“That’s no problem. When would this meeting take place? Sometime next week?”

  Staci’s smile stiffened a bit. “Actually, the representative wanted to meet tonight.”

  “Tonight? Wow, BGC gives lots of advance notice, don’t they? Oh, well, I guess rearranging my schedule and maybe cutting my shift short by a couple of hours isn’t too much to ask in exchange for that kind of money.”

  “Actually, you’re going to need to take off more than a couple of hours. The BGC rep wants to meet you in New York.”

  “I have to go to New York?” Naomi asked with more than a hint of unease in her tone. “Is this normal? Are donations usually handled like this?”

  Staci shrugged. “I haven’t seen these types of requests before. But then, this is my first time dealing with BGC and its foundation. Maybe they have their own way of doing things.”

  “I guess.”

  “You will go to New York, won’t you?” Staci’s brow furrowed with concern. “Of course you’ll be reimbursed for your expenses with the train, hotel room, and anything else that arises.”

  “Being reimbursed for my expenses isn’t what’s bothering me. I’m a little nervous about meeting with the BGC rep because it’s not my area of expertise. This is your wheelhouse. What if I do or say something to screw everything up?”

  Staci stood up and came around from the other side of the desk. She sat in an adjacent chair and squeezed Naomi’s hand. “You had these same doubts before the conference and look how great that went. I was inundated with follow-ups for days after you returned. I knew something would come out of all the interest you generated but had no idea the pay-off would be this big.”

  Naomi couldn’t help but feel a small measure of pride at Staci’s words. In the couple of weeks since she’d returned from Durham, Staci had been updating her almost daily about all the calls and emails she’d received regarding the speech at the conference. Naomi had kept her fingers crossed some of that interest would result in donations to the ER. But she’d never imagined a conglomerate like BGC Pharmaceuticals would come through in such a big way.

  Yet Naomi couldn’t help but ask, “Isn’t it weird how a pharmaceutical corporation would donate so generously to an ER? I’d have thought they’d give their money to the PCM medical research center since a lot of their work is centered on drugs and different types of medicines to treat diseases.”

  Staci shrugged again. “I’m not about to look a gift horse in the mouth. The ER desperately needs this money. If BGC wants to give it to them instead of the research center, which already has plenty of resources at its disposal, who am I to question their judgment?”

  “You’re right.” Naomi straightened her shoulders, feeling emboldened. “If I leave now and go home to pack an overnight bag, I can be at the train station in an hour, maybe less. That should put me in New York by five or six.”

  “I’ll clear everything with your department head,” Staci said as they both stood up. “You just worry about getting to New York. And don’t stress! I’m sure the meeting with the BGC rep will go just fine.”

  “Let’s hope so.” Naomi opened the door to exit the office, bumping straight into Lily who had her hand raised up as if she’d been about to knock.

  “Oh, excuse me,” Naomi said, expecting the other woman to extend her the same courtesy and then move out of the way so Naomi could pass by.

  However, Lily didn’t say a word or move an inch. She stood there with her lips curled into an ugly frown and her eyes narrowed into thin slits. If the old saying ‘if looks could kill’ was actually true, Naomi knew she would have been a dead woman.

  She attempted to keep going by side-stepping Lily but paused when Lily said, “I heard about the ten million dollar donation from BGC Pharmaceuticals and I want to know what the fuck is going on.”

  The viciousness in Lily’s tone startled Naomi. She turned to look at Staci, who seemed equally bewildered and asked, “What on earth are you talking about?”

  “I’m talking about the ER getting BGC money that rightfully should have gone to the medical research center.” Lily’s nostrils flared as her voice became more strident. “There must be some mistake. BGC supplies forty percent of the drugs we use in our research and experiments. That ten million dollars should come our way since we obviously provide more benefit to BGC than the ER does.”

