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Of course, the interns were long gone by the time he got back, with the exception of the few who were on call. The on-call interns were asleep, resting up in case they were needed, thedo not disturbsign flipped on the door to the on-call room. Dominic checked the schedule to see which interns were here and saw that the names belonged to two who hadn’t really stood out to him yet. Maybe he would see something from them tonight — maybe he would have the chance to judge whether they had promise or were part of the group that ought to be washed out right away.
He went into the break room, intending to get himself a cup of coffee to take along on his nightly rounds.
But in the doorway, he stopped cold, staring, unable to believe what he was seeing.
It was Emily Swinton. She was still here, surrounded by a pile of books. Studying.
She must have sensed his eyes on her, because she looked up. “Oh,” she said. “I’m sorry. Is there a better place for me to do this?”
“You’re not on call,” he said.
“No.”
“Why are you here?”
“I wanted to read these books, but they belong to Dr. Nash. I didn’t want to take them home without asking him, so I stayed.” Her cheeks went pink. “I didn’t mean to get in the way.”
“You’re not in the way,” Dominic said. “You can read here. That’s fine.”
He observed her for a moment longer, then went to get his cup of coffee. She had already turned her attention back to the book in front of her, as if she wasn’t even aware of his presence anymore.
He watched her twirl a lock of blond hair around her finger as she read.
He had been wrong about one thing, at least.
Shedidcare about this job. She did have a passion for it.
He was going to have to reserve judgment about her, at least for now.
CHAPTER 4
EMILY
“Ibrought you coffee, Dr. Berger,” Emily said brightly, handing him a cup.
He gave her a sour look. “There’s coffee in the break room,” he said.
“I know,” she agreed. “But this stuff is nicer.”
“So you thought you had time to stop for coffee? And risk being late?”
“Oh, no, I didn’t stop,” she clarified. “I made this at home. I’m a bit of a coffee fiend, so I keep a really nice drip machine and a great selection of beans. These are Peruvian! And of course, a stack of to-go cups.”
“You still risked making yourself late,” he admonished her.
She wasn’t late. In fact, she was early. But she didn’t dare point that out overtly. Instead, she just glanced at the clock on the wall and said nothing.
Dr. Berger sighed. “Go and join the other interns,” he said. “You’re working with me today.”
That assignment had certainly been in place before Emily had showed up with the coffee. Still, she couldn’t help feeling that it might have helped her case. Dr. Berger looked as grumpy as he ever did, but she watched from a distance as he took a sip of the Peruvian coffee she’d brought him and thought,at least he drank some!
“So this is the new strategy?” Sara asked, appearing by her shoulder. “You’re going to kiss his ass until he likes you?”
“It’s only coffee,” Emily told her friend. “Besides, I brought you some too.” She pointed to a carrying tray that had two more to-go cups in it.
“Can’t complain about that,” Sara said brightly, taking one of the cups. “This smells amazing, Em.”
“Whose rotation did you get assigned to today?” Emily asked.
