Chapter 9
NINE
ALLY
The man and woman who stride into Dr. Malone’s office have the polished look of the very rich. The man looks around fifty-five, with graying hair and a pleasant smile. He’s dressed casually in a sport coat and jeans, but his clothes fit like they were tailored for him. They probably were.
The woman’s around my age, maybe a year or two older, and very pretty. Her dark hair’s been highlighted by an expert, and her belted pink trench coat shows off a perfect hourglass figure.
For a split second Dr. Malone looks weary, and I get the sense he isn’t thrilled to have visitors. But his expression changes quickly, and he springs to his feet with a smile.
“Peter!” he exclaims, rounding his desk to greet them. “And Nina, what a nice surprise. I didn’t know you were in town.”
Dr. Malone shakes hands with Peter, then holds his hand out to Nina. But instead of shaking his hand, she pulls him in for a hug.
It’s one of the most awkward hugs I’ve ever seen. By the time Nina finally releases him, it’s clear she has a thing for Dr. Malone, and it’s equally clear that her affection isn’t reciprocated.
I’m sure the three of them are about to have a very interesting conversation, and I’d love to be a fly on the wall while it happens. But I don’t have a reason to stay, so I start to slink toward the door.
But before I can make my escape, Dr. Malone meets my eye and gives his head a tiny shake. It’s slight enough that Peter and Nina don’t notice, but his meaning is clear to me.
He wants me to stay. Maybe he wants a chaperone, in case Peter leaves and Nina launches herself at him again.
So I freeze against the wall, a few feet from the door. Trying to blend into the scenery, like a good assistant.
But Dr. Malone surprises me by performing introductions.
“This is my assistant, Alexandra Parker,” he says, gesturing toward me. “Alexandra, this is Peter Tate and his daughter, Nina.”
All of a sudden it makes sense, and I mentally kick myself for not putting it together sooner. It’s the billionaire donor and his daughter. I thought Dr. Malone said he operated on a girl named Amber, but I could be remembering it wrong. Or maybe Nina is Amber’s sister.
The Tates nod at me politely, then turn their attention back to Dr. Malone.
“Let me grab a couple more chairs,” Dr. Malone suggests, starting toward the door.
“Oh, we’re fine,” Peter says easily. “I’m sure you’re busy, so we won’t keep you. But we’re spending the next couple of weeks at the cottage, and we wanted to invite you to dinner.”
“Mom and Dad are just here for the week,” Nina puts in before Dr. Malone can reply. “But I’m be staying in Somerset for at least three months. Amber’s on exchange in Italy until the fall, so I’m staying in her apartment in town.”
There’s a flicker of alarm in Dr. Malone’s eyes. “That’s great,” he says. “You finished your PhD, then?”
“Well, my defense isn’t until July,” Nina explains. “But the experiments are done, and I can do the rest of it here. I’m just polishing the dissertation, double-checking the stats and stuff.” She smiles at him, one scholar to another. “You know what it’s like.”
“Of course.”
“And I’m considering doing my post-doc here, in Dr. Jamison’s lab, so this’ll give me a chance to check it out. Do you know Dr. Jamison?”
“Only by reputation,” Dr. Malone replies.
“Well, she’s doing some really interesting work,” Nina says enthusiastically. “And she thinks I’d be a great fit for her lab. There’s even a chance I could get started on a project this spring. Like a test-run, before I commit to a post-doc.”
“It sounds like you’ll be busy,” Dr. Malone says politely.
“Well, yes and no,” Nina says earnestly. “I’ve always liked to work hard. And the research hardly feels like work, you know?”
“I must not be doing it properly,” Dr. Malone says dryly. “Because my research often feels a hell of a lot like work.”
Peter chuckles, and Nina laughs as though it’s the most hilarious thing she’s ever heard. “Well, if you’re ever stuck on a project and want to bounce ideas off someone, I’m available.”
Yep. I think everyone’s gotten the message that Nina’s available for Dr. Malone.
Dr. Malone nods. “I appreciate that, Nina. I’ll keep you in mind.”
