Page 19 of The Bitter Rival

“Um, Bella. Could I speak with you a moment?” I hear from the doorway. Looking up from the x-ray orders I’m sifting through, hoping for a potential clavicle order, I lock eyes with Dr. Lee. I cannot hide the exasperation I feel at his presence.Do I really need to endure anything more with this man today?

“No,” I respond flatly. I hear a gasp from the corner of the room and quickly determine it’s Erin as she sits with her hand covering her mouth in shock.

“No?” Dr. Lee returns, seeming astonished. Why would I want to intentionally put myself through any more of his abuse?

“Anything you need to say to me, you can say in front of my coworkers. You had no problem speaking in front of everyone earlier.” Lifting my chin, hoping he realizes I’m not taking any more of his crap, I let my eyes briefly drift about the room. Yet, instead of finding looks of solidarity, I find utter shock. All of them are staring at me, mouths wide open. Have I just committed professional suicide? Could this affect graduation if he goes to the administration? He could say I was insubordinate. Even ifheis in the wrong here, I’m a nobody to them. He brings in big money, I’m certain. Suddenly, I’m not feeling quite as confident I’ve made the right choice here. But how do I change my position without coming off weak? To him and to my colleagues? Before I can come up with an alternate plan, Dr. Lee floors me.

“You’re absolutely right. My behavior earlier was unprofessional and uncalled for. You did your job and did it well. There’s no excuse for the way I treated you,” he says, appearing sincere.

Again, I hear gasps. This time there are multiple. I have to admit, I’m a little shocked by this turn of events. I’m not even sure I know how to respond. Feeling tongue-tied, I try to gather my wits.

“Do you accept my apology?” he asks, looking at me with what I want to believe is true remorse. I’ve never been spoken to the way this man chose to speak to me today. Not in private, much less in a crowded OR suite. I’m not going to just roll over and accept this and act like nothing ever happened. But I only have another month here. I’d like to have a chance at working here once I graduate, and I doubt that’ll happen if I’m on the outs with one of their top surgeons.

“Bella?” Dr. Lee interrupts my scattered thoughts.Oh, yeah. He’s waiting on an answer, you goof.

“Sure,” I volley back and return to the printer to continue on my hunt for a clavicle. He’s done what he came here to do. Now, let’s move on. Nothing more to see here.

He clears his throat, causing me to look back in his direction. I see he’s pulling at the collar of his shirt.Maybe he forgot how big his head was and tied his tie too tight.“Erin. I owe you an apology too,” he directs her way.

Out of the blue, it occurs to me. Did someone complain about his behavior, and he’s been forced to go on this apology tour? Not that I think his apology is less sincere now that he’s offering one to Erin. Yet, given how he acted earlier, I admit I have my suspicions.

“Again, there’s no excuse for my behavior. I’ve been under a great deal of stress recently, and I took it out on you. I’m sorry.”

Glancing toward Erin, I notice she, and quite honestly, everyone else in the room but me, is sitting in stunned silence, all of them with their mouths open like baby birds waiting to be fed. Yet, unlike me, she quickly responds to her offender.

“Thank you for saying that, Dr. Lee.” She actually looks like she’s going to cry.What the hell?

“Jeff? Are we good?” Dr. Lee asks, stepping further into the office to offer his hand.

“Yes, sir. We’re good.”

Oh, brother. What a bunch of sellouts we are.

From the corner of my eye, I see Dr. Lee look my way once more before turning to exit the department. After the door shuts behind him, we all look at each other, eyes wide in amazement.

“Holy shit. I never thought I’d see the day,” Mike says.

“Me either,” Erin adds.

I look toward Jeff. He has an odd look on his face.

Coming closer, he pretends to look at the stack of orders I’m holding as he whispers, “I’m glad he said it, but I’ll never forget how he spoke to you. It’ll take a lot to change my opinion of him now.”

“Yeah. I want to be able to work with him without animosity, but I’m going to have my guard up from here on out.”

Jeff and I head toward the front of the ER to room thirteen. As we pass the physicians’ workstation, I notice Dr. Lee is still here, sitting next to Donovan. As our eyes connect, I feel a twinge of concern for the illustrious Dr. Lee. He doesn’t look well.Maybe eating humble pie has upset his stomach.About that time, Donovan sees me and jumps up from his chair.

“Hey, B. I almost called you.” Draping his arm around my shoulders, he laughs. “I thought I had a clavicle for you, but the guy looks like a shoulder dislocation.” Feeling him squeeze me like he did when we were in grade school, he chuckles, looking down at me with those big beautiful green eyes. “Maybe next time.”

“Whatever,” I tease, catching up to Jeff as Donovan returns to where he was sitting.

Deciding to take my lunch outside, I sit in the courtyard behind the cafeteria with my sandwich and chips. Sipping from my bottle of water, I have to admit, I feel much better now that Dr. Lee has apologized. Whether forced to do it or not, he appeared sincere. Popping a salty chip into my mouth, in this quiet space, I’m able to reflect. I’d been too overcome with rage to adequately consider the fact that the shark that rocked my world a few weeks ago is a surgeon. And not just any surgeon, but a well-regarded, talented surgeon. Granted, after Rick, it takes more than a title to impress me. Yet, I know what it takes to achieve his level of accomplishment. It’s no easy feat.

I’m not sure why, but unexpectedly, the delicious way he ravaged my body is even more delectable, knowing someone of his status had been so into me.Lord, how pathetic am I?He’s probably had more women than I can count. If it hadn’t been me that night, I’m sure he wouldn’t have gone home alone. Plus, he’s a pompous asshole. Why would either of these qualities make that night with him more appealing?

“Uh-hm.”

Looking up, I discover the man himself, standing above me. Shielding my eyes from the bright sunlight, I glance at him wordlessly.

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