "Chad and I have been discussing the problem Dr. Rockhead presents. What we need is someone to haul him down to the quarry."
"Well, I wish you luck. Lord knows I don't have any." Faith pulled the short straw out of her scrub pocket and waved it at them. "Remember?"
"No, you're not understanding what Jolene is saying." Chad stared at Faith meaningfully. "We want you to get him off our backs."
"Me?" Faith shook her head. "Uh, huh." Placing her hand across Chad's brow, Faith looked him over as she would one of her patients. "Have you dipped into the narcs, Thorson? Because I swear you must be on drugs if you seriously think I'm going anywhere near Dr. Lassiter." She dangled the short bit of straw in front of them. "This is the only reason I have to be in the same room and breathe the same air as Dr. Lassiter."
It wasn't as if Faith didn't want Dr. Lassiter to be more respectful and courteous to the staff. She did. She'd tried several times to discuss the issue with him, and he'd blown her off in typical Dr. Lassiter fashion. He didn't see his behavior as a problem, therefore there wasn't one. Faith sighed, regretting her failure to help him see reason.
"Come on, Faith. You're the only one he doesn't yell at," Jolene whined.
Faith arched a brow.
"Okay," Jolene amended. "You're the only one he doesn't yell at—much." Apprehension shone in her eyes. "I was hoping you could at least talk to him, Faith. I can't take much more of this stress when I come to work. I think I'm going to start hunting for another job."
"Don't you think I've tried talking to him? The man doesn't listen to a thing I say." She would hate to see Jolene leave. She was a great friend and an excellent nurse, but what else could Faith do? Her mind searched for a solution. Jolene wasn't the first nurse who'd thought about leaving because of him. The unit had already lost two very good nurses because of him and his inability to play nice with others in the school yard.
"But I've seen the way he looks at you, Faith. If you just batted your lashes and tossed him an interested 'I'm available' stare, he'd be putty in your hands. I just know if he were dating one of the nurses, he'd change his ways," Chad said.
"All right, Chad. Now I know you're hallucinating. He doesn't look at me any way. If you're so sure your scheme will work, find someone else. I haven't had a date in months because I'm trying to get into med school. Have you forgotten what happened last Friday when I tried to take the MCAT again? I'm in a self-imposed dating exile, remember? I won't allow myself to have a social life until I pass that darn exam."
The MCAT—her nemesis. High marks on the medical college admission test would ensure her entrance into med school. The admissions process was rigorous and the competition stiff. Faith felt she had a good grasp of the information, but when she sat before the computer screen last week to take the exam, she froze. Worse, when she started the verbal portion of the test, she couldn't even remember her own name!
She didn't understand it. After all, she'd passed her nursing boards. Why should the MCAT be any different?
"I bet Dr. Lassiter could cure your test anxiety, Faith," Cheryl teased.
Faith groaned. "Yeah, that's all I need. I'll study the old fashioned way, thank you very much." She straightened in her chair and poised her pen over her report sheet. "Now, Chad. What time is Mrs. Humphrey scheduled for surgery?"
Listening to the rest of Chad's report with half an ear, Faith's thoughts drifted back to Dr. Lassiter. An image of his hard, chocolate brown eyes rose before her. What would it be like to melt that chocolate? Faith shivered. What was wrong with her? She'd never thought of Dr. Lassiter in those terms before. He was too stuffy. Too stiff. Too something. Definitely not her type.
Like Miles had been your type?
Her internal voice mocked.
Faith snorted and Chad gave her a strange look. She ignored him, her thoughts swirling around in her head. Miles had left her high and dry when he'd graduated from law school. The last thing she needed was another thoughtless, selfish man in her life. She'd learned that lesson the hard way.
Lately, she'd realized something was missing. Everyone she worked with was continuing their education by taking classes to earn their Masters Degrees to either go into teaching or receive a nurse practioner's license. Faith realized she'd never completed her own dream to become a doctor. She had Miles to thank for that, too. He'd left her a mound of debt and taken their meager savings.
Faith blamed herself for being gullible. She'd put the needs of a man before her own and had paid the consequences. Without conceit, she knew she was one of the best damn nurses in this hospital and she'd gotten here on her own. She'd make her dream come true.
