A few minutes later, I followed, noting three problems I hadn’t had when I walked in:
First, Cole Vaughn was going to be impossible to protect because he was too angry to play the game Risk Management wanted him to play.
Next, RMC wouldn’t hesitate to sacrifice him if that’s what it came to, and I was going to have to decide how far I’d go to stop them.
Last…I was already looking forward to seeing Dr. Vaughn again.
When I returned to the office suite, Rowan was hunched at their desk, glasses sliding down their nose.
“How’d it go?”
I crossed to my office, depositing my laptop and files on my desk, and collapsed into my chair. “About as well as you can imagine it would go if you accused a well-regarded surgeon of fucking up.”
Rowan took up their usual place in the door frame, arms folded, lips bent in a half-smile. “So he won’t just crawl under the bus for RMC? Damn.”
I flipped open my laptop, the file and my notes waiting for me. “Nope.”
“At least he’s smart. Some of these MDs…” They clicked their tongue and shook their head at the thought.
“Which is almost worse,” I said, glancing up at them. “He knows the hospital is setting him up and he’s not about to play along with that narrative.”
I averted my eyes before I added, “And I don’t blame him.”
“Oh, Lord,” they replied, laughing a little. “YoulikeDr. Vaughn.”
I didn’t look up again. “I respect his position. I’m a woman with a job to do.”
“Mmmhmmm.”
I laughed, albeit nervously. “Don’t start, Rowan.”
“Youdon’t start.” The grin was impossible to ignore. They eased themselves away from the doorway, strolling over to my desk, leaning on the edge. “You know how you get.”
“Wait, how do I get?” I arched a brow, already knowing this script too well.
“You are about to go to war over this man.”
I closed my laptop, pushing out an exasperated sigh “I’m supposed to let them sacrifice a good surgeon because rich people need a scapegoat?”
“You’re supposed to do exactly what you’re doing. Just be careful. This case has money and politics all over it, and that means it won’t be fair. If you get too close to the blast radius?—”
“I know, Rowan.”
“I know you know, Harper. And yet, you see someone getting railroaded and you become their personal defender.”
I wanted to argue. I couldn’t. “I hear you. I’ll be careful.”
After they left, I went back through the facts, stacking them up in my head. The more I worked, the clearer it became—the Hart family wanted someone to pay for the death of their loved one. The hospital wanted to protect itself. Those two wants didn’t fit together unless someone took the fall.
My phone vibrated against the polished wood of my desk. I snatched it up, flipping it over to check the screen.
Unknown number:
This is Cole Vaughn. You have my number now.
I stifled a smile, then saved his contact info and fired off a reply, thumbs quick on the glass.
Me:
