Page 18 of Paging Dr. Hart
His eyes are smoked whiskey today, grazing lightly over my face. A small shiver runs through my body.
With quiet certainty, Ethan says, “Oh, I will.”
14
We’ve been sharing our office for a month when Ethan doesn’t show up one morning. He’s been working on his own since I finished training him. Now it’s 10:00 a.m. and no sign of him. The office is quieter without the hum of both of our computers running. Without our voices blending as we dictate.
I wonder where he is. Should I go ask Dr. Washburn about it? No, that would be weird. I hope something bad hasn’t happened. He might have been in a car accident. What if he’s lying bleeding on the highway right now? Maybe I should check the Emergency Room? Staring sullenly at Ethan’s empty chair with my back to the doorway, I jump when someone loudly clears their throat behind me.
Ethan saunters into the room with a slick, knowing grin. “Hey, Tiffy, what’cha looking at?” His lips twitch with amusement.
I jerk my eyes away from Ethan’s desk and narrow them at him. I’m exposed, a kid with her hand caught in the candy jar. “Nothing,” I snap, ignoring the guilty feeling at the sharpness of my tone. “And my name isnotTiffy.”
Ethan’s not perturbed. “Really? Because it looked like you were staring at my desk. Like you were missing me.”
I scoff. “That shows what a big ego you have, Ethan. I was looking at your desk…and thinking how relieved I am that you aren’t here for once.”
Ethan stands over my chair and smirks down at me. Suddenly, he bends down to my level, placing his hands on the chair’s armrests. He leans over, caging me in. The heat rolling off his body blasts hot as a furnace. His eyes drill into mine, his closeness causing a sudden hitch in my chest.
With soft, slow words, he says, “It’s okay for you to miss me, Tiffy. If youwere gone, I’d miss you, too.” His breath is warm and minty. It breezes over my face like a caress. There’s a heaviness growing deep inside, sinking into my core.
Then he’s up and away. Sitting down at his desk, Ethan says in a casual voice, as if we had been talking about the weather. “The dentist had a last-minute cancellation, so I went in for a teeth cleaning.” He flashes a wolfish smile over to me. “Gotta keep these pearly whites shining.”
My flush of embarrassment is followed quickly by fury. He’s playing with me, and I hate it. Hate that he caught me with my guard down. Hate that my traitor body reacted with such primal lust at his closeness. All these years of evolution, and I still can’t escape that flush of attraction. Ethan knows exactly what he’s doing, and it pisses me off.
I snarl at him. “I told you not to call me Tiffy.”
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15
Igear myself up for a full-blown rant at Ethan, mentally outlining all his flaws, when Dr. Washburn calls, “Tiffany, Ethan, in my office, now.”
Geez, can the man for once walk over and talk to us?
With one last death glare toward Ethan, I stalk across the hallway to Dr. Washburn’s office. Without even turning, I know Ethan’s behind me. I’ve developed an almost sixth sense to him. We’ve spent so much time together that my body is tuned to his. I can tell when he is near, just by vibrations in the air.
Dr. Washburn waves us into the room. “Come in, come in.”
I spare a glance at Ethan. He looks worried, his eyes darting left and right, like he thinks he’s in trouble. I forget he isn’t used to Dr. Washburn’s frequent summons. I dread the call into this office. It usually means some odious menial task is going to be assigned to us. Last time, Dr. Washburn told me to train Ethan.
Look how that worked out.
“As you know, part of Ethan coming into our residency was an agreement that we would send radiology residents to Highview Hospital in Cleveland to help staff the department there,” Dr. Washburn says. “It’s difficult to get a resident in the middle of the academic year, so we were lucky to replace Brandon with Ethan.” Dr. Washburn nods in Ethan’s direction.
I can feel Ethan relax as he realizes he’s not in trouble.
Dr. Washburn sees the dark expression on my face. Misinterpreting it for anger over the Cleveland situation, he says, “I’m sure it will be beneficial for you both. The hospital there has a different patient population, which means you’ll get exposed to diseases you wouldn’t typically see here in Columbus. You’ll work with other radiologists who can teach you new skills.”
He pauses to blow his runny nose into a tissue, making a loud honkingsound. “The hospital will provide you with free meals and housing. They have apartments they rent for situations like this. I want you two to go there next week. You’ll set up the rotation. See what they have available and how it can best be used to train our staff. See what needs they have that you can fill.”
“W—wait,” I stutter. “You want usbothto go? Together?”
I glance sideways and see the color has drained out of Ethan’s face. Looks like he’s not too happy with this idea, either. The sting of rejection pokes at me, prying between my ribs and squeezing my heart.
“Yes,” answers Dr. Washburn, oblivious to the emotions swirling through the room. “Ethan knows the Cleveland hospital well, so he can help orient you. Tiffany, you understand our residency, so you can determine how we fit into its department. We want this transition to go as smoothly as possible. Once you get everything set up there, we’ll send two residents to Cleveland at a time on a rotating basis. I want to instruct the next group on exactly what to expect. It’s your job to figure that out.”
