Grumpy Doctor

“Her cousin’s very interested in her progress.”

“Tell him she’s doing well. I’ll train the girl. She’ll be ready.”

“Good.” Caroline nodded. “Say what you will about your bedside manner, Dr. Hood, but you’re very skilled. I’m sure you’ll pass on those skills to Dr. Court.”

“My bedside manner isn’t the problem.” I crossed my arms. “It’s my issue with authority.”

She gave me a bland smile. “I’m sure it is. You have to understand though, I walk a delicate line. The hospital is a business—”

“But it shouldn’t be,” I said, interrupting her.

She shrugged slightly, as if that were beside the point. “But it is a business, and I need to make sure it brings in revenue. Without money, the hospital stops seeing patients, and more people end up sick and hurt. You see that, don’t you?”

“I see a bureaucracy that cares more about extending its own lifespan for the benefit of its insiders than a group of people that gives a damn about patients.”

She laughs lightly, as if I were joking. “Be careful with Lori, please, that’s all I wanted to say. She’s important to this hospital, and she’s important to your future.”

I let that one linger in the air between us. I understood the implication: fuck up, and I was finished.

Even after all the good press I’d brought to the hospital by being one of the best surgeons in the world, even after all the lives I’d saved, all the countless bits of praise, it still wasn’t enough for them. The administrators always wanted more, in the end, it was always about getting more.

“Is that all?”

“That’s all. Have a great day, Dr. Hood.”

I stood and left. I felt like I had eyes on me as I rode the elevators down and headed out onto the street. I played that conversation over in my mind, again and again, and kept coming to one conclusion.

Caroline wanted to threaten me, but she was too proper to outright say it.

That was how these businesspeople worked, coming at things sideways so you could never quite pin them down.

The message was clear enough though. I had to work with Lori and turn her into a decent surgeon, or else I was finished.

Good thing he already wanted to do that. For once, his marching orders and his own desires matched up perfectly.

I found Lori in the laundromat, sitting on top of a dryer with her legs crossed, reading a book again. It looked like she’d never left that spot, like she’d been doing laundry there her entire life. She didn’t notice me at first, and she was alone in the place, sitting in a beam of sunlight, her hair shimmering as she adjusted her head, tilting it slightly, turning the page, licking her fingers—a hint of pink tongue, her lips parted—and her eyebrows knit down in concentration. I felt spellbound, like I couldn’t move, and all I wanted to do was watch her all day, watch her reading, watch her do chores, watch her lounge around doing nothing at all—so long as I could watch her, I didn’t care.

But she looked up and broke the moment. She looked surprised then closed the paperback. “When did you get here?”

“A second ago. I didn’t want to interrupt, since you look so busy.”

She rolled her eyes. “What do you want?”

“I just got done talking with the hospital admin.” I walked over and leaned up against the dryer next to her. Our faces were at the same height with each other. Normally, I loomed over her, six or eight inches taller, but now I slouched down slightly, and she sat up straight.

“Caroline Pincher?”

I smiled slightly. “Look at you, knowing the important people.”

“My cousin drilled their names into my head before I started.”

“Smart man.”

“Annoying, really, but I guess it’s handy.”

“Well, you’re right, I met with Caroline. She more or less told me that if I didn’t treat you well, then I was screwed.”

She snorted and smiled. “You already knew that.”

“True, but I’m telling you this because I figured you should know. Someone high up’s watching out for you.”

That seemed to bother her for some reason. She looked away and marked the page of her book by turning down the corner. She shut it and tossed it aside before kicking her legs out and stretching them.

“I didn’t ask for preferential treatment, you know.”

“I’m sure you didn’t.”

“Seriously. I told my cousin to stay out of it, but that’s not really his deal.”

“Can’t say I’m surprised. Men like that don’t like to relinquish control.”

She looked at me sideways. “Something you know a lot about.”

“I won’t pretend like that’s not true.”

“Anyway, you know I’m not here to screw you, right? This stuff with the private investigator, and now whatever Caroline’s doing, it wasn’t my choice.”

“I was sort of hoping you would screw me,” I said, smiling a little.

She blushed a deep scarlet. I knew teasing her wasn’t the best idea, but I couldn’t help myself. The girl held so much power, and I hated when someone had that much over me—I had to do something to take it back.