“She sounds like a paragon of virtue.” Something about the way he talked about her made Meredith uneasy. And somehow his vague physical description of her seemed just a bit too sketchy. “How old is she?”
“Thirty-three. She's no kid. And she's pretty bitter about her ex-husband.” He sounded sympathetic.
“Doesn't he have to support the child?”
“He sends her two hundred bucks a month. Apparently, he won't even talk to her, won't see the child, and has since remarried some debutante, and just had twins.”
“Nice guy,” Meredith commented, and then realized that she was jealous, which was ridiculous. Steve wasn't the one who'd kissed Cal on Christmas Eve. She was still sorry that had happened, and feeling guilty about it, because she knew Steve would never have done that. He had always been faithful to her, and so had she. But she also knew it would never happen again. Cal knew how upset she had been, and she also knew she wouldn't let it happen.
Steve took Meredith to the airport when she left, and they looked like newlyweds as they hugged and kissed and held each other. She had promised to come back in two weeks, no matter how busy they both were. She knew now, more than ever, that their visits were vital to them. She left him with a last kiss, boarded the plane, and thought about him all the way to California. But she felt a lot better than she had a week before, when she'd arrived the day after Christmas.
She got back to her apartment in Palo Alto just after midnight, and she fell asleep dreaming of Steve. And she was up bright and early the next morning. She was at her desk, looking busy and pleased when Cal got in, and he stood in her office doorway for a moment. He was searching her face for signs of awkwardness with him, but there were none. She looked up and smiled at him. And he could see that things were different than they had been ever so briefly. She looked happier than she had in weeks, and he was pleased for her.
“How was New York?” But he didn't need to ask. He could see it.
“Terrific. How was Mexico?” She sounded at ease with him, and he was relieved.
“Hot and sunny. Lots of tequila and margaritas.”
“No turista?” She laughed at him and he grinned. He was so happy that she wasn't angry or ill at ease with him, after his stupidity in kissing her on Christmas Eve. He had learned an important lesson. And he'd been lucky. This time. She might have quit, or been furious with him, but she obviously wasn't.
“I think the booze kills all the bugs. It was fine.”
“I'm glad. How are the children?”
“A little jangled. They always are after being with Charlotte. She always seems to unnerve them.”
“They'll settle down now that they're home.”
“How was Steve?” he asked cautiously as he walked into her office carrying the briefcase she had given him for Christmas. He loved it. And she was wearing the Bulgari watch he'd given her. She had left it in San Francisco rather than upset Steve with it, when she went to New York. But all was well in the world for both of them now, and business was booming.
“Steve was off all week for once.” She looked pleased as she said it. “And he's being very reasonable about the job situation. He's stuck there for the next two months anyway. I'm just going to have to make more of an effort to go home on weekends. I'm going back again in two weeks.” And her saying that reminded him of something.
“I've organized a retreat, for top management, in Hawaii in three weeks. I was going to tell you. I think they can use it.” He gave her the dates and she jotted them down on her calendar.
“Sounds good to me,” she smiled at him, and then reminded him they had a finance committee meeting in ten minutes.
“Slave driver. Where's my margarita? Where's the beach?” She laughed and wagged a finger at him in answer.
“Never mind that. The vacation's over. We have a lot of work to do, Mr. Dow.”
“Yes, ma'am,” he saluted, and disappeared to his office to collect his papers.
They worked together after the finance meeting all afternoon, and he could detect only the faintest change in her attitude toward him. She was a little more businesslike, a little more cautious with him, but by the end of the day, everything seemed back to normal. And when she left, she waved cheerily and said she'd see him in the morning. It was as though she had shut him out just a little bit, but he couldn't say that she was wrong to do so. He had thought about her a lot when he was in Mexico, and worried about how things would be when they met again. But worse than that, he had missed talking to her every day, and he was surprised himself to realize that morning how glad he was to see her.
He invited her to dinner with the kids that weekend, but she said she had too much work to do. She spent the day in the office on Saturday, and on Sunday she went to look at more houses in the city, and this time he didn't offer to go with her. And when his kids asked where she was, he told them she was busy. They complained about not seeing her, but he realized it was just as well that he and Meredith backed off from each other a bit. They had ventured into dangerous waters for a little while, and luckily swam clear of them. It was better this way, he knew. But every time he looked at his briefcase over the weekend, he was startled to realize he missed her. He felt oddly close to her, closer than he had been to anyone in years.
Chapter 12
ANNA GONZALEZ HAD come to the trauma unit to work with Steve, but within two days of her arrival, Steve had realized that she was extremely independent. She knew what she had to do, and she had her own ideas. She took direction well from him, but she also had her own opinions. And by the time he came back from his week off with Meredith over the holidays, Anna had gained the respect of everyone she worked with. What's more, they liked her.
She filled him in on everything she'd done the morning he returned, and she had kept careful notes for him, and when he read them, he was astonished.
“You did all this?” he asked, with a look of wonder. She had had department meetings, reorganized a few things for the sake of efficiency. She had changed some schedules, and still managed to do surgery, and treat a staggering number of patients. “Don't you ever go home to your kid?” he teased.
“Not often,” she said somewhat sternly. In spite of the vague description he'd given Meredith, she was a pretty woman and looked younger than her age, but somehow when he was with her, he didn't notice. She didn't smile a lot, and she was intense about her work. There was something about her that said she was all business. But she was incredibly gentle and warm with their patients. She was clearly a woman of many facets.
She had started work before his holiday, but it was only as January droned on that he began to feel he knew her. She was tireless, and willing to work endless hours. She never seemed anxious to go home, although he knew she was devoted to her child, from things she said, and when he asked her why she was willing to work such long hours, and for so many days, she faced him squarely.
“Two reasons. I like what I do, and I need the money.”
“What do you do with your daughter when you're here?” There was something about her that intrigued him. There was something hard about her, or protected perhaps, she had a tough outer shell, and yet at the same time she was very gentle in many ways.
“I leave her at my neighbor's. They have five kids, and she's happy with them.”
“And what about you? Don't you need to go home once in a while? We all need to get out of here so we stay sane,” he said with a tired smile. He had been on duty himself at that point for four days.