Chapter 7
CHAPTER 7
G raham
After picking up the Jeep I bought, I drove to my new apartment building. Unlocking the door, I stepped inside and stared at the fully furnished place. It looked exactly how it did online, which made me happy. I rented a fully furnished apartment because I knew this wasn’t my long-term home. I was only here for two years, and once I finished my fellowship, I’d leave and return to New York.
After settling in, I ran to the grocery store to get some things. The rest of my boxes from New York would be here in a few days, and I needed to ask the landlord if he could let the delivery guys in since I’d practically be living at the hospital. After unpacking my groceries and putting them away, I grabbed the small bouquet of flowers I bought and went to the cemetery.
“Hi, Dad. It’s been a long time.” I said as I laid the flowers on his grave. “I’m still pissed at you, you know.” Tears filled my eyes. “Fuck.” I shook my head and headed to my car.
I tossed and turned all night. It wasn’t because the bed was uncomfortable. It was being back here, and the fact that I started my fellowship tomorrow. I could have done my fellowship anywhere in the country, but I chose Cedars because Dr. Ashley was one of the best in the country.
The following morning, I showered, packed a bag with all the necessities to keep in my locker, and headed out the door. I made sure to leave early enough because of the traffic. The last thing I needed was to be late on my first day and make a bad impression. I arrived with thirty minutes to spare. When I stepped through the lobby’s doors, I stopped at the coffee bar and grabbed a coffee before heading upstairs to Dr. Christian Kind’s office.
“Dr. Malone. Come in.” Dr. Kind smiled, walked over, and extended his hand.
“Dr. Kind. It’s nice to meet you in person.” I shook his hand.
“And you as well. Please, have a seat.” He gestured. “Sure beats all those Zoom meetings, right?” He grinned.
“Sure does.” I smiled.
“Welcome to Cedar Sinai, Dr. Malone. Your father was a brilliant surgeon, and I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you. That was a long time ago.”
“Heart attack, correct?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
“When I saw your application for the pediatric surgical fellowship come through, I was pleased. And upon further investigation into you, I was even more pleased. Your colleagues at Mount Saini sang your praises, and your record is impeccable. Both Dr. Ashley and I are highly impressed. Unfortunately, Dr. Ashley was called out of town for a family emergency. She’ll be back in a couple of days. In the meantime, I can show you around and you can fill in where needed. Whether that be up on the pediatric unit or down in the emergency department.”
“Of course.” I nodded.
“I know you’ll miss your friends and co-workers in New York, but you’ll meet some really nice people here. We’re one big happy family at this hospital. At least, I think so. If you hear otherwise, let me know.” He smirked.
“I will.” I chuckled.
The office door opened.
“Hey, Uncle Christi—I’m so sorry. I didn’t know you had?—”
She stopped speaking the moment I turned around, and our eyes locked.
“Ella?” My brows furrowed.
“Graham?” She stood in shock.
“You two know each other?” Dr. Kind asked.
“What are you doing here?” Ella stared at me.
“What are you doing here? I thought you were studying art at NYU.”
“Uh, I can explain that.” She bit down on her bottom lip.
“Huh? An art student at NYU?” Dr. Kind raised his brow. “This is my niece, Dr. Ella Kind. Ella, this is Dr. Malone, our new surgical pediatric fellowship resident.”
“You’re the Dr. Ella Kind?” I asked in shock.
“That’s me.” A nervous smile crossed her lips.
“Dr. Malone, go up to the pediatric unit. I’ll call up there now and have Dr. Konis show you around. It’s on the fifth floor.”
“Thank you, Dr. Kind,” I said, standing up from my seat. I stared at Ella as I left the office, not saying a word. I couldn’t believe she lied to me.
E lla
“Sit, my dear niece.” My Uncle Christian pointed to the chair across from his desk. “Explain.”
“We met at the hospital when I was in New York—well, sort of. He stopped me from buying a tuna fish sandwich in the cafeteria. Then, I ran into him in Central Park. We recognized each other, so yeah.”
“You told him you were an art student from NYU? Why did you lie to him?”
“Because I never thought I’d see him again.”
“For the love of God. Please tell me you didn’t sleep with him.”
“No, Uncle Christian. He asked me to dinner, and I declined. Then, for breakfast the next morning, and I declined that too.”
“Why did you lie to him about who you were?”
I looked down, totally ashamed of what I’d done.
“Ella?”
“Because, for once, I just wanted to be Ella. Not the Dr. Ella Kind. Thank God I didn’t have dinner with him?”
“Why?” he asked.
“Because then I would have made up this totally false story about myself.”
“You already did that.” His brow arched.
“Telling him I was an art student at NYU was a little white lie. If we had dinner together, that little lie would have spun a web of even bigger lies. Oh my God. He must hate me now.”
“Ella, you can’t hide from who you are.”
“I know that, Uncle Christian. Ugh, now he’s here and is probably telling the entire hospital how I lied to him.”
“He’s been here ten minutes and doesn’t know anyone. He’s not telling people anything, sweetheart. When you get a chance, clear the air with him. He seems like a great guy and will understand.”
“I will.”
“Now, why did you want to see me?”
“I don’t remember now.” I stood from my seat. “I’ll catch you later, Uncle Christian.”
I walked out of his office and pushed the button to the elevator. I had to find Graham and explain to him why I lied. When the door opened, I stepped inside and leaned against the wall, blowing out a breath and hoping Dr. Malone wasn’t too mad at me.
I stepped onto the pediatric unit and saw him standing at the nurses’ station. As I approached, he looked at me.
“Can we talk?” I asked.
“So you can lie to me again?”
“I’m sorry about that. I didn’t think I’d see you again.”
“So just because you thought we wouldn’t see each other again, it’s okay to tell someone false information about yourself?”
“It’s complicated.” I looked down. “Let’s go into that room over there.”
He followed me into an empty room and tucked his hands into his pockets.
“For that one moment in the park, I could be anyone I wanted to be and not the Dr. Ella Kind.”
“I don’t understand, Ella.”
“It’s hard to explain, Graham. Look, I’m really sorry I lied to you. Can we start over?”
He stared at me with his captivating blue eyes.
“Hi, there.” He extended his hand. “I’m Dr. Graham Malone.”
With a smile, I placed my hand in his. “Hi. I’m Dr. Ella Kind.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Dr. Kind.” A smile crossed his lips.
“It’s nice to meet you too, Dr. Malone. Welcome to Cedars.”
“Thank you.”
My pager went off. It was the ER.
“A trauma is coming in. Do you need to stay up here in peds?”
“Your uncle said Dr. Ashley is out of town for a couple of days and to fill in where needed.”
“We could probably use you down in the ER. Want to come?”
“Sure.” He smiled.
“Let’s go.”