Scowling, he ran his hand over his brown hair, a dark-chestnut shade, always cut short for practical and hygenic reasons.
Callie caught herself wondering if his hair felt as thick and springy as it looked. It took a moment for her to remember what theyâd been talking about. âWeâre discussing your beyond-impeccable credentials,â she said edgily.
Trey gave a wave of his hand, visibly impatient. âLetâs get back to the real subject at hand, Sheely.â
Callie proceeded to describe in detail each of Scott Fritcheâs minor but time-consuming mistakes. âItâs not an enormous deal, Trey, though Leoâs done his best to make you think it is. Weâve both watched other residents, with more experience than Scott Fritche, do far worse with no unfavorable results. So you seeââ
âWhat I see is that Arkis and Turner were right. You really did save Fritcheâs ass in there, Sheely. Not to mention our poor patientâs cranium.â Trey folded his arms in front of his chest, but the gesture wasnât a defensive one for him.
Oh, yes, he was infinitely gifted in the body language of intimidation. However, Callie wasnât intimidated. Instead, observing the way his muscles rippled when he moved his arms, studying the breadth of his shoulders, she wasâ¦aroused.
She was practically ogling him! Callie caught herself and quickly averted her gaze, fixing it on the poster tacked up on the wall beyond him.
It was an advertisement for the Hospital Auxiliaryâs Annual Springtime Ball, a popular fund-raiser held in early April, when the regionâs weather was still more like winter than spring, despite the calendar.
Unlike those charity balls sponsored by exclusive womenâs clubs, where the price of admission was astronomically high, thus limiting the guests to the social elite, the Tri-State Hospitalâs auxiliary set aside a large block of tickets at lower prices, affordable to the hospital staff.
Everybody from student nurses to interns and residents, from the hospital administrators and lordly attending physicians to various corporate benefactors, politicos and the local pillars of society, attended the Springtime Ball. Somehow, the eclectic mix worked. Each year the ball topped the previous oneâs record for ticket sales and attendance.
Callie had gone every year since nursing school. Often with Jimmy, sometimes with other escorts, always friends. This year sheâd made no plans to attend. She couldnât seem to work up any enthusiasm for going.
Her eyes darted to Trey. He was glaring at her.
âSheely, if it isnât too much trouble, could you stop drifting off and at least make a pretense of staying on topic? That would be Scott Fritche who endangered my patient in the OR. Remember?â
Callieâs eyes, dark as onyx, grew round as saucers. âThe patient wasnât endangered, honestly.â She caught her lower lip between her teeth and took a deep breath. âI was right there, Trey, I knew what to do. Of course, I wouldâve called for you the second before anything could have gone wrong.â
Trey straightened, looking even taller to her. âYou know I expect my team to be like cogs in a perfectly run machine, Sheely. We simply canât afford any mistakes and we canât succumb toââ
âI know. And woe to the cog that slips, even slightly. Leo and Quiana and Iââ
âThis isnât about you three, I know how good you are. Youâre the best in the area. I watched you for six months before handpicking you myself for my team. But Fritche is another story entirely. If heâs no good, weâve got to get him out of the neurosurgery program sooner rather than later, before he does irreparable harm.â
âTrey, before we go any further with this, maybe you should know that Leo holds a personal grudge against Scott Fritche. I donât think Iâd be exaggerating to say that if Leo could hurt Scott, he would. Oh, not physically. But heâd certainly settle for doing damage to Scottâs career.â
âWhy?â
âBecause Scott Fritche dated and then dumped Leoâs cousin Melina. Sheâs a student nurse here at the med center and was heartbroken whenââ
âSheely, this is not an episode of General Hospital. Please spare me the details of whoâs dating and dumping who. Iâm only interested in the welfare of my patients, and right now Iâm trying to ascertain whetherââ
âAll right. Fine,â Callie said coldly. âNever mind gathering all the facts and coming to an informed conclusion. Itâs clear that youâve already made up your mind.â
âSheely, you areââ
âIâm tired of talking about this,â Callie said, boldly cutting him off.
She turned and stalked from the lounge.
âSheely, come back here.â
She ignored his command and stormed inside the empty womenâs locker room. Mercifully, it had not gone the unisex route like the lounge. Each sex still had separate quarters to shower and change clothes.
Moments later a tall, pretty blond nurse joined Callie in an aisle of lockers, by the long bench positioned in the middle. âSheely, Trey Weldon wants me to tell you that he has to talk to you. He said âright now.ââ
Jennifer Olsen had been in the class behind her in Tri-Stateâs nursing school and currently worked in the obstetrics clinic, surrounded by expectant mothers. Jennifer made no secret of her ultimate goal, which was to have her own baby as soon as possible. Her more immediate goal, however, was to find a suitable man to marry and impregnate her. Preferably a doctor, with a sizable income.
At the same moment Callie wondered what Jennifer was doing up here in the womenâs surgical locker room, Jennifer mustâve felt obliged to explain her presence.
âI came up to see if Karen wanted to go to the Squirrel Den tonight. Thereâs a bunch of us going.â
Callie knew Karen Kaminsky, an OR nurse whoâd graduated in Jenniferâs class. âYou mustâve missed her. Sheâs probably at lunch.â
âOh. Hey, Sheely, you come to the Squirrel Den tonight, too, if you want, okay?â
Callie pictured the Squirrel Den, a relic from the cityâs industrial dark age, a dank, smoky, gloomy place jammed with cheap old tables and booths. âUh, thanks, Jen. Iâll try to make it,â she said politely. I just wonât try very hard, she added to herself.
âSheely, about Trey Weldon, heââ
Callie sighed. âTell him you didnât see me in here, Jennifer.â
âBut this place is too small for me not to see you. I wouldnât want to lie to the man.â
âCertainly not,â Callie murmured dourly.
Without a doubt Treyâs credentials met, even exceeded, all of Jenniferâs requirements in a potential husband and father. Too bad, Jen, Callie thought darkly, you donât fulfill the prerequisites for Weldon class status any more than I do.
Callie sucked in her cheeks and pointed at the window high above the lockers. âYou can tell him I flew out that window on my broomstick. He probably thinks Iâm capable of it. All I have to do is swap my surgical cap for my tall, pointy, black hat.â
âThe doctor is always right, and when the nurse doesnât agree, sheâs a witch, hmm?â Jennifer was sympathetic.
âExactly. Just a doctor-nurse disagreement. Itâs nothing personal.â Callie felt the need to stress that.
Although a little voice in her head pointed out that she was taking her inability to influence Trey in the Scott Fritche matter very personally, Callie instructed the little voice to shut up.
âWell, since heâs waiting out there, I guess I ought to go tell him something.â Jennifer lowered her voice conspiratorially. âSheely, rumors fly around here, but Iâve never heard any about you and Trey Weldon. Still, Iâll come right out and ask, and I hope you wonât take offense. Are you two involved?â
âIn what? A blood feud? No, not yet.â
Jennifer giggled. âYou know what I mean, Sheely. Are you and he, um, romantically involved?â
âNo.â Callieâs heart lurched wildly. She wouldâve liked to toss off a breezy quip about Trey being surgically gifted yet disabled in the art of romance, but the words stuck in her throat.
Because of the disturbing thoughts that flooded her mind.
For all she knew, Trey actually could be one of the worldâs great romantics, passionate, sensitive and thoughtfulâyet extremely discreet. Possibly, he kept that part of his life so secretive that only the woman who was the object of his desire knew that side of him.
What would it be like, to know that there was a deeply secret, romantic side of Trey? Oh, what sheâd give to know!