Best Foot Forward

by Tamie Dearen

  He frowned. “I think I should stay until we get the results.”

  “Go home—you’re making me nervous.”

  Josh stifled a yawn as he stood and stretched. “Okay, I think I’ll go. But I’m coming back if there’s a positive result on the lab.”

  “Hey Josh... I... Thank you.” The lump in his throat felt gargantuan. “I owe you one.”

  “I hope you never get a chance to pay me back in the ER. But I’ll let you buy me dinner if your brain doesn’t turn to jelly.”

  Brad chuckled. “Thanks a lot.”

  *****

  Olivia arrived at five a.m. with ample time to drop by Brad’s room before her rotation at the hospital.

  “Hey, we didn’t get a phone call,” she said when she saw his eyes were open. “So what does that mean? Are you still waiting for the results?”

  Brad smiled. “No, it means the results were good—no xanthochromia in the samples.”

  “And what does that mean? Is this something I need to know for school?”

  “Not for your RN, but you might as well learn it for when you’re in med school. If the bleeding is from the brain instead of trauma from the lumbar puncture then the heme is degraded into bilirubin. And the bilirubin is detectable after twelve hours by spectrophotometry as xanthochromia, which is really just a big word for a yellow color in the cerebrospinal fluid. So... no xanthochromia means no subarachnoid hemorrhage.”

  She repeated the words, attempting to file the information in her brain for later retrieval. “What about the other symptoms? The headache and the confusion?”

  “The initial confusion was from the concussion, and we think the headache came from exertion after the spinal tap.”

  “This stuff is so awesome! I’m gonna do emergency medicine for sure.”

  He chuckled. “You might change your mind during medical school.”

  “So if you’re okay, when do you get to go home?”

  “Well, this time I’m not leaving until Josh signs off on it. I think he might kill me if there’s a repeat of yesterday.”

  “He’s at home?”

  “Yes, I talked him into getting some sleep.”

  “And Ben?”

  He made a face. “I’m still mad at him, even though I absolved him yesterday when he tricked Kara Dickson into a confession.”

  “I’m glad you feel that way, because I have a great idea how we can get back at him for his tall tales.”

  “Really?” His eyes danced with glee. “If I need to do anything, I’m in. What’s the plan?”

  “You see, he has this broken tooth, and I have this friend who’s a dentist...”

  *****

  Ben was glad he was already sitting down in the dental chair when the dentist walked into room—otherwise he might have fallen on the floor. She was drop-dead gorgeous. Long, straight sandy-blonde hair framed huge almond eyes—brown with caramel stars in the middle, and a dark brown perimeter. They were spectacular—he could swim in those eyes. She had smooth golden skin stretched over high cheekbones and a pert up-turned nose.

  And then she smiled at him.

  His heart fell into his stomach. Her plush lips spread to reveal perfect even white teeth. She was a dentist—of course she had beautiful teeth. What had he expected? Whatever he’d expected, it wasn’t this. Why hadn’t Olivia warned him about her? She’d said her friend was cute, not stunning. He didn’t want this girl to look inside his mouth. How well had he brushed his teeth that morning? Was his breath okay? Would she know he hadn’t been flossing?

  She held out her hand. “Hi. I’m Dr. Williams. Shanna Williams.”

  He stared at the long delicate fingers stretched toward him. How could fingers be so attractive?

  “Eh-hem,” she cleared her throat.

  “Oh, sorry.” He took her hand in his. Sparks. There were definitely sparks. Did she feel them? Her grip was firm. He liked a strong grasp—he hated girls who gave dead-fish handshakes.

  “Uhmm...”

  He realized she was trying to free her hand from his clenched fingers. “Oh, sorry again.” As her hand slipped from his, he felt a profound loss.

  “So you’re Olivia’s friend, right? I’ve already seen the x-rays from your dentist in California. Let’s take a look and see if this chipped tooth can be restored with a bonded filling or if you’ll need a crown.” She began to lean the dental chair back.

  “Uhmm... You know, it’s not that bad. Really, we don’t need to fix it today.”

