The Hookup Plan, page 7
“You’re fucking right you should have told me,” she hissed.
Drew figured the only reason she wasn’t screaming at the top of her lungs was that she didn’t want her young patients hearing their doctor curse like a sailor.
“You knew damn well that you would be working in my hospital, and you said nothing!” She plunked her hands on her hips. “What did I tell you Saturday night before we slept together? That I wanted to hook up with someone I wouldn’t have to see every day. That was my only rule when it came to this random sex business. According to Dr. Coleman, I’m going to have to see your lying ass every day for the next month!”
Technically, he didn’t plan to be at the hospital every single day, but he was pretty sure that wouldn’t make a difference to her right now.
There was a knock at the door.
“Come in,” London practically growled.
The door opened about six inches. “Umm…Dr. Kelley?”
“Yes, come in,” she repeated, this time in a calmer voice.
It opened all the way, and a baby-faced blonde wearing green scrubs and a white coat that was shorter than London’s stepped into the office. “Sorry to disturb you, Dr. Kelley, but Nurse Beverly in Obstetrics sent me. She wanted to know if you’ve had a chance to discuss the staffing issue with Dr. Waller?”
London threw her head back and sighed up at the ceiling. “I haven’t,” she admitted. “Tell her that I’ll talk to Waller before the end of the day. I promise.”
The other doctor smiled before turning and closing the door behind her.
“Well?” London asked once she and Drew were alone again.
He hooked his thumb toward the door. “You’re in pediatric surgery. Why are you handling an issue for Obstetrics instead of someone from that department?”
“Because their nurses don’t feel as comfortable with some of the residents and attendings as they do with me,” she said. “And we’re not talking about the nurses in Obstetrics right now. You were about to explain why I had to find out you were working at County this morning in front of half the hospital.”
“I have no excuse,” Drew said, lifting his hands in surrender. He hadn’t been straight with her this weekend, but he would do so now. His honesty would likely earn him a black eye, but that’s the price he would have to pay. “I should have told you about Trident’s new contract with County at the reunion. If not at the reunion, then definitely once we went up to my room. Or when you came back to my room to get your purse on Sunday.”
The anger that flashed across her face was so intense that, for a moment, Drew feared for his safety. But being a surgeon, she wouldn’t use her hands to hurt him. They were too precious to her profession. She was more likely to deliver a swift kick to his groin.
Lucky for him, London had more restraint than a lot of women he knew.
“You are such an asshole,” she said. “I knew better than to trust you.” She folded her arms across her chest and perched on the edge of the desk. “You know, I called this,” she continued. “I figured this was all some elaborate joke for you. A stupid game of one-upmanship so that you can have the upper hand.”
“Wait a minute. You think I slept with you as a joke? To try to get the better of you?”
“Don’t try to deny it.”
“You’re way off base here.” He shook his head. “You want to believe I’m an asshole for keeping you in the dark about my work at County? Go for it. That’s fair. But I would never sleep with you under false pretenses, or as part of some twisted game to gain a competitive edge against you. I’m not that much of an asshole.”
“So, why didn’t you say anything? We talked for hours Saturday night. I must have mentioned the hospital a dozen times. Not once did you think to say, ‘Oh, hey, guess what, London? I’ll be there on Monday.’”
He had no answer.
“I’m sorry,” Drew said, because he was sorry for not being totally honest with her. But he would never be sorry for Saturday night. Or Sunday afternoon.
“I messed up and I’m sorry,” he said again. She stared at him, her face impassive. “And, obviously, you’re not ready to accept my apology at the moment.”
“If ever,” she stated.
Drew tilted his head back and sighed. “Look, London, I know things may get a bit awkward now that we’ve seen each other naked, but we don’t have to make a big deal out of this. This weekend was something that happened. We both enjoyed it. Now we can move on.”
She pointed to her chest. “I decide what is or isn’t a big deal for me, okay? You don’t get to tell me how I should feel about any of this.” She looked him up and down. “And I didn’t enjoy it that much.”
“Bullshit,” Drew flung out before he could stop himself. He held up both hands. “Fine, you’re pissed. And with good reason. But I have marks on my shoulders from you biting the hell out of me when you came. You can lie to yourself if you want to, but I have no problem admitting that was some of the best sex I’ve ever had. And don’t think for a minute that I’ll believe it wasn’t the same for you.”
He propped his hands on his hips and stared at her, challenging her to deny his words. London’s chest rose and fell, her nostrils flaring with each breath she took.
“You arrogant bastard,” she ground out between clenched teeth. “I can’t believe I fucked you while sober.”
“Multiple times,” Drew shot back. If he was going to be on her shit list from now until eternity, there was no need for him to pull any punches.
But, dammit, that’s not what he wanted.
He wanted to go back to Sunday afternoon, when she lay in his bed basking in post-orgasmic bliss. If he’d told her about Trident’s contract with the hospital then, she would have been upset, but not this upset. Then again, this was London. She may have had this same reaction no matter when he’d told her.
