Cora’s returned smile was on the cold side, and Frazer was grateful for the heat of her takeaway cup.

“Morning, Cora.”

Cora gave a nod, her amber eyes somehow bright when everyone else’s were barely open. “Good morning.”

“Excited for another meeting?”

The sarcasm in her voice was clear, and Cora’s chin jutted out just slightly. “I wouldn’t say excited, but aware that it’s a necessary one.”

Necessary? Frazer just barely bit her tongue. Every Monday they rehashed the same information and went over certain cases. As head of Midwifery and coordinator of her team, Frazer was required to attend. But after being on call all night, Frazer was even less inclined than usual to put up with it.

Still, she didn’t go there. Clearly, this was not an argument she would win.

“Alec coming? He’s late.”

Again, there was a hard edge to Cora’s eye. “He’ll be on his way.”

Strange—indirect information. Shouldn’t she come in with her husband? Maybe even Alec was bored by her.

Guilt flared in Frazer’s stomach as she sipped her coffee. That was an unfair thought. Granted, Frazer had trouble thinking fairly so early. Maybe Cora secretly hated the meetings too, and if she and Alec were in the same car together, she would request a divorce then and there out of spite. That thought made Frazer smirk against the lid of her coffee.

Finally, the door opened, everyone straightening again as Alec swept in, shoulders back and spine straightened with the sense of authority his higher position as a suit provided him. Even though he was on the lower end of the blurry hierarchy that ran the hospital, his power over budgets and staff cuts and the privilege of never dealing with anyone but the heads of departments seemed to have left him quite inflated. However, Frazer’s thoughts about her boss were generally quite neutral. Right now, though, she was about to suffer through this meeting, seated next to his boring wife with legs to die for, and she blamed him for all of that.

Brown legs that were a welcome distraction, especially in the pencil skirt Cora was wearing.

Alec stood in front of them, one hand in his pocket and his laser pointer in the other. He looked as put together as his wife, though different in that he was clearly European descent as he was much paler. Maybe he was a vampire. Frazer hid her glee at the thought with another sip of her coffee. To be fair, he wasn’t that pasty. There was a sharpness to his face, though, with his high cheekbones. His blonde hair, still slightly damp after a morning shower, was shorn close to his head.

The first projector slide was already up. It took everything within Frazer to stifle a yawn.

They spent a long time going over some recent cases, updates provided by other departments. After a long report from someone in Renal, Frazer almost fell asleep in her chair. When she caught Tia’s raised eyebrows, Frazer sat up straighter and tried to ignore the fact that the look made her feel like a teenager rather than a grown woman in her thirties.