Chapter 44 #2
“I would never dream of doing such a thing.” The bit about strangling him had really only been a momentary fantasy. She had never intended to act on it. Though a slap wouldn’t be out of line.
Grabbing the offending printout, she left the cafeteria with a wave to Sara. With each step she reminded herself to be reasonable, calm, and intelligent.
Sailing into his office shrieking like a fishwife would not aid her cause. Which was to insist Houston revoke that stupid, prickish, self-serving statement about her and cancel the transfer.
By the time she stood outside his door, she was almost in control and looking mostly professional. Except for the salad dressing stain on the elbow of her blouse and the hideous scowl she was sure was on her face.
The waiting area had three elderly patients waiting to be seen and the receptionist looked tired. When Josie approached her, the girl sighed. “I’ll give you every cent I have if you take over my job for the rest of the day.”
“That bad?” Josie asked in sympathy, feeling for the girl, who barely looked eighteen. At least Josie was adequately paid for bearing the annoyances of her job. This girl was likely just making enough to pay her bills.
“I’ve been on hold with an insurance company for twenty minutes about a patient’s bill. Dr. Hayes is running a half-hour behind, and I broke a nail.” She held the offending finger up. “I just had these done yesterday and it cost forty-five bucks.”
“Then neither of us is having a good day. I have a bone to pick with your boss.”
The receptionist grimaced. “Don’t leave him in too bad of a mood, I’m begging you. Once you leave I’m stuck with him for the rest of the day.”
Josie forced a laugh that almost had her gagging. “I’ll do my best.”
The chart was out of the holder to the examining room on the left, which meant Houston was inside with the patient.
She propped herself against the wall and prepared to wait.
The clock on the wall read one-twelve. She had thirty-eight minutes left on her lunch.
She could wait him out for thirty-seven if she had to.
It was a mere five minutes later when the door opened and Houston came striding out, the file in his hand to slide into the slot on the wall. He came close to colliding with her, but stopped himself just in time.
“Josie! I’m glad you came by. You want to go to lunch?” He reached towards her, like he was going to kiss her right there in the hall, and she jerked away.
“I need a minute of your time.”
His eyebrows rose. “What’s the matter?”
Everything. “I need to talk to you in private.”
He shuffled the folder, looking puzzled and remarkably innocent. “I’m almost finished. Can it wait until over lunch?”
Shaking her head, she held up the transfer paper. “No, it can’t wait. I want an explanation for this.”
“What is it?” He peered at it without recognition, then glanced at his watch.
“My marching orders. Transfer to St. John’s, effective October one. A week from now.”
That got a slight reaction. His jaw clenched. “I see. What about it?”
Despite the growing anger in her, she forced herself to remain calm. She was an adult. She would handle this like one. “Clearly you knew about it. Now I would like to know why you found it necessary to undermine my skills.”
He glanced left and right, leaned closer to her, his voice wary. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about the fact that you told Dr. Sheinberg that I’m a sucky surgeon and I should give it up and slink back to med school.” Okay, that was an exaggeration. So sue her.
“What? Get in my office.” He went for her elbow but she jerked away.
Hell if he was going to guide her around like she was being an obstinate child.
His jaw clenched. “We need to clear this up, but five minutes, Josie, that’s all I’ve got. I have patients waiting. Please, let’s do this in my office.”
“Then you better start talking fast.” The urge to start screaming right there in the hall was great. But she wouldn’t because she was reeking with maturity.
Nudging past him, she walked into his office.
He followed her and held his hands out in a placating manner.
“I’m not sure what you’re so upset about.
Tim and I talked and we decided it was better for all parties involved if you were transferred before our relationship became common knowledge.
I never once said you were a sucky surgeon and need to go back to med school.
If that’s what it said, I was misquoted. ”
Misquoted. She’d misquote him.
Tears started to roll down her cheeks, and she swiped at them in anger. “So you and Tim sat in his office and decided what was best for me? That takes a lot of freaking nerve! And how exactly did Tim know there was anything between us?”
He rubbed his jaw. “Apparently he has eyes and ears. People are talking. We didn’t have any choice.”
“You could have transferred!” She imagined that one had never crossed their male minds.
“How could you do this to me? No resident gets transferred without a good reason, like a serious screw up, and everyone is going to wonder what I did. How could you do this, knowing it would hurt me? Last night...” She lost her voice for a minute.
Houston tossed the folder in his hand onto the desk and brushed her hair off her face. “Oh, sweetheart, this is coming out all wrong.”
When he kissed her forehead, she shuddered, wanting to let the anger deflate, wanting him to convince her that she was wrong. Her shoulders slumped, she bit her trembling lip.
“I wasn’t trying to hurt your career, I was trying to help, to protect you.”
For a second, she had wavered, had fallen into the closeness of the night before with Houston. Had wanted to trust him, believe in what she had felt from him in his arms, read in his eyes. His words made her snap. He could call it anything he wanted but help.
“That’s a load of you-know-what, Houston!
” She waved the paper under his nose again, and moved away from him, not trusting herself if he touched her again.
“This is your way of pushing me away. Last night I got too close, I saw parts of the real you, and I made the whopper mistake of telling you I love you. And now you’re putting distance between us. ”
“That’s not what I’m doing!” he insisted.
But it was, and she knew it.