Page 17 of The Exception

“Nurse Chen, I have a consult upstairs in a few minutes. Do you mind if Nurse Pope walks with me?”

Sonya looked to Abi and gave a slight nod to indicate that she was okay with taking a walk with Dr. Travis. He’d sparked her curiosity over the true purpose of his visit. There was no way he’d come all the way down there just to trash his own son. There had to be more to it.

“Of course,” Abi replied. “Sonya, come back once you’re done so we can talk about why you came in to see me.”

She followed Dr. Travis out of Abi’s office and fell into step beside him.

“Nurse Pope, you can be honest with me. Is Ben truly doing well? It’s no reflection on you if he’s not.”

“I assure you that he is performing well within expectations.” There she was defending him again, but it was true. Annoying or not, Trav was capable.

“That is a relief. I’m happy to hear that he’s at least upholding the family name while pursuing this path. It would be a shame if he managed to bring down the reputation I’ve worked so hard to build at this hospital.”

She wanted to tell him that his son hadn’t mentioned to anyone that his dad wastheDr. Jack Travis. If anything, he’d tried to distance himself as much as possible by just introducing himself as “Trav.”

“You can rest assured that the family name remains intact.”

“For now. Let’s see that it remains that way,” he said. “Nurse Chen spoke very highly of you. It sounds like your aspirations extend past the psychiatric floor.”

“Nurse Chen is my mentor and my advocate. I owe a lot to how hard she’s pushed me both in and out of my comfort zone.”

“If you can continue pushing Benjamin to succeed, perhaps we can talk about finding something for you that would stretch you even further. Neurology is always looking for good nurses.”

And there it is. He’d taken the scenic route, but the implication was clear and she bit the inside of her cheek to stop herself from getting up on her soapbox. She’d been brought up with a mother who’d instilled a good work ethic in her since birth. People like Jack Travis who navigated through life on their privilege, frustrated her to no end.

“I’m nothing if not fair, Dr. Travis. If your son passes this rotation, it’ll be because he earned it.”

His smirk said he thought she was just saying what she was supposed to say when offered what equated to a bribe. He was used to people dropping everything to kiss his ass; people who would do anything to look good in his eyes to advance their careers. Maybe there were other sycophants who would do that, but unfortunately for him, his son was assigned to her and she’d be damned if she gave Trav an easy time just to advance her own career.

She’d just opened her mouth to tell him that when the sound of hard, fast-moving footsteps made her look at her watch like some sort of Pavlovian response. It was 7:55 and her intern marched from the elevators with his backpack slung over his shoulder, a Virginia Tech travel mug in one hand, looking down at his phone in the other.

He looked up after dropping his phone into his pocket, and his feet came to an immediate halt as a strange mix of surprise and resignation washed over his features. The weariness in his eyes was easy to read as they darted back and forth between her and his father. “Dad? What are you doing down here?”

“Good morning to you too, Ben.”

“Good morning,” he greeted. “Now will you tell me why you’re here?”

Dr. Travis smiled and placed a hand on Sonya’s shoulder. It took everything in her not to shrug it off.

“I was just having a parent teacher conference of sorts with your preceptor. Looks like you’re in good hands down here.”

“I am,” Trav hedged like he was waiting for the other shoe to drop. She’d never seen him so tense, like every muscle in his body was on defense. This wasn’t the easy going guy she’d been working with for the last week. This was the soldier; the man who’d spent years in a war zone watching his back at every step. He even looked taller—bulkier, like a cat trying to intimidate its opponent before a fight, and those usually warm and friendly eyes of his were ice cold.

“I would love to talk with you both more but work beckons,” Dr. Travis announced, making a show of looking at the expensive gold watch decorating his wrist. “I expect to see you at dinner soon, Ben. Shelly says she’s been trying to invite you for weeks but she keeps getting your voicemail.”

“I’ve been busy,” Trav said.

His father scoffed. “Always make time for family.”

Trav nodded once, but from the murderous look on his face, Sonya could tell he was biting his tongue.

Dr. Travis gave her shoulder what was supposed to be a meaningful squeeze, and his condescending smile made her want to gag.

“Remember what I said, Nurse Pope. If you need anything at all, let me know.”

“Have a nice day, Dr. Travis,” she said, summoning the smile she’d been using ever since she was old enough to understand its power. It was the smile that handled mansplaining, being interrupted and spoken over; it was the smile that hid how she really felt because if her true feelings were revealed, it might reduce the person on the receiving end to ashes.

She and Trav stood side by side and watched as Dr. Travis strode down the hall. He’d disappeared into an elevator when Trav finally spoke up. “No matter what he said to you, don’t go easy on me.”

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