That was a major understatement. Isabella was terrified at the prospect of having real responsibilities. In med school, they worked with patients on occasion, but that was mostly observing, and a doctor was always in close range. They wouldn’t be completely off the leash as interns, but they didn’t always have a doctor two feet away, giving them step by step instructions.
More than anything, she didn’t want to let her future patients down. Their lives were in her hands, and even the slightest mistake could prove deadly. She wasn’t always great at showing it, but she genuinely cared about people and wanted to help people in need of her skill and expertise. She had the potential to save lives and didn’t want to blow it.
The next thirty minutes felt like a lifetime for Isabella. She thought about leaving earlier, but she didn’t want to be the weird intern who shows up an hour early on her first day. When it was time to go, she got into her mom’s old Mercedes and drove the short five miles to the hospital. She parked as far back as she could, killing some extra time before orientation.
The hospital was massive. The ceiling in the newly constructed reception area stretched upward forever. She could see medical staff and patients on every floor, everyone walking briskly to get where they needed to be. A rush of excitement filled her chest.
“Ma’am,” the old receptionist called to her as she walked toward the stairs. “All visitors need to register at the desk.”
“Oh,” Isabella said, blushing. “I’m not a visitor. I’m a surgical intern.”
“Okay,” the lady said, unimpressed. “Orientation is on the second floor, third room to the left.”
She scurried toward the steps. This wasn’t the first time she was mistaken for an undergrad student, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last.
“Isabella, wait,” Jordan called from behind her. Her cheeks were red, and Isabella could see tiny beads of sweat above her lip.
“I’m glad I caught you. I hate going to these things. It’s like making new friends at summer camp.”
Isabella nodded in agreement. She wasn’t necessarily unfriendly, but making friends was not a top priority. Her career came first, and if there were people who could be friends with her despite that fact, it was just a bonus.
Interns began filing into the room, sizing each other up. Starting today, they would all be in competition with one another. Doing well as an intern meant getting in on the best procedures and climbing the ranks within the hospital. The next few years could make or break a young surgeon’s career.
Isabella nibbled on a blueberry muffin and gulped a few little cups of coffee. Besides Jordan, there wasn’t another familiar face in the crowd. The small meeting room was filled with medical school graduates, and Isabella didn’t know anything about them. She didn’t know if they came from medical backgrounds or where they were ranked in their classes. It hardly mattered at this point. This was a whole new game—instead of sitting for tests, they would be working in real-world situations.
A short man in a white lab coat entered the room, and suddenly, it was silent. Everyone was looking to make the best first impression.
“Uh, good morning and welcome to Central General Hospital,” the balding doctor said in a monotone voice. “I am Doctor Jensen, and I am the surgeon assigned to this group. Over the next few years, you will be learning more about surgery from my associates and myself. We will do our best to prepare you for your career in general surgery.”
He spoke quickly and seemed uneasy talking to a group of people.
“I need to leave to conduct one of my trials, but I will leave you in the care of my best attending,” he continued. “This is James Johnson. You will be working closely with him. That is all. Goodbye.”
After an awkward gesture to the man entering the room, Doctor Jensen was gone.
“Hello, I’m Doctor Johnson,” the attending said. “Feel free to call me James, though. I’m not that much older than some of you.”
Jordan raised her eyebrows at Isabella. In return, Isabella poked her in the side of the leg under the table. She could have been a little more discreet.
Jordan scribbled a quick note on her notepad and nudged it toward Isabella.
He looks like he plays a doctor on TV.
She wasn’t wrong. This guy had classic good looks, like an old-fashioned movie star. His short brown hair was pushed to the side, and his chocolate brown eyes had a sparkle to them. He was wearing dress pants that fit perfectly around his narrow hips and a slim-fit dress shirt that highlighted his toned physique without showing too much. His face had a thick layer of short stubble, like he’d been on-call the night before and didn’t have the chance to shave yet.
“Here’s the thing,” he said. “For all legal and business purposes, you are to report directly to Dr. Jensen. However, he’s busy conducting a trial for a new weight-loss procedure. There’s a lot of money to be made there, so don’t plan on having him around a lot to answer your questions. He may seem odd, but he’s brilliant, so you’re lucky to be interning under him. I have agreed to assist him, which basically means that I will do all his work for him.” He grinned. “For the most part, you will all be reporting to me.”
Isabella suppressed a groan. What was the point of working with such a brilliant surgeon if his attending was only going to take most of the work?
The meeting concluded with a short meet and greet where everyone introduced themselves and said where they went to school. Isabella felt intimidated. Everyone had graduated from really excellent programs.
After everyone got to acquaint themselves with one another, they got to introduce themselves to James. Isabella practically ran to the front of the room to talk to him.
“Hi, my name is Isabella Carter, and I graduated top of my class from Harvard Medical School. I’m excited to be under—work under you,” she stuttered. Her face was
turning pink. She wanted to make the best impression.
He flashed a toothy grin at her. “Nice to meet you, Isabella. I’m looking forward to spending time with you, too.”
At this, Isabella blushed even deeper and giggled. It was not like her to be rattled by a hot guy. Jordan nudged her in the back, and Isabella stepped aside.
Isabella walked out into the hallway and fanned her face with her notebook. Focus, she thought to herself. This is not the time or the place to get distracted.
Chapter Two
The rest of the morning was a blur for the new interns. They met the small army of medical staff and toured every nook and cranny of the hospital. Isabella tried to remember everything, but for the first time in her life, the information didn’t seem to stick in her brain.
The attending, James, was a great tour guide, showing the interns the basics and injecting his own commentary into the mix.
“Here is the orthopedics wing,” he said as they passed through glass double doors. “These guys are assholes, so feel fortunate that you chose general surgery,” he added, a little quieter.
The group sniggered. There was definitely rivalry between the different specialties. Each specialty had their own stereotypes. The guys in orthopedics were arrogant jocks, the brain and heart surgeons were nerds, pediatrics and neonatal surgery was dominated by women, and general surgeons primarily wanted to make a difference in their patients’ lives. That, or they weren’t smart enough to get into a different specialty.
Of course, these were just stereotypes. There were good doctors and bad doctors in every specialty. As a matter of fact, one could predict that half of the interns were in surgery for the money and the women, and the other half were committed to doing well with their skills and education.