He gestures me over to a round table in the corner and takes a seat beside me. “I am so glad you decided to take me up on my offer,” he says. “After you called this morning, I had my secretary put together two files—one for scholarship applications and one for medical school applications. I thought we could fill them out together, and I could give you tips about what they’ll be looking for.”

“Great.” I plaster a fake smile on my face and try to convince myself this is really what I want to do. “I can’t thank you enough for all your help.”

Dr. Drake throws his arm across the back of my chair. “Don’t thank me yet. Thank me when you get that big fat scholarship and the acceptance letter to medical school. Just think. In seven to ten years, you’ll be a fully qualified doctor working in the emergency room. We can lunch together every day.”

A scraping sound in the hallway startles me, and the hair on the back of my neck stands on end. I spin around and look at the open door. No one there. My disapproving subconscious is giving me the jitters.

“Ten years.” I swallow. “Looking forward to it.”

“Would you mind grabbing the medical school listing?” he says, as he sorts through the files. “Top shelf. Red book with blue letters.”

“Sure.” I push my chair away from the table and catch the sound of tapping in the hallway. “Is someone there?” I walk to the door and look left and right. Nothing. I am definitely getting paranoid. I head back to the bookshelf and stretch up on tiptoes to ease the book down.

“Sorry, Mac. I forgot it was so high. Let me help you.” Dr. Drake comes up behind me and reaches for the book. He is so close I can feel the heat from his body against my back.

A snarl from the hallway sends a shiver down my spine.

“Someone is out there.” I slide out from under his arm. “Did you hear that?” I race out the door but the hallway is empty.

“Who is it?” Dr. Drake joins me.

“I don’t know. I kept hearing noises outside, and then I thought I heard a snarl.”

“Maybe it’s just nerves.”

“Yeah. That must be it.”

Dr. Drake turns me to face him. “It isn’t nerves, is it? Your heart isn’t in this. I could see it the minute you walked into my office, and I can see it in your eyes now. You sparkle when you are enthusiastic about something. You sparkle when you talk to Charlie. You sparkled at the auction when you were with Huntington, but you didn’t sparkle with me. That’s when I knew it was time to back off.”

My mouth falls open. “No. Really. I want to do this.”

Dr. Drake shakes his head. “Why don’t you give this decision some more thought? I’m always here. I’m very happy to help bring a new doctor into the fold. But if you do decide to go ahead, I want to see sparkle. I want you to be living your dream.”

My heart clenches. “I’ve given up on dreams.”

Dr. Drake tilts my head back with a gentle finger under my chin, forcing me to look up at him. “Never give up on your dreams. You see something you want, you fight for it.” He pauses and frowns. “That reminds me, I owe Huntington another round in the ring. Tell him to give me a call.”

I swallow and look away. “We broke up.”

His face softens and he runs a finger lightly over the worst of the bruising on my face. “I’m sorry to hear that. I hope these bruises weren’t part of the reason.”

“No.” I shake my head so hard my ears ring. “Max would never hurt me.”

And suddenly, for the very first time, I believe it.

***

The hospital is in an uproar when I arrive at work on Friday morning. Everyone is talking. No one is working. Security has been doubled. The police are everywhere. I weave my way through the crowds and head straight to Charlie. If anyone knows what is going on, it will be him.

“You’ve come to the right place,” he says, when I ask about the whispers in the corridors. He leans back in his chair and steeples his fingers. “I am the heart of the hospital. You need information, you come to me.”

“I’m here,” I snap. “Now spill.”

Charlie’s smile fades. “Someone attacked Doctor Drake last night in his office. The hospital has been trying to keep it all hush-hush. They don’t want people to panic.”

“Is he okay?”

Charlie shrugs. “He’s in critical care. Apparently he was hit over the head with a fire extinguisher. He never saw his attacker.”

I grab Charlie’s arm. “I was with him Thursday night. I was sure I heard someone in the hallway.”

“Who would want to hurt Doctor Drake?” Charlie muses. “I heard his office was untouched. His wallet was still on his desk. He was still wearing his expensive watch. He’s a nice guy. Too good-looking for my taste, but decent. Although he is the competition.” He leans forward and whispers, “It was his name Doris called out that night.”

Nausea roils in my belly. “Do they have any leads?”

“Not so far. They have fingerprints from the fire extinguisher, but not much else.”

I head back to my desk and scrub my hands over my face. I can’t imagine who would want to hurt Dr. Drake, but I know in my heart it wasn’t Max.

***

The day drags. All I can think about is meeting Amanda at Doctor Doctor to talk about Max and to plan our attack on the debt collector over a few drinks on her client expense card. But when my shift ends, she calls to say she’s stuck in a meeting and won’t be able to make it.