Page 13 of Careless Whisper

Damn you, Elias Graham!

CHAPTER 4

Elias

I’d now been in Seattle for two months.Andit had been four weeks since Reggie had scrubbed into one of my cases—not that I was counting.

Cindy, following protocol after my formal complaint, had taken her off the surgical roster. She’d been reassigned to more basic duties—pre-op vitals, post-op recovery checks, triaging consults, and float support on the cardiac step-down unit. Work any competent nurse could do. Work an intern could do. It was a waste of her skill, and Cindy made sure everyone knew that.

I ignored her.

Delaney, the nurse Cindy had slotted into Reggie’s rotation, was fine. She was a bit too aggressive at times and too passive at others. She didn’t anticipate. She didn’t think ahead. She didn’t know how to read a roommid-surgery or a patient’s vitals like a language like Reggie could.

In the few weeks I’d worked with Reggie, I remembered how careful she was, howgoodat her job. And, yet…

She was fucking with my head like she always had. I wanted her out of Harper Memorial.

If you did, Elias, why the hell did you take this job? You turned down Johns Hopkins for this, and you knew she’d be here.

I ignored my subconscious as I walked into my condo. The lights automatically came on. They were programmed to a soft, ambient glow—no overheads, no shadows, just warm tones on expensive wood and imported stone. Some designers had put it all together, and I’d nodded through the whole process, just as I had when some realtor had shown me a bunch of places, and I bought this one in downtown Seattle, sight unseen, because of its proximity to the hospital.

It looked good. Polished and somber like the homes I had grown up in.

Soulless?

I tossed my keys in the bowl by the front door, kicked off my shoes, and walked straight to the fridge. A glass container labeled “Tuesday – Seared Salmon with Sweet Potato Mash” waited for me like a silent reprimand.

I wasn’t hungry.

I shut the fridge door and leaned against the counter, staring out at the view.

Seattle was beautiful at night—moody.

The water shimmered beneath the clouds. The city lights sparkled. People romanticized this city, and I didn’t get it. Was it the foggy charm, like a secret always on the verge of revelation?

Christ! I was being maudlin.

I hadn’t come here forcharm. I’d come here to lead one of the best cardiac programs in the country.

If you keep telling yourself that, you’ll eventually believe it, you moron.

Had I come here for Reggie? And if I had, why was I doing whatever I could to get her fucking fired? When had I become such an asshole?

I scrubbed a hand over my face and dropped onto one of the barstools at the kitchen island. My phone buzzed. I had it on silent vibrate. I almost ignored it, but when I saw who it was, I sighed.

“Dad.”

“You sound tired,” he said without preamble.

“It’s been a long day.”

“That’s what happens when you run a department. Harper Memorial is no joke. Though I still think Johns Hopkins would’ve made more sense.”

Of course, he did.

“I like it here.” I kept my voice neutral and went to the small bar at the other end of the living room. If I was talking to my father, Ineededliquor.

“You’d have liked it at Johns Hopkins as well,” he replied. “Anyway, your mother’s wondering if you RSVP’d to the Foundation Gala. We’re expecting you.”

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