“Great,” Nina says brightly. “You still have my cell number, right?”
Dr. Malone nods again. “I do.”
“Perfect,” Nina says. “And we should find a date for you to come to dinner. Does this Wednesday work for you?”
There’s a beat of silence, and I see Dr. Malone’s throat move as he swallows. He’s in an awkward spot. Even though Nina’s inviting him to dinner with her parents, her intentions are perfectly clear. She wants Dr. Malone, and she’s decided to shoot her shot.
And Nina’s dad is one of the hospital’s biggest donors. If I were Dr. Malone, I’d make it clear I was in a relationship.
I glance at Peter Tate, wondering what he thinks of the whole thing. He got Nina in the door but he hasn’t said much since, and his expression doesn’t give much away.
“I’m afraid I’m busy Wednesday,” Dr. Malone says apologetically. “I have plans with my girlfriend.”
“Oh.” Nina seems to deflate, like a balloon that’s been popped with a pin.
“I didn’t know you had a girlfriend,” Peter says curiously. “Is it a recent thing?”
“Pretty recent, yeah,” Dr. Malone replies.
That’s kind of surprising. Based on the phone conversation I overheard a couple weeks ago, I’d have guessed he and Breanna were a long-term thing.
“You should bring her to dinner,” Peter suggests. “Anyone we know?”
“Actually,” Dr. Malone says slowly. “It’s Alexandra Parker.”
Huh? What happened to Breanna, and how has he moved on so quickly? And he said he’s dating Alexandra Parker, and that’s not exactly a common name, but he can’t mean . . .
“Your assistant?” Nina’s staring at me with a mixture of envy and disbelief. She thinks he means me.
“Oh, no,” I put in quickly. “No, I’m not—”
“Alexandra’s not actually my assistant,” Dr. Malone interrupts, conveniently forgetting that he introduced me as his assistant five minutes ago. “I couldn’t date her if she were, obviously; HR would frown on that. She actually works for Heather Larkin.”
I bob my head in a parody of a nod. Now I know how Alice felt when she fell down the rabbit hole and woke up in Wonderland.
Dr. Malone just told Peter and Nina Tate he’s dating me.
Both Tates are still looking at me with interest, taking in my polyester blouse and scuffed ballet flats. I’m sure they’re wondering how I managed to snag the attention of someone like Dr. Malone.
“But how—” Nina begins.
“That’s great,” Peter cuts her off, probably because he guessed she was about to say something rude. “How do you feel about coming to dinner on Wednesday, Alexandra?” He glances at Drew. “Unless you and Drew had planned a romantic evening for two, in which case we’ll pick another night.”
“Oh,” I say, stalling for time. “No, uh, we didn’t have a romantic evening planned.” That, at least, is the truth.
“I think that would work,” Dr. Malone says, giving me a speaking look. “Right, Alexandra?”
He’s still holding my gaze, asking me to play along. And really, what else can I say?
“Right. Yes, I’d like that.”
Dr. Malone lets out an almost imperceptible sigh of relief.
“Great,” Peter says with a smile. “Shall we say seven o’clock? You know the way, right, Drew?”
Dr. Malone nods. “Yeah. Seven’s good.”
“Perfect,” Peter says. “Well, we should go, eh, Nina? We’ll see you Wednesday.”
Nina still looks unhappy, but she lets her father lead her out of the office.
Dr. Malone follows them to the door and closes it behind them before turning to face me. And even though the Tates just left, the office feels smaller for some reason. He’s standing less than a foot away, and I can smell the woodsy scent of his soap.
“Alexandra,” he says sheepishly. “Uh, why don’t you sit down.”
Great idea. I plop down in the chair he keeps for visitors, and he walks around and sits behind his desk. Having the desk between us makes it a little easier to think.
“You said I was your girlfriend?” I say faintly. Part of me still wonders if I hallucinated the whole thing.
“Alexandra, I’m really sorry,” he begins. “I don’t know what happened. I just . . . when Peter suggested I bring my girlfriend to dinner, I saw you standing there, and your name just sort of slipped out.”
