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My heart is pounding so loudly that it’s possible Dennis can hear it, panic clawing in my chest. I realize immediately that I am a thousand times more worried about the idea of Mackenzie’s career being affected by this than mine, and because of that his threat cuts deeper, making me tense. I sense there’s little reason to keep up the charade; it’s obvious Dennis has sunk his claws deep into this discovery. I have no idea what sort of scenario resulted in Dennis overhearing Mackenzie, and I’m not even sure it really matters. All that matters is that I save her from any repercussions, if I can.
“There’s no need for all that,” I try, my instincts going into overdrive to protect her. “She isn’t the one who you dislike so much.”
“That’s true,” Dennis says thoughtfully. “It would be a shame to damage her career like that just because you dragged her into your lies.”
“I never lied,” I argue.
Dennis laughs outright. “I think the board would see it differently.” He clicks his tongue. “Submitting a false disclosure form to avoid a reprimand over your application omission? How would that look with your cushy new job in Albuquerque?”
“How...” He’s managed to knock me on my ass twice in five minutes. “How do you know about that?”
“I don’t think that matters, does it?” He shrugs. “What matters is what you do next.”
My mind is frantically sifting from one scenario to another, trying to find a solution for this, but every different way I look at it all leads to the same place. I know that no matter what I do Dennis will make sure this ruins both myselfandMackenzie for good measure; I always knew he hated me and wanted my job, I just never knew he would stoop to such levels to get it.
Actually, as surprised as I am by what’s happening, I definitely don’t find Dennis stooping so low all that surprising.
“What do you want, Dennis?”
He crosses his arms. “You know what I want.”
“If you knew I was leaving anyway, why not just wait until I’m gone to take the job? Why threaten me?”
“Because you’re thinking about not taking the job. Isn’t that right?”
I try to keep my expression blank, but I can feel my eyes narrow. “What makes you say that?”
“You’re not the only one with friends in high places, Noah. You’ve been dodging them for weeks. Pussyfooting around on giving them a straight answer. I think we both know why that is.”
“Do we?”
“Of course we do.” His Cheshire cat smile nearly reaches his eyes. “Because you actually started fucking Dr. Carter.”
My blood rushes in my ears, and I shift in my chair, my body starting to move without my say-so.
He holds out a hand to stop me. “We all heard about her going into heat downstairs and then you carrying her out and disappearing with her for three days. I mean, she’s gorgeous, don’t get me wrong, but it seems idiotic for someone of your intelligence to do something as stupid as sticking around just because you’re finally getting some ass.”
“You might want to be careful about what you say,” I warn. “Or I won’t be able to be as civil about this.”
“Right, right. Big scary alpha. That will look even better for you, won’t it? Mauling a fellow employee because you couldn’t hold your temper? By all means.” Dennis snorts, looking down at me. “You’ve waltzed around this hospital for years acting like you own the damned place. You think just because Dr. Ackard treated you like a little prince and recommended you as his replacement that you’re some sort of genius. I’ve been here three times as long as you, and that jobshouldhave been mine.”
“It isn’t my fault that Paul thought I was better qualified.”
“He only thought that because of the way you kept your head up his ass for so long. You charmed him right into this job, didn’t you? Took everything that should have been mine.” His glee is gone, looking disgusted now. “And now you think you can turn your nose up at an evenbetteropportunity that you most likely don’t deserve so you can hang around for steady sex? No. You need to know how it feels when things don’t go your way.”
I take a deep breath, trying to calm the roaring in my head. “I’ll quit,” I tell him. “I’ll take the job. We don’t have to involve Mackenzie at all. You can have whatever you want.”
And I would think that this would be the end of it, but Dennis looks unconvinced, clicking his tongue. “Yeah, see—That’s not going to cut it, I think.”
“What more can I possibly do?”
“Well, you see... I’ve met your ‘mate,’ as you know. She’s smart. Too smart. Something tells me she isn’t the type who would take this lying down. I think we both know she would have a lot to say about you just up and quitting on my say-so.” He looks annoyed when he adds, “She’s very protective of you, for whatever reason.”
My heart flutters with something other than rage for the briefest of moments.
“I don’t have to tell her the specifics,” I urge, still trying to save this.
Dennis makes a face. “Yeah... I can’t really leave that much up to chance. Blackmailing isn’t exactly a good look for me.”
