Page 16 of The Exception

“No, come in Sonya. Your timing is as impeccable as ever. Do you know Dr. Travis?”

Sonya stiffened. Of course she knewofDr. Jack Travis. He was the predominant neurosurgeon on the east coast and their hospital got most of its funding because of his presence on the board. He never ventured far from his expansive office with the river view and he definitely never came down to psych.

Sonya pasted on her most professional smile as Dr. Travis rose from the chair and turned around to face her, and it froze there as everything clicked together in her mind.

Holy shit…

The resemblance was nearly uncanny, from his height and build, to his sandy brown hair that was only greying at the temples. He had deep crinkles around his eyes but they did nothing to dim the almost navy blue just like his grey beard did nothing to hide the same cocky smirk she’d come to know well over the last few days.

Dr. Jack Travis couldn’t be anyone besides Intern Travis’s father.

Careful to keep her shock masked, she extended her hand, “It’s a pleasure to meet you Dr. Travis.”

Unease bubbled up in Sonya’s stomach as she tried to wrap her mind around this revelation and its implications. If Dr. Travis was slumming it down there, it could only mean that Trav had gone crying to his daddy about her going too hard on him. He’d probably led a charmed life on his dad’s highly inflated salary and was used to being handed anything he wanted.

Sonya was still trying to figure out how joining the army fit into that backstory, but there had to be a reason beyond a desire to serve his country. It just wasn’t what guys from a prominent doctor’s family did, and they especially didn’t become paramedics instead of second generation doctors.

Then again, Trav’s backstory didn’t matter to her because she was about to be freed from her responsibilities when it came to Ben Travis. Now she couldn’t figure out if that relieved her or pissed her off.

“No, the pleasure is all mine,” Dr. Travis drawled, looking her up and down dismissively before gripping her hand in a firm shake.

Abi spoke up from behind her desk. “Sonya is the most senior nurse on this ward and she volunteered to be Ben’s mentor.”

Dr. Travis raised a greying eyebrow and frowned.

“You’re a little young, aren’t you?”

Sonya bit the inside of her cheek to keep the snide comment on the tip of her tongue from slipping out.

“I’m the youngest nurse manager in this hospital, so what I lack in age I make up for with a lot of hard work.”

“You have ambition, drive,” he stated almost appreciatively. “Two qualities I tried to instill in Ben but it never quite took. Tell me. How is he doing?”

Apparently, he wasn’t there to rail against the mean preceptor giving his kid a hard time, but that made this whole conversation even more confusing. Dr. Travis didn’t seem like the type to just want to check on his son’s progress, and there was also a sharpness in the way he’d talked about him. She was going to have to tread lightly in this conversation until she decoded the situation.

She cleared her throat and answered, “Intern Travis is performing well in his rotation. ”

Instead of being pleased by her satisfactory report, he squinted like he was trying to read more into everything she’d said.

“Well, that is encouraging,” he said, his tone sounding more almost disappointed at the news. “At least he’s actually trying this time, but it’s a shame it won’t last.”

Sonya was still trying to figure out how to respond to that when Abi frowned and folded her hands together on top of her desk.

“Dr. Travis? What exactly are you implying?”

He sighed dramatically like he was about to reveal some deep, dark secret and the same irritation that only Trav inspired in her started bubbling up inside of her. Getting on her last nerve must be a Travis family trait.

“My son doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to following through. He’ll quit as soon as things get too hard or he’ll find a way to screw it up.”

“Excuse me, sir, but wasn’t your son recently discharged with honors from the army?” Sonya asked. “That doesn’t sound like a person who doesn’t follow through on things.”

The tone of her voice startled her. Since when was defending Trav something she was inclined to do?

“That only proves my point,” Jack said. “He could’ve stayed in and made a career out of it. He could’ve been an officer someday, but instead of reenlisting, he decided to get out and become a paramedic. He’s always good at something up until the minute he gets bored with it. And he always gets bored.”

Sonya glanced over to Abi and the confusion written all over her face echoed everything she was feeling as well. She couldn’t figure it out. Was he there to ask her to go easy on Trav, or to fail him no matter what he did? All she knew for sure was that Dr. Travis was an asshole and that gave her a tiny bit of empathy for his son.

Dr. Travis didn’t give either of them time to ask for more explanation. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his grey slacks and turned all of his attention to Abi.

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