Chapter 8
CHAPTER 8
I got a lot of angry stares from Sam over the next couple of days.
Obviously, Michael had spoken with her about Paul and the allegations she made about me. I heard through the grapevine in the break room that Paul was now with a different supervisor.
“I guess he and Sam didn’t work out,” I heard one of the other residents say.
“Maybe they worked out too well, if you know what I mean,” the other resident replied and the two smiled knowingly. Then one glanced over at me and jerked his head to the side to indicate I was present. The other resident made a quick face of alarm and turned away.
So, it was already common knowledge that Sam and Paul were a thing…
I didn’t say anything, figuring that the problem had been dealt with. I was just as happy that it was, because we didn’t need any drama while we worked our butts off trying to get the surgeries caught up and replacements hired.
Of course, my relief was short lived…
“Of all the nerve,” Sam said when she caught up with me in the hallway alone later that day. “You have no right to judge, considering your lifestyle.”
“You mean the lifestyle of a happily married man with two children and a woman I love?”
“You know exactly what I mean,” she said, her hands on her hips.
“It’s for the best, Sam. You know it’s against the code of ethics for supervisors and residents to have a sexual relationship. And it’s even more against the code of ethics to lodge a false complain of sexual harassment.”
“That didn’t stop you,” she said with a sneer.
I stopped outside my office, gritting my teeth. “We weren’t supervisor and resident at the time, Sam.”
“But we had been. You’d been flirting with me the entire time, if I recall.”
“You recall incorrectly. You flirted with me the entire time. I resisted until you were finished, because I care about the code of ethics.”
“Ha,” she said and shook her head. “Some resistance. I remember we kissed in the hallway after a late night.”
I shook my head, anger building in me. “You kissed me . I stopped it and told you we couldn’t. That we had to wait until you were done your rotation.”
“Selective memory,” she said. “You’re a hypocrite.”
Then, she stormed off down the hall. I went into my office, glad that she was gone and that hopefully, it was settled.
I sat down at my desk and opened my laptop, hoping to get caught up on my emails. When I opened it, I saw an email from Sam.
I opened the email and read with hesitation.
Drake:
You are such a huge lying hypocrite. I could send Michael some incriminating evidence that you were fucking me when we were still supervisor/resident. He was wrong to listen to you, of all people, when it comes to ethics and morals.
Sam
I sent her a response and put Michael on a bcc, so she didn’t know I’d copied him. The email included hers, so he’d see the entire exchange.
Sam:
I know you’re upset, but you and I didn’t start our relationship until after you were finished your rotation in neurosurgery. You wanted to, and made an advance towards me, but I rebuffed you and told you no, if you recall. I told you we would have to wait until you were finished your neurosurgery rotation. You have no incriminating evidence except your own attempts to seduce me, which I resisted. I think the email and text message chain will prove that. Don’t contact me again about this. Just move on and things will be fine.
Drake
Then, I sat back and exhaled, before deciding to see if Michael was in his office for a little talk.
I walked down the hallway to his office and luckily, he was in and alone, going over some files in his filing cabinet.
I knocked and peered inside. “Do you have a few moments? Something’s come up.”
“For you, always. Come in.”
I closed the door behind me and sat at the chair across from his desk.
“Check your emails.”
He closed the file drawer and sat down. “Sounds important.”
He moved his mouse so he could open his email. He clicked a few times and then leaned closer, reading the email through his reading glasses.
“Ahh,” he said and sighed heavily. “Trouble in paradise, I see. What is wrong with her?” He glanced at me over his reading glasses and shook his head. “She’s not in trouble or being punished. Why is she complaining? They can still have sex now that he’s not her resident.”
“She’s just mad at me for existing.”
“She has to grow up,” Michael said and waved his hand. “Don’t let it worry you. If she says anything else, she will get penalized for harassing you and making a false claim. You were only doing your job.”
I shrugged. “Tell her that.”
“If she persists, I will. We need her to be giving her whole attention to the job, not being distracted by petty animosities with other medical staff. It’s not acceptable for her to be emailing you, threatening you, lodging a false complaint about you. She must stop, or she will be in trouble. Keep me in the loop.”