“My name just sort of slipped out,” I repeat. I still feel like I’m in Wonderland, or some other alternate universe. This man—this confident, intelligent, brain surgeon—is fumbling to explain why he accidentally said I was his girlfriend.
“Yeah. I was on call all weekend and I didn’t get much sleep, and it was kind of a reflexive thing. And you saw Nina . . .” his voice trails off, and his cheeks turn a little pink. “She kind of has a thing for me, and she’s a nice girl. I needed an excuse.”
My impression of Drew Malone improves a little. It’s not just that Nina is Peter Tate’s daughter; he doesn’t want to hurt her feelings.
“Well, I get that, but surely you could have thought of someone else? And what happened to Breanna?”
“Breanna?” he asks, looking surprised.
“I heard you on the phone with her,” I admit. “It sounded like she was nagging you to go to an appointment.”
“Ah. You were eavesdropping.” Dr. Malone seems to have regained some of his usual composure.
“Well, short of putting in earplugs, I couldn’t help overhearing,” I retort.
A smile tugs at his lips. “And you assumed she was my girlfriend?”
“That or your wife, yeah.”
His smile broadens. “Breanna’s my sister, Alexandra.”
“Oh.” I guess I got the wrong end of the stick on that one. “So you’re not in a relationship?”
“Only of the sibling variety,” he says dryly. “I don’t have time for a relationship right now.”
“So why didn’t you just tell Nina that?”
“I’m not sure it would’ve helped,” he says wryly. “When I tell my sister I’m not looking for a relationship, she translates that to mean I just haven’t found the right woman. I think she sees it as a challenge. With my luck, Nina would see it the same way.”
“Not necessarily,” I argue, although he does have a point.
“Come on, Alexandra,” he replies. “Hollywood’s conditioned people to think that way.
It’s basically the plot of half the romantic comedies ever made.
Right after a man insists he doesn’t want a relationship, he falls madly in love.
Then he embarrasses himself with some grand gesture, like a proposal at a sporting event, and they live happily ever after. ”
“You seem pretty familiar with romantic comedy tropes.”
He shrugs. “Like I said, I have a sister. But if I dated Nina Tate, it wouldn’t be a romantic comedy, it would be a tragic farce, because I’m really not looking for a relationship. She might get hurt.”
“And Peter Tate’s donations would dry up,” I add.
He nods. “Yeah. That too. The health care system’s falling apart, and his money makes a big difference to this hospital. So I said I have a girlfriend, and when he suggested I bring her to dinner . . .”
“You said it was me.”
“Yeah.” Now he looks embarrassed again. “But it was wrong of me, Alexandra, and I’m sorry. And obviously you don’t have to come to dinner on Wednesday. I’ll explain it to the Tates.”
“But how will you explain it? You can’t say you lied because you didn’t want to date Nina.” If he says that, Peter Tate’s donations will definitely dry up.
“I’ll think of something. And, I, uh, understand if you want to file a complaint with HR. It was inappropriate of me to say I was dating you. If you’d like to be reassigned to work for someone else, I’ll support your request.”
And all of a sudden, the full implications of the situation hit me. Until now, I’d been thinking about this from the standpoint of an outside observer, trying to make sense of Dr. Malone’s irrational behavior.
I hadn’t thought about how this whole debacle will make me look. And there’s no way I’ll come out of this looking good.
“Hey,” Dr. Malone says, looking at me with concern. “Alexandra, it’ll be okay. I’ll tell the Tates we broke up.”
“Sure,” I say, but my feelings must show on my face. He reaches his hand toward mine, but stops himself an inch away from my fingers.
“I’ll make it right,” he promises.
“You can’t,” I say dully. What’s the point in pretending?
“What do you mean?”
I exhale. “Dr. Malone, I’m an administrative assistant, and you just told the Tates I was your girlfriend. And that it was a recent thing. So regardless of what you tell them now, they’ll assume we slept together but I couldn’t hold your interest.”