Сара Морган – Summer With Love: The Spanish Consultant (страница 12)
Annie looked up. ‘His blood pressure is falling, Jago.’
‘He needs blood and we need to call the surgeons and warn them that he’s likely to need a laparotomy.’
Jago looked impatiently towards the door and at that moment one of the nurses came hurrying in, carrying the blood bags.
‘At last.’ Jago reached out a hand and took one of the blood bags, attaching it quickly to the giving set. ‘Open the tap and let’s see if that helps.’
They worked to stabilise the man but the blood transfusion seemed to have no effect.
‘Still no improvement. OK, that tells us one of two things.’ Jago’s expression was grim. ‘Either the shock isn’t caused by bleeding, or he’s bleeding faster than we can infuse the blood—my money’s on the latter. He needs urgent surgical intervention. Has someone bleeped the surgeons?’
Charlotte nodded. ‘Mr Hart is on his way.’
‘Well, he’d better be quick.’ Jago turned his attention back to the patient, who was deteriorating by the minute.
‘His blood pressure is still falling.’ Annie looked at Jago expectantly and his mouth tightened.
‘Push that blood through faster.’
At that moment the door swung open and a tall, blond man strode into the room. ‘Jago?’
Jago gave a succinct report on the man’s condition and the surgeon examined him briefly.
‘You’re right. He’s bleeding. Let’s take him straight to Theatre.’
There was a flurry of activity and the man was transferred to the operating theatre for a laparotomy which would allow the surgeons to assess any internal damage.
Katy found herself alone in Resus with Charlotte. ‘Phew, what a mess!’ She glanced around the room, taking in the discarded blood bags, needles and other equipment.
‘What happens now?’
‘We clear it up ready for the next patient,’ Charlotte said immediately, thrusting needles into the sharps bin and scooping up soiled dressings. ‘Jago’s gone to talk to the relatives with Annie. Can I ask you something?’
‘Of course.’ Katy checked the intubation tray and ran another bag of saline through a giving set.
‘How do you two know each other?’
Katy’s eyes flew to hers and she thought about denying their past acquaintance, but Charlotte’s next words made her realise the futility of that approach.
‘When you were brought in here two weeks ago, he was the one who identified you.’
‘Oh.’ Katy concentrated on the equipment she was checking, wondering what Jago had felt when he’d seen her lying on the ambulance stretcher. Had he felt any guilt at all? ‘We knew each other years ago. He used to work for my father.’
‘In the bank?’ Charlotte’s eyes widened. ‘He’s filthy rich and we’ve all been dying to know how he made his money. I suppose that answers the question.’
‘I suppose so.’
Katy moved away, hoping that was the end of it. She hated gossiping about people.
Charlotte was still looking at her in fascination. ‘Did you know him well?’
Katy shook her head and avoided eye contact. ‘Not that well.’
Charlotte gave a wistful sigh. ‘He’s the hospital heartthrob.’
Katy kept her eyes fixed on the intubation tray. Of course he was. Jago Rodriguez was seriously rich, stunningly good-looking and single. A prime target for every woman on the planet.
Except her.
She’d learned her lesson the hard way eleven years ago and she wasn’t that innocent, naïve girl anymore.
Charlotte sighed. ‘Every available woman in the hospital dreams of being the one to tame him and marry him.’
Katy looked up at that, unable to hide her incredulous expression. ‘Marry him?’ Well that showed how well they knew Jago.
Charlotte shrugged. ‘Everyone’s the marrying kind if they meet the right person.’
‘I don’t think so.’ Katy’s voice was soft and thoughtful. ‘I think some people just can’t allow themselves to be that vulnerable.’
And Jago didn’t have a vulnerable part to his make-up.
At one point she’d thought he had. He’d fooled her with a display of gentleness that had turned her insides to jelly but she knew now that that was just part of his superior bedroom technique.
‘You’ve obviously thought about it a lot.’ Charlotte hung the giving set over the stand and looked at her quizzically. ‘But you’re getting married so you must believe in love and commitment.’
Did she?
Katy turned her attention back to the intubation tray, not wanting to shatter Charlotte’s romantic illusions.
She certainly wasn’t in love with Freddie.
And she didn’t feel guilty about it because she knew that Freddie wasn’t in love with her either. He was marrying her because she was the right sort of girl with the right sort of connections and that suited her fine. She didn’t want love.
Her one experience of love had been a shattering, all-consuming experience that had threatened her very existence.
‘Not that we hospital staff really get a look in,’ Charlotte said gloomily, tearing off her plastic apron and lobbing it in the bin. ‘He’s dating a stunning Brazilian model at the moment. The real woman type. Legs up to her armpits and boobs to make a man drool. She’s a very lucky woman.’
Katy clenched her fists and told herself firmly that she didn’t care who Jago was dating. It was none of her business.
And she wanted to end the conversation.
‘I’d better get back to the main area and see some more patients,’ she said quickly, anxious to get away from Charlotte. She was nice but she didn’t need to talk about Jago. Working with him and seeing him every day was bad enough without talking about him as well.
CHAPTER FOUR
KATY’S first week passed quickly and every time she looked up Jago seemed to be there, challenging her, asking questions, his handsome face inscrutable.
Determined not to make a mistake, she examined every patient meticulously, made sure that her questions were detailed, never took anything at face value. And in her opinion she’d performed well. But Jago hadn’t uttered a single word of praise and she was starting to feel the strain.
Was he going to keep this up indefinitely?
Did he really think that she wasn’t up to the pressures of A and E or did he have another reason for not wanting her in his department.
On her first Saturday night working on A and E a fight broke out in the street behind the hospital. They heard the sound of police sirens and a few minutes later a group of drunks staggered through the door that led to the ambulance bay, half-supporting a man who seemed barely conscious.
‘Hey, you!’ One of the drunks waved a hand at Charlotte who frowned with distaste.
‘You can’t come in through that entrance,’ she said tightly. ‘It’s reserved for emergency vehicles. You need to—’
‘Don’t tell me what I can and can’t do,’ the man slurred, his eyes flashing angrily at Charlotte as he struggled to remain upright and focus. ‘Get me a bloody doctor.
Charlotte stiffened and turned to Jago expectantly.
‘This is one for Katy,’ he delivered softly, his dark eyes connecting with Katy’s in unmistakable challenge.
There was no missing the message in his gaze. This was one of the situations he was convinced she’d never be able to deal with, and he was testing her.
She almost laughed. She’d probably had more experience with drunk, violent men than he had.
Ignoring Charlotte’s shocked murmur of protest, Katy stepped forward, her manner calm and professional.
‘That looks like a nasty cut.’