  “Are you nervous? You don’t need to be afraid—I’m really quite painless.”

  “I’m not afraid, but I thought we might talk for a few minutes before we start.”

  “Well, I don’t have a lot of extra time. Why don’t I check the tooth, and we can talk while the anesthetic is working?”

  Before he could protest again she had a mirror in his mouth.

  “Hmmm... I think it’s small enough a composite will do the job. I’ll need to get you numb so I can remove the restoration adjacent to the chip.”

  Her eyes mesmerized him. He sank into their depths, noting shades of green he hadn’t noticed at a distance. He stared at the smooth skin on her face, noting the cute wrinkle that appeared between her eyebrows as she concentrated.

  “There you go. Now we’ll just need to wait a few minutes for the anesthetic to take effect.”

  “You already gave me a shot?”

  She smiled and nodded, returning the chair to a sitting position. “Yep, I’m painless. So tell me about yourself, Ben. What do you like to do? Do you have hobbies?”

  His mind went blank. “I... uhmm... I like a lot of things. What do you like?”

  “I love to read.”

  “Me too—I love to read.” The lie slipped from his mouth without thought. “What kind of books do you like?”

  “Everything really. I like romance, mysteries, thrillers. My favorite is probably young adult fantasy and dystopia.”

  “Me too—I love fantasy and dystopia.”

  “So what books have you read lately?”

  He blinked, his heart racing. Why had he told her he liked to read? He hadn’t read any books. The last book he could remember reading was The Scarlet Letter as a senior in high school. If she caught him in this lie, he was going to be wearing a scarlet letter.

  “Harry Potter.” He’d seen all the movies, so maybe he could fake it.

  “Have you read all the books?”

  “Yep, read ‘em all.”

  “Did you like the books better than the movies?”

  She was a reader. To her, the correct answer would always favor the books. “The books were better, but I thought the movies were well done.”

  “I loved the movies, but of course they couldn’t get everything in. Did you realize they left Peeves out of the movies?”

  “Right, I noticed that.” Who or what was Peeves? He hoped she didn’t ask him.

  “And Oregon? He was such a good character in the books. Didn’t you miss him in the movies?”

  “That was the worst. I really missed that guy.” He felt his mouth beginning to droop. Maybe he was numb enough to distract her from talking about books he hadn’t read. “I think I’m numb now.”

  She raised one perfectly arched eyebrow. “Okay, I’ll call my assistant.”

  In a matter of seconds his mouth was propped open in a manner that must be unattractive, and the assistant was holding his cheek back with the loud vacuum tube.

  “You know, Ben.” Shanna pushed a cotton roll next to his tooth and started the loud whining drill inside his mouth. “There wasn’t a character called Oregon in Harry Potter.”

  His eyes grew large as he struggled to talk against a mouth full of fingers and instruments and cotton. “There wasn’t?” came out as, “Aa-ya uh-eh?”

  “Nope.”

  He heard a male voice behind him. “Sorry, Dr. Williams. I’m afraid my brother has a habit of telling little fibs.”

  Shanna said, “Ben, if you don’t s
top squirming, I might accidentally cut your tongue off.”

  Ben heard Olivia’s voice in the background. “I think cutting off his tongue might be a bit too severe for a bit of storytelling. But perhaps if he hasn’t learned his lesson, we might bring him back for that.”

  He could feel his cheeks turning red. If he survived this procedure he was going to kill those two. Worst of all, he’d blown his chances with Shanna. He studied her face, inches away, frowning in concentration. For this girl, he might have been willing to take up reading. Or at least listening to audiobooks.

  “I’ll read as many books as you want if you’ll go out with me,” came out as, “Ah ee eh eh-ee ook ah yoo ah eh yoo oe ou eh ee.”

  She smiled behind her facemask. “I might be willing to go out with you, even if you don’t read any books. But you have to promise never to lie to me again.”

  What could he say to a woman with a drill in his mouth? “I ah-iss.”

  She chuckled as she put another scary-looking bit on her drill. “Okay, one date—just a trial.” She asked her assistant, “Can you rinse that for me?”

