Case of Desire

“Honey, you believe that there’s good in everybody,” Jerome said. “You didn’t know that ol’ boy was abusing drugs—no one really did until he started flying over the cuckoo’s nest. He had it so bad that he was stealing the patients’ medicine. I heard that he was switching out the meds for placebos.”

Camille met Jerome’s gaze. “Why do you listen to the rumor mill? Half of what you hear isn’t true. I don’t believe he was stealing his patients’ medicine.”

“Girl, you need to take off those rose-colored glasses.”

Camille chuckled. “Jerome, you are so wrong.” She clicked open her email in-box to check her email.

He shrugged. “Hey, it’s true. You know that I’m right.”

“Hey, I have an email from Mr. Wade,” she announced. “He wants to meet with me today at some point.”

Jerome surveyed her face. “You sound like this is a meeting you want to avoid. What’s up with that?”

Camille had forgotten how well Jerome knew her. She had been at odds with Maxwell Wade since he was retained to represent Hopewell General. His arrogance had come through his email correspondence, irritating her. She had to deal with the arrogance of some of the male doctors on a daily basis and having Maxwell Wade around was just going to add one more sexist alpha male to the mix.

“Camille …” Jerome prompted.

“It’s nothing,” she said. “He just rubbed me the wrong way in a couple of his emails.”

“If anybody can handle Maxwell Wade, it’s you, Camille.” Jerome checked his watch. “Well, it’s time for me to start my day. I’ll catch you later.”

“Stay out of trouble, Jerome.”

He laughed. “Not hardly. Especially if ‘Miss Thang’ has anything to do with it.”

“You’d better not let Kayla hear you call her that,” Camille warned. Kayla Tsang was the head nurse in Hopewell General’s emergency room. Everyone called her Miss Thang behind her back. She was the one who kept a list of everyone’s wrongs and reported them to the chief of staff.

Her words didn’t faze Jerome. “Miss Thang knows when to back off me. Call me if you want to have a late lunch together.”

“I will,” she promised.

Camille checked her calendar. She then sent a quick email to Maxwell to let him know that she had some time before eleven to meet with him.

He responded quickly to confirm that he would come to her office at 10:00 a.m.

“Great,” she whispered. Camille hoped the meeting would go smoothly. She had always been very easy to work with, but she was not about to let Maxwell order her around like some second-rate employee. Camille could tell by his emails that he was used to issuing orders. However, she would stand her ground if necessary.

Camille was able to respond to emails and send out a few of her own before her assistant announced, “Mr. Maxwell Wade is here to see you.”

“Please give me a few minutes before you send him in, Lori.” Camille wanted some time to mentally prepare for her meeting with the attorney.

Lori nodded and walked out of the office.

Five minutes later, she returned with Maxwell in tow.

Camille rose to her feet and walked around the desk. Maxwell Wade was as devilishly handsome as his photographs suggested, perhaps even more so in person.

She released a soft, cleansing breath and said, “It’s nice to finally meet you in person.”

Camille took in his powerful presence and drank in the sensuality of his physique. The man was fine. And those sexy warm brown eyes of his …they could make a woman melt just from the heat of his gaze.

She affected an ease she did not feel, but Camille was not about to give Maxwell any hint of how much he affected her.

Maxwell smiled as he shook her hand. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Camille.” Her natural beauty had taken him by surprise.

Smiling, Camille gestured toward one of the visitor chairs in her office and said, “Please have a seat.”

Maxwell sat down in the leather chair. He could not resist admiring her slender frame and soft curves. Although he preferred women with long hair, he liked the way her light brown, naturally wavy hair framed her face. Camille wore it in a cute short cut that complimented her café-au-lait skin color and green eyes.

Unaware that he was observing her, Camille strolled around her desk and sat down. “I didn’t expect you here so soon, Mr. Wade. I was told that you wouldn’t be settling in until Monday.”

“I decided to come in a few days earlier so I can be here for Thomas’s wedding reception,” he responded. “Please call me Maxwell.”

She had forgotten that Maxwell, Ray and Thomas had all been friends since college. Camille felt the heat of his gaze on her and shifted uncomfortably in her chair.

“I wanted to meet with you to discuss Dr. Matthews and his lawsuit,” Maxwell announced.

“Because of the hospital’s relationship with the Matthews family, we had hoped the matter with Terrence could be handled in a discreet manner,” she responded. “We never expected a lawsuit to come out of the situation.”

“No one ever expects a lawsuit, Camille,” Maxwell stated bluntly. “In this case, I would have been more surprised if Dr. Matthews had gone away quietly.”

His tone rubbed her the wrong way. “What I meant is that Terrence was caught red-handed with the drugs. How can he defend himself against the truth?”

“He can’t,” Maxwell responded. “An employee who wishes to sue for wrongful termination must either show that his employment contract expressly or implicitly stated that he would not be fired without cause or that the employer fired him for a reason that violates a fundamental policy expressed in Virginia’s statutes. He could also sue if the employer committed some type of tort, like defamation, invasion of privacy or intentional infliction of emotional distress. But Dr. Matthews can’t prove any of these things.”

“Yet he’s filed anyway,” Camille commented.

Maxwell smiled. “Well, this is where I come in. From this point forward, all queries will be directed to me. No one here at the hospital is to talk to the media or anybody else.”

“I’ll forward a couple emails from reporters to you,” Camille said.

“Great. I want you to know that I really appreciate your assistance, Camille.”

His words warmed her. “Thank you.”

“I will let you get back to work.” Maxwell rose to his feet and headed to the door.

Up until recently, he and Camille had only exchanged a couple of pointed emails. He never expected to meet such a beautiful woman with a sinful voice and cute laugh. In her office, Maxwell had to concentrate hard just to keep his mind on business. Camille had made his temperature rise more than a little.

When Maxwell left her office, Camille leaned back in her chair and released a short sigh.

Maxwell Wade was gorgeous up close. She had to agree with Isabelle and the others. He did look even better in person. When he was in her office, Camille could barely concentrate and struggled to keep from staring at him.

There was a soft knock on her door, taking her attention off her thoughts of Maxwell Wade.

It was Jaclyn Campbell, the intern who had blown the whistle on Dr. Terrence Matthews.

“I just saw Maxwell Wade leaving your office,” she said.