Page 28 of Tide and Seek
“I see.”I glanced at Max and found his expression borderline hostile.
Red spears painted Max’s high cheekbones and his eyes were dark and resentful.Max didn’t get angry often, but he was angry now.One of his hands that rested on the table was clenched so tight, his knuckles were white.
I was tempted to reach over and squeeze his arm to maybe calm him some, but to be honest, he looked so uptight, I wasn’t confident he wouldn’t shake off my touch.So instead, I sat there wondering why Max looked like he wanted to throw his margarita in her face.
Eyeing Max, she gave a fake pout.“Max, are you still mad at me?You know, I was just doing my job back then.”
His eyes glittered with resentment.“That’s not exactly how I remember things, Bethany.My memory is that you stabbed me in the back first chance you got.”
Her laugh was grating.“Oh, Royce, don’t listen to him.I did everything I could to help clear his name.”
“That’s a lie,” Max snapped.“You tried your best to throw me under the bus.”
Her smile didn’t reach her eyes.“I was just trying to get to the facts of the case, but you were so overly defensive, you took it the wrong way.You were acting so cold and withdrawn after Lucinda died, it was only natural to assume you were guilty about something.”
“I wasn’t guilty,” Max rasped.“I was devastated after losing a patient.Was I supposed to throw a party because it wasn’t my fault?Was it wrong of me to care that one of my patients died?”
She curled her lip.“Well, to be fair, it’s not like you had a rep for caring about your patients.”
“Okay, I think that’s enough,” I said sharply, protectively putting my hand on Max’s shoulder.“You seem like maybe you want to stir up some trouble, Bethany.I’d prefer it if you didn’t.”
She shifted her spiteful gaze to me.“Ooh, he’s protective.How delicious.”
I narrowed my eyes.“How about you mosey along and we’ll go back to enjoying our lunch?”I was tempted to stand just so she wasn’t hovering over me.But the last thing I wanted was to make a huge scene in case it embarrassed Max.
A pink flush crept up her cheeks.“Mosey along?How quaint.”She shot a hostile glance at Max.“If anyone should be mad, it’s me, Maxwell.You killed my friend through incompetence, and I know you’re the one who got me fired.I got too close to the truth, so you lodged a complaint with the hospital against me.”
Looking indignant, Max rasped, “I didn’t lodge a complaint, although in hindsight I certainly should have.”
“Liar,” she hissed.“You got me fired because I knew you were negligent and a murderer.”
Max’s jaw clenched with anger.“I wasn’t negligent and that was proven.Lucinda’s death wasn’t my fault.I did nothing wrong.If anyone was negligent, it was you, Bethany.You had a conflict of interest from the start.You were sorority sisters with Lucinda, for God’s sake, but you didn’t disclose that.Your failure to do that opened the hospital up to additional liability.That’s why you got fired.Not because of me.Don’t kid yourself.The hospital didn’t fire you to protect me.They fired you to protect their own ass.”
She curled her lip.“I don’t believe you.You shouldn’t have come back.You don’t belong here anymore.”
“I’m not back,” Max growled.“This is just a visit.But seeing you has reminded me of why I left in the first place.”
“Always so high and mighty.”She scowled.“One day you’re going to learn your lesson, Maxwell.You’re no better than the rest of us and it’s about time someone taught you that lesson.”
I’d heard enough, and I stood, bumping the table and sloshing the water glasses.“Bethany, you need to go,” I said firmly.“Now.”
She gave me a cold look but then, thankfully, turned to follow the bewildered-looking hostess.
I watched her go, and then I slid back down into the booth.People were staring at us, but there wasn’t much I could do about that.I shifted in my seat and met Max’s tense gaze.“I gather that had to do with Lucinda’s death?”
“Yes.”He grabbed his glass of water and chugged a few big gulps.As he set the glass down, his hand trembled.“Bethany was in-house counsel for the hospital I worked at when Lucinda died.”
“I see,” I murmured.“I take it she didn’t have your back?”
He gave a harsh laugh.“No.Not at all.She tried to sabotage me at every turn.Before I realized she was compromised, I naively thought she was on my side.I thought she was there to protect me.Then I caught wind that she’d tried to steer the internal report to shift blame to me.She actually attempted to bury the radiology error when it came to light.”
“Jesus.She did that?”
“She certainly did.”He scowled.“Apparently, not only was she a friend of Lucinda’s, but her father is good friends with the radiologist’s father.”
“That’s despicable,” I grumbled.
“Yes.”He raked a shaky hand through his dark hair, looking flustered.“She prioritized the hospital’s reputation and her personal ties over the truth.When I finally realized that all the hospital cared about was protecting themselves, I hired private legal counsel.That’s probably the only reason I was found innocent of any wrongdoing.Bethany and the hospital would have happily thrown me to the wolves.”
