Page 11 of One Reckless Night

Amelia’s eyes widened slightly. “Dr. Mitchell didn’t agree?”

Shawn snorted. “That’s putting it mildly. Mitchell practically turned purple. I thought he was going to have an aneurysm right there in his office.”

“Safest room to have one,” I said. “With us there.”

“So what happened?” Amelia asked, her curiosity clearly piqued.

I shrugged, taking a swig of my beer. “I’m flying the kid out here. Doing the surgery that needs to be done.”

Amelia blinked, surprise evident on her face. “Just like that? You can do that?”

“When you’re Jared Welch, you can do pretty much anything,” Shawn said with a laugh.

Amelia’s eyes narrowed slightly. “I see,” she said. There was a tone I couldn’t quite place. “And the family agreed to this?”

I leaned forward, meeting her gaze. “Of course they did. I’m giving their son a chance at life. Mitchell was ready to write him off.”

“It’s not that simple,” Amelia argued, her voice low but intense. “There are protocols, ethics committees⁠—”

“Ethics?” I scoffed. “You want to talk about ethics? What’s ethical about letting a kid die when you have the ability to save him?”

“And what if something goes wrong? What if he doesn’t make it through your ‘revolutionary’ surgery? Have you considered the emotional toll on the family, flying them out here, getting their hopes up?”

“Nothing’s going to go wrong,” I said firmly. “I don’t fail.”

Amelia rolled her eyes. “Everyone fails sometimes, Dr. Welch. Even you.”

“Not when it matters,” I shot back. “Not when a life is on the line.”

Clair and Shawn exchanged uncomfortable glances.

“Okay, let’s change the subject,” Clair said brightly, clearly trying to diffuse the situation. “Amelia, tell us more about your home. Did you grow up in London?”

Amelia smiled and nodded. “Yes.”

“And where did you go to school?” Shawn asked.

“I did my undergraduate work at University College London before getting my PhD at Oxford.”

“Oxford?” Shawn’s eyes widened. “That’s impressive.”

Amelia shrugged, trying to downplay it. “It was a lot of hard work, but I loved every minute of it.”

“What made you decide to come to the States?” Shawn asked. “I mean, Oxford to Key West is quite the change.”

“I was looking for a new challenge,” Amelia said. “And the Welch Foundation’s work in neuroscience is unparalleled. When the opportunity came up, I couldn’t pass it up.”

“Even if it meant working with me?” I asked.

“The Foundation’s reputation speaks for itself, Dr. Welch. Your personal reputation is another matter entirely.”

Shawn nearly choked on his beer, and Clair’s eyes widened.

I knew she was going to be a challenge. “To be great is to be misunderstood,” I said.

The food arrived quickly. I technically owned the restaurant and everyone knew me. Signing the paychecks entitled me to a few perks. As we ate, the conversation shifted to work. Clair was in her element, rambling about the latest breakthrough in oncology research. Shawn chimed in occasionally, but mostly he just stared at Clair like she’d hung the moon. Amelia listened intently, nodding along and asking thoughtful questions. She was smart, which shouldn’t have surprised me. We wouldn’t have hired her if she wasn’t. But it was still nice.

“Oh, there’s Dee and Logan,” Clair said. “I need to talk to them. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”