Chapter 3

• “I’ll get it, but thank you.” I smile as I rub her shoulders. “What would we do without you?”
• Maria smirks as she ticks the second thing off her list. “Let’s be honest, you have to approve everything anyway, so I really work for you. I’m actually your PA, not Nathan’s.”
• I chuckle. “This is true.”
• She goes back to her list. “Ahh, now on the 27th, which is a Monday, in six weeks, Nathan has a breakfast meeting in New York at 8:00 a.m. Shall I book him on a Sunday flight, or would you prefer to have you both on the Friday night flight? He isn’t in surgery until the Wednesday the following week so you could make a weekend of it.”
• “Umm.” I screw my face up as I think. “I’ll have to try and get the Monday off work but if I get this new job, I’m not sure I can.”
• “Well, you know he won’t go for the entire weekend without you.”
• “That’s fine. I’ll take the day off, and if I can’t, he’ll have to go alone.”
• Maria ticks her list. “Okay, so I’ll book your usual hotel for Friday, Saturday and Sunday night, which will be the twenty-fourth, twenty-fifth, and twenty-sixth?”
• “Great. Don’t book the flights yet, though. I’ll have to get back to you on whether I can go or not.”
• The intercom comes to life on Haley’s desk. She’s the other receptionist. “Haley?” Nathan’s strong voice snaps through the speaker.
• “Yes, Doctor?” She replies timidly.
• “Where is the report from Dominque? I asked you to email me it on Monday. I’m looking for it and it’s not here.”
• Haley cringes before she pushes the talk button down. “I’m sorry, I haven’t sent it through yet. I’ll do that now.”
• He exhales heavily, and Maria and I wince, knowing what’s coming.
• “Haley…” he barks.
• “Yes, sir?”
• “I cannot do my job unless you do yours. When I ask you to do something, I want it done immediately. Do you understand?”
• “Yes, Doctor.”
• “Have you sent it yet?”
• “Doing it now.”
• The line goes dead as he hangs up.
• Maria smirks and goes back to her list. “Charming, isn’t he?”
• I smile with a roll of my eyes.
• Nathan Mercer is unapologetically the most impatient man on Earth, and understandably so. He expects excellence from everyone because that’s what he gives.
• He’s a cardiovascular surgeon… but not just any cardiovascular surgeon. He’s the man who prototyped and patented a new kind of bionic heart: The Viso 220. Five years ago, he had a patient who didn’t fit the regular requirements, and Nathan knew how he could fix it. After much deliberation, he used his entire life savings and developed a heart for her.
• It saved her life, and it made him a medical rock star.
• He now has a factory in Germany that manufactures them and ships all over the world. I’m so proud of him. At the time, when he poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into making the prototype, everyone tried to talk him out of it. They thought he was insane to use his own money on developing a product that had no guarantees. But Nathan had a clear vision of what he could develop, and he did it—he’s saved thousands of lives, and in the process he made himself a very wealthy man.
• He’s handsome, strong, silent, deep… and I won the best friend lottery when we met ten years ago.
• We’re partners, him and me. Not sexually, of course, but we practically live together, rely on each other and are trusted friends.
• “Maria!” his voice blares through the intercom again.
• “Yes, Doctor?”
• “When Eliza arrives, send her straight in.”
• Marias eyes flicker to me. “Go away,” I mouth to the intercom.
• “Yes, Doctor.”
• Haley and Maria giggle. “Are we done?” I ask.
• “He’s all yours.”
• “Thanks… I guess.”
• I walk down the corridor to his office to find him swinging on his chair as he looks at scans on an x-ray box.
• “Hi.” I drop my bag onto his couch.
• He turns and gives me a broad smile. “There she is.”
• “Do you always have to be such a grouch with your receptionists? It’s embarrassing to listen to.”
• “Then don’t listen.” He looks me up and down, and then raises an eyebrow.
• “What?” I ask.
• “You look a bit sexy for an interview, don’t you think? Are you trying to get the job or trying to get laid?”
• I roll my eyes. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
• He stands and comes toward me. Grabbing my shoulders, he turns me away from him and inspects me up and down.
• “You like?” I smirk and give a little wiggle of my hips, knowing he’s about to lecture me.
• He exhales heavily, turns me toward him, and he fastens my top button. “I’m not sure about this job.” He mutters, distracted, as he does another of my buttons up. “Why would you want to work for Dr. Morgan when you could manage my office?”
• Here we go again.
• “You could manage Berlin from here. I could get you a nice office in San Fran.”
• “Nathan.” I sigh. “Will you stop? I am not working for my best friend. We’ve had this conversation before; it would be weird.”
• He goes back to his desk and sits down with a huff. “What’s weird is that you don’t want to work for me.” He yanks an x-ray out of the light box. “Do you know how many people would snap up an opportunity like this?”
• I place my hands on my hips. “If I worked for you, we would fight every day.”
• “Why?” He snaps incredulously.
• “Because you’re a grumpy ass, and I wouldn’t put up with it.” I undo my top button.