  Naomi opened her mouth to speak but Staci responded first. “You’re absolutely entitled to your opinion, Doctor Gatewood, but clearly BGC Pharmaceuticals doesn’t share it. The corporation has a separate foundation that distributes donations so that could account for why the ER was chosen to receive the money instead of the research center.”

  Lily shook her head. “It makes no sense. It’s too much money to be given to a department that has virtually no connection to the ER. Giving ten million dollars to us would be of better benefit to both BGC and the research center.”

  Staci let out a short breath that made her frustration clear. “I understand you might feel that way Doctor Gatewood but regardless, the BGC representative made clear to me the funds given were to be used for the sole benefit of the ER. He also said the donation was brought about as a direct result of the speech Doctor Redford gave at the conference a couple of weeks ago. If there’s a mistake here, it’s a result of your arrogance and sense of self-entitlement.”

  Damn! If she thought she could get away with it, Naomi would have imitated dropping a mic to represent Staci’s triumphant read over Lily. However, Lily didn’t seem fazed by the rebuke, only folding her arms and clenching her jaw.

  Her hazel eyes blazed with fury as she poked her finger into Naomi’s shoulder and said, “BGC didn’t give the ER ten million dollars because of that corny, sappy speech of yours. I know there’s something else going on here, and I’m going to find out what it is.”

  Naomi slapped Lily’s finger away, wishing it was the woman’s face instead. “I can’t believe you’re this jealous over another department getting a little bit of attention. For your information, The ER is in greater need of the money than the research center and I’m glad BGC saw fit to give it to us. There’s no underlying agenda or conspiracy except for what your own pettiness makes up in that vindictive mind of yours.”

  She could tell Lily was about to respond, but she held up a warning hand. In a voice of pure ice, Naomi said, “Now would you please get out of my way? Some of us have places to be and no time to listen to whining and griping.”

  “This isn’t over,” Lily muttered.

  “For me, it is.” With a nod to Staci, Naomi stalked off down the hall, shaking with anger. When she got to the elevator, she pressed the button with a vicious jolt, pretending it was one of Lily’s eyes.

  “Don’t let that bitch rattle you,” she whispered to herself. “She’s jealous and resentful. You earned this donation fair and square. If BGC wants to donate to the ER instead of the research center, that’s their business.”

  By the time the elevator arrived, Naomi had calmed down a little. Maybe the rush of activity over the next hour would provide enough distraction to allow the anger to dissipate even more. She didn’t want to appear out of sorts when she met with the BGC rep. A lot was riding on this meeting, the ER desperately needed that money.

  Ten million dollars will go a long way to helping many people in need, Naomi reminded herself as she rode down to the ER to gather her things. Just go to New York, get the money and come back home. Simple.

  But a nagging feeling in her gut told Naomi things wouldn’t go quite that easy. There had to be some other strings attached with this much money involved. But no matter what hoops she had to jump through or obstacles she needed to overcome, Naomi was determined to return to Philadelphia with the ten million dollars. There was too much at stake for her not to come through on this.

  Chapter Four

  As she stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window and looked out over the magnificent view of the sprawling urban Manhattan landscape and Hudson River, one question echoed through Naomi’s mind: What the hell is going on?

  It was a question she’d been asking herself repeatedly, starting when she stepped off the train in Penn Station. She’d just been about to join the long line at the taxi cab stand when a man in a dark suit and cap approached her and asked, “Doctor Redford?”

  “Yes?” she asked before seeing the sign in his hand with her name printed on it. “Are you from BGC?”

  He nodded. “Yes, ma’am. If you’ll follow me, I’ll take you to the BGC headquarters right away.”

  Naomi followed him to a black SUV with tinted windows, parked in a choice spot in front of the train station that allowed the driver to pull away from the curb and almost effortlessly join the flow of traffic. Before she could marvel at BGC sending a car for her and its driver’s ability to pick her out in the crowd, they’d arrived at the corporation’s headquarters in midtown Manhattan.

