Page 36 of Accidental Doctor Daddy

Even with my ambition burning in my chest, my mind still drifted toher.

To the way she had looked at me, scared, but not backing down. Not scared of me—but of what there could be. To the way my name had slipped from her lips when she saw me, full of exhaustion and something close to relief.

I told myself I wasn’t that guy. Before I had met her, I wasn’t the type to get fixated, to let something—orsomeone—distract me from my goals. The only person who had ever distracted me was Jodie Thompson. My late wife.

Jodie had been a detour from my path to med school. My parents hated her at first because they knew she would be enough to tear me away from what I had to do. For a time, she was.

Eventually, though, I got back on my path and did more with my time in medical school than my parents ever thought I could. All of that was thanks to Jodie. She was my rock. After she left us, there were others I dated to kill time, to help me network, or merely to have a nice weekend with.

But this wasn’t some passing interest. This was different. I hadn’t felt anything like this in years.

"Dr. Mortoli!"

I turned to see Roxanne Weiss, one of the hospital’s lead administrators, walking toward me. With her tailored suit, pristine posture, and clipped tone, Roxanne was every bit the hospital executive—sharp, calculating, and always five steps ahead.

I greeted her, shifting into my more professional persona. "Something I can do for you?"

She smiled, but it was the type of smile that meant business. It never reached her eyes. "Actually, yes. I just had an interesting conversation about a certain administrator role opening up. I understand you’ve been interested?"

I kept my expression even. "I have."

The administrator role had been on my radar for over a year. I had worked my ass off for it, made the right connections, played the long game. Moving into administration wasn’t just about power—it was aboutcontrol.

In my current position, I couldn’t stop the bullet from being shot at someone—I could only patch them up and hope for the best. Administrators had influence, though, and influence was the biggest asset in policy changes. In the ED, chaos was part of the job. You reacted, you adjusted, you fought to save the patients in front of you. A noble cause. But administration? That was where decisions were made. That was where the hospital and the community’s futures were shaped.

In the ED, you saved a life. In the administration, you savedlives.

I wanted that.

I had spent too much of my life feeling like I was catching up, like I was a step behind, trying to balance everything at once. The competitive edge had always been there, the hungerfor somethingmore.It wasn’t about beating Seth—it was about proving that I was the best. That I was the one who should be establishing protocol, not just following it.

Roxanne had noticed which meant my hard work was paying off. I had been taking on more leadership responsibilities, handling the more difficult cases, and proving I was a surgeon with administrative potential. They already knew about my company, which was a significant feather in my cap, but they had to see me put in the work for the hospital.

But if Seth got the position, I’d put sugar in his gas tank.

"Interesting,” she continued. "Seth Bowan has his eye on it as well. Do you know much about his family situation?"

I had options. I could paint Seth as a man distracted and make him sound like an unfit candidate, or I could shoot myself in the foot and be honest. For a moment, I seriously considered lying.

But if I was going to get the job, I wanted to earn it, not get the position through trickery. I wanted to beat Seth fair and square so there was no doubt about who was the better doctor. "As far as I know, it’s just him and his wife. They both work long hours, no time for a family."

“What does she do?”

“She owns Suivante.”

Roxanne arched a brow. “Well, if he really wants the position, he should get me reservations.” It took a moment for a smile to break over her face. “A joke.”

I smiled. “Ah.”

“His home life is stable? No divorce on the horizon?”

“I’ve heard him complain about not seeing her as much as he’d like to, but that’s all he ever says on the matter.”

Roxanne nodded approvingly. "That’s good to know. When it comes to our workload, a tumultuous home life is less than ideal.”

“Certainly. Administrators are too busy to deal with distractions.” Like I was at the moment.

“That and, well, we try to avoid bringing in administrators on the brink of divorce or parents with young children. It’s not a good fit for either party. The hours are brutal, and it’s impossible to be a fully present parent or running off to the divorce lawyer every five seconds and a fully committed administrator. The job requires one’s full attention."

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