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exchange steely stares. Several hospital employees gave them curious looks and wide berths on their way to the hospital’s entrance.
    Kirk nodded. “All right.” He looked to Marilyn. “I’ll call you later.”
    “Please don’t.” Marilyn was inflexible. She kept her eyes on Kirk as he walked away. “Thank you, Arthur.”
    “I sent him away for the hospital, not for you.”
    Marilyn straightened her shoulders and met Arthur’s cool silver stare. She ignored the disdain stamped on the older man’s bony features. “I know, and I’m glad you did.”
    He arched a thin, black brow. “Are you? Growing tired of the limelight?”
    At this rate, her teeth would be ground to the nub by the end of the week. “I’ve never sought the limelight.”
    His smile was stiff. His eyes were cool. “And yet you married a professional athlete. That’s like marrying the president, then being surprised that you’ve become the First Lady.”
    Marilyn was tempted to shake Arthur’s tall, thin body until his teeth rattled. But he was six inches taller and twenty years older than her. Besides, he was her boss. “Believe what you like.” She turned to leave.
    He fell into step beside her. His brown briefcase ensured she didn’t get too close. “Thank you. I think I will. In the interim, please make sure you don’t bring any more reporters onto hospital grounds. In case you’ve forgotten, our patients take priority. We can’t have disruptions or distractions to our mission.”
    Our mission. He made the hospital staff sound like Templar Knights on a holy crusade.
    Marilyn’s eyes stretched wide with incredulity. “I didn’t ask Kirk West to come to the hospital.”
    “If that’s true, how did he know when you would arrive?”
    Marilyn swallowed a sigh of frustration. “He waited for me in the parking lot.”
    She hated Arthur’s false smile. “I find that hard to believe.”
    “It’s the truth. He just showed up.”
    Arthur reached past her to open the door. He was chivalrous, even as he pissed her off. “That’s a good story.”
    “Why won’t you believe me?” Marilyn entered the bustling hospital lobby. She took a deep breath, inhaling the satisfying scent of antiseptic as she waited for Arthur.
    “Because people like you love living in the spotlight. That’s why someone with your options would continue to work outside the home. You feed off being the center of attention.” Arthur’s black dress shoes echoed against the tiled lobby almost in unison with Marilyn’s flats.
    Marilyn gaped at him. “What are you talking about?”
    Arthur adjusted his grip on his briefcase. “Why are you here?”
    Her boss was asking her to defend herself and her work. The question hurt. It was tempting to pretend not to understand it but that was the coward’s way out. She wasn’t a coward, despite what Warrick had said yesterday.
    Marilyn faced the older man. She adjusted the strap of her mud brown backpack higher on her shoulders. “I’m a doctor, and I’m good at what I do. That’s why I’m here and that’s why I won’t give up my career.”
    Arthur gestured around the lobby. “The staff is distracted. Patients are complaining and now reporters are gathering in our parking lot. There’s only so much I can tolerate and you’re coming dangerously close to that line.”
    Marilyn swallowed resentment and fear. The taste was bitter. “I understand.”
    Arthur shook his head. He seemed confused. “Your husband is a multimillionaire. You don’t need the money.”
    Cold seeped into her pores. Marilyn arched a brow. It was an attempt at bravado to mask her trepidation. “You’re beginning to make me feel like you don’t want me here.”
    Arthur dragged a hand over his thinning gray hair. “Your presence has become disruptive since your husband has started drawing so much media attention.”
    Marilyn tightened her grip on her backpack. “That wouldn’t be a problem if people worried less about my personal life and