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dog. I'll take care of him.'
    'Thanks, Dad.' She gave him a hug. 'I'll come and pick Kingston up as soon as my shift ends.'
    The meeting hadn't started when she eventually arrived at the hospital, and people were standing around, talking. She was glad that she hadn't interrupted the proceedings. With any luck Mark wouldn't have spotted her slipping into the room.
    She went and helped herself to a coffee from the filter machine by the window.
    'I'm glad that you could join us,' a deep voice said. 'I was beginning to wonder if you were still having problems at home.'
    Sarah almost choked on her coffee as Mark came to stand alongside her. She might have known that he wouldn't have missed anything. He used a dry tone, and she realised that he had guessed she had only made it by the skin of her teeth.
    She gave him a brief smile. 'I'm hoping that they're sorted out for the time being,' she returned. 'I did my very best to be here on time. What's on the agenda for today?'
    'Go and take a seat and you'll find out. We're just about to begin.'
    She did as he'd suggested, sipping appreciatively at her coffee. Most of the meeting was taken up with a discussion of ways and means that they could use to improve throughput in the emergency room. There was obviously a need for change because patient numbers were rising steadily and the doctors and nurses were under pressure most of the time. It didn't help that they were short-staffed.
    Mark had been brought in to the department to shake things up, and Sarah had no doubt that he would achieve his objective. He was energetic, on the ball, decisive, and she could see why management had chosen him instead of Owen.
    Owen, on the other hand, was good at his job, calm and tranquil, and far more easygoing. Those qualities didn't necessarily make for good management, though, and Mark certainly didn't suffer from any such handicap.
    'Did you have anything to add to that, Sarah?'
    She looked up as the sudden query caught her unawares, and she tried to collect her scattered thoughts. She stared at Mark. Was he talking to her? She had no idea what direction the discussion had taken. For some minutes her thoughts had drifted off, and now Mark was looking at her with laser-like interest, one dark brow, raised in query.
    He knew that she had not been listening. Drawing herself up in her chair, she said quietly, 'I'm not sure. Would you mind running that by me again?'
    His mouth made a faint twist. 'Certainly. Dr Blake was suggesting that we could use a competitive system, with each doctor attempting to deal with as many cases as possible at each session. At the end of the month we could decide who was the overall winner and make that person A and E doctor of the month.'
    Sarah swallowed. 'I don't think I could agree with that. Firstly, it does nothing to encourage the nurses, and could even alienate them, and, secondly, I don't think it would be a fair system.'
    Mark was standing by a table at the far end of the room, and now he came around to the front of it and leaned back against the edge, his long legs thrust out before him. It was distracting, and she was far too aware of the strength of his taut thighs, firmly encased in beautifully tailored dark trousers.
    He was studying her with a quizzical expression. 'Why do you think it wouldn't be fair? After all, this way everyone has an equal chance to compete. It would certainly help us to improve output.'
    She glanced towards Dr Blake. He was young and lively, a senior house officer, on an equal footing with herself, and she recognised that he was very good at his job. He was clever, quick thinking and exceptionally skilled as a doctor. He would have little trouble making swift decisions over the treatment of his patients, and she had no doubt that he could send them on their way, knowing that they had been given the care they needed. She felt totally inadequate alongside him.
    'I agree with you that it would be a positive solution, and we would most likely