  Brad said, “Wait a minute... Did my brother just make a date with you after lying about his reading history?”

  “I can’t believe it,” Olivia said, walking into the operatory with a decided scowl and her hands on her hips. “Shanna, you were supposed to torture him, not go out with him.”

  Shanna shrugged her shoulders. “Sorry. It’s hard to be mad at him. He’s just so cute with those sad green eyes and his mouth propped open, full of cotton.”

  “Eel ake ah-uh aw ow ake.”

  “No, it’s not necessary to take cotton on our date. I’m sure you’ll look fine without cotton in your mouth.” Shanna’s eyes crinkled in a smile.

  Brad said, “But don’t worry—his mouth will be open the whole time. And he’ll probably have his foot in it.”

  *****

  Kara wasn’t nervous about the meeting. Curious would be a better way to describe her feelings. Steven Gherring, chair of the board of directors at Mercy General, had called the night before to invite her to meet him at his office. The thought occurred to her he might have caught wind of her failed attempt to manipulate Brad, but she dismissed the idea. Gherring had mentioned a phone call he’d received recently from her father, so he was probably fulfilling an obligation.

  Her dad had a lot of influence and a long reach—she’d been admitted to the residency because he’d ‘made a few phone calls’. Her grades and rank in medical school certainly hadn’t warranted her acceptance in the elite program. But unlike her lackadaisical attitude in medical school, she’d worked diligently during her residency at Mercy General. She was confident in her intellect and her record. She didn’t need Dr. Gates to satisfy her goals in life, but he would have been a very pleasant addition. Her mind replayed a clear image of the abdominal muscles she’d exposed the previous day. Yes, she would have enjoyed having Brad in her bed, possibly as a permanent partner. There were other eligible men, but it might be difficult to find someone with all the attributes Dr. Brad Gates had brought to the table.

  As she exited the elevator and approached the receptionist, she put the unpleasant thought from her mind. She was in her element, interacting with one of her father’s cronies. These men were always easy to manipulate, eager to please her father and flattered by the attention she doled out. She only waited for a few moments before the imposing carved wooden doors opened and Steven Gherring emerged from his sanctuary, wearing a benevolent smile. Impeccably dressed and incredibly handsome, the tall, fit man was as appealing in person as he appeared in the magazines.

  “Come in Dr. Dickson—we’ve been expecting you.”

  She strolled across the marble floor in three-inch pumps to shake his outstretched hand. Her chosen shoes allowed her to look down on most men, but at six feet and three inches, Gherring still managed to maintain a height advantage. “We?” she asked, glancing curiously over his shoulder into his office. “Is someone else going to be at our meeting?”

  He gestured for her to enter ahead of him. “Yes, Dr. Dickson. I’d like for you to meet my wife, Anne Best Gherring.”

  Her smile only faltered for an instant. A wife would be a bothersome addition, eliminating the benefit she usually gained from flirtation. But she knew how to interact with socialites as well, having played the game for some thirty years. Her eyes took in the attractive, willowy woman with thick brown hair and laughing brown eyes.

  “Mrs. Gherring, I’m thrilled to finally meet you. I’ve only seen your picture in the media before, and I must say you’re even more striking in person. I love that necklace! You must tell me where you got it.”

  Anne chuckled. “It came from the Target in Ft. Worth. But it’s about ten years old, so I doubt you can still buy one.”

  Kara’s intake of breath caused a coughing fit, which luckily disguised her outbreak of laughter. She remembered now Anne hadn’t been married to Gherring all that long. She hadn’t yet learned the rules of cultured behavior. She shot a sympathetic glance toward the billionaire, but was astounded at the adoring expression on his face as he regarded his wife.

  One corner of his mouth lifted as he took in Kara’s quizzical countenance. “Anne was a unique answer to my fifty-year dilemma. The only way to be certain a woman didn’t love me for my fortune was to find one who isn’t attracted to money. And I must say I’ve learned a lot from her about what’s truly valuable in life.”

