“You can’t be serious!”

In stunned disbelief, Nora sat in the black leather chair in front of Willard Branson, the CEO and chief administrator of Mercy Medical Center, and stared open-mouthed at her boss. In the chair beside hers, Rob Dale sat with a smile on his face that wasn’t quite a self-satisfied smirk, but it was close.

She had hoped that their confrontation outside of surgery the day before yesterday would have convinced the reporter to leave. Apparently, it hadn’t.

His audacity provoked a slow burn of irritation, but it didn’t prevent her from noticing how attractive he looked in charcoal slacks, a sage dress shirt that accentuated his lean, athletic body and a tasteful silk tie that made her wonder if he had a wife or girlfriend that had picked it out for him.

“I’m perfectly serious, Dr. Blake,” Willard replied, drawing her attention back to him. “You are free to donate as much time and energy as you wish to Children of the Day, and I applaud your dedication to the organization, but the hospital must weigh the pros and cons of each case. We have already donated many hours of the staff’s time and much of our limited resources to helping your cause. It’s time we got something back.”

“Saving the lives of needy children isn’t enough payback for you?” She didn’t bother hiding her sarcasm.

Steepling his fingers together, Willard leaned forward on his wide mahogany desk. “I hired you because you had a reputation for being the brightest new pediatric cardiologist to come out of the Cleveland Clinic in years. I hired you because I wanted someone who could grow our program.”

“Haven’t I done that?”

“You have to an extent. Your surgical success rate is impressive, but the publicity a series of articles like Mr. Dale is proposing could very well increase the number of patients referred to this facility. Patients you will operate on.

“It might even generate substantial donations to us and to Children of the Day. I’m sure I don’t need to remind you that the Liberty and Justice is an international and very well respected paper. Frankly, I don’t understand why you aren’t jumping at this opportunity.”

Everything Willard said was true, but Nora couldn’t abide the thought of someone poking about in her life and in her work.

She tried one last avenue. “I’m sure Dr. Kent, would be delighted to have Mr. Dale shadow him on a day to day basis.”

“But he doesn’t do volunteer work for Children of the Day,” Rob interjected.

She glared at him. “Dr. Kent has aided me a number of times. If you’re so interested in the organization, I suggest you spend your time with Anna Terenkov. She is the founder of Children of the Day. I’m certain she will answer any questions you have.”

“I’ve already spoken to Ms. Terenkov. She’s the one who pointed out how frequently your expertise has been utilized even before little Ali Willis’s case was brought to their attention.”

He pulled a small notebook from his shirt pocket, flipped it open and began to read. “And I quote, ‘Dr. Blake is personally responsible for saving the lives of a dozen children in the past year who would otherwise have died of their congenital heart defects in war-torn third world countries.

“‘Besides doing these surgeries without compensation, she has been instrumental in convincing Mercy Medical Center to provide the additional care needed at a greatly reduced fee. She oversees the donated medical supplies and has convinced numerous drug companies to donate badly needed medications. Medicines that families in these countries would otherwise have to buy on the black market at exorbitant prices.’”

He paused and looked up. “Shall I continue? There’s a lot more. Like the fact that you also work part-time at Fort Bonnell Medical Center and have even traveled overseas on a medical mission for Children of the Day. It must be difficult to maintain any kind of private life with this much on your plate.”

“I’m well aware of my workload, and my private life is off limits. Is that understood?”

His eyes brightened. “Then you’ll allow me to tag along with you for Ali’s surgery?”

She glanced at Willard, the man responsible for hiring her and approving the amount of charity work Mercy did. He nodded slightly. She closed her eyes in resignation. “It seems I have little choice.”