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it looked as though his meeting with Nick was about to come to an end. There was hardly any point in retracing her steps.

      ‘I’m sure that Tom already knows what needs to be done,’ her father responded shortly. ‘As the consultant in charge, I imagine that he wants to see changes every bit as much as you do.’

      He paused. ‘Look, Nick, I do agree with you that we need to run the department in an effective manner. I know how important these things are, and what you’re saying is reasonable enough, but it’s a question of priorities. A lot of the time the X-ray machine that we have is left idle—evenings and weekends, for instance, when the outpatient departments are closed. Surely you must see that?’

      ‘What I see is that patients are vulnerable,’ Nick said firmly.

      Laura stepped away from the door and began to examine the scene from the nearby window, but she could still hear what was being said.

      ‘I don’t think you appreciate the problems we have to deal with, Nick.’ Her father’s tone was curt. ‘I’m made to account for hospital expenditure the whole time. We’re overstretched as it is, and we have to make careful decisions as to what can be put in place.’

      ‘That isn’t my concern. My priority is the well-being of the patients.’

      ‘Even so, you should be aware of the wider picture. Just keeping up with maintenance can be a minefield. Take the MRI machine as an example…it’s a hugely expensive piece of equipment to maintain, and we’re already paying people to man it for extra hours. There’s a long waiting list of people needing MRI scans. Whenever the machine breaks down we have to get it fixed and back in action as a matter of urgency, or even more patients would be left vulnerable. We have to weigh one thing against another, and make decisions accordingly.’

      ‘I know that, but you still need to take note of what I’m saying. I work in A and E almost every day, and I know what needs to be done to make the department function better. I want management to know exactly what we need to make this place second to none.’

      ‘Believe me, you’ve made your position very clear.’ Laura could imagine her father’s tight-lipped expression. ‘I can assure you that I will put your ideas to management.’

      ‘I’m glad to hear it, but I won’t hold my breath waiting for anything to happen,’ Nick said, thrusting the door open even wider. ‘And much as I’d like to stay and argue the point with you, I have an A and E department to attend to.’

      David’s comment was equally terse. ‘And I have a desk full of paperwork and a lot of catching up to do. I’ll talk to you later, Nick.’

      Nick swept out into the corridor and slowed to a halt as he saw Laura. She pretended to be engrossed in the view of the landscaped quadrangle below the window, but she glanced up as he approached.

      ‘Is my father free now?’

      He sent her a seething glance. ‘He’s all yours.’

      ‘Well, that’s good. I thought I would spend my coffee-break with him.’ Without further ado, she walked into the office and closed the door behind her. After the exchange she had just heard, she didn’t care that she’d left Nick standing in the corridor.

      ‘Laura…it’s good to see you.’ Her father looked up and put aside the file that he had just opened, laying it down on the desk.

      ‘How has your first day back at work gone? I’ve been worried about you. I didn’t think you were well enough to come back yet.’

      He shook his head. ‘It was just a virus. I’m well enough now and, anyway, I get bored just sitting at home with nothing to do. I may just as well be here and getting on with things.’

      Laura looked at the paperwork cluttering his desk. ‘You mean you wanted to get back to work because you knew all this would be piling up. You work too hard. I’m sure that’s why you got the virus in the first place. They put too much on you.’

      She studied him carefully. ‘I just saw Nick coming out of your office. Has he given you more problems to deal with?’

      He gave a faint grimace. ‘I expect that young man will go far. I always knew that he would be a man to be reckoned with one day. When I was a consultant here, he was on my team, and I could see that he was energetic and full of ideas. He has a quick intelligence, a brilliant mind, but he’s also headstrong and impatient.’

      ‘He’s giving you trouble?’

      ‘He wants to see things change, and he wants it brought about quickly. So do I, but I’m used to the way these things work. Nothing gets done overnight, no matter how hard you push. It’s the way things are, and I’ve learned not to let it get me down. There are people in management who have their own ideas of what changes need to be made, and everything is a matter of compromise.’

      ‘Are you regretting that you went into management?’

      ‘No, not at all. I couldn’t carry on as an A and E consultant after the accident affected the use of my hand, but I knew that I could be an effective administrator and that my experience as a doctor would be invaluable in making sure that administrative decisions were solidly based.’

      Laura reached out and covered his hand with hers. ‘And now you have Nick hassling you every day. That wasn’t what you’d bargained for, was it?’

      He smiled wearily. ‘It’s all part and parcel of the job, I suppose. I need to try to meet Nick halfway because he’s full of good ideas, and basically I’ve always thought that should be encouraged. I think we might lose him otherwise, and much as we rub each other up the wrong way, and as much as his going would make my job easier, it would be a great loss for the hospital, I’m sure. There aren’t many men who have his expertise.’

      Laura frowned. ‘Is that a possibility? Is he thinking of leaving?’

      ‘I know that he wants a post as a consultant. He has all the qualifications necessary and I know that he’s been looking around.’

      If Nick went, that would make things easier all round, Laura reflected, but she kept her thoughts to herself. The way things were, the constant arguments with Nick couldn’t be doing her father any good at all. ‘I wish there was something that I could do to make life easier for you. I hate to see you looking so drained.’

      He smiled. ‘If I look like that it’s only because I’ve been unwell for a while. Anyway, you do enough to help me already. It’s good to be able to talk things through with you. I know you have a difficult job of your own. I know what it’s like to deal with the cut and thrust of A and E. It isn’t easy.’

      ‘Which reminds me,’ she said, taking a quick glance at her watch, ‘it’s time I was getting back to work.’ She gave him a quick hug. ‘I’ll see you at home later.’

      Back in the department, she checked on Lewis and then made the final arrangements for him to be admitted to a ward. His analgesics were working, and he looked a lot more comfortable.

      She dealt with a few minor injuries, and was thankful that no major emergencies cropped up in the moments before her shift finished for the day. She had been on the go for several hours, and she would be glad to get back home.

      Her jacket was in the doctors’ lounge, and when she went to retrieve it, she found that Nick was there, helping himself to coffee from the espresso machine.

      He was frowning over the rim of his cup.

      She glanced at him. ‘You look serious. Is that because of a problem in A and E, or could it be that you didn’t get what you wanted from my father when you went to see him this afternoon?’

      ‘A and E doesn’t give me too much of a headache. As for your father, at least now we both know where we stand.’

      ‘I tried to warn you to stay away from him. I don’t think you should be pressurising him right now. He’s been off sick with a nasty virus, and this is his first day back in his office. I’m not

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