Page 2 of Healing Her (Pulse Medical #1)

“ C ome to mama,” Jen Colton cooed, wiggling her fingers as she reached for the large chai latte with both hands. The strap of her messenger bag slipped off of her shoulder. “Oops.”

The guy manning the Oakridge Hospital coffee cart kept a grip on the cup with one hand and grabbed the falling bag with the other. “Got you.”

“Ah, thanks.” She pulled the strap of the bag up and over her head to secure it, then made a second attempt at grabbing her drink. “You see how I need this?”

“Happy I was here to help.” He flashed a smile at her. “Haven’t seen you here before. First day?”

“Yep, fresh out of medical school.” Jen stifled a chuckle as panicked confusion flashed across the coffee fellow’s face.

As good as she knew she looked at fifty-five, her crow’s feet and unruly silver curls were not those of a fresh-faced intern.

“I’m kidding! Jen Colton. I’m a transplant surgeon.

I’ve got some miles on my engine. But yeah, it’s my first day here at Oakridge.

” She saluted him with her drink. “You’ll be seeing me a lot…

” She squinted at his name badge. “Bryce.”

“All right, Doctor Colton. I’ll remember you.” His eyes widened again as she tucked a ten-dollar bill into his nearly-empty tip jar. “Hey, you don’t have to do that.”

“I used to tend a bar to get through medical school, kid. I do have to do that.” Jen smiled again. “See you.”

She checked her phone for the last message she’d gotten from Steve Sundstrom, Oakridge’s Chief of Surgery.

It directed her to a conference room on the fourth floor, in the hospital’s surgical wing.

Seemed easy enough. Sipping at her chai latte, which she was pleased to discover was excellent, she made her way to the elevator bank, taking in her new place of employment with interest.

Oakridge was an older hospital, she knew.

But it was the leading surgical hospital in Los Angeles and one of the top ones in California.

She felt fortunate to be coming on board here.

Heading up this hospital’s organ donation and transplantation team was a real feather in her cap in what she thought might be the last decade of her storied career.

And if she was facing her last years as a surgeon, Jen was delighted to be spending them in California, after a lifetime in Boston and Philadelphia.

Despite this particular day turning out to be surprisingly gloomy and wet for LA, she knew that most of the time, the weather here was fantastic.

Sunny, warm… all the things the American Northeast tended not to be quite a lot of the time.

It had almost been a bigger draw than the prestige and the patient work she was going to get to do at Oakridge.

Jen squeezed into a crowded elevator full of people in white coats.

“What floor?” asked one of them, a broad-shouldered young man with twinkling brown eyes and a ready smile.

He stood with his index finger hovering over the elevator keypad.

Intern , Jen decided. Preference for Peds.

He was too open-faced and optimistic to be anything else, and kids probably loved him.

She’d put money on him coming from a family of pediatricians.

“Four, please, and thanks,” she replied.

He nodded and punched four. Next to Jen, a petite woman in her mid-thirties raised her head and inspected her with cool detachment.

She was beautiful, with perfect tawny skin, but her large dark eyes were hard, and her jaw had a firm set to it.

Surgeon, Jen thought. Cardio? No, Oncology. And she’s seen a lot.

“You’re going to the surgical wing?” the petite woman asked, lifting her delicate chin into the air.

“Yep.” Jen smiled. She could feel the other doctor trying to figure her out. That wasn’t surprising. She hadn’t picked up her monogrammed coat for this hospital just yet, and her loose sleeveless top, flowing skirt, and flat sandals were more high school art teacher than transplant surgeon.

But to her pleasant surprise, the younger doctor gave one quick, decisive nod, and said, “I know who you are. Doctor Jennifer Colton. I did an oncological surgery fellowship at Mass Gen last year. You’re a legend in those halls.”

Jen could only duck her head. “Well…”

“Doctor Priya Majumdar.” The woman held out a slender hand. “Will you be working here?”

Jen shook the extended hand briefly. “Ah, yes. Today’s my first day.”

Life and interest sparked in Dr. Majumdar’s eyes. “You’re joining our surgical team?”

“Are you going to the meeting this morning?” Jen countered with a grin.

“Of course.”

“Then you’ll find out more there.” With a wink, Jen raised her drink to her mouth and walked off of the elevator just as the doors opened.

She found the conference room with ease and poked her head around the door to see if anyone was there. Doctor Sundstrom was alone, shuffling through paperwork. He looked up when the door hinges creaked, and a broad smile spread across his face. “Doctor Colton. Welcome aboard.”

“Thank you, Doctor Sundstrom.” Moving to the seat next to his, she sat down and surveyed the room. “Nobody’s here yet?”

“Everyone will be as last minute as possible, I’m afraid. No one likes these meetings. Alas, they are a necessary evil.” He ruffled his sandy gray-blond hair and winked at her over his wire-rimmed glasses. “You know how it is.”

“I do. I do. I’m only here because I wanted to impress my boss on the first day.” She beamed at him and sipped at her chai.

“Well, you know I’m already impressed by your body of work.

And your reputation.” He sat back in his chair and regarded her with admiration.

“You have done pioneering work in the field of transplants. And I hear you were on your way to being a fantastic general surgeon before you specialized. What you’re going to do for our organ transplant and donation program here…

I can’t even begin to imagine how many lives we’ll save with you at the helm. ”

“That’s my goal, Doctor Sundstrom. My purpose in life is to save other lives. I’m grateful to you and Oakridge for giving me the opportunity.”

“Please. Call me Steve. We’re going to be working closely together, and I think we’ll become great friends.”

She liked him. He was affable, intelligent, and his reputation was as formidable and legendary as hers.

