Page 24 (1/2)

"Nuts is all relative on the Bad Girl scale"

"Is that right?" Mallory asked "So where on that scale would you put getting yelled at by the ex of the guy I’irl shoes worked?"

Mallory blew out a breath "Yes Now concentrate" She told Amy all about the call "And really," she said "I have no one butI mean I wanted the second time too, and the third, but now--"

"Now you’re in this, and you’re worried that htened "Yeah I mean three ti amused "It’s a relationship"

"And I’ic to relationships"

Aain "Mallory, are you sure you haven’t bitten off h "Now? You think to ask ed s! Hell, yes, I’ve bitten off more than I can chew!"

"Okay," Arade to a less Mr Wrong So and berries, you know?"

Yeah, but she didn’t want just anyone’s twigs and berries "Look, I’m at work We’ll have to obsess over this later Have cake waiting I’ to need it"

"Will do, babe"

Mallory clicked off and went into the hospital

Five minutes into her shift, Jane called her into her office "Two things," her boss said cryptically, giving nothing away "First up" She laid a piece of paper on her desk, facing Mallory It was a receipt for a sizeable amount

"Anonymous donation," Jane said "For HSC"

"My God" Mallory sank to a spare chair "A at all those zeroes correctly?"

"Yes," Jane said "And they’re all very pretty"

Mallory’s eyes jerked up to Jane’s "Did you just make a joke?"

"Tell anyone, and I’ll skin you" Jane let out a rare s "Nicely done"

"How do you know I had anything to do with this?" Mallory asked, still astonished

Jane gave an impressive eye roll "Mallory, without you, there would be no HSC Even with you, it’s barely there, and it’s on tentative footing Someone you know or talked to donated this money"

Mallory absorbed that a moment "Someone I know? I don’t know anyone with a spare 10K"

"Don’t you?"

"You’re not talking about Ty," Mallory said, but Jane’s eyes said that’s exactly who she was talking about "He already donated ram," Mallory protested "Besides, he doesn’t have this kind of money But truthfully, she had no idea what Ty had or didn’t have Ten thousand dollars…"Why would he--"

"Don’t ask me that," Jane said quietly "Because honestly, Mallory? I don’t want to knohy he’d give you so much money for a Health Services Clinic in a town he has no ties to, a place he apparently plans on leaving very soon"

"Not ave it to HSC If it was even him"

"Hmm," was all Jane said to this She paused "I really don’t like to delve into my employees’ private lives, but…"

Oh boy "But…?"

"But since yours is being discussed over the water cooler, it’s unavoidable You’re dating aabout"

Well, technically, there was little "dating" involved She was flat out boinking him "No disrespect, Jane, but I really don’t see how this affects my job"

"Whether he was the anony addicts And he yelled at two aides in the cafeteria"

Mallory’s temper was usually non-existent but it flared to life at Jane’s cavalier description of Ryan "That’s not quite how either of those two events went down," she said as evenly as she could "Ty’s involved in the Vets’ prograrounds, and Ty’s been helping hi him food" Which she only knew because Lucille had told her, and thinking about it still melted her heart She also knew about the hospital cafeteria incident, thanks to Lucille "As for the radiation techs, they were just downright rude, so--"

"My point," Jane said, "is that you’re not just an e the HSC You’re in a position that requires a certain public persona, and you have no one to blame but yourself for that one You chose this, Mallory, so you have to understand that certain aspects of your life are now up for scrutiny You have a ation to live up to that scrutiny"

Mallory was having a hard ti I can’t have a private life?"

"I’ that private life can’t conflict with your public life You can’t date aas that sounds You just can’t"

The words rang through Mallory’s head for the next few hours as she dealt with her patients She had a voet infected, and an eight-nant woas pains

Alyssa was little to no help She was far too busy flirting with that cute new resident doctor, hoping to score a date for her night off All of Alyssa’s patients kept hailing Mallory down, until finally she physically yanked Alyssa away from the new resident and reminded her that she had actual work to do

Mallory pretty ed until there was finally a lull She used the rare quiet ti

"Mallory!"

She looked up to find one of her patients, Jodi Larson, standing there bea from ear to ear Jodi was ten years old, a leukemia patient, and one of Mallory’s all-time favorite people She’d been in for her six-iven the sood

"Officially in re brilliantly as she nodded affired theht, and Jodi presented her with a plate of cookies "Chocolate chip and walnut I baked theed and had to go It turned out the page was fro her daughter into a far, quiet corner "People are talking about how you were seen driving ho ho"

Oh, for the love of God "Actually, it was only 2:30, so your source is dyslexic" And pretty da, but Mallory didn’t bother to say so Herup for it