Strictly Business (13 page)

Nina stretched under the comforter and forced herself to admit some cold hard facts. It had been a lie.
Unequivocally. Desiring comeuppance for these criminals didn’t justify his deceitful manipulation of her heart. Wade had used her. She swallowed the lump of emotion in her throat. She had to forget whatever feelings she had for him, forget the way he heated her body. She needed to get some answers about the case. She needed to investigate the discrepancy with the printed date on Mr. Smith’s film. She needed to do something.
But what?

Wade was in a meeting with one of the junior associates when his secretary interrupted. He looked down at the blinking light on his large mahogany desk and frowned. Mary never interrupted him during a meeting unless it was important
. He leaned forward in his soft leather chair and pressed the intercom button. He had to ask Mary to repeat herself when she told him that a Nina Henley was here and insisting to see him. He leaned back in the chair and tried to slow his racing heart. He never in his wildest dreams—and he’d had some pretty wild ones the past week—would have imagined Nina showing up at his office. Being away from her had been torture. She’d occupied his every thought. Even when he wasn’t specifically thinking about her she was there; her presence had settled over him like an aura.

He’d forgotten about the associate sitting across from him
. The young gentleman’s hands were folded on his lap as he waited for direction. Wade apologized and rescheduled the meeting, effectively dismissing him. As the associate left, Wade’s anticipation grew. He tried to imagine the reason for this wonderful surprise visit. Maybe she’d missed him too. Maybe she’d realized that what was happening between them was as unstoppable as a tidal wave and even more powerful. He quickly did a mental check of the meetings he had scheduled for that afternoon, trying to determine which ones he could shuffle to allow some time with Nina.

His
face stretched into a wide smile as he circled his desk to greet her when the door opened. The look on her face halted his steps. He frowned and searched those radiant emerald eyes for warmth. He found none.

“Good afternoon, Wade,
” Nina said evenly, her tone formal.

He
smiled despite the cool breeze she blew at him. He was so pleased just to see her that his heart pattered happily. She looked ravishing in an ivory V-neck blouse and dark slacks. She had on open toed heels that revealed perfectly shaped toes with plum polish that matched her fingernails. Her curls fell softly around her face and tumbled unto her shoulders.

“I’ve missed y
ou, Nina.” He said in one breath, taking several steps towards her.

She
cleared her throat and crossed the richly appointed room. She walked to the large glass floor to ceiling windows that look out over the city, giving her a breath taking view of the shimmering Chrysler building. She was careful to avoid touching him as she passed.

“This is a beautiful view,” s
he said absently, staring into the distance.

“It’s much better now.”

She ignored him and he sighed, growing impatient with her frigid affect. He looked at the long elegant lines of her body silhouetted against the window, and all he wanted to do was to nestle behind her and envelop her into the folds of his arms.

“Nina—
”

“I think I may owe you an apology.”  She was still staring off into the distance, her back to him.

“Nina, no. I would have thought the same—.”

“I took a look at the MRIs at
WMH.”

Her words stupefied
him and he was overcome with instant dread. He frowned, drawing his dark brows together.

“You did
what
?” he barked in alarm.

Nina pivoted and looked at
him. “I took a look at the MRIs at WMH, and you were right. RL is imprinted on the back. The MRI department was renamed the Rob Lewis MRI center.”

“Oh my God
, Nina, what did you think you were doing?”

His words echoed through Nina’s mind. Shouldn’t he be glad she proved him right? His tall frame prowled close to her and she had to take a step back; she was immediately inundated with his power and masculinity. His huge form was fitted perfectly into a dark pin stripe suit, and his wavy dark hair looked like it had just been cut. His eyes were bluer than she remembered, but a storm brewed in their depths.

“I thought you’d be happy. I’ve done
exactly what you wanted me to do. In fact, that’s why I’m here.”

“Nina, you couldn’t be more wrong.”  A hurtful look flashed across his face. “I never wanted you involved in this. It’s way too dangerous.
Besides, I’ve requested a copy of my own films that were taken there. You didn’t have to do this. You shouldn’t be poking around at the hospital, especially now after what happened to Ben! If you arouse suspicion you could put yourself in danger.”

“Listen,”
she replied hotly, “if what you’re saying is true, then I am involved. I can’t sit back and let it happen. I can’t just do
nothing
! I want to help you find these criminals.”

Wade
studied her silently then asked, “What made you change your mind?”

“I searched through the computer data base.
I noticed that films were printed recently on one of my patients. MRI films that no one should care about.”

“
What are you talking about?”

“
The man died three months ago.”

“How w
ere you able to get to the file? I though you said only senior attendings can access the data base.”

“Only senior
attendings can access the
entire
data base. I can only go back three months. My computer code gives me limited access and I can’t print films. Only senior attendings can do that.”

“I see.”

She continued, “So I think it may be possible that someone is accessing the data banks, changing the names on the films—which is pretty much impossible to do and printing them out from the archives.”

“But wouldn’t it be noticed that the films are
printed? Aren’t medical records monitored?”

“
Yes, the hospital is supposed to monitor medical records as part of HIPAA compliance. But there’re tens of thousands of MRIs in the archives. You wouldn’t necessarily notice that number thirty-thousand and fifty-four has been printed unless you’re looking for it. If it’s a film that no one cares about then it’s not a problem.”

