Once More (Mercy Heart #1) (8 page)

Katelyn didn’t really need to ask, but she did anyway.  “How on earth did you know what was going on?”

“Liam texted me.”

Katelyn entered her house and flipped on the lights, leaving her purse on a hook in her entryway.  “Well that’s just fantastic.  I’m glad you and your ex-husband’s lover are bonding over my predicament.”

“Ooh, somebody is feeling sassy tonight.  He also said you’d have a knight in shining armor riding in to rescue you.  How is that working out for you?  Spill it.  Who’s the dude?  Wait, is he still there?  Can you use a codeword to tell me if you are getting some sorely needed tail?  Maybe something about a hound dog?”  Janie reference to the King made Katelyn smile.   She had a bad habit of telling everyone who would listen that she was the illegitimate child of Elvis.  No one believed her, but it was entertaining, and it kept her from having to tell everyone about her real father, a lowlife who was on Death Row for killing her mother.  Katelyn was one of just a handful of people who knew the truth. 

Shaking her head, Katelyn replied.  “He isn’t still here.  I told him that we needed to just keep things professional between us since he’s only going to be around for a short time.”

“Oh yeah?  How did he take it?”

“He said he had nowhere else to be.  What do you think that means?”

“Well, gee, if I had to take a guess, Kat, I’d say it means he ain’t going anywhere.  I don’t think he can spell it out much clearer.  Are you going to tell me who the hell this guy is?”

Rubbing her temples with her middle finger and thumb to ward off a headache, Katelyn summarized the details on Clem for Janie.  When she was finished, a few beats passed before Janie finally broke the silence.  “Look, sister, I’m not one to be all up in your business.  I know you like your privacy and you are bound and determined to do everything your own way.  But you must feel like the last pea at pea time.  I know it’s been awhile for you.” 
Oh, you have no idea, sister. 
“Why not give the guy a chance?  Listen, I gotta hop off here, but just think about what I said.  I’ll catch up with ya’ later, sweet pea. “

Katelyn hung up and looked down at her cell phone.  It was similar to the one Clem had been working on when they had first met that day in the park.  She might even have applications loaded that he had built.  Looking down at the small device in her hands, she felt a sudden pull towards him.  Her body was most definitely interested in being with Clem again.  Her heart, however, was reluctant to be put out there.  Losing him once was bad enough.  Was she strong enough to get involved and watch him leave again?  With a heavy heart, she went through her nightly ritual and climbed into bed, exhausted but her mind raced too much to settle down.

Chapter 11

After a restless night of sleep, Katelyn was later than usual getting to the office.  She pushed open the door and heard voices coming from Margaret’s area.  As she rounded the corner, Katelyn was shocked and slightly irritated to see Clem sitting on the edge of her assistant’s desk beside a bakery box and three cups from Starbucks. 

“Good morning, Katelyn, dear,” Margaret beamed.  “Mr. Bryant called late yesterday afternoon for a meeting with you and, luckily, I was able to fit him in this morning.”

Clem stood and turned towards Katelyn.  His eyes caressed her as they traveled down her body and back up again.  He tore his gaze from hers only for a brief moment.  “Please, Margaret, call me Clem.  And I felt so terrible about giving such short notice, I brought breakfast.” His eyes were back on Katelyn again when he continued, his voice lower.  “I hope you can forgive me.”

Are we still talking about short notice here?
  Katelyn’s heart beat rapidly as she grappled with how to reply.  “No harm.  Margaret is a master at keeping me in line.”

All of the feelings of arousal that had been dormant in him for so long came alive as a momentary flicker of the many ways Clem could think of to master Katelyn in his bed flashed through his mind.  In the time they’d been apart, he hadn’t even attempted to be with anyone else.  The only one he wanted to be with, the only one he wanted to have and possess, was Katelyn.  But she didn’t belong to him, at least not now, not yet.  He quickly brushed it out of his head so that he could focus on the task at hand.  “Great.  Margaret, it has been a pleasure visiting with you.  I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot of each other.”

“Oh, I’m sure we will, dear.  If you need any assistance while you are here with us, don’t hesitate to ask.”

Katelyn walked into her office and set her things down.  She quickly glanced at her email to see if anything needed immediate attention, though she knew it didn’t because she had just checked it on her phone before she had arrived.  She preferred to stay caught up with her email, so she checked it often and used her phone when she wasn’t at her computer.  However, Clem didn’t know that, and at the moment she was using it as an excuse to stall her interactions with him.  Working with him was proving to be much more distracting than she had anticipated, and they hadn’t even gotten started yet.  Katelyn turned around and busied herself with putting her bags up in a large cabinet, taking the opportunity to breathe deeply and collect herself while Clem was at her back before returning to her chair.

“Where would you like to start?”  She winced internally as her shaky voice betrayed any bravado she was trying to display.

