Page 7 of Egotistical Jerk
When we entered Cheryl's room, I chose to hang back and observe. As I suspected, almost all of them made a run for the chart. Dr. Sandeep was the first one to get his hands on it and the other two huddled around him as he flipped from page to page.
Dr. Phillips wasn't bothered with the chart; she headed directly to Cheryl and stuck her hand out.
"Good morning. I'm Dr. Phillips, but you can just call me Mia."
Cheryl's smile was big and bright while the introductions were made. She didn't even pay attention to the three doctors at the end of her bed nosing through her medical history.
"How are you feeling today?" Dr. Phillips asked.
"My stomach was giving me trouble last night, but it seems to be doing better now."
I folded my arms in front of me and propped my shoulder against the frame while I continued to watch the exchange between Dr. Phillips and Cheryl.
Besides asking her how she felt, Dr. Phillips hadn't inquired about Cheryl's symptoms at all. They'd talked about what books and magazines she liked to read. Her favorite food and drink. Hell, everything they could possibly fit into fifteen minutes worth of conversation.
They'd been about eight minutes into their discussion on literature when I noticed the three other doctors looking on with baffled expressions on their faces and the only thing I could think of was the Hippocratic Oath:I will remember that I do not treat a fever chart, a cancerous growth, but a sick human being, whose illness may affect the person's family and economic stability.
To treat an illness, you had to know the person behind it first. A strange sensation fluttered through my chest, but it was gone before I could figure out what it was.
"Alright, let's get you introduced to the other patients on the floor."
I stood to the side while everyone hustled out the door. The moment Dr. Phillips walked past me, she flicked her braid over her shoulder with so much vehemence, it barely missed my face. Cheryl let out a little chuckle, and when I pinned her with a stare, she simply shrugged.
If I thought Dr. Phillips' behavior with Cheryl had been a one-time thing, I was sorely mistaken. She'd acted the exact same way with the other patients. And the odd thing was, it didn't seem fake; she was genuinely interested in everything they had to say.
This woman was a breath of fresh air wrapped up in an enigma.
When we made it back to Gillian's desk, I divided them into two teams—Dr. Sandeep and Dr. Brent on one team and Dr. Phillips and Dr. Lawrence on the other. Once I assigned each team to a few patients, I retreated to the safety of my office.
My ass had barely connected with the plush leather when a knock on my door sounded. For a second I was tempted to just remain silent, but I was waiting on the results of Cheryl's blood work and for all I knew it could've been the lab tech waiting outside.
"It's open." The words had only just left my mouth when Simon stepped inside. "I changed my mind. I'm not here. You can leave now."
Undeterred, he made his way across the room to plonk down on one of the couches.
"Have I told you that you're extra prickly today, Seb? All that grumpiness can't be good for your health."
I sighed heavily. "I just saw you less than two hours ago. What could you possibly want now?"
He scooted to the edge of his seat and studied the board mounted to the wall. "Are they as bright and wonderful as you thought they'd be?"
My gaze followed his, but instead of scanning each individual face, I remained stuck on one. Large, smiling green eyes stared back at me and that fluttering inside my chest made itself known once more.
Touching the heel of my palm to the spot, I answered honestly, "I don't know." My eyes flicked to Simon. "Ask me again at the end of the week."
The grin on Simon's mouth warned me that he was about to say something that would most likely piss me off. "Did Dr. Phillips make the mistake of doing her job again?"
"Really, Simon? Don't you have patients to treat or something?"
A hearty laugh pushed from his lungs, his hands coming up in surrender. "All right, all right. You know I'm just messing with you." Still chuckling, he pushed to his feet. "You can't blame me, though. Not when you make it so easy to push your buttons."
"Just because something is easy doesn't mean you should do it," I deadpanned.
"Isn't that what I said about your last girlfriend?"
"That's it!" I jumped out of my chair and pointed toward the door. "Get your ass out of my office."
His chuckle turned into a full-blown guffaw, but at least he had the good sense to leave me in peace. I collapsed back into my seat with a groan the instant the door clicked shut. Sighing heavily, I dragged my finger over the trackpad to wake up my computer.
