Grumpy Doctor

I laughed a little. “It’s hard to picture that guy in a bookstore cafe.”

“I know, but the sooner we get going, the better it’ll be.”

I stared at the computer in front of me, then down at the greasy, dirty tile floor. An announcement came over the loudspeaker, fuzzy and indistinct. Muzak was punctuated by coffee gurgles.

“I’ll do it,” I said. “Call him.”

But I didn’t add: only for you.

“Stay where you are. I’ll see you soon.”

I hung up and squeezed my eyes shut.

Maybe this was cruel. I shouldn’t let her stay involved in all this. I’d only drag her down with me, and I wanted to avoid that at all costs. Maybe the smart thing would be to leave right now, to walk away and start over—and let her have a life free from stain and heartache.

Because I knew that was how it would end, as much as I wanted something more.

Despite all that, I didn’t move. I had a thousand chances to get up and walk away after that phone call, but I kept sitting in my uncomfortable metal chair, until Lori appeared at the top of the escalator, followed a beat later by her cousin, a gruff man in an expensive suit.

I stood as they approached, shook his hand, nodded at her. They sat, and Rees looked more annoyed than anything.

“Thanks for coming,” I said to him, and shut my laptop lid. “I appreciate you taking the time.”

“Lucky for you both, I was in town.” He frowned at her, then at me. “Lori tells me that Caroline suspended you.”

“That’s right.”

“For some notes you took?”

“Fake ones,” I said. “And yes, apparently they’re not nice, but they’re not real.”

“So you’re saying Caroline, hospital administrator, and Gina, your direct superior, both worked together to forge documents, and are using them against you?” He spoke slowly, but his tone suggested he didn’t find it so implausible.

“Yes,” I said. “They did it, or they hired someone to do it, or someone in the hospital did it. But I know I didn’t make those notes.”

He looked at Lori and she leaned toward him.

“He’s not lying,” she said. “I’ve been with him long enough to know, he doesn’t operate like that.”

“Even patients he doesn’t like?” Rees asked, glancing at me.

“Even them,” she said. “And there have been a few. One spit in his face.”

“Being a doctor must be difficult,” Rees said.

“Getting spit on isn’t so wild,” I said. “It’s happened a few times. I still don’t write something nasty about them in my notes. It’s unprofessional and worthless.”

“I believe you,” Rees said, which surprised me. The fact that he’d even entertain my accusation said a lot about him, and his faith in me. “But the problem is, you have no proof. In a situation like this, it’s he said, she said, and typically the big institutions have better lawyers.”

“I know,” I said. “And I wish I could do something, but I’m at a disadvantage here.”

Rees nodded slowly, and glanced at Lori again. There wasn’t much he could do, and now that he was here, I regretted agreeing to this.

“I’ll tell you something,” Rees said, speaking to Lori, but the words felt like they were directed at me. “The Tippett family is offering a very, very large donation to the hospital.”

“I figured,” Lori said.

“I think maybe I should be more specific. Robert Tippett is offering that donation, not his sister.” Rees leaned forward. “I know Robert quite well, and I know that he’s not above getting his hands dirty to get what he wants.”

I exchanged looks with Lori.

“I spoke with Robert,” she said, glancing down at the table. “He tried to recruit me, you know, to help with their side. He told me that this whole thing is basically so that he can end up with the inheritance. It’s complicated, but he needs to prove that his father wasn’t in his right mind at the end, and that his will should be invalidated, or something like that.”

Rees let out a hard grunt. “That was my guess from the start.”

“Goes to show how much I’m worth,” I said bitterly. “Caroline and Gina are willing to toss me away for a donation. Seems inhuman.”

“Don’t underestimate how many lives money can save,” Rees said. “Trust me, I don’t agree with what they’re doing, but adding millions of dollars to the hospital’s budget can go a long way. And you’ll be okay, sooner or later. Once this legal issue is cleared up, some other hospital will take you on.”

“But it’ll never be the same,” I said. “There will always be that stain.”

“There’s not much you can do about that.” He watched us both carefully, then shook his head. “Sorry to have wasted your time, but as you can see, this is beyond my power to solve.”

“Can’t you speak with Robert?” Lori asked. “Since you know him.”