Page 59 of Hearts on the Table
“Itwasbullshit!” Cooper cut in before I could say anything. “Dude’s grandfather is on a hell of a power trip.”
“Can’t we do anything about this? Go to others on the board?”
Cooper snorted. “You mean the other people who’ve been in Sturmond’s pocket for the last fifteen years? Not likely. Hopefully, he’s only freaking out because his baby boy is up for a permanent position here, and everything else will go back to normal once that settles itself out. Otherwise…” He trailed off, shaking his head.
“Otherwise, what?” I knew a lot about how hospitals worked, but the dynamics between physicians and leadership was still somewhat of a mystery to me.
“Otherwise, I’m out.”
“What? You’d just leave?” My jaw was probably hanging open. I’d worked my whole life to be a surgical attending. It had never occurred to me that someone would just pack up and leave it. It didn’t help that I got freaked at the thought of my favorite surgical partner abandoning me.
Cooper rolled his eyes. “It’s not like it would be hard for me to find a job, Carmichael. I’m one of the most prominent figures in this field. No offense, Reese.”
I was probably the only one who noticed Reese’s mouth tipping subtly into a smirk. “No problem.”
“I could write my own check somewhere. I won’t stay here if they keep interfering,” Cooper finished, eyeing the coffee machine.
“But Cedar is the best cardiac hospital in the country!” I protested.Wewere the best surgical team in the country. “Where else would you even go?”
“Won’t be best for long if they keep roadblocking my fucking surgeries. I’d rather go somewhere where I have a chance atmaking a difference.” Cooper tapped on the table, glancing at the two of us. “Like that ablation you two are working on? The simultaneous valve repair is going to make it tricky. You feel in over your head there? Want me to take the lead?”
He addressed Sam, but my hackles rose at the implication that he couldn’t cut it. “Dr. Reese and I are perfectly capable of executing such a complex procedure.”
“Whoa. I didn’t mean it like that. I just want something interesting to think about before I fall asleep with a scalpel in my hand.” Cooper rose. “I have to grab a cup before my next consult.”
“Thanks for the backup.” Sam smiled at me, opening his computer again to tap out a few notes.
“Anytime,” I murmured, not totally sold on the innocence of Cooper’s innocent comment. The man’s inflated ego probably helped him keep his cool at the surgery table, but sometimes made him insufferable as a person. I’d gotten used to his little quirks. It helped that he seemed to hold me in some esteem, even if I was technically underneath him in the hospital hierarchy.
For better or worse, our stars had risen together over the last few years. Cooper and Carmichael: the cardio dream team. The thought of him leaving made me feel slightly queasy. “Do you think he’d really leave?”
“Maybe.” Sam paused his typing to look at me, a flash of wariness in his eyes, before it cleared. “You seem upset by that.”
“Maybe,” I repeated, biting my lip and staring at the door. Cooper was a once-in-a-lifetime sort of surgeon. Smart and intuitive, focused without being a hard-ass. The two of us had a track record of success that I wanted to cling to with my own little egotistical claws. “We’re a good team. It’d be hard to lose him.”
“Professionally.”
I snorted, navigating through patient notes. I loved these moments with him, stolen and innocuous. “Obviously, professionally. What else is there?”
His throat cleared. Something about it sounded off. I cut my eyes over in time to see him take a breath. “Personally.”
This time, I snorted so hard I choked. “You think, me and Cooper?” I hacked, taking a sip of my tea. “Did you hit your head recently and forgot to mention it?”
“It’s not as far-fetched as you’d think,” he muttered, refusing to meet my eyes. His sudden bout of shyness baffled me. Was Samjealousof Cooper?
“Um, hard pass. He’s a surgeon.”
“I’m a surgeon.” The lines around his mouth canceled out the lightness of his tone.
“Yeah, but you’re different.”
He finally glanced over, working hard to suppress a smile. “Different how?”
“Well, Cooper didn’t stand up for me to the board.” I grinned. Sam grunted, gaze following the curve of my cheek. “He said you ‘blew a gasket’ when they pulled me out of that EVLP.”
“Hmm,” Sam grunted again, eyes on his computer. I got the impression he didn’t really want to discuss this.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
