Read Online Keeping Score by Regina Hart - Free Book Online

get my name right.” A quick glance at her watch showed it was seven-fifty in the morning. She had more than an hour before her first appointment and she could use every minute of it.
    Hospital employees were either walking or running between the hospital’s parking lot and its entrance. The high activity was due in part to the shift change. It also was a response to the medical needs of the community.
    Marilyn maneuvered around slower-moving pedestrians and yielded to cars and an ambulance as she crossed the parking lot. The click of her low-heeled shoes was barely audible on the asphalt. A warm breeze carried the scent of cut grass and spring blossoms from the nearby landscaping. It also tugged several strands of her hair loose from the clip at the nape of her neck. The tendrils tickled her cheeks before she brushed them back.
    “I don’t write for the gossip section. I’m a sports reporter.”
    Like that makes a difference. “I don’t care.”
    “What do you say to people who are blaming you for your husband’s bad games?” Kirk’s voice was closer to her now.
    Marilyn came to a sudden stop. Her blood began a slow boil. “How dare you harass me at my place of work? How long were you waiting in the parking lot?”
    The same breeze that ruffled her hair riffled through his shaggy blond locks. A cocky grin brightened his round features. “About thirty minutes. I didn’t want to miss you in case you came in early.”
    Marilyn unclenched her teeth. “You sound so proud of the fact that you were skulking around, waiting to invade someone’s privacy. How would you like it if I came to your job and harassed you?”
    Kirk turned pages in his notepad. “There’s a simple solution. Give me a quote and I’ll leave.”
    His audacity took Marilyn’s breath away. “Speak with my husband. He’s the basketball player, not me.” She started to walk again.
    Kirk followed her. “But I want your perspective. Do you think it’s fair that the Monarchs fans blame you when the team loses?”
    Why did the fans blame her? That’s what baffled her. She wasn’t even on the team. Marilyn stepped onto the curb. The entrance to the hospital was within her sight but still several yards away. “You cannot follow me into the hospital. This is where I work.”
    Kirk dogged her footsteps. Was it arrogance or disrespect? “Then answer me out here and I’ll leave you alone.”
    Marilyn sped up. “I’m a private citizen. I don’t have to grant you an interview. You’re wasting your time. Leave. Me. Alone.”
    “The public is interested in you.”
    “That’s too bad.”
    “Give me one quote and I’ll leave you alone.” He adopted a wheedling tone. “Just a few words. Do you think you should be blamed when your husband plays poorly?”
    She would never give him a quote. He wouldn’t be able to print it anyway. “I have nothing to say to you. Go away.”
    “Is there a problem?” A gravelly male voice interrupted them.
    Perfect.
    Marilyn briefly closed her eyes, then turned to the hospital’s administrator. “Good morning, Arthur. There’s no problem. This man was just leaving.”
    Arthur Posey surveyed Kirk from the top of the reporter’s too long, windblown hair to the tips of his battered brown loafers. “It sounded as though you were asking Dr. Devry-Evans for an interview.”
    Kirk extended his hand. “Kirk West. I’m with the Horn . I asked Dr. Evans for a quote for a story we’re doing on her husband.”
    Arthur regarded the younger man as though Kirk had introduced himself as a leper. “This is a hospital, not a media center. We deal in life and death here. If you want to speak with Dr. Devry-Evans, make arrangements to meet her elsewhere.”
    Kirk let his hand drop. “I’m just asking for one quote. It’ll take five minutes.”
    Arthur’s stare should have turned Kirk into a pillar of salt. “Leave now or I’ll have security remove you.”
    Why hadn’t she thought of that? She watched the men