by Rye Hart
Sure, maybe that was a bit rude, but it was the truth. Tyler frowned at me.
“It's not about how she looks, I'm married.”
Not for much longer, I thought as I remembered my morning with his wife, Tracy.
“It's just – I don't want to bother you with all my silly questions,” he said. “I know you do this every single day and it's easy for you. But this is my first surgery, ever, and I was hoping Dr. Brooks could ease my mind a bit, ya know?”
With a deep sigh, I nodded. I hated to admit it, but my bedside manner wasn't always the best. I got the job done, I made sure the athletes got to play again, but I wasn't the warm, cuddly type. “When she gets back in, I'll have her give you a call.”
“Thanks,” he said with a crooked smile. “And just so you know, I think it's awesome that you have her working with you now. I know you're a busy man, but having someone available to answer the mundane questions can be useful. I know a few guys who went elsewhere because of your tight schedule. But I think bringing Dr. Brooks in will help a lot. I'll send guys your way from now on.”
Yeah. Great. Except I wasn't sure Morgan would come back to work for me.
CHAPTER FOUR - MORGAN
I hadn't ventured very far after storming out. I knew I couldn't just quit – not like that. I needed that internship and I would need to suck it up and apologize to Gavin. As much as it killed me to even think about doing so, I knew what I had to do. I'd come too far to give it all up now.
No, instead of going home to sulk, I just went down the street to the coffee house at the corner. I stared at my green tea and contemplated how I could go about doing apologizing to that pig without sacrificing my values.
As I pondered how to do what needed to be done, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out, half expecting it to be Dr. Pierce firing me. With a groan, I answered.
“Yes?” I said, hoping for the first time in my life that it was a telemarketer.
But of course, I couldn't be that lucky. I could never be that lucky.
“Morgan? It's Gavin Pierce.”
Ah, so the man actually had some balls on him. Taking a deep breath, I prepared myself for the argument.
“Listen, Dr. Pierce, I'm sorry – ”
But he spoke at the same time, speaking over me. “Morgan, I know I screwed up and I'm sorry – ”
We both stopped.
“What?” I said.
“What were you saying?” he asked me.
“No, what were you saying?” Did he really apologize did me? Did I actually hear him right?
Of course, if I wanted him to say those words again, I knew I would probably be waiting a long damn time. Especially since I started off with an apology – and likely an admission of guilt in his mind.
“I was just wondering when you'd be back in,” he said. “Tyler McAdams had a few questions and wanted to talk to you specifically, so if you wouldn't mind – ”
That was his way of asking me to come back, of maybe even admitting that he needed me. With a smile on my face, I decided maybe I wouldn't have to sacrifice my values or get down on my knees and plead for my job back after all.
“Yeah, sure. I'd be happy to speak with him,” I said. “I'll be right there. I just needed some fresh air.”
“That's fine,” he said, sounding so much more pleasant than he had before. “See you when you get back.”
We hung up the phone, and even though it had gone so smoothly, I knew Gavin Pierce had struggled to make that call. I knew he hadn't wanted to admit it, but he needed me. I would use that to my advantage.
I could only hope he wouldn't be such a dick to me upon my return.
ooo000ooo
“Welcome back, Dr. Brooks,” Lila said to me sweetly.
She pushed back her glasses and smiled at me. How could someone so sweet and personable work for such a misogynistic pig? Hopefully Gavin didn't talk to sweet, old Lila the way he talked to me. That would make him an even bigger dick than I already thought he was.
“Thank you, Lila,” I said with a smile as I walked to the back.
Lila motioned for me to come closer to her, which caught me off-guard but I recovered quickly. I walked into her tiny little reception area and waited for her as she looked around and then leaned a little closer to me.
“I know Dr. Pierce can be hard to work with,” she said, her voice soft. “You're not the first intern he's had a problem with. He has a very large ego, that one. Don't take it personally, dear.”
“I'll try not to,” I said.
I had to wonder how many of his other interns had been female. Based on how he'd spoken to me earlier, I would probably have guessed none. And he probably would have kept that no-woman streak alive if it hadn't been for my unisex name.
“Thanks for the chat, Lila,” I said. “And the warning.”
“We women have to look out for each other,” she said with a wink. “I'm always here for you, and I don't take any crap from him or anyone else.”
The idea of this sweet, older woman standing up to the egotistical doctor put a smile on my face. She had some spunk to her that I appreciated. Maybe I'd be lucky enough to see her put him in his place one day.
Speaking of the devil – Gavin's voice called out to me from his office. “Dr. Brooks? Is that you?”
With a sigh, I smiled at Lila before walking down to Gavin's office.
“Yes, I'm back and ready to get to work,” I said with a friendly smile.
“Good,” he said, motioning for me to step inside. “Have a seat. I'm afraid we got off to a bad start.”
You think? I knew he was trying to be nice, and I could see how much it killed him. But at least he was trying. And considering I was stuck working for him for a while, I needed to do my best to play nice as well. I sat down across from him, hands clasped on my lap.