The conversation about Dr. Lassiter had reminded her of her nonexistent social life. After Miles, she'd chosen her dates carefully. She liked to go out and have fun, but dropped a guy if he tried to turn the relationship into something more serious. Faith didn't do serious. And the one thing she knew about Dr. Lassiter, he was way too serious about his work. She didn't even want to imagine how he'd be in a personal relationship.
*POSTED 6/23/08
Troubled, Doctor Stone Lassiter entered the surgical intensive care unit. His thoughts drifted to the early morning meeting he'd had with the foundation chair. He'd left there filled with dread. Things hadn't gone as well as he'd hoped.
Robert Mahr was one of his biggest supporters for the new heart center. Hell, Stone had operated on Rob six months ago, and he'd flown through his recovery. Stone had thought presenting his proposal would be one of the easiest tasks he could accomplish.
How could he have been so wrong?
The encounter with Rob replayed in his mind.
"Deerborne is a family institution, built on precise core values. I've got to tell you, Stone, I don't think the foundation will approve the funding for the new operating suite or heart center."
Stone's hands had tightened on the arms of the easy chair he'd been sitting in. "Why not?"
"Because there have been a few complaints from the staff that you're difficult to work with. You've been here a year, and yet, we never see you at any of the charity functions and don't know how you interact with others first hand. Are you sure Deerborne is the right place for you? You're the only heart surgeon we have and we'd love to keep you. Hell, I know first hand what a great job you can do with a scalpel." A frown creased his brows and concern reflected in his pale blue eyes. Rob rubbed his chest almost absently.
"Complaints? About what? From who? That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard," Stone said, barely able to contain his outrage. "I came here because this is where I want to build my practice. I don't want to go anywhere else. I have to practice here."
"The complaints are mostly from the nursing staff about how you deliver your orders. They say you're very rude. And, ridiculous or not, I'm telling you how the board thinks. A lot of our nurses have been here for years. But, some have threatened to quit. The majority of our board members are retired physicians who are very old fashioned. Think old school, pal. It's easier to replace one heart surgeon versus a dozen nurses these days."
"So, what do you suggest I do?" Sweat had broken out on Stone's brow as he saw everything he'd worked so hard for teeter on the brink of destruction. He had to practice at Deerborne. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to keep his promise.
"Why, get them to change their minds about you, of course! Or, at least show the nurses you're willing to compromise with them." Rob smiled. "You want a suggestion? How about you bring one of the nurses to Deerborne's Annual Charity Dinner on Saturday as a gesture of good will? All the important members of the board will be there."
Stone rose to leave. He'd heard enough.
"And Stone? I highly recommend you take my suggestion. It would diminish the cloud hanging over your head as far as the board is concerned."
Stone returned to the present, shaking his head.
Bring one of the nurses?
Was Rob out of his mind? Would the board think he was actually dating one of them? How would that look?
Why would they complain in the first place? He wasn't rude. He was just…focused. How was his relationship with the nursing staff any different than any of the other doctors? Besides, there wasn't one nurse he was remotely interested in.
Stone walked into the nurses' station and his gaze locked on one nurse in particular.
Well, except maybe her.
Faith Daniels. A cool, green eyed blonde, with her long hair coiled at the nape of her neck. Five-foot, eight inches of pure trouble. Was she one of the nurses who'd complained? He seemed to remember her asking him to be a little more respectful of the nursing staff, but he couldn't remember the details.
Stone rubbed his jaw, trying to recall the details. To tell the truth, he hadn't paid much attention to what came out of her mouth when she spoke. He teetered on the fine line of the doctor/nurse relationship when it came to Faith. The man in him wanted more from the woman she was, but the doctor in him always held him back. He prided himself on his control—at all times the consummate professional.
What he told himself and what actually happened when he was around her were two different things. Stone became easily distracted by the flash of her emerald eyes when she was angry or the plumpness of her lips when she pursed them together in that little way when he annoyed her just so. And oh, yeah, his favorite, when her breasts heaved as she inhaled deeply after he'd said something to frazzle her nerves. His gut clenched as he studied her.