  She pasted an isn’t-that-wonderful look on her face and hurried to change the subject to a more comfortable topic. “And so you’re a friend of my father?”

  “As a matter of fact, we’re very old friends. I knew your father in law-school.” She allowed him to guide her to a seating area. She noticed Anne kicked off her shoes to tuck her feet underneath her.

  “I hope you don’t mind me getting comfortable. I have to play the formal role all day, and I’m tired by the end of it.”

  Kara could only wonder how this woman managed to function in high society with such an obvious lack of polish. She managed a stiff nod.

  Gherring said, “So Dr. Dickson...”

  “Please, call me Kara.”

  His smile was unflappable. “So Kara, I spoke with your father this weekend. As you’re probably aware, he called upon me three and a half years ago when you were seeking entrance into the emergency medicine residency at Mercy General.”

  “Yes, and let me say how grateful I am for the chance you gave me. I hope my record demonstrates I haven’t wasted this valuable opportunity.”

  He continued as if she hadn’t spoken. “When he first contacted me, he expressed a grave concern he’d failed you. He was afraid you had grown up to be...” He gazed at the ceiling. “How did he say it? Oh yes, he thought you might have grown up to be a ‘spoiled, pretentious brat with no regard for the welfare of others.’”

  Kara felt the blood rush to her face as he continued with a bland smile. “So since your time here is nearing an end, he was understandably concerned with the results of your time in the residency.”

  He paused is if to give her an opportunity to respond, but for once, she seemed to have lost the ability to speak. “So naturally, he wanted me to keep an eye on you. And before we spoke this weekend, I reviewed your record. On paper, you appeared to have excelled in every area, but close examination left me with some questions as to your actual moral motivation.”

  She felt the blood pounding in her face as she sputtered, “What do you mean? What close examination?”

  “I spoke with your fellow residents and, of course, your attending, Dr. Branson.” He paused, giving no further explanation, allowing time for his words to sink into the pit of her stomach. She wouldn’t expect a glowing reference from any of her fellow residents, whom she regarded with a certain amount of disdain. And Dr. Branson’s view of her would’ve been tarnished due to recent events.

  As she opened her mouth to respond, he spoke again, his eyes wide and his face bri
ght. “But then Dr. Branson shared your extraordinary news.”

  She stared at him for a moment before realizing her mouth was hanging open. She closed her lips while considering every possible bit of information that might qualify as extraordinary news.

  “Of course, I’m referring to your application to work for Physicians Across Borders—such a wonderful organization. And this clearly indicates to me, and to your father, you could still become the selfless, noble physician and humanitarian he knew you could be.”

  Relief flowed through her veins like a drug. She relaxed as the tension left her body, exultant her bogus application to the philanthropic organization had been of benefit after all.

  “Yes, it’s such a great opportunity. I certainly hope I’ll have a chance to work with them.”

  “Where were you hoping to go?” asked Anne. “It sounds exciting. But I have to admit, it also sounds dangerous and exhausting.”

  “I’d be happy with any place in Africa. I’m not afraid of rough conditions.”

  “I’m certain we can arrange for that to happen,” said Gherring, with an enigmatic smile.

  A spidery feeling crept up her spine. “Really? What do you mean?”

  “Only that your father and I have both used our considerable influence to assure your acceptance to the program.”

  “But... But I haven’t even completed the application yet.” The blood in her veins felt as if it had been circulated through a freezer.

  “No worries. Dr. Branson gave me your application, and we’ve expedited the process. We cut through all the red tape and went right to the top.”

  Her voice rose into shrill tones. “You had no right to do that! I hadn’t decided for certain I wanted to complete the application. It was none of your business!”

  He shrugged. “You can take it up with your father if you like. He said something about a trust fund that would be dependent upon your completion of a term with them.”

  Her mind churned. Surely she could talk her dad out of this insane idea. He wouldn’t want her to pursue a term with the organization if he understood the dangers involved.

  Gherring’s smile disappeared as he leaned toward her. “I spoke with your father again last night. He was quite disturbed when he heard about your recent nefarious activities and attempted blackmail of Dr. Gates.”