Jen liked to think she had a good people sense, and she was only getting green flags from Dr. Stephen Sundstrom.

Yes, she also thought they’d be good friends.

She reached her hand out for a firm shake. “I agree, Steve. Call me Jen.”

“Fantastic.” He smiled. “How are you finding LA? The weather’s a little hinky lately, I promise it’s usually more like it was when you came out here for your interviews.”

“It’s great,” she replied honestly. “I think I’ve found an apartment, I’m going to see it later, if I can take a long lunch.”

Steve nodded. “Of course. Today will mostly be meetings and introductions for you, a more comprehensive show-around; the long lunch won’t be a problem. You need to get settled right away, build a life here. The social scene in LA is good, whenever we find time for it.”

That, Jen knew already. The minute she’d arrived last week, she’d started poking around the lesbian scene.

Just yesterday, she’d happened upon a café/nightclub called Indigo Lounge.

She couldn’t resist dropping in to have a couple of drinks and to work off some of her nervous energy about her new job on a pounding dance floor.

She might be AARP-eligible, but she was not the type of fifty-five-year-old who couldn’t appreciate good music and a lively dance beat.

She wasn’t about to spend every night at home curled up in a chair with a cup of tea and a stack of medical journals.

She’d done that during med school, her residency, and her fellowship.

And she’d promised Nina that she’d live, once it became clear that Nina wouldn’t…

Jen shook her head, sending the memories back to the cobwebs. “I don’t think socializing will be a problem. I’ve been prowling the city for a few days now; I’m finding all sorts of interesting places to go.”

“Great! That’s great. Let me know if you need any recommendations.

Do you like reading? My wife runs a book club—” Steve looked up as the door creaked, interrupting him.

A slow stream of doctors and nurses was beginning to flow into the conference room.

“Oh, it looks like it’s time for our meeting to begin. ”

Sitting back with her chai, Jen watched the surgical wing staff filing in and beginning to jockey for seats and standing positions.

It was enjoyable to watch Priya Majumdar’s eyes widen when she spotted Jen in the chair next to Dr. Sundstrom.

She already liked Priya. But then, she had a soft spot for oncologists.

It didn’t take long for Jen to realize she was a subject of heavy interest, not that she found that surprising.

One pair of eyes after another met hers and bounced away, and the whisper level in the room hissed louder and louder.

Jen hid behind her drink and smiled. She did love to be the cause of a sensation.

Steve got to his feet and raised a hand for silence, smiling at his surgical team. “All right, everyone, simmer down. Everyone here? Let’s get this show on the road.” He began to rub his hands together. “I’m excited about today, and I hope you will be too.”

“What’s this about?” a very good-looking guy probably in his early forties asked. He was too good looking, Jen thought, but in the self-assured academic way, not in the cocky over-polished way. Glasses, great hair, a look of perpetual curiosity in his eyes. Neuro , she decided.

“You all know it’s been a goal of mine to totally revamp our organ donation and transplant program here at Oakridge since I was named Chief of Surgery three years ago,” Steve began.

He started to pace. “We’re LA’s top choice for surgical procedures, for everything from appendectomies and lap choles to complex brain aneurysm repairs.

And that’s because of all of you.” He paused and smiled.

“We’ve got a great team here, some of the best surgeons in the country.

And now we’ve got a real feather in our caps to round the team off.

” Gesturing to Jen, Steve’s smile got even bigger.

“Jen, will you please stand and introduce yourself?”

“Absolutely.” Setting her drink aside, she got to her feet and hoped all five feet, four inches of her radiated good cheer and competence.

“Hi, everyone. My name is Doctor Jennifer Colton. I’m a transplant surgeon and a lifelong East Coaster—in fact, I’m a Townie, and I feel like some of you will know what that means.

” Her grin got wider as some of the folks in the room cheered. “Yep. Hiya, fellow Bostonians.”

“Harvard?” the probable neuro guy asked with interest.

“Nope. Undergrad at Boston College, and then I’m afraid I committed the cardinal sin of going to UPenn for med school.

” At a couple of boos, she chuckled. “I’m not sorry.

Perelman treated me well and my education there was amazing.

I did take all their teachings and knowledge back with me to Boston, though.

I’ve spent the vast majority of my surgical career at Massachusetts General Hospital. ”

Priya Majumdar squirmed her way to the conference room table and leaned forward on it. “Why did you come to Oakridge?”

Jen glanced at Steve, who nodded for her to go ahead. She took a deep breath. “I’m going to be the director of the new and improved organ donation and transplant team here. I’ll be working with all of you in one capacity or another as we do the good work of saving lives.”

Excited murmurs filled the room, but they didn’t cover the sound of the door opening one last time, hinges creaking. A striking brunette slipped through the door, her face flushing red as the room fell silent and everyone turned to look at her. “Oh.”

Jen tilted her head and looked the new arrival over. Expensive dress. Immaculately groomed hair. A pinched look on her face, mouth tightening further into a straight line by the second. Now, this one is cardio. For sure.

“Doctor Proctor,” Steve said with surprise, his eyes wide. “You missed the start of the meeting. This isn’t like you.”

“I’m sorry, I—” Dr. Proctor’s dark eyes went round as dinner saucers as her gaze landed on Jen. “You!”

Jen recoiled back for a moment in confusion. What? I—oh.

The remembered taste of a cosmo martini filled her mouth, and her internal jukebox loaded up the song that had been playing when she’d shimmied backwards on the Indigo Lounge dancefloor, spun around, and collided with a tall, attractive brunette.

This tall, attractive brunette.

She’d lost half her drink to the encounter and waved it off with an apology. But judging by the look on this woman’s face, that apology had not exactly landed.

And now they were going to have to work together.

Oh, boy.