Unchained Memories by Maria Imbalzano

flaws.
    Clay shrugged. “Love is blind, as they say.”
    His eyes held hers and she felt a connection so strong, so intimate, she couldn’t, wouldn’t, let go.
    After a few moments, he broke the spell. “It must be awful for your sister to go through what she is. It must be hard on you, too.”
    Clay reached across the table and took her hand, an obvious gesture of comfort. But that small touch sent shock waves through her system and arrows to her heart. She pulled away. She couldn’t let him see the effect he still had on her. Besides, it was ridiculous. She didn’t even know him anymore.
    Her rude response unfortunately sent him in a different direction. “The other night you said you were at your parents’ firm. At the time I didn’t realize you were a malpractice lawyer. What made you get into that?”
    A knot formed in her gut at the underlying censure of his words. She hadn’t anticipated this subject coming up so soon. As a matter of fact, she had naively hoped to side step it all night.
    “I...I don’t know.” She wasn’t ready to tell him the truth. Although, she wasn’t sure why. Maybe because it would sound accusatory.
    “Your parents didn’t practice that kind of law. It seems odd you’d find yourself suing hospitals and doctors after everything Dr. Collins and others at the hospital did for you.”
    His politeness had a biting undercurrent. That, and the ensuing guilt brought about by the truthfulness of his statement made her lash back in defense.
    “My clients have a right to be represented, and to be represented well. My current client is only twenty-four and paralyzed because of an error made by someone at your hospital. She deserves to be compensated for her pain and suffering, for her loss of employment, for her future medical expenses.” Her voice was getting louder with her argument and Charlotte toned it down. “I’m sure, if Dr. Gallway and the hospital were not sued, they would not voluntarily give her the money she needs to live a less than spectacular life as a quadriplegic.”
    “And you think money is going to make her better? Doctors are under the gun every day, dealing with life and death situations, doing the best we can. We all took an oath to do everything in our power to heal the sick. We’re human. We make mistakes. Just like everyone else. When something like that happens to a patient, we agonize over it.” The pain in Clay’s eyes twisted at her heart. He was one of the good guys. But that didn’t make her, or her client, the bad guy.
    “Suing people, or institutions that act negligently, make things better for the next person. If an anesthesiologist extended someone’s neck to intubate her and transected the cord, paralyzing her, then that victim has a right to damages. The doctor is responsible for his actions and the hospital is responsible for them as well.”
    “You make it sound so simple.” Displeasure registered on his face. “Did you consider that her neck could have been injured in the car accident and it wasn’t Dr. Gallway’s negligence but the driver who caused her eventual paralysis?”
    She groaned. Clay must have looked into the case. Either way, she shouldn’t be talking about it with him. They were on opposite sides, and he was too connected to the hospital to be an unbiased party.
    “Let’s talk about something else,” she suggested, needing to move away from this firestorm.
    He nodded his consent, but the muscle in his jaw tightened, a trait she’d forgotten about. Charlotte wanted to reach across the table and soothe it with her fingers, just as she’d always wanted to do as a teen when his anxiety surfaced.
    But she didn’t. Instead, they ordered their meals, drank more wine, and moved onto safer subjects. Charlotte talked about college and law school and Clay discussed the ER. But the initial bond they had when they first arrived had been severed by philosophical differences and opposing careers.
    Their swords had been drawn,