“So are you going to save me from making a fool of myself, getting myself fired, even? My car’s right outside the ER entrance. One of the perks is my own parking slot.”

Pia eyed Paul. She debated. One of the realities was that she didn’t know if twenty dollars would be enough for a cab all the way to Nano, and even though Paul was socially aggressive, there was something about his nature that suggested it wasn’t the boringly typical male sexual come-on. “Okay,” Pia said suddenly. “To save you from yourself, I’ll accept a ride.” She smiled. “But let me tell you a little secret. I’m black belt in tae kwon do.” Now she laughed.

“You’re joking?”

“I’m not joking at all. I learned it at school, starting when I was fourteen.” What she didn’t say was that the school was essentially a reform school, and she had used martial arts to protect herself.

A broad smile spread across Paul’s face. To him, she was getting more and more interesting. “Fabulous!” he said, and meant it.

They walked in silence to the car park and found his Subaru with combination ski and bike racks. A dark blue Trek Madone bike was locked into the rack. In the back of the station wagon were loops of climbing robe. As Paul unlocked the car he looked over the top at Pia.

“Pia, you aren’t going to need tae kwon do when you’re with me.”

“I know,” Pia said. “That’s why I told you about it. If I thought I’d need it, I wouldn’t have said anything.”

They both climbed into the car, which was as clean and ordered as Paul’s person. Paul turned the ignition and looked across at Pia. “The reason I asked for your cell number is that I’d like to call you, and not just about this runner guy. Perhaps we could go for a drink and talk about medicine, or whatever floats your boat.”

“That’s a possibility,” said Pia. She wasn’t used to people being so disarmingly frank. Pia also felt safe with Paul. She could usually tell that a man thought she was attractive because he would check her out and leer. Here was a man who just said he liked her. It made a nice change.

They drove out of the hospital parking lot, and Pia directed him to Nano. When they got to the gate, Pia showed the security guard her ID and said that Paul was just dropping her off. Paul pulled up to the front of the main building. He was clearly impressed.

“This place is huge. And that landscaping is to die for. The whole effect is intimidating, I have to say.”