Right where we left off.
  He eyed her for a moment, taking in her flushed skin and rapid breathing, thrilled that he was having some kind of effect on her.  “I have some schematics drawn up that show the flow of different types of data through the systems in its current state.  At this point, it appears nursing isn’t using much technology.  McKinley may seem like a lot of extra work for your nurses, and to go from using nothing to doing most everything on computers or handhelds of some kind will most definitely be a few more steps than they are used to.  But these steps are vital, and in some cases, mandated by the government, so I hope that you will be able to stress to your managers and staff that while McKinley will work to get the best solution for them, there isn’t a lot of room for compromise.  I realize that this may put you in a difficult position.”

She contemplated for a moment the situation she was being put in.  “Well, we can’t be out of compliance.  I will do my best to relay how imperative this is.  But obviously, you’ve been in this situation before.  You know how nurses can be.  Some of them live to ruffle the feathers around here.”  Leaning back in her chair, she crossed her legs. 

“I — uh…”  He tracked the movement and immediately lost his train of thought.  She exuded confidence and presence behind her desk, which multiplied the heightened arousal he already felt being near her again.  He tried to remember what he was going to say but all he could think about was how he’d give anything to uncross her legs and slip between them.  He’d pull her to the edge of the chair and hit his knees in front of her.  He’d beg her for access to her life, to her body, just once more, in order to prove to her that they belonged together.  “I have been in some organizations that have offered incentives for participation – “

“I’m not going to reward someone for doing their job, Clem.  That’s what paychecks are for.  If they don’t like it, they can collect their last one at human resources.” 

“Agreed,” he said, with a slight chuckle, unable to mask his grin.  With a glance at his watch, Clem stood up and grabbed his things, including a beautiful leather messenger bag with a modern embroidery emblem of his initials.  “I am meeting with some of the guys in IT for the next few hours.  Are you free for lunch?”

Surprised by his invitation, Katelyn sat up and checked her calendar.  “It appears I’m free, but I only have time for something here on campus.  Is there more to discuss about the project?”

Again, Clem smiled. “There is plenty to discuss.”

Warily, Katelyn replied, “Fine.  I’ll meet you at the health club.  They have a great salad bar, as well as other healthy options.”

“Great.  See you then.”

*    *     *    *

At noon, Katelyn stepped out of her office to let Margaret know she was heading over for lunch.  In the hallway, she was slightly startled to see Clem leaning casually against the wall, one hand in his pocket, the other operating his phone.  He immediately noticed her and sauntered over, looking every bit the part of a delectable wealthy CEO.  “My meeting with the fellas in IT went quickly, so I thought we could walk over.”

Flustered, she stammered, “Right this way.”  She led him through the lobby and out the main entrance.  Her office was in the original part of the hospital, built in 1920.  Numerous renovations had been done through the years, and as the hospital had expanded, new buildings had gone up around the original building, now sandwiched between two large towers that housed floor after floor of patient beds.  Across the street, two buildings housed doctors’ offices, ancillary services, and the health club with a nice little café that offered a lighter, more delicious fare than the typical food of the hospital cafeteria.  All of the buildings on the campus were connected by a series of bridges, allowing staff, visitors and patients to navigate between buildings without having to face the weather outside, but Katelyn spent so much time cooped up in the hospital that she took any chance she could get to spend a few moments in the fresh air. 

The noon sun was warm on Katelyn’s shoulders as they walked together.  A gentle breeze ruffled her skirt and she closed her eyes as she took a deep breath, enjoying the early October weather.  Clem felt his heart expand in his chest, watching her take such pleasure in a simple moment.  He felt a renewed sense of purpose in his quest to be fully back in her life and in her heart. 

After receiving their food, they sat down at a small café table, secluded from the rest of the dining area behind a large potted tree.  As they ate, a comfortable silence settled between them.  Katelyn was enjoying the feelings that being close to Clem brought up in her.  But then, just as quickly, she remembered her promise to herself, to keep it professional and keep her distance in order to shield her heart from the pain that would inevitably come when he left. 

“Who did you have to meet with in IT?  How did it go?”

Clearing his throat, he replied, “I met with John Sheridan and Gary Smart.  The meeting went fine.  The department is more than capable of moving from the old system to supporting the new system.  John volunteered to take on data reconciliation.  Gary seems to be fairly agreeable about moving to the new system, even though he has put so much work into the old one.”

At the mention of John Sheridan’s name, Katelyn smiled.  He was a lovely older man in his mid sixties, who looked more like a small town grandpa than the busy director of clinical systems.  A veteran of the Marines, he started at the hospital as an orderly after returning from Vietnam in 1974, working his way up to his current position.   Always with a smile on his face, he was very dedicated to helping the staff navigate the many software systems that were utilized by the hospital, and he truly seemed sensitive to the dilemma that the nurses faced with trying to keep up with all the changing technologies and their foremost goal of patient care coming above all else.  A widower now for a number of years, his off time was spent mentoring troubled youth and managing a few rental properties.

