Free The Holiday Triplets by Jacqueline Diamond Page A

Louisville.
    â€œWhat’s this I hear about a press conference?” she demanded.
    Mark gave a start. The vice president was nothing if not thorough. She must have scrutinized the hospital’s schedule of events, posted on its website and updated daily.
    â€œThe counseling clinic is holding a Christmas fundraiser. That’s all we’re announcing,” he assured her. “I have Dr. Forrest’s word that she won’t mention anything about the fertility center.”
    â€œCancel it,” she said.
    â€œThe press has already been notified.”
    â€œThen un-notify them. That woman can’t be trusted not to shoot off her mouth.”
    Less than two hours remained until the event. While he understood Chandra’s concern, Mark found it misplaced. “I doubt we’ll be able to reach everyone in the media. In my opinion, it’s better to go ahead rather than raise all sorts of questions about why we canceled. I promise I’ll keep a lid on things.”
    â€œNo offense, but you don’t exactly have a shining track record for keeping a lid on Dr. Forrest,” the veep replied. “I’m sorry I ever agreed to this counseling idea. I should have known it would be trouble.”
    â€œTrouble? I wouldn’t say that.”
    Chandra cut him off. “I’m emailing you data about a major fertility conference scheduled for Los Angeles next fall. I want our new staff on board and presenting papers at that event. The prestige will be priceless.”
    â€œI agree. However, the organizers may already have scheduled the presenters,” Mark warned.
    â€œThen find out who they are and hire them,” she snapped. “The fertility center is our number one priority.”
    â€œOf course.”
    â€œDon’t waste your energy on distractions like Dr. Forrest’s claptrap.”
    Samantha would hit the roof if she heard her pet project described as claptrap. But that wasn’t the issue. “Even with a cancellation, we’re going to have reporters show up. We’ll have to tell them something.”
    â€œYou should never have agreed to this,” she said. “Make it go away.”
    No sense arguing further. “All right.”
    He put in a call to Jennifer in public relations. She told him what he already knew: it was too late.
    â€œDo it anyway,” he said resignedly.
    â€œOkay. I hope you’re wearing a hard hat and iron underwear, though. You know Samantha.”
    Oh, yes. Indeed he did.
    It occurred to Mark that when he gave the go-ahead for the press conference, he and Sam had made a deal that effectively muzzled her. Now, thanks to Chandra, he was defaulting on his end of the bargain.
    Maybe he’d better add a bulletproof vest to that list of protective gear.
    Â 
    W ITH J ENNIFER’S WORDS ECHOING in her ear, Samantha clicked off her cell phone. Her thoughts raced furiously. Apparently, she’d made a deal with the devil, and the devil had just reneged.
    Sam refused to let her attraction to Mark interfere with her moral outrage. Nor would she yield to the fear of losing her job. Once she started censoring herself, she might as well give up.
    This press conference was essential to notify the public about the fundraising event. Her center was losing its home, losing its cachet as part of the hospital and losing muchof its momentum in the process. Without a boost at this critical point, it could easily crumble to nothing.
    Dedicated as she was, Sam couldn’t run a volunteer center on her own. She already counseled the group of teen mothers, and of course her medical practice took the bulk of her time and energy. She had to establish this center on firm financial footing. But how was she going to do that if she couldn’t even reach out to the community?
    Determination firing on all cylinders, she barreled into the nearest examining room, where two children stopped screaming at each other and stared at her