Tessa's Gift. Cerella Sechrist

the corner of his eye, he noticed Tessa’s shoulders relax. They tightened again when Ana shifted her gaze to the other woman.

      “However, I assumed Tessa consulted with you before I gave her the green light. I was told she informed you of her plans.”

      “I sent you an email about it,” Tessa lamely defended.

      “An email?” he gritted out.

      Noah wondered if she had chosen that communication method solely because he avoided any items in his inbox that weren’t directly related to his patients’ care. Tessa had probably figured that out by now since he never replied to anything else.

      “Well, if I had brought it to you in person, you would have shot it down.”

      “So you decided to circumvent me altogether?”

      “I wasn’t circumventing you! Email is the accepted form of communication for most office correspondence.”

      “If it doesn’t relate directly to my patients—”

      “Aha! But see, this email did relate directly to your patients. You just chose to ignore it because it had ‘publicity’ in the subject line.”

      “Which you knew I would do!”

      “If you’d just give Linda and Viva a chance, you’d see how great this could be—not only for your patients but for you, too.”

      “For me? How is having animals on my oncology floor going to help me?”

      Ana cleared her throat. They turned their attention in her direction and she leaned back in her chair and folded her arms across her chest.

      “Tessa has a point. Animal therapy is a great idea. Not only is it beneficial for the children, but it earns us some positive publicity. I was pleased she suggested it.”

      Noah could practically feel Tessa radiating satisfaction over Ana’s praise.

      “However.” Ana’s gaze became steely. “I expect the two of you to work in unison on these projects. Tessa, you should have consulted Dr. Brennan and received his input rather than leading me to believe he was on board. Though, granted, I should have known better than to assume you had his buy-in.”

      “I understand, and I apologize,” Tessa said, “but I’d just like to point out how much the children are loving the therapy dog.”

      “Any child loves a zoo, but I hardly think it’s appropriate to host one in an oncology ward,” he pointed out.

      Ana shot him a warning look. “One dog does not constitute a zoo,” she said. “The therapy dog program is a great idea, and I chose to run with it because it is not only beneficial to the patients but the hospital as a whole. I’m sorry that Tessa didn’t fully loop you in on the idea, but I’m sure that oversight will not happen again.”

      Tessa looked suitably chastened. “No. No, it won’t,” Tessa agreed. “I’ll be sure to include Dr. Brennan in all decisions going forward...in person.”

      Ana nodded her approval, and Noah recognized it was time he also conceded defeat.

      For all his stubbornness, he was no match for these two women, especially if they were united. And truthfully, would it be so bad to have therapy dogs occasionally visiting the ward? He remembered early on in Ginny’s treatments a hospital staff member had brought a bunny around. Ginny had been delighted. It hadn’t changed the outcome of her treatments, and she’d still been stressed about her chemotherapy that day, but for a few minutes, she’d been able to put aside her worry and just be a kid again.

      The memory settled some of his anger. Perhaps Ana and Tessa had a point.

      “Fine,” he bit out. “But any issues that arise are her responsibility—” he pointed to Tessa “—not mine.”

      “Agreed,” Ana said.

      He had the sense that Tessa wanted to say something more. But what else was there to be said? She’d won, this round at least.

      * * *

      TESSA SHOULD HAVE felt validated by the discussion in Ana’s office, but in truth, she felt awful.

      After Noah left the room, Ana had questioned her on how the patients were reacting to the therapy dog, and Tessa shared what a great success the idea had turned out to be. The kids loved it, and the parents were thrilled. The nurses and other staff had found excuses to stop in and pet the dog.

      Linda and Viva would be in the hospital for a few more hours visiting patients’ individual rooms, if the families wanted to participate.

      Noah was the only one who had responded negatively to the animal’s presence. Tessa couldn’t say she was surprised by his reaction, but a part of her was disappointed. She’d hoped that Dr. Brennan would exhibit a little humanity, a softening of his hard exterior, and give her a glimpse of the man beneath.

      She realized she had lingered too long in Ana’s office, musing on Noah Brennan and his jaded view of the world.

      “I know Dr. Brennan is a challenge, but I would encourage you to be patient where he is concerned.”

      Tessa raised her head. “Because he’s a brilliant doctor.” She said it as a statement of fact, assuming that was what Ana meant. But to her surprise, her boss hesitated.

      “That’s one reason, admittedly.” She frowned, seeming to struggle. “But it’s more than that. Noah is not only a good doctor, he’s a good man.”

      Tessa found this an odd remark. “I never meant to imply he isn’t,” she said. Just because they’d gotten off to a rough start, and he seemed to have a particular dislike for her—or at least, for her role as the marketing and PR coordinator—that didn’t make him an uncaring person. It was part of what confused her so much about him.

      Noah seemed to care a great deal for his patients, even if he didn’t show it to them. He spent many unnecessary hours at the hospital, she’d found, reviewing charts and reading up on the latest cancer treatment research. She believed his explanation that he found all of her efforts to be distractions from what he was meant to be doing: treating children. He was surly and overbearing, but that didn’t make him a bad man.

      “I know he can be challenging,” Ana went on, “but keep in mind that his demands of others pale in comparison to what he demands from himself.”

      She sensed Ana was trying to tell her something that she couldn’t voice aloud, whether for confidentiality reasons or private ones.

      “Just try not to take his attitude personally. It’s not about you. You’re doing a fantastic job, and the therapy dog program is a great idea. Noah will get on board with it, in time.”

      “Mmm.” She didn’t want to disagree with Ana, especially being so new to the job. But she was pretty sure the handsome doctor did have some personal dislike of her. But regardless of how they clashed personally, as he’d said, they were professionals. They could surely find their footing in a working relationship even if they’d never be, as he put it, “best friends.”

      She only wished she didn’t have to fight him every step of the way.

      “I’m sure it will work out just fine,” she finally offered.

      But as she left her boss’s office, she couldn’t help thinking that there was no way Noah was ever going to believe they were on the same side.