Gary Smart, on the other hand, was John’s complete polar opposite.  A tall, thin man who tried way too hard to hold onto his youth with bleached blond hair and a tanning booth glow, his attitude towards most everything was negative.   He may have seemed agreeable to Clem, but Katelyn had heard more than one person say that Gary was very vocal about his dislike for the hospital’s contract with McKinley.  While slimy seemed to be a most fitting description of Gary, he was a necessity to the hospital, as he was the sole developer of the homegrown patient and accounting software that the health system had used for the past twenty years.  While the system the hospital had been using was still working well, it was far too big a risk to keep an entire hospital’s patient registration and billing pinned on the abilities of one man.  Plus, Gary couldn’t keep the software updated fast enough with federal legislators releasing new targets for key performance indicators on a constant basis. 

“I’m glad that you aren’t facing a lot of opposition.”

“Me, too.  I want this transition to be as seamless as possible without delays.  With everyone’s commitment to the project, I have no doubt we’ll hit the live date as planned.”

His mention of the live date was not lost on Katelyn.  He witnessed the change in her expression and demeanor the moment those words sunk in.  Clem immediately set his sights on damage control.

“Go to dinner with me.”

Shaking her head rapidly, Katelyn half-grimaced and half-laughed, which came out as a snort. “No.”

Taken aback by her rapid response, he hesitated momentarily.

“Please go to dinner with me?  For old times’ sake, if nothing else.  I want to fill in the blanks, get completely caught up with you.  I want to know all about your life.”

“Clem,” she started, biting her lip to stop the tears building in her eyes.  “You…you are the one who left.”

Clem leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes for a few brief moments.  Shaking his head, he spoke softly.  “I remember.  You think I could forget it?  I remember everything from that night.  The way you felt in my arms the last time I held you.  I knew you were hurting.  I could practically hear the sound of your heart breaking, just as clearly as I could hear my own.  I thought you would come to me.  For months, I waited by the phone to get your call.  When I finally accepted that you weren’t going to call, it was devastating.”  He leaned towards her, distress in his voice and all over his face.  “Do you know how many times I picked up the phone to reach out to you?  How many plane tickets I wasted?  I went to the airport more times than I care to remember, only to just turn around and go home.  I hired and cancelled dozens of couriers to bring you tickets, just to see if you’d come to me.  I was too afraid of knowing for sure that you’d moved on.  I have always wanted you to be happy, but sometimes, I admit, I hoped you were as lonely as me.” 

Unsteadily, she spoke.  “When you left, I was haunted by what could have been.  I refuse to go back to that.”

Grabbing her hand, he was desperate for her to see how serious he was.  “I came back to you and I want to start over with you.  If you’ll just give me a chance, I’ll show you.” 

His insistence seemed so sincere, but she still wasn’t sure.  “I…I – I…” Katelyn’s body screamed for her to say yes.  She felt powerless to fight the urges much longer.  But this time, protecting her heart gave her a, perhaps final, boost of courage.  “I just can’t.”  With that, she stood and bolted away, leaving Clem at the table, unable to watch her retreat.

Before Clem could process what had just happened, Liam sat down in Katelyn’s empty seat.  Looking ever the part of a dashing young physician in a lab coat with “Dr. Snow, M.D.” professionally embroidered on his chest and a shiny stethoscope around his neck, Liam sat his tray down and took a bite of his quesadilla with vegan cheese on a whole wheat tortilla. 

“Well,” he said between mouthfulls.  “You really buggered that up.” 

“Go to hell, Mr. Bean.  I don’t need your damn help right now.”

“I’ve already told you.  It’s doctor.  Didn’t you notice my stethoscope?” he asked, smirking while waving the round end at Clem.  “And yes, you do need my help.  But I’ll be damned if I even want to help you, you wanker.” 

Clem wiped his face with his hands, and groaned.  “Fine.  What do you suggest, Dr. Bean?”

Shaking his head, Liam went on. “What the hell happened last night?  I practically delivered her to you gift-wrapped in a bloody bow.”

“She was very shaken up by ending things with Marc.”  Fiddling with his straw wrapper, Clem couldn’t look Liam in the eye.  “She says she wants to keep things professional between us.  But I know she’s just guarding her heart.  I have to get her to trust me and see that I’m not going anywhere.” 

“Be persistent.  Show her you aren’t going anywhere.  The words mean nothing if you don’t back it up with your actions.  Realize that just now will probably not be the last time she refuses you.  But most importantly, you have to be genuine.  She has to believe that you won’t leave her.”