I stood up. “I will. Hopefully, she was just letting off steam and that’s the last I’ll hear of it.”
“Let me know. I won’t tolerate it. I want this to quiet down so we can look after patients in need. That’s why I came here — not to settle staff disputes and petty squabbles.”
I nodded and left Michael’s office, determined to put it behind me and focus on the work — the important life-saving work — at hand. I’d had enough staff intrigues and gossip for a lifetime and wanted to move on. If I never saw Sam and Paul again, it would be too soon, but I’d have to smile and act like nothing happened if I ran into them in the hallways.
I went back to my office and sat behind the desk, hoping to go over a few CVs we’d received from hopeful neurosurgeons who were interested in the position. For the next hour, I was able to forget entirely about Sam and her anger. When the time came for me to go to the cafeteria for a meal, I saw that she and Paul were seated at a table along the wall, leaning close together, talking. I almost turned around and left, deciding to wait until they were gone, but I took in a breath and forged on.
I wasn’t at fault.
They were for breaking the ethics rules.
I went into the kitchen area and selected a sandwich and some soup and paid for my food. Then, I found a table at the opposite end of the cafeteria from them and sat with my back to them, so I didn’t have to even look at them.
I ate in silence, reading over my Facebook feed to see what was up with Sophie and Kate back in New York. Luckily, Kate made sure to post every day something with Sophie so I could smile and not miss them so much. There was a photo Kate had taken on the boardwalk, with Sophie standing on the bottom rung of a fence overlooking the water, waving at the camera, wearing her special sunglasses which were rainbow-colored and had heart-shaped frames. She seemed so happy that I couldn’t help but smile.
Such an easy-going child…
I hearted the post and in a comment below the photo, I wrote, I miss my two girls!
Then, I checked my emails and finished my food while reading over the news headlines. Just as I was getting up to leave, I saw Sam barreling towards me. Paul was trailing behind her, his expression one of embarrassment.
I stood and gathered my papers as she came to my table.
“Don’t think you’ll get away with this,” she said under her breath as she passed me. Luckily, that was the end of the conversation. She kept walking, but Paul looked incredibly guilty. Sam was a very strong dominant personality, which was why we would have never worked out as a couple. She had to be in control, and she had to have things go her way.
I hoped that Paul had more strength than that, because as a hopeful surgeon, he had to be in control, not waiting for someone else to tell him what to do.
Maybe he, like I had been, was just using her for sex, and wasn’t really into being a true couple.
Paul stopped beside me. “You don’t have to worry,” he said quietly. “We ended the relationship. She wasn’t happy, but I decided that there was too much gossip for my comfort.”
“I’m sorry that it worked out this way, but in truth, I have an oath to keep, and I value my friendship with Dr. Owiti too much to have said nothing. I hope you understand.”
“I do.” With that, he gave me a weak smile and then walked by.
So, he had broken it off with Sam, figuring it was a mistake to keep up the relationship…
That would make Sam even more angry with me. Part of me felt guilty for breaking them up, but also, the other part — the more dominant part — knew it was necessary. There was a rule about relationships with your resident for a reason. It was bad for everyone, even if the sexual relationship was fulfilling temporarily. It got in the way of evaluations, which could never be unbiased if you were sleeping with your resident.
But they didn’t have to break up once she was no longer his supervisor.
It must have been his idea.
Sam would be extra angry with me as a result.
I finished my food and gathered up my paper and went back to my office, determined to put it out of my mind. Still, I was worried about the fallout between Sam and me. It would affect our ability to work together. Hopefully, we wouldn’t have to. If we did, I vowed to be professional, and I hoped Sam would do the same, but she sounded vengeful.
That comment was meant as a threat.
As I walked down the hallway back to my office, I wondered whether I should let Michael know about what she’d said. Part of me wanted to just forget about Sam and her anger, but another part thought that perhaps it would be best to let Michael know, just in case I turned up dead one day…
I smiled to myself. Sam was angry, but she wasn’t a killer.
