Page 1 of Lovesick

Chapter 1

Louise Regal felt sick but she wasn’t about to mention it to anyone, especially not her brother, George, even if he was technically her boss. There was no way she would give her little brother any ammunition to bust her over. Besides, this afternoon’s board meeting was too important.

Think of the devil, George leaned into her office doorway.

“You ready?” He wore the same happy-go-lucky look he’d adopted since he married Margo. A perfect illustration of a besotted man. She smiled back. Or hoped the expression on her face came off as a smile. It felt like a droopy mask.

If she didn’t love her little brother like a mother hen, she’d have been jealous of his happy marriage. She’d kept her own single professional shingle nailed in place, but now that she was closing in on forty, it might be getting rusty. At the moment, she heaved a sigh and pushed herself up from the chair.

“All set.” It was a lie. As soon as she spoke, a wave of nausea and a spin of the room forced her back into her seat.

George rushed into the office and came around her desk.

“What the hell, Louise? You okay? What’s wrong?” He knelt on the floor in front of her, but she didn’t look up. She bent forward with her head in her hands.

George reached over her head, grabbed the phone, and started dialing.

“What are you doing? I’m . . . all right.” A weak, unconvincing effort, she tried again. Swallowing a lump of something vile, she forced herself to sit upright. “I’ll be fine.” While George spoke to someone on the phone, she closed her eyes and concentrated on breathing deeply. When she opened her eyes, everything looked blurry. Maybe she ought to see a doctor. Assuming she could see anything. Blinking, she tried standing again, this time more slowly.

“Where do you think you’re going? I just called the company doc. He’s coming over right now. Why don’t you lie down?”

George took her by the arm and led her to the couch. It had been someone’s bright idea to equip all of Regal Company’s executive offices with couches. Louise didn’t think she’d ever sat on it since she’d moved into the office a while back when she’d been promoted to V.P. of Operations. But she didn’t argue with George now.

“It’s probably just the latest flu,” George said as he sat her on the couch. “I’ll get you a glass of water.”

She looked up at him and saw the concern on his handsome face. Margo was lucky to have him. A pang of longing to have what Margo and George had swept through her and she shook her head.

“No water. You’re probably right about the flu. The doc will tell me to go home, have some chicken soup, and go to bed. But that’s not an option”

“You think you can make the meeting?”

She smiled. Or tried to, concentrated on looking normal.

“No need for you to stay with me, George. Go to the meeting. I’ll be along in a few minutes. You’re the star of the show anyway.”

“It’s a big one, Louise. The full board. We’re presenting the financials for the year.” He studied her and paced a circle. She wanted to close her eyes and lie down. He stopped and said, “I’ll go ahead and let you know the highlights later. Your assistant can help me with any details I might need from operations.”

When she would have told him she’d be there in ten minutes, tops, the stab in her gut said otherwise. The sudden pain didn’t give her a chance to hide her grimace.

George squeezed her hand and stood.

He went to the door and said, “Take your time. You’re in no shape for a board meeting. The doc will be here shortly. He’s new. I don’t think you met him yet.”

“No.” She’d been traveling on business a lot the past several months—probably why she’d got this damn flu. “I haven’t been around much since old Doc Howard retired a few months back” She groaned with a new wave of nausea.

“Do you need me to stay with you?”

“No. Please don’t. What’s the new Doc’s name?” she asked, though she didn’t care much as long as he could see and had a medical bag with some magical tonic to settle her insides and instruments to rule out anything serious.

“His name?” George paused a beat. If she had any energy she’d be wary. “His name is Dr. Love. Go easy on him.” George flashed her a mischievous smile and disappeared.

Louise laughed on the inside. Then she lay back on the couch and closed her eyes. How the hell did a man carry off a name like Dr. Love?

* * *

Dr. Maxfield Pendletoncarried his bag under his arm as he rushed to the corporate office on the top floor. One of the Regals themselves wasn’t well. This was a good chance to put his best foot forward with the management. Stepping from the elevator, he spared a quick glance at the sign and took off down the carpeted hallway to the designated office.

The reason he’d taken this job was for the old-fashioned vibe and the family’s management style, their commitment to taking care of their employees. He’d enjoyed his first six months and had gotten a good education from Dr. Howard on the ins and outs of the family. Max probably knew more about Louise Regal than was appropriate to know, seeing that he was about to meet for the first time.