Although Wade nodded in agreement, his features were still puzzled.
“I know HIPAA compliance is a big deal. Who has access to medical records?”

“Usually just hospital staff. But
only
the hospital staff that is pertinent to that patient’s direct care. Every identification code allows for different levels of access.”

“I don’t understand how someone can change a patient’s name…”
He scrubbed his chin thoughtfully.

She
sighed. “I don’t either. That seems virtually impossible.”

He
nodded pensively. His curiosity peaked. “How do the names of patients get on the files in the first place?”

“When the original scan is being taken a technician types the name of the patient and his ID number into the computer. Once that happens the name is permanently with the film.”

His eyebrows furrowed. “What happens if they make a mistake or misspell a name? There’s got to be a way to change it. Who has that authority?”

She
expelled a long gust of air. “That I don’t know. I think someone at the computer center might know how something like that can be done. If I go there and talk to one of the techs, I might get a better idea.”

“Nina, no way!” Wade
fumed, savagely raking fingers through his hair in frustration. He was upset that he’d gotten caught up in discussing the case with her. What she’d done was very dangerous. He had to grudgingly admit though that it was the best lead they’d had since the case started. If they were going to build a case against Dr. Barton, the insurance company and the other doctors involved in this he needed some solid evidence.

That was where a private detective came in. He was happy that she believed him, although he could just imagine what this
was doing to her illusion of her perfect little medical community. He knew her brave façade was just that.

“Wade,
I can do this.”

“It’s just way too dangerous
. You’ll get yourself killed! We’re not investigators and we’re not the police. Our firm has hired a new investigator to pick up where Ben left off.”

She
turned back to the window and peered out at the expanse of the city. He could see the pulse racing at her neckline. “You need me, Wade,” she said quietly.

He
admitted that was true, but not for the purpose she was proposing.

She turned back to him, her eyes simmering to a hunter green.
“I’m on the inside. No one you hire will be able to get inside.”

He
opened his mouth to speak, but was so dumbfounded by her reasoning that he stalked to his desk and leaned on the edge of it, keeping his eyes on the source of his aggravation. He folded his arms in front of him, glad that he’d gotten rid of that damned sling. “Absolutely not. This is ludicrous,” he said finally.

“Well, I can’t sit back and let this go on. I’m going to inte
rvene whether you like it or not. There’re patients to consider here, plus I’ve spent my entire medical career at this hospital and plan to continue there. I can’t knowingly let patients suffer without trying to help in some way.”

He pounced
from the desk and faced her squarely.

Nina inhaled a sharp breath as
he approached; his face hovered within inches of hers. The angle of his jaw sharpened with anger.
God he was intoxicating!

“Do you realize what will happen, Nina? When this gets out your hospital will be scandalized. That means being an attending at WMH will not be an enviable appointment. You won’t even want your name associated with WMH. Your sterling medical career will be tarnished until this scandal boils down. Perhaps you should be focusing your efforts on becoming affiliated with a different institution.”

Nina fixed her lips tightly,
she held his gaze as blue flames slid through her. “Don’t try to scare me. I know what I’m doing is the right thing. I can’t just leave!”

He cursed beneath his breath. “What you’re proposing is insane.”

She
folded her arms across her breast. “Wade, are you in or are you out?”

Wade couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He wanted to shake some sense into her. No, he wanted to passionately kiss some sense into her. He wanted to hear her scream his name again in heated abandon. He wanted to take her out for a long romantic lunch and then make love to her for the rest of the afternoon, or actually, reverse the order of activities.

He silently cursed the day he’d told her about the case. He looked at her where she stood, legs solidly planted, arms folded stubbornly across her perky breasts, and her tempting bottom lip protruding with defiance. He knew that if he didn’t agree to her terms she’d go ahead and investigate the case on her own anyway. The only way that he could keep an eye on her was to pretend to go along with her, and maybe when she wasn’t so damned fired up he could convince her to abandon this ridiculous idea.

“I’m in,
” he agreed roughly.

“Good.”

He had expected to see triumph light her eyes, but when he examined them all he saw was that cold detachment that had accompanied her into his office.

“Let’s have some lunch,
” he proposed, hoping that maybe he could steer this conversation on to a more pleasant topic—
them
. He felt as though things were left unresolved between the two of them, and he wanted her to know just where he stood. She’d said that she wanted no part of him and the angry words still echoed in his head.

“No
. I have to go.” She caught his expressive blue gaze and said, “There’s one other thing.”

“What?
” He braced himself.

“Strictly business. Our relationship is
strictly business
. We work on this together and that’s it. Consider me a consultant.”

Wade stared at her for a
protracted moment. He didn’t like this one bit. He was not used to being manipulated, and he was truly worried for her safety. He could see though by her no-nonsense expression that she meant business.

He sighe
d and licked his lips. It was a careless action done as he was contemplating his response, but when he saw the way her eyes followed the movement of his tongue and the glaze that coated those beautiful green stars, he smiled and slowly bent close to her ear.

“I don’t think that it’s going to work—a strictly
business
relationship.”