Page 57 of The Bitter Rival

“You know me, I love better from a distance.”

“Isn’t that the damn truth? I honestly just wanted a soak in the jacuzzi. I think I threw my back out.”

“Fucking someone or running from them?”

“Uh, both?”

“Oh, for fucks sake, Sam.”

“Well, once I got here, I didn’t want to strip down naked and get in your jacuzzi if your lady friend might be coming by. Wouldn’t want her to realize she was with the wrong Lee brother. So I decided to wait ’til you got here. Mighty polite of me, huh?”

“Get out.”

“Awe, come on, man.”

“Sam, it’s been a shit evening on top of a shit day. I’m taking a shower, having a scotch, eating my weight in cheese, and going to bed. In that order. I don’t care if you get in the jacuzzi, but please lock the door on your way out and don’t come back here without calling me first.”

Storming down the hallway, I head for the bedroom. I’m about to disrobe when my phone starts to vibrate in my pocket.

“Hello,” I snarl.

“Hi. Sebastian? It’s Kendal. Could you come by my office Friday morning? I want to go over a few things with you.”

CHAPTERTWENTY-SIX

Sebastian

The hits just keep on rolling.

Meandering back toward the office, my irritation is at an all-time high. I arrived at Kendal’s office as scheduled to find she’d been pulled into an emergent surgery for a head bleed. It’s hard to act haughty when you’re in the company of a neurosurgeon. But they’re usually condescending enough for both of us.

When I inquired into rescheduling, I was advised by the receptionist she had instructions from Kendal to schedule a few more tests before we meet again. Like hell that’s happening. I’m not doing anything else until I meet with Kendal in person and find out where she’s going with this million-dollar workup. I mean, are these tests more psychology or neurology driven?

Kendal has always been into holistic medicine. She uses an integrative approach, not discounting traditional science but embracing new techniques to heal the body naturally. There was a time I was worried it could tarnish her career, as many of the physicians at St. Luke’s stand behind a well-researched, evidence-based approach to treatment. I’m willing to consider holistic measures to get my mind on track in the OR. Especially after the way the surgeries have been going lately. But my expertise is highly sought after. I only have so much room in my schedule for tedious studies. Hell, this workup will cause more stress than I had when I started.

Bzzz. Bzzz.

“Hello?”

“Dr. Lee?

“Yes?”

“It’s Ava. Nick asked if I could reach out to you. They’ve had a family emergency, and he’s on-call for the ER. He doesn’t think he’ll be long, but as it so happens, he received a call at the worst possible time. He asked if I could reach out to you to see if there was any chance you could help him out and see what the consult is about, and he’ll be here as soon as he can.”

“Sure, Ava. Is everything okay?”

“I think so. I’m sure he’ll fill you in once he’s back. I don’t know all of the details, but it didn’t sound like it was anything too serious.”

This all sounds cryptic. But there’s little I wouldn’t do for my friend and his family. Walking toward the ER, I approach the nurses’ station to check in and see if I can locate the consult in question.

“Hi, Dr. Lee.” Nurse Bobbi smiles coyly at me.

“Hello. I’m looking for the orthopedic consult that was placed to Dr. Barnes. I apologize, I don’t have any details. He was pulled away, and I offered to evaluate them.”

“Oh, sure. Let me find out who called you.” She continues to bat her eyes playfully at me, and I have to prevent my eye roll. No sense pissing off everyone in my wake today.

Looking about the busy area, I observe several patients who appear critical, on ventilators and the like. The entire area is awash with the chirping of monitors, call bells dinging, and various phones ringing. A few patients sit quietly on their stretchers, looking at their phones. To my left, I notice Donovan Grant in one of the rooms, seated in a chair and holding the hand of an elderly woman as he speaks to her. I can only imagine the number of uncomfortable conversations he must endure on a daily basis.

---