Margaret Barker – Greek Doctor Claims His Bride (страница 8)
Several strokes of the hairbrush smoothed out the long auburn hair and made it shine. She was glad she’d taken the time to wash it that morning. She could, of course, coil it up so that she looked more professional. Yes, that would definitely impress the chairman of the board, the old boy she was going to see. He was bound to be old, wasn’t he? These types always were.
She piled her hair up on top and stuck it in place with several pins and grips. Over the years she’d practised this so often that it wasn’t difficult for her. She immediately felt more efficient, intelligent, a better doctor, somebody that the chairman would take seriously.
“In short, Dr Tanya,” she told her reflection, “you are the perfect candidate we’ve been looking for. The job is yours.”
She smiled. “Thank you, sir. I accept.”
* * *
Outside, the midday sun was stronger than she’d realised and the smart court shoes were hardly conducive to the cobblestones. Still, by the time she’d gone through the upper town and tried to persuade a taxi to collect her it would be quicker and easier to simply make her way on foot down the
Halfway down, the door to Helene’s house was wide open. Helene’s grandmother was standing on the step and called out to her.
They chatted together. Tanya explained that she was on her way to the hospital and wouldn’t come in for a drink. Yes, she would try to see Helene at the hospital and was glad that all was well with her. With praise ringing in her ears about the way that she and Manolis had delivered the baby, she continued on her way.
It was marginally cooler as she walked through the narrow streets of Yialos, the town by the harbour. The hospital, referred to by everybody as the New Hospital, was set back from the harbour near the church. It had started off as the doctors’ surgery, she remembered, and had then been extended a great deal to qualify as a real hospital. It had certainly grown since she was last here.
She walked in through the front doors that led from the area where a couple of ambulances were parked. The reception area was very smart and, luxury of luxuries, it was air-conditioned! She really hadn’t expected anything quite so grand here on Ceres. She began to feel slightly overwhelmed. And definitely overdressed. And the fact that she’d assumed she could just walk in and demand to see the chairman of the board was perhaps a little…
“Can I help you?” an English voice asked.
She moved forward to confront the white-uniformed receptionist who, unsmilingly, didn’t seem as if she wanted to help at all.
“Actually, I was hoping to see…I’d like to make an appointment to see the chairman of the hospital board.”
The young woman frowned. “Could you give me some details, Miss…?”
She cleared her throat and straightened her back. “I’m Dr Tanya Angelapoulos.”
“Tanya!”
She turned at the sound of Manolis’s voice—his most welcome voice! For a moment she felt like the young girl who’d craved his attention. No, she was all grown up now and didn’t need his help—did she?
He came towards her, looking so handsome in his theatre greens, a mask still dangling round his throat, that she was sure her heart missed a beat.
“I’ve been in Theatre all morning. I was going to call you when I got a moment to spare about the job. I haven’t been able to contact any of the board. Wheels run slowly out here and now everything closes down for lunch. Why are you here?”
“I just happened to be down in the town, shopping, and I thought I’d drop in to…er get the feel of the place, see if I might like to work here,” she improvised.
He looked taken aback, she thought, and wished fervently that she hadn’t arrived unannounced. He didn’t seem at all pleased to see her.
“Look, come along to my office. I’ll fill you in on what’s involved with the job.” He turned to looked at the receptionist, who was desperately trying to find out what was going on. “It’s OK, Melissa, I’ll look after Dr Tanya.”
He put a hand on her back as he guided her out of Reception. He hadn’t even noticed she was smiling.
Tanya could feel the gentle, soothing touch of Manolis’s hand in the small of her back as they walked along the corridor. He was pushing open a door that led into a spacious room. He was obviously very important here. She’d noticed the sign on the door that read “HOSPITAL DIRECTOR.” He was the one who’d got her interested in this job. Surely he could bypass the usual rules and sign her in?
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