The Texan's Business Proposition

Sally followed him through the door and down a short hall.

Unsure what to expect, she asked uneasily, “He’s going to be all right, isn’t he?”

“That depends on Vince.”

Considering that a nonanswer, she followed the doctor into one of the curtained-off examining rooms, where Vince lay, his eyes closed, his hands folded over the hospital gown that covered his chest. An IV tube ran from the back of one hand to a bottle hanging from a hook at the head of the bed. A white plastic bracelet circled his left wrist. She stared hard at his hands and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest beneath them.

She sent up a silent prayer of thanks that he was still alive and her job hopefully secure, then whispered to the doctor, “Why hasn’t he regained consciousness?”

“He did. His current state is drug induced.”

At her questioning look, he went on to explain, “Vince doesn’t make a very good patient. He regained consciousness shortly after arriving and pitched a fit when he realized where he was. I sedated him to calm him down.”

Sally nodded, easily able to imagine the kind of ruckus her boss had kicked up. “Do you know what happened to him?”

“Before, during or after his fall?”

She shrugged. “All of it, I guess.”

“He suffered a mild heart attack. The dizziness he experienced during the attack probably caused the fall. Unfortunately, on the way down he cracked his head on something and—”

“The end table,” Sally interjected. “When I found him, the end table was lying next to him.”

“Ah,” the doctor said, nodding. “Stainless steel, as I recall. That explains the bump on the back of his head.” He chuckled softly. “Too bad it didn’t knock any sense into that thick skull of his.”

Sally looked at the doctor curiously, surprised that he was familiar with Vince’s home, as well as her boss’s stubborn streak. “Do you know Vince?”

“Since we were kids.” He glanced over at Vince and gave his head a rueful shake. “The most stubborn person I’ve ever had the misfortune to meet.”

Sally would have laughed at the doctor’s assessment of her boss, but she was too worried about her job to find anything amusing. “How long will he have to stay in the hospital?”

“I’d like to keep him a week, at the very least.”

“Like hell you will.”

Sally and the doctor both glanced over to find Vince awake and struggling to sit up.

The doctor quickly placed a hand against Vince’s chest. “Unless you want me to put another knot on your head, I’d advise you to stay put.”

Obviously too weak to put up much of a fight, Vince sank back against the pillow and squeezed his forehead between his fingers. “What’d you give me? I feel like I’ve been on a three-day drunk.”

“It was a cocktail, all right, but not the kind you might expect.”

Judging by Vince’s weakened state, Sally had to believe whatever the doctor had given him was strong.

“I’m getting out of here.”

The doctor looked down his nose at Vince. “You’ll leave when I say you can.”

Vince dropped his hand to scowl. “Don’t be a jerk, Pat. You know I hate hospitals. Cut me loose so I can go home.”

“You’re in no condition to take care of yourself.”

“I’ll be fine as soon as the drugs wear off.”

“You had a heart attack,” the doctor reminded him. “Which is exactly what I’ve been telling you was going to happen if you didn’t cut back on your workload and get rid of some of the stress in your life.”

“There’s nothing wrong with my heart,” Vince grumbled.

“No, there’s not,” the doctor agreed. “Not this time, at least. The tests we ran indicated no damage was done to your heart. But you did suffer a concussion when you fell, which requires round-the-clock monitoring. Last I heard, you lived alone.”

Vince glanced at Sally. She backed up a step, fearing she knew what he was going to suggest.

“Sally will take care of me.”

She groaned inwardly.

The doctor turned to peer at her. “I thought the clerk said you were his secretary?”

“She is,” Vince replied for her, then gave Sally a warning look. “And she can earn her salary at my house as easily as she can at my office.”

The doctor kept his gaze fixed on Sally. “Would you seriously be willing to stay with this lug for a week?”

Sally stole a glance at Vince. The message in his eyes was clear: if she liked her job, she’d do as he said.

Turning back to the doctor, she forced a smile. “If that’s what Vince wants.”

“You’ll be doing more than monitoring his sleep,” the doctor warned her. “I’ve been telling him for years to slow down. This week he’s going to do just that. No work. Period. And under no circumstances is he to leave the house. I want him resting, and when he’s not resting, I want him relaxing and that means no phone calls and no e-mail. In fact, no contact with the outside world whatsoever. I don’t want anything even remotely related to business anywhere near him. Got it?”

She nodded. “Yes, sir.”

“And work on improving his nutrition. His eating habits are worse than a nine-year-old’s.”

“Yes, sir. I’ll see that he eats properly balanced meals. What about his physical activity? Should I monitor that, too?”

The doctor glanced at Vince, then shook his head. “No. In fact, it would probably do him some good, considering he spends most of his time sitting on an airplane or behind a desk.”

“I’m sure I can think of something to keep him active.”

The doctor studied her a long moment as if judging her ability to carry out his orders. “All right,” he finally agreed, and headed out. “I’ll write up instructions and sign his release.”

As Sally watched the doctor disappear from sight, the enormity of the task she’d taken on sunk in. Panicking, she whipped her head around to level Vince with a threatening look. “Don’t you move so much as a muscle. I’ll be right back.”

Flinging back the curtain, she ran after the doctor. “Dr. O’Connor! Wait!”

He glanced over his shoulder, then stopped and turned, a smile tugging at one corner of his mouth. “Changed your mind already?”

She dragged in a breath, choosing her words carefully, knowing she might very well be putting her job on the line. “I’m a secretary, not a nurse. I’m not sure I’m qualified to take care of someone who’s had a heart attack. What if he should…” She swallowed hard, unable to voice her fears.