If I wanted an apology, I wasn't about to get one. Instead, he started talking about our next patient – a college basketball player named Michael Greene who recently broke an ankle. Dr. Pierce went straight into business, not so much mentioning what happened earlier.
I smiled and nodded, listened and took notes. Through clenched teeth, I even agreed to stand back and listen – instead of talking – during the consult with Michael.
I was there to help kids like Michael, athletes who had a dream just like my dad had. If it meant putting up with Dr. Pierce, then so be it. I'd do what I had to do, learn from him and move on from this experience being better for it.
CHAPTER FIVE - GAVIN
Morgan was a quick study. She was better than any of my recent interns, and picked up on things quickly. She also knew her stuff. On several occasions, she surprised me with her skill – and it took a lot to surprise me.
But still, I couldn't help but check out her tight little ass or her curvy figure every chance I got. With the way the buttons on her shirt threatened to pop open, it was hard to focus at times. Yes, I loved women, maybe a little too much, but women like Morgan were not my normal. Brains and beauty? It was like a powerful drug for me.
My phone buzzed and, looking at the caller ID, I saw it was Tracy. I had a moment where I could talk, but I didn't want things to be awkward. I knew she was delivering the divorce papers to Tyler that afternoon, and well, I'd just seen him a few hours before. Now was probably the time to cut ties with her – for professional reasons.
When I didn't answer her call, it rang again, and this time, she left a message and sent me a text.
“Sounds important,” Morgan said, glancing over at me as we walked into Michael Greene's room.
“Not really,” I said. I reached into my pocket and silenced my phone. “It's my personal phone, so it's not a patient.”
“Uh huh,” she said, as if she knew more than she let on. “Well, hopefully whoever it is won't be too mad at you.”
Yeah, Tracy wasn't known for being calm and collected. It was one reason she and Tyler didn't work out, I suspected. Tyler, as far as I could tell, was a good guy. He lo
ved his wife dearly, and with good reason – she was hot as hell and willing to do pretty much anything in the bedroom. He wouldn't cheat on her, not with another woman, though that is what Tracy liked to tell everyone. But his career came first, and I already knew how their arguments went down.
She accused him of cheating because he was gone all the time. He denied it and I believed him. He was a pro athlete and they lived life on the road. But, she'd flipped the fuck out and things got ugly, fast. I knew women like her all too well. Tyler wasn't the problem – Tracy was. And now, she was trying to be my problem.
No way was I going to let that happen.
I put all thoughts of Tyler and Tracy aside as we stepped into the room to meet our next patient. Michael was a poor kid from the Tenderloin district of San Francisco. He went to college on a basketball scholarship – one he risked losing if his ankle didn't let him play next season. As soon as we walked into the room, I saw the look of fear in the boy's eyes.
“Please tell me I'll get to play next season, doc,” the kid said, tears welling up in his eyes.
Michael wasn't interested in a basketball career – he had other things planned. So, in many ways, he was different than most of my patients. But basketball is what paid his way through school, and was his ticket out.
“What are you studying, Mike?” I asked, sitting down across from him.
“I'm pre-med,” he said.
“So you want to be a doctor like me, huh?”
Morgan shot me a look as if to tell me to be careful.
“ I actually want to focus on oncology ,” he said with a small shrug.
“So basketball is just a hobby?” I asked. “Something you're good at?”
Michael nodded.
I looked over the x-rays and noted that it was a clean break. It should heal fairly well on its own, probably didn't need my help. But I knew why he was sent here instead of to another clinic.
“Well, good news,” I said. “You should be back in and ready to play before the season starts.”
“Really, doc?” Michael's face lit up.
“Yep, and I don't even think you need surgery or rehab,” I said. “Just good old-fashioned rest and relaxation. The break is clean and will heal if you let it.”
Those were the cases I lived for. The moment I could tell a kid he was going back into the game, and that his life wasn't going to be in shambles all because of a fall or the hit to a knee. We finished up with Michael, and as I exited the room, Morgan stopped me.
“Why is he coming to you?” she asked me.
“Why wouldn't he?” I answered.
“His condition didn't seem severe enough,” she said. “It's a break and doesn't need your expertise.”
“Better safe than sorry,” I said, turning and walking down to Lila to hand her the paperwork.
“But how is a poor kid like him even going to pay for this visit?” she pressed.
I turned and looked her in the eye. “Plain and simple, he doesn't.”
“Does he have insurance?” she pestered me.
I shrugged her off, not wanting to get into the logistics of it all. I didn't want her to think I was bragging about myself. But she kept peppering me with questions.
“Listen, Dr. Brooks,” I said, in an attempt to shut her up. “I make good money doing what I do, so if I can take a pro-bono case now and again, I do it. It's that simple.”
“So his visit, the x-rays – everything was free?” she asked, her eyes wide with surprise.
“That's what I just said, wasn't it?”
She looked stunned, as if she couldn't comprehend the idea that I had a heart. I knew we'd gotten off to a bad start earlier, and maybe I was wrong in the way I'd talked to her, but I wasn’t so different from Morgan. I got into this field to help others too; kids like Michael who'd been marginalized or pushed to the fringes because they couldn't afford help.