Their exchanges were always like a good boxing match, even though she kept her tone honey-sweet. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and mentally prepared himself for the bout to come. They invigorated him as nothing had since…he shook his head, not wanting to think of Debbie. Guilt niggled and settled like lead in his stomach. He shouldn't be thinking of Faith at all. He had a promise to fulfill. He was here to make a difference, not stare at the nurses' breasts. No matter how tantalizing the package…
Rob's words whispered in the back of his mind, compromise. Stone wasn't completely unreasonable. He could do compromise. Why not show the nurses he wasn't the complete ogre they thought he was and have them eating out of his hands? But who should he take to the charity dinner on Saturday?
His gaze was drawn back to Faith. She'd just received the Nurse of the Year Award for outstanding service to Deerborne. Confident he could continue to keep his attraction for her in check, he knew she was the only choice.
She'd never go out with you in a million years, Lassiter.
Something primitive welled up in him. Why not? How hard could it be to get her to change her mind? He held pumping hearts in his hand during surgery everyday. Surely he could melt Faith Daniel's heart?
He stopped at the desk. She sat behind the counter writing, her concentration centered on a chart. Stone formed a quick plan. "Hello, Faith. Are you taking care of Mrs. Humphrey by any chance?"
"Yes," she said without looking up. "She's all ready for surgery, Dr. Lassiter."
"Good." Why won't she look at me? "How'd I get so lucky to have you as my patient's nurse again today? This is—what? The third shift in a row?"
"Fourth," she corrected. "And luck had nothing to do with it since I don't have any. I drew the short straw." Faith lifted her head then and grimaced. "Cheryl says it has something to do with my bad Karma."
Was she serious? He searched her face. She certainly appeared serious. Boxing match, remember? Ouch! She hit below the belt with that one. "Very funny, Faith."
Her eyes narrowed, and she smirked. "You think I'm joking?"
She reached into her scrub pocket and pulled out a very short piece of plastic straw. The lead in his stomach weighed a ton. Rob was right. He had to do some serious damage control here.
"I'd like a word with you," he said in a low tone.
Faith checked her watch. "Well, actually, now isn't a good time. Pre-op is on their way for Mrs. Humphrey." She stood. "And PACU just called and wants to bring up an appendectomy that has peritonitis and is going into septic shock."
She turned and left the nurses' station. His beeper vibrated at the waist of his scrubs. He glanced down and read the message. Damn. Pre-op telling him they were coming to get Mrs. Humphrey. Stone followed Faith into his patient's room.
"Good morning, Mrs. Humphrey. Are you ready for surgery?" Stone asked the older woman in the bed.
"As ready as I'm going to be, doctor," Mrs. Humphrey said weakly. "I just want this pain to go away."
She was pale and had a pinched look about her lips. He reached over and touched her damp skin. The monitor above the bed showed an irregular rhythm. Mrs. Humphrey was throwing a lot of variant beats which could hurl her into a lethal heart arrhythmia, putting her at high risk for cardiac arrest.
"When did she start having all those PVCs?" he asked Faith, unable to keep the hard edge out of his voice.
Faith stopped in the middle of switching all monitoring cables and IV lines over to the portable transport equipment. "About a half hour ago. I called cardiology and they ordered her an amiodarone bolus of 150 milligrams, and a drip at one milligram per minute. The bolus just finished five minutes ago and the drip is infusing."
Amiodarone would help his patient's arrhythmia, but he should've been notified of the changes. "And why wasn't I told?"
Faith let out a huge sigh and Stone's glance was drawn to her heaving chest, distracting him from his patient's problem. "Dr. Lassiter, you know the rules. Until Mrs. Humphrey has had her surgery, cardiology is in charge."
"Well, it's a stupid rule," he snapped, angry with himself for letting her distract him. "I want to be informed of all changes before cardiology from now on. Is that clear?"
"I can certainly do that for you, sir. As long as the order is written in the charts on every single patient where cardiology is involved, I can do whatever you want." Faith's green eyes blazed with unleashed fury, but her voice still kept that sugary tone that grated on his nerves. Shit! How did she manage to get under his skin?
Turning on his heel, he left to go scrub for surgery. Pushing the button to summon the staff elevator, he cursed under his breath.
Very smooth, Lassiter. You blew it.
So much for compromise. Time for a better plan.
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