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But this was... If it wasn’t quite so delicious, she could live with that. A busy clinic was something she could share with Jaye, and feel that it was a worthwhile thing and not an exercise in doing all the things she’d sworn to herself that she’d never do.
‘Thanks. Will you tell him I’ll be there in fifteen minutes?’ A lukewarm shower would do wonders in getting those thoughts out of her head. Which would start the day the way she meant to continue it.
* * *
Megan shone a little bit more each day. Jaye had known that she would be the person he wanted as the charity’s overseas co-ordinator almost from the start. Seeing her do what needed to be done, picking up a spade as readily as a medical bag when the situation called for it, had confirmed him in that thought.
He’d spoken with John Ferris, and they’d agreed that John would offer her the new job when she returned to London after her three-month placement here. And then Jaye had fallen back into the comfortable routine of working with Megan, pretending that he wasn’t quite a boss and she wasn’t quite a friend.
But he hadn’t reckoned on how hard she was finding it to leave here. Every day the sadness in her eyes seemed to grow, and he longed to tell her that she’d be back. Finally, he broke.
The lights were on in her bungalow, and he could see her shadow against the thin curtains in the living area. Megan was obviously still up and still working. Jaye tapped on the door, holding the folded offer letter in his other hand.
‘Have you got a moment? There’s something I want to discuss with you.’ Her gaze flipped behind him in the direction of his open-air office. ‘In private.’
‘Yes, of course. Come in.’ She stood back from the door and started to gather up the papers and maps that had been spread out on the sofa. ‘Sit down...’
‘It won’t take a moment.’ Jaye felt his hand tremble, and put it in his pocket. He hadn’t realised how very much this meant to him. ‘I’ve been talking with John Ferris and he’s asked me to give you this.’
‘An official letter...?’ She grimaced at the headed notepaper. ‘Is it ominous?’
‘No, it’s not ominous.’ Jaye hadn’t been sure quite why he had gone to these lengths to step back from this. Rather than just tell Megan, he’d typed out the letter and signed it on John’s behalf. It occurred to him that if she turned the job down, it might not be such a personal rejection that way.
She read the letter through, flipping through the pages. As she did so, a smile began to grow on her face. ‘You’re offering me... Overseas Development Co-ordinator?’
‘Yes. Don’t be fooled by the co-ordinator part. We’re hoping that you’ll have hands-on, day-to-day contact with patients. A practical assessment of their needs is what drives us.’
She nodded. ‘So...pretty much what I’ve been doing here for the last month?’
‘Not quite. You’ll have more authority, and a number of different sites to cover. There’s travelling involved, but it won’t be just a whistle-stop tour and then back to London. We’ll be expecting you to stay with the various projects for a few months and get acquainted with what really makes each of them tick. Then work up proposals with the various directors of each centre and report direct to John Ferris and the board of trustees.’
‘It sounds...’ She smiled suddenly, flushing pink and pressing the letter to her heart. ‘This is the job of my dreams, Jaye.’
And the quiver in his stomach wouldn’t let up until he had a yes from her. ‘And...?’
Suddenly she stepped forward, flinging her arms around his neck, and burying her face in his shoulder. It so surprised Jaye that he wasn’t sure what to do, other than keep his hands hovering inches behind her back, not touching her.
As quickly as she’d done it, she backed off again, her cheeks bright red.
‘What do you say, Megan?’ He had to know. Now.
‘Yes. Thank you, Jaye. It’s what I really want. More than what I want. Thank you so much.’
‘I can tell John that you’ve accepted the offer, then?’ Jaye struggled to maintain his distance when all he really wanted to do was to hug her back and accept her thanks for himself.
‘Yes. Should I write something?’
Probably not, since John would be expecting her to reply direct to Jaye. ‘That’s okay. I’ll tell him, and you can sort out all the details when you get back to London.’
‘And... Will I be working with you? From time to time?’
‘Since I’m planning on spending more time here and with our other projects, I imagine our paths will cross fairly regularly. But we’ll both be working quite independently of each other.’ He saw Megan’s cheeks burn hot again. If that was going to be a problem, then it was a big enough world, and he could contrive to avoid her. And he’d remind her that she’d already said yes and that he considered it binding.
‘I’m so glad. I’ve seen what you’ve done here and it’s... I really respect it.’ She turned her gaze up to him, her eyes shining, and Jaye almost fell to his knees with a mixture of relief and sudden pleasure that she’d been taking notice and she approved.
‘There’s plenty more to do.’ He risked a step further. ‘I’m looking forward to tackling it with you.’
Megan was smiling now, a great big beautiful Cheshire cat smile, and as excitement set in, she could hardly keep still. She practically danced across to the small kitchenette, and Jaye watched her, allowing pleasure to seep into his bones.
