Hotshot Doc(88)

“This doesn’t have to be the end,” he says, hopeful. “This grant could be the start of something for both of us. Please think about it.”





Chapter 31





MATT



When I make it back to my office, it’s back to normal—messy, but at least it’s my mess. Patricia worked her magic in clearing everyone and everything out. The balloons and bouquets were sent down to my patients. The congratulatory cookies and cupcakes and fruit baskets were dispersed to different lounges around the hospital. I’ll be everyone’s favorite doctor by the end of the day. I sneer at the thought. With my office back in order, it’s almost as if this morning never happened, but unfortunately, that’s not the case.

“The phones have been ringing off the hook,” Patricia says, leaning her head past the door and holding out a thick stack of messages for me. “I think everyone on Earth is trying to get in contact with you, but I’ve told most of them you’re too busy to talk. Dr. Lopez is holding on line one though. He didn’t buy my excuse.”

I drag my feet walking to my phone. As the closest thing to a father figure Bailey has, Dr. Lopez isn’t exactly someone I want to speak with at the moment, but I can’t just ignore him. He’s so polite, he’d probably wait on the line all afternoon.

I stay standing as I connect to line one, greeting him with a knot of apprehension in my stomach.

“Dr. Russell!” he says, his tone full of excitement. “If it isn’t the man of the hour!”

I grow uncomfortably hot.

“Hey Dr. Lopez, good to hear from you. How’s retirement treating you?”

“Oh, it’s fine. A little boring, but Laurie says I’m still adjusting to a slower pace. Truth be told, I’ve picked up about ten hobbies—grilling, gardening, woodworking—none of which I actually like yet.”

I muster up a shallow chuckle.

“Listen,” he continues. “I heard about the grant. What an accomplishment. You must be beside yourself.”

Beside myself? Try depressed as hell.

“It’s great.”

Dr. Lopez hums skeptically. Maybe I should feign a little more enthusiasm. “I’ve been getting calls about it all morning. I’m really proud of you.”

“Thank you for calling. It means a lot.”

“While I have you here, I was also going to ask, how’s Bailey doing?” There it is, the question that makes my heart drop. I must hesitate for a moment too long because he laughs. “Don’t tell me you’ve already run her off? It’s only been a few months.”

“No.” I scramble quickly. “I haven’t. She still works for me.”

I can hear the smile in his voice as he continues, “Good. I’m glad to hear it. I hope you’ll try to find a position for her at the hospital before you leave for Costa Rica. Last I heard, the board is looking to bring on another surgeon now that you’re leaving, but if that isn’t a good fit for Bailey, tell her to give me a call. I can check around with a few of my old colleagues. I worry about her.” He sighs. “You aren’t stressing her out too much, are you?”

Stressing her out? Well, I just proposed she move to another country with me—how’s that for stress?

“No. I’m going easy on her,” I lie.

“Somehow I doubt that.” He chuckles. “Well, all right, I can tell you don’t really want to be talking right now. You’re probably as busy as ever so I won’t keep you, but please pass on that message to Bailey and let her know Laurie and I are thinking about her. And congratulations, again. The work you’re going to do in Costa Rica will impact a lot of lives. You should be proud.”

His words magnify my guilt tenfold.

After we hang up, I sit at my desk, staring out the window, wondering how I could have possibly screwed up so badly. Just this morning, I woke up in bed with Bailey. Now, I’d be lucky if she even took my phone call. When Patricia speaks to me through the intercom and reminds me I’m running a few minutes late for a consult, I sigh and push to stand so I can head toward the conference room.

I should have told Dr. Lopez the truth about my situation with Bailey and asked for his advice. He knows her well. Maybe he could have told me how to proceed. Then the thought makes me smile. Yeah right. More than likely he would have chewed my ass out for hurting her feelings in the first place.

Admittedly, I’m not good at relationships. I’ve perfected every spinal procedure in the book, but when it comes to matters of the heart, I’m a complete idiot. Good thing I didn’t go into cardio.

I push through the rest of my day, try to stay focused, and do a piss-poor job of it. After I mix up two patient files and nearly perform a pre-op exam on the wrong person, I decide to ask Patricia to postpone everything else on my schedule and knock off early. It might be the first time I’ve ever taken a personal day.

Patricia is so confused by the request, she asks me if I need to be admitted to the hospital. “Are you dying?”

I’m at a complete loss for what to do with myself when I get home. For the last few weeks, I’ve been at Bailey’s house in my free time. My cold, quiet home matches my mood a little too well. I turn on the TV in the living room just for some background noise. I check my phone to see if she’s called, and when she hasn’t, I check my email. It’s jam-packed with messages of congratulations. I keep scrolling, come to an email from Victoria, and opt to ignore it. I have enough on my plate at the moment. Whatever she wants to talk to me about can wait. By the way, I’m not just having one baby. It’s twins!