TEMPTED BY HER BOSS by Scarlet Wilson Page A

might have been grateful for the interruption, relieved even. But Grace’s face was as white as a sheet. The head of every reporter in the room turned to her and in one action the whole crowd seemed to surge towards her.
    Donovan couldn’t take his eyes off her. Her previously coiffed hair was sticking out in all directions, her scrubs were rumpled, but the thing he noticed most was her unwavering focus.
    He stood up and pushed his way through the crowd. ‘Out of my way!’
    It was only seconds until he reached her, but it felt like for ever. The reporters were too busy chasing the story, rather than thinking of the emergency situation. Grace’s hands and legs were spread at the doorway, firmly stopping any of the reporters getting through. Her chin was set determinedly, but her eyes were scanning the crowd frantically, looking for Donovan.
    He placed his hand over hers in the doorway and she grabbed it quickly and pulled him through with a force he underestimated, kicking the door closed behind her.
    He felt the first flush of fresh air surround his skin.
    ‘Now,’ she said, her feet running a few steps down the corridor, giving him no time to think. As soon as the door had closed behind him he was instantly aware of the cardiac-arrest alarm sounding in this part of the hospital. It had been years since Donovan had heard one. It had been years since Donovan had responded to one in this kind of environment, but all his automatic medical senses kicked into place.
    He was right behind her as she ran into a room, dragging an emergency trolley from the corridor behind her. There was one nurse, with a knee on the bed, counting out loud as she did chest compressions on the small boy.
    Donovan did a double take. ‘Where is everyone?’ In all his years he’d never seen this. Whenever a cardiac arrest alarm sounded in a hospital setting, everyone responded. It was an unwritten rule. Only one nurse and Grace? It was unheard of.
    The little body had two IVs running, one with fluids, one with bloods, and from the signs on the bed he’d already been haemorrhaging.
    Donovan moved to the top of the bed, taking the most obvious position of airway support. He released the brake on the bed, pushing it forward and lifted the headrest out of place. He grabbed the Ambu bag from the top of the trolley, connected the oxygen and inserted a child-sized airway to maintain the little boy’s respiratory status. This was a temporary measure. The child should be intubated but he couldn’t see the equipment he needed right now.
    Grace was connecting the monitoring equipment and defibrillator around the nurse’s hands. ‘Sorry, Donovan, I needed urgent assistance.’
    ‘Where on earth is the rest of the staff?’
    ‘There are four of them outside, transferring one of the kids onto a helicopter.’
    ‘You arranged the transfers?’ He was surprised she’d managed to pull it off. Grace was rising in his estimation all the time.
    ‘Yeah, with a few conditions.’ She waved her hand. ‘We’ll get to them later?’
    As for getting him out the press conference? It wasn’t ideal. The press would be all over this like a rash. But patients always came first. And Grace had looked as if she couldn’t care less about the members of the press. She’d just known she’d needed help.
    He couldn’t even begin to let himself acknowledge how panicked he’d begun to feel in that room. Right now it felt safer to recognise that Grace had interrupted the conference to get help. Safer for him at least.
    She finished connecting the electrodes to the little boy’s body. ‘There’s a sick adult on the other side of the ward. Two staff are inserting a chest tube.’ She gave her head a little shake. ‘We just don’t have enough staff for the poor condition of these patients, Donovan.’ She opened up the IV nearest her, quickly moving back to the patient. ‘This blood isn’t going in quickly enough.’
    Donovan nodded in agreement. Tyler Bates. Five