Damn Wright (The Wrights 2)

Her phone rang, and Emma reached for it reluctantly. She saw a number that was familiar, but that she couldn’t place. She took a deep breath and answered, “Doctor Reeves.”

“Doctor Reeves, hello.” The voice was female and formal, but pleasant. “This is Cindy Marlow from Vanderbilt University Hospital.”

“Oh, hi.” Emma’s focus narrowed to the woman she’d met briefly in the process of jumping through hoops at Vanderbilt to be considered for employment there. “How are you?”

“Very well, thank you. Do you have a minute?”

“Of course.”

“I just wanted to touch base with you about the attending position in our emergency department.”

Emma closed her eyes. This was the worst possible time to think about making big decisions. And now that Aunt Shelly’s house held the possibility of paying off her school debt, she was even less inclined to take the position at Vanderbilt. But the renovation hadn’t even started, and it could take months. Months during which Emma had to pay back hefty school loans.

“Yes, thank you,” Emma said. “It’s definitely been on my mind.”

“If I remember correctly, your residency ends soon.”

Perfect, a reminder of just how drastically her world was about to change. “That’s right. Time flies.”

Ms. Marlow chuckled. “Well, we have several candidates for the full-time position in the ED and, as you know, you are our top pick.”

“I do, and I’m honored.”

“The thing is, we really need to get your answer so we know if we should be considering other physicians for the position.”

“Of course. I understand.”

She really didn’t want to lose this job. It was, by far, the best she’d been offered locally. And if she wasn’t going overseas, she wanted to stay near her family. But if she signed the contract, she’d be bound for two years.

“I have a few family things to work out before I can say yes,” she told Marlow. “Do you mind if I get back to you in a week or two?”

“The sooner, the better.”

“Understood. Thank you so much.”

Emma disconnected and exhaled heavily. She needed to just pull the trigger and take the job. She wouldn’t know any more about the house potentially paying off her student loans in two weeks than she knew now.

“Shit.” She hated the claustrophobia tightening her chest. So she’d have to put off her dreams another couple of years? So what? At least then she’d have the two years post-residency that Doctors Without Borders required for physicians to work with them.

And shit, she really wasn’t going to get any sleep now.

She lifted her phone again and dialed Maizey.

“Hey there,” Maizey answered. “You must be reading my mind. I was going to call and see if you wanted to get together for lunch today.”

Emma was starving after her night with Dylan. Maybe after she’d eaten and hashed things out with Maizey, she

would actually be able to get some sleep. “I’m thinking breakfast.”

“Then I guess I’m thinking I’ll meet you at Rusty’s Cafe in twenty.”

Emma’s shoulders relaxed. “Perfect.”

An hour later, Emma stabbed the last bite of pancake with her fork and slipped it into her mouth, then sat back in the booth with a sigh. She’d decimated her breakfast of two eggs, four bacon strips, and three blueberry pancakes the size of dinner plates.

A light rain had started falling right before she’d arrived at the restaurant, and it showed no signs of letting up.

“If that’s what great sex does to a person,” Maizey said, sipping her coffee with an amused smile, “then my sex life is definitely substandard.”