Page 1 of Tesoro: Mayhem Makers

Chapter

One

KATE

“You’re late, Gleeson.”

I don’t bother to look up as Dr. Raymond reprimanded Adam for the hundredth time, choosing instead to keep my attention on my notes from our completed patient rounds. It’s the same every morning; Adam walks in at least twenty minutes late, dressed as if he’d just rolled off one of the nurses, Dr. Raymond spews some bullshit about suspending him the next time he’s late, only to repeat it twenty-four hours later.

“I had?—”

“I don’t care,” Dr. Raymond interrupts, forcing my gaze to snap in his direction. “Get out of my ER, you’re off my team.”

Surveying the faces surrounding me, the shock I feel is reflected in each one. We’d shared jokes of how we suspected Adam was on his knees for Dr. Raymond, sexual favors in exchange for ignoring his blatant disregard for the rules. It was, however, all in fun, as each of us had been late a time or two.

“You can’t mean that.” The smile on Adam’s face is comical, he truly believed he was bulletproof. “Graduation is?—”

“None of my concern,” Dr. Raymond points toward the exit, his normally pale skin now red with fury. “Go, before I call security.”

My heart breaks for Adam as he slowly turns toward the door. All those years of school and clinicals…gone. I suppose he could appeal, beg another physician to allow him onto their team. However, residency placement isn't something you choose like a pair of pants.

“Unless the rest of you want to join your classmate, get to work.”

Ignoring Dr. Raymond, I watch as Adam paces the side of the building, his cell in hand, head hung low. I didn’t know him socially, my schedule too hectic for anything personal. Still, I feel slightly bad for him.

“That my friend is a case of shitting where you eat.”

Turning from the window, I find Andi, one of the physical therapists, standing beside me. We’d been friends since high school, her mother took me under her wing when I decided to become a nurse like her. Andi was my biggest supporter when I tossed around the idea of applying to medical school.

Looking over her shoulder, Andi scans the room before gripping my arm and pulling me toward her. “Come on, let’s get a cup of coffee. I have tea to spill.”

Andi was one of the best physical therapists I’d had the pleasure of working with, she also loved gossip more than life. There wasn’t an affair, divorce, or closed door hookup in this hospital she didn’t know about. While I loved her to death, she was not one to confide a secret to.

“According to my mom,” Andi began, as she grabbed a cup from the sleeve beside the machine. “Who heard it from her friend Ruby.”

Reaching for a cup, a smile tickles the corner of my lips. Ruby was an attorney for the hospital, and more importantly Andi’s mom, Cora’s, best friend.

“Adam has been dipping his dick into Robin’s pussy.”

My eyes widened at the mention of Dr. Raymond's wife's name, having never cared for the woman who wore her husband’s title as if it were her own. Robin came into the ER regularly, demanding to be served as if she’d walked into a restaurant instead of a hospital. She’d tried her bullshit with me once when I was covering a shift for a friend, I made certain she knew I was not the one.

“Are you serious?”

Nodding, Andi waited for a group of men to pass before continuing. “Gary took him under his wing, inviting Adam to the charity Robin hosted.”

Andi had an aversion to calling any coworker by their title, she’d use it in front of patients, but never in conversation. She believed we were all equal, no skill more important than another. I admired her for it, yet was uncomfortable adopting it. I recalled the event Andi spoke of, a fundraiser for the new children’s wing scheduled to begin construction in the spring. Texas General Hospital was in a race with the other Dallas hospitals to offer the latest and greatest. Sadly, they were dead last in pediatrics.

“During the party, one of the sensors for their alarm was damaged. When the company arrived to fix it, Gary had to log in, where he found a clip Robin apparently forgot to delete of Adam fucking her on the side of the pool.”

I cringe from the mental picture of a young Adam and a mature Robin going at it. Where Dr. Raymond took great lengths in maintaining his appearance, Robin did not. Her salt and pepper hair was bone straight and slicked back in a low bun. Her teeth were as yellow as the socks she wore with her Birkenstocks. She wore black gym shorts every day, despite the weather, and I suspect she owned twenty pairs of the same style. The only makeup she bothered with was a coral pink lipstick which made her look ill.

“I need something stronger than coffee to rid me of that image,” I shuddered, noticing the time on the clock on the wall. “Which will have to wait as I need to get going.”

Like Adam, I was scheduled to graduate from the residency program in a few days. In less than a month, I would sit for boards and officially become Dr. Kate Romano.

“Hey, before you go, I need to ask a favor.”

“You can ask.” Andi knew how congested my schedule was, however she never avoided inviting me to tag along with her.

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