Chapter Seventy-Two

"Excuse me," Leah said to the woman sitting across the desk from her in response to a knock on her door. "Come in."

Trapper swung the door open and leaned in, balancing on the door knob and holding the door frame with his other hand. "Sorry for the interruption. I wanted to let you know I'll be in surgery all morning. I'll call you for lunch."

Standing, Leah introduced him to her visitor. "Trapper, this is Frieda Christopher, the candidate for my old position with the Systems Group. Frieda, this is our Chief of Surgery, Dr. John McIntyre."

Trapper stood up straight and with a smile, offered his hand to Ms. Christopher, who also stood. "Ms. Christopher, it's nice to meet you. Now, if you two ladies will excuse me, I'm off to surgery." Winking at Leah, he left, pulling the door closed behind him.

An appreciative smile appeared on Frieda's face the minute Trapper smiled. "Is he married?" she said, with a lingering look at the door.

Resuming her seat, Leah cleared her throat. "Ah…no. Divorced."

"Kids?"

"Two; a boy in college and a girl who just started."

"So none at home."

Taking a deep breath, Leah said, "No; a confirmed bachelor…sort of."

Frieda sat back down, crossing her legs and leaning forward. "Sort of? He's involved?"

With an amused grin, Leah answered, "Yes, as I understand it. But why are you interested? You don't stay in one place long enough to nurture relationships."

"Well, when one hits the big 4-0, one starts to think about stability in one's life."

Laughing, Leah said, "Stability. That's a word I never thought would come out of your mouth."

"Well, stability isn't very exciting. It's easy to fall into a rut."

"Yes, but some ruts can be quite satisfying. Anyway, speaking of stability, I'll want you to sign a two-year contract."

Sitting back in her seat, Frieda narrowed her eyes. "Why?"

"I don't want to invest the time to train you on this system and your job if you're going to be moving on in six months."

"That never bothered you before."

"I don't work for Manning Consulting anymore. I have to think about the bottom line here."

"I heard about you and Manning. How'd the lawsuit go?"

"Let's just say he wasn't happy and leave it at that. I'm surprised he didn't come to you."

"He did, but I was through with Doug before you were. Nasty piece of work there." Frieda looked away and chewed her lip. "Two years. That's a long time for me."

"You just said you needed to start thinking about stability."

Leaning down and picking her purse up off the floor beside her chair, Frieda stood. "I do." Turning toward the door, she added, "Need to think about it. Do you mind if I walk around your hospital and get a feel for the place?"

"It's a public hospital. Just behave yourself."

Laughing, Frieda opened the door. "You know me too well. I'll be quick with an answer."

"You ready?" asked Trapper, stepping in Leah's open door.

"So soon? I expected you a little later."

"I have another surgery in an hour. It's now or never."

"Just let me grab some money."

Walking into her office, he took her by the arm and pulled her up out of her chair. "Come on, come on, come on," he said in fast repetition. "You don't need money. I'm buying."

As they hurried down the hall, she said, "Slow down. I can't go that fast with this block of plaster on my foot."

"When does it come off?" he asked once they were in the elevator.

"I was going to ask Gonzo that very same question. It doesn't hurt anymore. It just gets in the way."

In the line in the cafeteria, Leah hesitated when it came time to make her choice of sandwich. "It's not that difficult a choice…ham or chicken," he said impatiently.

"Why are you being so pushy?"

"We'll have one of each," he said to the server. She gave him an angry glare. "You can have whichever one you want," he said with raised eyebrows. "Let's move on down. You're holding up the line."

While Trapper paid, Leah took her tray out to an empty table, but before she sat down, he called, "Not there. Over here." Trapper had pointed to a table in a corner, and seated himself with his back against the wall.

"Which one do you want?"

Picking up one half of her sandwich, then one half of his, she moved them to opposite plates. "That settles that. Now, would you mind telling me what's wrong with you?"

"There you are," said Frieda, approaching them with a tray." Trapper exhaled long and slowly as his eyes rolled up to the ceiling.

Looking from Trapper to Frieda, and then back to Trapper, Leah couldn't suppress a giggle. "I see."

"Dr. McIntyre, having lunch with a member of the board? Either you're well connected, or…isn't that kind of thing frowned upon around here?"

Glancing quickly at Trapper who had buried his face in his sandwich, Leah chuckled to herself. "What in the world are you referring to, Frieda?"

She sat down next to Trapper. "I asked the good doctor to join me for lunch, but he said he didn't have time. Surgery, you know."

"Well, he didn't really lie. He only has an hour, and that's why he's wolfing down his sandwich," Leah said with a glare that stopped him in mid-chew. "Besides, he already had lunch plans."

"Involved. Right," said Frieda with a scowl. "Anyway, I just wanted you to know that I like your hospital. And the staff. And the programming staff. Where do I sign?"

Trapper gave Leah a helpless look, making her cough to hide another laugh.

"I'll have the contract drawn up this afternoon and send it to you. Where are you staying?" Frieda pushed a card across the table. "Nice hotel," said Leah, nodding her approval. "You'll need to sign it and get it back to me. I'll have to get approval from the board, but I don't see any obstacles there. It will probably take the rest of the week."

"Good. That will give me time to look for a place. I don't suppose I could stay with you if I don't find one quickly?" said Frieda, asking with raised brows.

"I'm afraid my place is more like a studio; one big room and one bed…and at the moment, it's occupied," Leah said, winking at Trapper.

Gonzo trotted to the middle of the cafeteria and spun around, then ran toward their table. "Ladies," he said quickly. "Trapper, Jenny Keller is hemorrhaging. We have to go in now."

"Taking one last big bite and following it with a long drink of water, Trapper stood. "I hate to leave so suddenly, ladies, but duty calls," he said, bending and giving Leah a quick sloppy kiss and trotting out of the cafeteria behind Gonzo.

Frieda watched them go. "Involved, indeed. Who's the other one?"

"That's Dr. Gates," answered Leah with a wicked gleam as she wiped her mouth. "Everyone calls him Gonzo. He's…ah…not. Involved, that is."