Jennifer Taylor - The Boss Who Stole Her Heart

‘I understand that. It was perfectly clear from your advertisement.’ Eleanor Munroe pinned him with a chilly stare. ‘I wouldn’t have wasted your time or mine by applying for the post if I wasn’t happy with the terms.’

‘Quite so.’ Daniel summoned a smile although he couldn’t help feeling uncomfortable at the frosty rebuke. She certainly wasn’t a pushover, he decided, storing that titbit away for future reference.

‘Right, now we’ve established that, let me tell you about the practice,’ he continued briskly, needing to take control of the proceedings once more. He wasn’t normally indecisive when it came to his work—he was always single-minded and focused. However, Dr Munroe seemed to possess the ability to unsettle him and he wanted to get back on track. ‘The Larches, whilst being a rural practice, is extremely busy, mainly because we cover such a wide area of the Yorkshire Dales. As you will know from our advertisement, as well as the main surgery here in Beesdale we run a branch surgery at Hemsthwaite. Between the two sites we have roughly four and a half thousand patients on our books. So if you thought it would be easier working here than in your previous post then I’m afraid you were mistaken.’

‘I didn’t apply for the job because I thought it would be the easy option,’ Eleanor Munroe said brusquely. ‘On the contrary, I am looking forward to being kept busy should I decide to accept the position.’

Daniel could feel his eyebrows rise and struggled to control them but Dr Munroe’s confidence was more than a little startling. There had been no trace of doubt in her voice that she would be hired, no hint at all that she saw this interview as anything more than a formality. Eleanor Munroe obviously knew her own worth. And what was more, she intended to make sure that everyone else was aware of it too!

* * *

Ellie could feel perspiration trickling down her back. That had come out completely wrong! She knew it wasn’t a given that she would be hired for the job. Despite first-class references and glowing endorsements, there were other factors to consider, the main one being that Dr Saunders needed to be sure they could work together. That seemingly arrogant statement would hardly have endeared her to him, would it? If she could have taken back the words she would have done so, but there was nothing she could do now except brazen it out.

Ellie sat up straighter, curbing the urge to run her hand over her newly short hair. She had never worn her hair so short before but she had decided to make a lot of changes to her life and changing her appearance had been first on her agenda. Once she had sorted out her new hairstyle, she had bagged up all the pretty, feminine dresses, the jewel bright tops, the high-heeled shoes, and given them to a charity shop. Her wardrobe now consisted of serviceable tailored trousers and shirts—neat, tidy, professional. Now that she was concentrating on what she wanted, she didn’t need any more frippery.

‘Well, there’s no doubt that anyone who works here will be kept extremely busy,’ Daniel Saunders said evenly, although Ellie could tell that her comment had been added to the minus column on her score sheet.

She bit back a groan, not wanting him to guess how mortified she felt. She wanted this job—no, not wanted it, needed it. If she moved to Yorkshire it would be the first step towards rebuilding her life. Maybe the future wasn’t going to turn out the way she had thought it would but she intended to have a good life and on her terms too. Even though she’d been betrayed in the worst possible way, she was going to use what had happened to her advantage. She had always been a rather cautious person, preferring to stick to what she knew, but not any more. No, she intended to travel and see something of the world while she furthered her career. Maybe what had happened had been a blow but she would get over it. She was determined about that!

Ellie was so lost in her thoughts that it was a moment before she realised Dr Saunders had asked her a question. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said, feeling the embarrassed colour run up her neck. She hated to be caught unawares. She thrived on order and preferred to be prepared at all times. However, there was something about the man seated opposite that unsettled her.

‘I asked if moving up here would create any problems for you, Dr Munroe.’ Daniel Saunders shrugged, drawing Ellie’s unwilling attention to the width of his shoulders. He was casually dressed in navy chinos and a light blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and, despite herself, Ellie couldn’t help noticing how the blue of his shirt brought out the midnight blue of his eyes and highlighted the steel-grey streaks at his temples before she forced her mind away from such nonsense.

‘Problems?’ she repeated uncertainly. ‘In which way, Dr Saunders?’

‘You may need to consider someone else’s views. It’s a long way from Kent to Yorkshire and a lot of people might not be happy about relocating so far away.’

‘I don’t need to consider anyone else, I assure you.’ Ellie sat up straighter, annoyed that he should have asked her a question like that. Maybe she should have let it go but, after what had happened recently, it stung. She glared at him. ‘So if you’re trying to find out if I have a husband or a partner who might object then I consider it a blatant infringement of my rights. I think you will find that no prospective employer has the right to discriminate against a female employee on such grounds.’

‘I’m sure that’s correct, Dr Munroe. However, to set your mind at rest, it’s a question I would ask any potential employee. Male or female.’

His tone was as hard as flint and Ellie realised with a sinking heart that she had completely blotted her copybook now. No way was he going to offer her the job after this. Pushing back her chair, she stood up, wanting to bring the interview to a conclusion before she did something unforgivable. She hadn’t cried, not even when she had found her fiancé in bed with one of their colleagues that day. She had held onto her composure throughout it all, right through the apologies and the ever more elaborate excuses. She hadn’t even lost it when Michael had tried to blame her for his behaviour yet, for some reason, at that moment she could have stood there and wept.

‘I apologise. I should never have said that. It was completely out of order. Thank you for seeing me, Dr Saunders. I hope you find someone suitable to fill the post.’ Ellie swung round and headed towards the door. She knew it was directly behind her but she couldn’t seem to see where she was going. She blundered into a filing cabinet and winced when the metal dug painfully into her hip. What was wrong with her? Why couldn’t she find her way out?

‘Here. Come and sit down.’

A large and surprisingly comforting hand closed around her arm as she found herself being led back to the chair. Ellie dropped down onto the seat because she really didn’t have a choice. Tears were streaming down her face now, blinding her to everything else; she could only sit there while Daniel Saunders went to the sink and filled a glass with cold water.

‘Drink this.’ He crouched down beside her, so close that she could smell the clean fragrance of shampoo that clung to his hair. Holding the glass to her lips, he urged her to take a sip. A few drops of water trickled down her chin but before she could find a tissue, he wiped them away with his fingertips. ‘Better?’

Ellie nodded, not trusting herself to speak. At any other time she would have been mortified by her loss of control but, oddly, she felt nothing. Daniel Saunders straightened up and put the glass on the desk then regarded her with eyes that held only compassion. He obviously wasn’t the type to pass judgement, she thought, and found the idea strangely comforting.