  She got out of the SUV, having to crane her neck almost ninety degrees to see the top of the chrome and steel skyscraper. An architectural marvel, Naomi didn’t get much chance to admire the building before the driver got her overnight bag out of the trunk and handed it to her along with a badge and key card.

  “The badge gets you through security,” the driver explained, “and the key card provides you access to the top floor where your meeting will take place.”

  “Thank you so much.” Naomi fumbled in her purse for her wallet to tip him, but the man shook his head.

  “No need, ma’am. It’s been my pleasure.” He tipped his cap, got back into the town car and drove off, disappearing just as mysteriously as he’d appeared in the first place.

  Just as he said, the key card and badge got her up to the top floor of the building with no trouble at all. As she stepped off the elevator, a petite woman with strawberry blond hair waited there with her hands cupped in front of her.

  “Dr. Redford?” After Naomi nodded, she added, “Hi, I’m Grace, Mr. Bohain’s executive assistant. Unfortunately, he’s in a meeting that’s lasting longer than he thought it would. He told me to apologize to you for the inconvenience and ask if you wouldn’t mind waiting in his office until the meeting concludes and he can join you.”

  “It’s no problem,” Naomi said, hoping her voice didn’t betray the confusion she felt. She could have sworn Staci told her the BGC rep’s name was Peter Sanderson. Who was Mr. Bohain?

  Yet, Naomi followed Grace to a spacious corner office without asking any questions. She figured she’d meet, Mr. Bohain, Peter Sanderson, and perhaps a few other people before she got her hands on that ten million dollars. She’d meet with however many people it took to get that money.

  The corner office was easily three times as big as Staci’s, who had one of the biggest offices at Philadelphia County Memorial. Sleek, modern furniture including a glass L-shaped desk along with the amazing views made Naomi wonder exactly who this Mr. Bohain was. She pulled out her phone and looked the name up on the internet, adding BGC with it into the search function. The results revealed a Matthew C. Bohain, Sr. as the CEO of BGC Pharmaceuticals and a Matthew C. Bohain, Jr. as its president.

  Looking around the huge well-appointed and expensively furnished office, Naomi knew it had to belong to the president or the CEO of the company. No mere BGC representative would have a work space as grand as this. But why would she be meeting with one of the heads of BGC? Okay, ten million dollars was a major donation and likely needed the CEO’s or the president’s approval before it would be given to her. Shouldn’t someone higher up the PCM food chain like Staci or other senior executive, perhaps even a board member meet with the CEO or president instead?

  She was still trying to figure it out when a familiar baritone said, “Hello, Naomi. Or should I call you Doctor Redford?”

  Startled, she turned to find Chris standing in the doorway of the office. “What are you doing here?” she asked, not bothering to hide her shock.

  “It’s good to see you again too.” Wearing a charcoal gray suit just as exquisitely tailored as the one he’d worn in Durham, he walked in closing the door behind him. Except for slightly longer hair and the five o’clock shadow which adorned the lower half of his face, nothing about him had changed since Durham.

  She watched as Chris went to the wet bar in the corner of the office and fixed two drinks. After he finished, he walked towards where she stood at the window, holding a glass filled with amber colored liquid in one hand. The other glass, filled with clear liquid, he extended towards her. “Vodka tonic’s your poison of choice, right?”

  Naomi folded her hands inside her arms and glared. “I repeat, what are you doing here? You can’t stay. I’m supposed to be meeting with Mr. Bohain to discuss . . .”

  She trailed off as Chris’ wry smile and knowing expression filled her with a terrible awareness. “You’re Mr. Bohain, aren’t you? Junior, I presume?”

  He nodded and gestured towards the glass in his still outstretched hand. “Go ahead and take it. I have a feeling we’ll need these as well as a few more by the time we’re done here.”

  Naomi accepted the drink, taking care to make sure their fingertips didn’t touch. The memories were still fresh of how even the lightest touch from him stoked flames of desire throughout her body. She took a gulp of the drink, hoping the alcohol would douse the excitement she felt building up in her at seeing him again.