She wasn’t Lisa Monroe…
I sat behind my desk and spent the next few hours reviewing case files and studying CT scans, evaluating patients so I could prioritize them for surgery. In that way, I passed the afternoon. Finally, around five o’clock, I heard a knock at my door.
“Come in,” I said and glanced up from the files in front of me.
It was Michael.
“Do you have a few minutes? I thought we should talk.”
“For you, anytime.”
Michael came inside and sat in the chair across from me. He rested his hands on the arms of the chair and exhaled heavily.
“What’s up? You sound exhausted.”
“Just finished a delicate surgery, and I was up late dealing with matters. I want to talk to you about that complaint Sam filed against you. I spoke with her, but she was unwilling to retract it. Then, I had to speak with the board about it, and they want to remove it from the record. They’re willing to overlook it and understand what happened.”
I frowned. “That’s good. What’s the problem?”
“Sam said she couldn’t withdraw it and was going to file a report with the local police. She claimed you were harassing her in private and it was interfering with her ability to work. She claimed that you wanted to re-establish your old sexual relationship and she didn’t, so now you’re punishing her because she refused.”
I sat in silence for a moment, remembering her most recent comment. “She passed me today in the cafeteria and said, ‘Don’t think you’ll get away with this.’ I didn’t know what she meant at the time, but I knew it wasn’t a good sign. Should I be worried about her going to the police?”
Michael let out a sigh at that. “I don’t honestly know. She was very angry when I spoke with her about it. I tried to talk her out of going to the police. They have a notoriously bad record of investigating such complaints, but she seems out for blood.”
“It’s pure retaliation. Her comment says everything. I’m not worried, though, because we have only ever spoken briefly and have never even touched. It’s bogus and in the end, is her word against mine.”
“I know,” Michael said. “I know it was, but this has thrown a huge monkey-wrench into things. I have to fire her and that’s going to make her even angrier, and at this moment, losing another surgeon is just too much.”
“I understand. Keep her on. I can deal with whatever comes my way from her.”
“She’s trying to hurt you because she believes you hurt her. I still want to fire her. In fact, I just might, anyway. I can’t have this bullshit going on in the hospital. Not now. Not when we need to all work our hardest and get the work done.”
“Don’t do it on my account,” I said and held out my hand. “We need every surgeon we can get to keep up with the workload. If you fire her, we’re one neurosurgeon short.”
Michael sighed and leaned back, rubbing his face with his hands. “I could see if there’s anyone else available to replace her. Let me do some calling around. I might have a few chips I could call in.”
“It’s up to you, but I’m seriously not worried about her. She can’t hurt me even if she wants to.”
“‘I’ll see,” Michael said, shaking his head. “What a nightmare. The very last thing I need is this kind of staff issue. I need surgeons who can focus and put petty things aside while we deal with an emergency. You know, I’ve decided.” He slammed his fist down on the tabletop. “I’m firing her. I have enough grounds to do so, according to the contract and ethics rules. It’s her damn fault for breaking them, and now, she’s going to pay the price.”
I frowned. “Don’t,” I said, hating the thought that my presence here was the cause of all this mayhem. “Wait until we have a new surgeon on board if you feel you must. If you do fire her, you’ll create an enemy for us both. Who knows what she’ll do in retaliation? You don’t need it, and neither do I.”
“She shouldn’t get away with making a false allegation and for sleeping with her resident.”
“Just wait. Get someone else on board first.”
He sighed. “I’ll think about it.” Then he checked his watch. “I’ve got a meeting with the board right now. I’ll talk to them and see what they think.” He stood. “I’ll let you know either way.”
I nodded and watched as he went to the door. He turned back and faced me. “Sorry Drake, about all this. I thought she wouldn’t be any trouble, but I guess she’s the same old Sam.”
I shrugged. “It is what it is. We’ll manage.”
With that, he left my office and closed the door behind him.
Sam was already mad at me for telling Michael about their illicit relationship. She would be angry that the board would not move on her false allegation of sexual harassment. She would be mad that Paul broke the relationship off.
Being fired from her plum position would send her ballistic…