It was irrelevant at this point. He was here to do a job, one that was crucial to this community. He wouldn’t allow London’s feelings to get in the way of completing the task at hand.
Drew approached every contract with the goal of performing beyond the client’s expectations, but when it came to this particular contract, he couldn’t help but feel more invested than usual. More than 70 percent of Travis County Hospital’s patients lived below the poverty line. He’d been in their shoes. Hell, it was only a few years ago that he’d stopped waking up in a cold sweat, fearing everything would come crashing down on him and he’d end up right back in their shoes.
It wasn’t hyperbole to assume that some of the people who walked through this hospital’s doors would die if County were no longer an option for them. It was his job to make sure it never came to that.
Which meant he and London would have to put their differences aside. She may not like it, but they were on the same team.
“I’ve apologized,” Drew said. “Whether you accept my apology is up to you, but I can’t let this, or you, disrupt my work.”
“I’m a disruption?” She barked out a harsh laugh. “This is my hospital. You’re the interloper here.”
“Dr. Coleman and the rest of the hospital’s administration don’t see me as an interloper. They brought me here. I suggest you get on board.”
For half a breath, Drew was certain she was going to deck him. Instead, she marched to the door. “Get out, Drew. If you see me in the hallway, pretend you don’t know me.”
Even though he knew she was probably the angriest she had ever been with him, her words still shocked and stung.
As he moved past her, he caught the subtle floral scent he’d consumed while skimming his lips along her neck, and behind her ear, and in the bend of her knee this weekend. A brutal pang of longing spasmed within his chest.
He stopped just after crossing the threshold and turned.
“For what it’s worth, I really am sorry I didn’t just tell you the truth from the very beginning, London.”
“It’s Dr. Kelley,” she said.
Then she shut the door in his face.
8
London had never been so grateful for an emergency bowel obstruction in all her life.
Two patients had been brought into the ER within the last hour, both needing immediate attention. As much as she hated to see anyone in pain, she’d desperately needed the distraction this case had brought to her day.
Anything to keep her mind off that shady son of a bitch.
Her hand tightened into a fist just at the thought of Drew Sullivan and what he’d done. He could take that pitiful excuse for an apology he’d tried to feed her and choke on it.
The worst thing—the absolute worst thing in all of this—was that she still wanted that motherfucker!
She’d specifically told him that she didn’t want to sleep with someone she would have to see every day. He knew he would be working at her hospital and he’d said nothing! It was low-down and she would never forgive him.
She would consider fucking him again, though.
“No, you will not!” London scolded.
She mentally collected all thoughts of Drew and locked them away. She had more important things to focus on, namely the fifteen-year-old who had been on her operating table an hour ago.
The teen girl, who had been brought in by her cheerleading coach after collapsing in pain at a competition, had more scar tissue in her large intestine than London had ever seen in a patient, which meant she’d had multiple procedures done. London had spent the past half hour reviewing records that had been emailed from Driscoll Children’s Hospital in Brownsville, where the girl lived. She wanted to have some answers for her parents when they arrived following the five-hour drive up from the border town.
Although London had seen the distress in countless eyes before, she couldn’t imagine the anxiety parents faced in this situation. Now that she had operated on their daughter, it was her job to put them at ease and figure out what could be done to prevent these repeated bowel obstructions from occurring.
There was a knock on her door.
“Come in,” London said without looking up from the iPad she cradled in her lap.
“Heard you scrubbed in on that interesting bowel obstruction case,” Aleshia Williams said as she entered the office. “I just saw the scans that were ordered before surgery. It looks pretty nasty.”
“It is, thank goodness.” London gasped as she looked up at Aleshia, whose expression was rightly horrified. “That came out the wrong way,” London said.
She set the iPad on the desk and rubbed her temples. “It’s not that I’m happy this poor girl’s intestines are so scarred. It’s just been…it’s been a damn day.” She took a sip of lukewarm water from the refillable water bottle Taylor had bought her. “I needed the distraction of this case.”
“I understand. I’m still pretty pissed after this morning’s meeting.”
If only this morning’s meeting were the sole issue fucking up her day right now.
Actually, this morning’s meeting was at the crux of it all, because it’s where she’d discovered that Drew would be working in this hospital.
“I guess we should be grateful that the board has brought in this consulting firm,” Aleshia continued. “It would have been a lot worse if they’d decided to just sell the hospital outright.”
Any other day, London would have immediately agreed with her. But when she was still damn near ballistic over her confrontation with Drew, if given the choice between the hospital being privately owned or seeing Drew every day, she might just pick option number one.
“Let me know if you need any help with the bowel obstruction case,” Aleshia offered.
“Thanks,” London said. Once Aleshia left, she returned her attention to the iPad, but then her desk phone rang. “Dr. Kelley,” she answered.
London’s eyes fell shut as she listened to the person on the other end of the line. Ten minutes later, she was sitting in a chair that had seen better days, opposite Dr. Douglas Renault, the man who had convinced her to transfer to the residency program at County following her first year at a private hospital.