As Mike walked out in his crutches, he smiled at me.
“Thanks, doc,” he said.
“Wait, Michael, I need to ask a favor of you before you leave,” I said.
The kid stopped and turned toward me with a look of earnestness on his face.
“What is it?” he asked.
“Promise me that even though basketball pays for your schooling, you won't let it suck you in,” I said. “Go to medical school if that's what you really want to do . You'll make a fine doctor, son.”
“Thanks, doc,” he said. “And I will. It's my dream.”
Michael grinned from ear-to-ear as he walked out. I turned and looked at Morgan, and she looked stunned. “Believe it or not, Dr. Brooks, I do have a heart.”
CHAPTER SIX- MORGAN
The first few weeks working with Dr. Pierce went by fairly quickly. Overall, it wasn't as bad after that terrible first day. Dr. Pierce kept his sexist remarks to himself, and I witnessed just how amazing he was in his field firsthand. Hell, I even started to admire the man a bit. Friday night rolled around, and he was closing up shop a bit early after a long week that contained several long, complicated surgeries in addition to his office hours. Lila and the nurses had already left for the day so it was just him and me locking up.
“What are your plans tonight, Morgan?” he asked me.
“Uh, nothing, really,” I said. “Why?”
“Because I wanted to take you out to celebrate the end of this hellish week,” he said. “You deserve it for surviving it and putting up with me.”
I seriously contemplated for a moment, but it just felt wrong to go out with my boss. When I hesitated, Gavin could apparently read my face because he quickly countered.
“It's not a date, nothing like that, I swear,” he said, holding his hands up. “Just celebrating the end of the week and the four successful surgeries we had. It's not something I care to do often.”
He smiled at me, and there was a softness to his face I hadn't seen before. I knew I should get to know my boss a bit better, to maybe learn more about him and perhaps even network with him. My career depended upon it. But the idea of going out for drinks with Gavin Pierce made me nervous. I knew his reputation and it worried me.
In the end however, I wasn't about to pass up the opportunity to pick his brain. I was very serious about my career and having a big gun like Gavin in my corner could only help me down the road.
“Okay,” I said. “Sounds like a plan.”
Gavin drove us in his brand spanking new BMW. He was right when he'd said he made a lot of money doing what he did, so I guess I could understand why he'd offer up a little pro-bono work to the likes of Michael Greene. Still, it seemed so out of character for him to actually be that kind and compassionate. I found that it was yet, something else I wanted to pick his brain about.
“How's Michael doing?” I asked.
“He's doing great. The break is healing up just fine,” he said. “He's a lucky kid.”
“Yes, he is,” I said. “So how many patients like Michael do you help? I had no idea you did that sort of thing, it's not really well known.”
“And I intend to keep it that way,” he said, side-eyeing me. “I don't want people knowing about it. That's my little thing – my private little thing.”
“Why? You don't want people to know Dr. Gavin Pierce has a heart?” I laughed.
We pulled up to the restaurant and he passed his keys off to the valet, avoiding my question until we were inside and seated, where I brought it up again.
“I just don't need the kudos for doing it,” he said with a shrug. “I'm not doing it for the praise or the publicity. It just sort of happened, you know? And schools know it, so when a kid has trouble paying for medical expenses, sometimes they send them my way.”
I could tell Gavin was uncomfortable and didn't really want to talk about it, which endeared him to me a little bit more. It almost made up for the rest of his demeanor and reputation. Almost.
“So how many people like Michael have you helped?” I asked. “Rough estimate, of course.”
He
sighed. “I don't know,” he said. “I don't keep score. It's not about that for me.”
“Estimate,” I said again with a smile.
Our waiter served us some wine and we ordered dinner as Gavin continued to avoid answering me. I kept pressing him, grilling him until I got the answers I was looking for.
“Well, if I had to guess, I'd say somewhere between ten and fifteen kids last year?” he said. “Yeah, I think it was maybe eight guys and four girls, I believe?”
“Girls too, huh?” I asked.
“I didn't think I'd have to remind you that women are also athletes, Morgan,” he said.
“Yeah, but after our first day working together, I thought perhaps you didn't think women and athletics mixed,” I reminded him.
He cringed. “Yeah, about that – I was in a shitty mood and said some things I regret. Of course women play sports. Of course they're knowledgeable about them.”
“I thought maybe you were going to say they were all cheerleaders,” I teased.
“Some were, but not all,” he said with a small shrug.
I could tell my boss was getting a little uncomfortable as I kept up the third degree, but for whatever reason, I kept pushing the issue. Perhaps weeks of pent up frustration was finally coming out with the help of the wine. I was fascinated by this dual personality.
But I could tell he was trying to be better about things and figured that I needed to chill out. Especially if I wanted things to continue to go well on this internship.
“Enough about me,” he said. “Tell me about you, Morgan.”
“Well, you already know why I want to be in this field.”
“No, not about your career or your father,” he said. “About you. What do you do when you're not working or studying?”
His question took me by surprise. I tried to remember what I did before medical school got in the way of normal life.