  The smoldering look Chris shot her told Naomi that night in Durham wasn’t far from his thoughts either. However, he sounded casual, almost matter-of-fact when he said, “It’s funny how you didn’t mention you are an emergency room physician in addition to being an accountant. Quite the career combination you have.”

  She took another sip of the drink, which had been poured with a heavier hand on the vodka than the tonic. Was he trying to get her drunk? If so, he was in for a rude awakening because no way would they end this night like they had in Durham. No way.

  Chris paused, as if waiting for Naomi to respond. When she didn’t, he continued. “When I woke up that morning and you weren’t there, I ransacked that hotel room. Surely a princess like yourself would leave her prince a note with her phone number or some other way to get in touch. But when I couldn’t find it, I hurried and got dressed to go downstairs and hopefully find you mingling with all the other accountants. Because leaving me without saying goodbye was an accidental oversight, right?”

  Though she hated to do so, Naomi took a huge gulp of her vodka tonic. Because she hadn’t eaten anything since a banana and granola bar for breakfast, she knew she risked getting drunk by consuming alcohol on an empty stomach. But damn it, Chris was getting on her last nerve. She felt guilty enough about leaving Durham without saying goodbye and didn’t appreciate his pouring salt on that open wound. The vodka tonic soothed her growing agitation somewhat.

  “I’m sure you can understand my dismay when I couldn’t find you in any of the lobbies or conference rooms where the accountants were meeting. I was just about to give up when and admit defeat when I heard your voice. But it wasn’t coming from any of the accountants’ rooms. No, you were in the ballroom where the medical professionals were meeting. Imagine my surprise when I entered and found you standing at the lectern giving a speech about emergency rooms in inner-cities. Very impressive talk, by the way. I had guessed you were smart, but it was nice to find out you’re perceptive, thoughtful, compassionate and empathetic too.”

  The compliments washed over Naomi as if they hadn’t been uttered at all. “Are you done?”

  “For now, yes.”

  “Good, glad you got that off your chest.” She gulped down the last of her vodka tonic and pushed the glass into his rigid stomach until he had no choice but to catch it with his hands. “Please be sure to make the ten million dollar check out to Philadelphia County Memorial Department of Emergency Services. Don’t just write Philadelphia County Memorial or the money might get diverted to some other department. After listening to you go on and on for the last ten minutes, I figure I’ve earned every bit of that money. I don’t want it going anywhere but to the ER.”

  Naomi expected him to get angry or respond with an irritation matching her own. Instead, Chris just laughed and smiled, which flooded her with memories of their carefree moments from that night. She immediately pushed them to the back of her mind, trying to keep her focus on the here and now.

  “That’s all you’ve got to say for yourself, ‘Give me my money?’” He chuckled again. “I’ve really missed you, Naomi. Even though you treated me badly and are being so mean, I forgive you because I’m just that happy to see you again.”

  A lump formed in Naomi’s throat as he echoed her thoughts. No matter how he’d infuriated her that night in Durham and now here in New York, she’d missed him too and was glad to lay eyes on his handsome face and gorgeous body again.

  “Is there any particular reason you didn’t tell me you were a doctor and said you were an accountant?” Chris cocked his head to one side, as if genuinely puzzled.

  “Probably for the same reasons you didn’t tell me you were the president of BGC. We were strangers and didn’t want to risk revealing too much to someone we didn’t know.”

  Something occurred to Naomi. “I remember asking you that night if you were a drug dealer or a serial killer. You only responded to the serial killer part. You could have mentioned you ‘dealt drugs’ by way of being president of BGC.”

  He shrugged. “People treat you differently once you tell them you’re the second in command of one of the largest pharmaceutical corporations in the world. I knew you would have bolted the minute I said anything about it.”

  “You don’t know that,” Naomi said, but deep down, she had to admit he had pegged her reaction correctly.

 

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