After three minutes of waiting for him to get off the phone, London had decided to take a seat, even though he hadn’t given her permission. She and Doug Renault shared a unique relationship. Basically, he allowed her to get away with shit most residents wouldn’t even attempt to pull.
She slouched back in her chair and folded her hands over her stomach as Dr. Renault gave her an I’m almost done look. A second later, he ended the call.
“Why do I feel as if I’ve been called to the principal’s office?” London asked before he could speak.
“Why are you giving Coleman a hard time?” Renault asked.
“What?” She sat up straight. “I haven’t said a thing to Coleman all day.” Even though she’d wanted to light into him.
“He said you gave him a look in the meeting this morning.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“When you have a reputation for being the squeaky wheel, sometimes you’re heard even when you don’t speak.”
“So, I’m now being called out for the way I look at people?”
“We’ve had this conversation before.”
“Yes, we have. And with all due respect, Dr. D—”
“Cut the ‘all due respect’ crap, London. Give it to me straight.”
“Fine,” she said. “You want to know the truth? People like Coleman take the joy out of working here.”
“Coleman has a hard job to do too. This hospital has been running at a deficit for the past decade—”
“So has this country, but no one is talking about selling it to the highest bidder.” Dr. Renault stared at her with a raised brow. “Okay, that was a bad example. Still,” London said. “Coleman and his crew have refused to listen to anyone who’s tried to provide solutions. There’s a group of us who have been working on other paths the hospital can take—myself, Aleshia Williams in Radiology, Lennox Templeton in Ortho, Joslyn—”
Renault held up his hands. “That’s all well and good, but I don’t know how much of a difference that will make with the board of directors. They’re doing what they think is best for the hospital.” He pointed at her. “You have a laundry list of projects you want to implement—something most hospitals wouldn’t even entertain from a resident.”
“It’s because my ideas add value to patient care,” she said.
“It’s because you have more fans on the staff than that NSYNC band, and they all get behind whatever you champion.”
“Umm, again, with all due respect, Dr. D, NSYNC hasn’t released an album in twenty years. And calling other staff members my fans is a bit…icky.”
“How else do you explain it,” he said. “Your influence at this hospital is unprecedented, especially for a resident. You had this rock star aura about you because of that solo cholecystectomy when you were a first-year, and it has only gotten stronger.” He held up his hands. “I’m not saying it’s a bad thing. Just be mindful of it, London. People listen to you. They look up to you.”
London would argue that that surgery four years ago had nothing to do with it. People listened to her because she treated everyone with the dignity and respect they deserved, from the nurses, to the security guards, to the custodians.
“And here’s another thing you need to be mindful of,” Renault continued. “Those ideas you want to implement? They’re good, but they cost money. It sounds as if this new consulting firm may give at least one of those programs a fighting chance, so you’d better choose wisely.”
London paused for a moment before saying, “What if I decide to go somewhere that doesn’t make me choose?”
Renault’s brow arched again. “Is that something you’ve been thinking about?”
If he only knew how frequently other hospitals tried to poach her away from this place.
London had gained a reputation as a first-year resident when the doctor who was performing a gallbladder surgery had a breakdown and quit in the middle of the procedure. She immediately took over in a way that would later be described by members of the surgical team as something you see on TV. It had made news around the medical community, both for the doctor’s bizarre mid-surgery departure and her swift action. Doug Renault had lured her to County soon after.
Now that she was nearing the end of her residency here, she received offers on a fairly regular basis from hospitals around the country. She’d glanced at their emails and accepted a few virtual meetings but had never entertained the idea of actually leaving Austin.
Until the most recent inquiry.
One of Chicago’s most distinguished hospital systems had been hounding her—that was the only word she could use to describe their constant emails—for the past two months. They’d floated an offer for a surgical fellowship that was so lucrative London had questioned whether the email had a typo. But it wasn’t just the money. The prestige that would come with this position would give her the chance to dabble in the speaker circuit. If she was interested in filling her bank account, that’s where the real money resided.
But the biggest thing the hospital in Chicago had going for it, by far, was Dr. Eveline Mayberry. The legendary surgeon was one of London’s biggest idols. She was an idol for every young Black female doctor London knew. She could not just dismiss the opportunity to work with THE Eveline Mayberry out of hand, especially with Coleman becoming more hostile by the minute. If not for her patients, and how invested she’d become in their lives, she would give Chicago some serious consideration.
“Look,” Renault said. “This hospital is lucky to have you. I know this. Everyone here knows this.”
And some resented her for it.
Some, like Frederick Coleman, thought she was too cocky. As a woman, she was expected to be demure and modest, and to allow her male counterparts to take the lead whenever possible. The bastard had actually said that in a staff meeting. As if they were still living in the mid-twentieth century instead of moving at lightning speed toward the middle of the twenty-first.
“I’m at County because I want to be here,” London said. “I remain here because I care about my patients, because I know that they’re often given the table scraps when it comes to health care. I want to continue fighting for them, but some of the people here aren’t making it easy, Dr. Renault.”
