Robert’s eyebrows went up. “Piers,” he echoed softly. “Are you close with Dr. Hood?”
I grimaced. “He’s a good teacher. We’re colleagues, of course we’re on a first-name basis. I don’t like what you’re suggesting.”
He held up his hands and leaned back, smiling easily. “I’m not suggesting a thing, please, don’t misunderstand me.”
“I’m not taking a bribe, and I’m not going to let you bully me into doing something I don’t want to do.”
“If that’s what you think, then okay, Dr. Court. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. But remember, my family gives a lot of money to local hospitals, and I’m a very petty man.”
My hands curled into fists. I got the sudden, almost impossible to resist temptation to flip the table right into his face.
Instead, I turned and left without a word. I didn’t trust myself to respond. I knew I wouldn’t say anything good, and it would only get me in more trouble.
That bastard, that self-important rich piece of shit. I almost wished I took Ted up on his warning and skipped the whole meeting, but at least now I understood the argument the Tippett family would try to make in court. I could warn Piers, if I wanted, or do something to help.
But that dirty bastard Robert, he was going to come after me, I knew it in my heart. He didn’t care about me, I was just another girl in his way. Maybe Rees could help, but I wasn’t so sure. The Tippett family was something else.
I was playing in the big leagues now, and I wished I could quit all together. I had enough to worry about. Training with Piers was difficult and intense without all this other crap getting in the way.
But instead of thinking about curling up on my couch and watching Netflix and falling asleep early, I kept seeing Robert Tippett’s smug, condescending smile, the way he smirked as he threatened me—and the way he knew he was right, no matter what I said or did.
I hated men like that. And yet I seemed to be surrounded by them.
14
Piers
Lori arrived with the coffee right on time. It was the best coffee I’d ever had, although I wasn’t about to tell her that. She might start making me pay for it or, even worse, go pick it up myself if she knew how much I loved it.
Normally, she put the cup down on my desk and left, but this morning she lingered in the doorway. I could sense that she had something to talk about, and although I wanted to prep for the procedure we had scheduled in an hour, I couldn’t just ignore her.
Well, I probably could, but it’d only piss her off, and I didn’t feel like starting the day off on the wrong foot.
I was a nice guy, after all.
I swiveled to face her and took a sip. “Yes, Lori?”
She glanced behind her, toward the hall, then shut the door. I arched an eyebrow. This must’ve been serious.
“I talked with Robert Tippett yesterday after work.”
I put my coffee down.
This was very, very serious.
“How?” I asked.
“His private investigator cornered me then took me to a cafe near here. He was waiting for me.”
I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself. I’d been waiting for this moment ever since that PI started asking her questions. I knew she’d be a target for them sooner or later, although I didn’t think Robert himself would show his ugly face personally. I figured he’d hide in the shadows like the little snake he is.
But no, of course he came out for Lori. She was an easy target. Young, impressionable. Although Robert had no clue that she had an interior made of pure metal.
“What did he want?” I asked.
“He told me his side of the story.”
“I’m sure that was interesting.”
She hesitated, glancing down at the floor. “It was, actually.”
I felt a twinge of anger, but I tried to keep it under control. “If he said I misrepresented the surgery in any way—”
“He didn’t,” she said quickly. “Actually, he said you told them all the right things.”
I clenched my jaw for a moment. “Then I don’t know what the problem is.”
“He says the way you handle yourself in general gave his father hope. And when that happened, his father didn’t put his affairs in order, and I guess now their family is going through some problems.”
“Poor rich people.”
“This is serious. Can they prove something like that in court?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted, spreading my hands. “I’ve never been sued before.”
“He made a convincing argument. I mean, when you agreed to do the procedure, it made an impression on his father—”
“So now I’m in the wrong for trying to save the man’s life? I told them the risks. They knew, going into it.”