31. Ashley
31
ASHLEY
T he elevator rose toward the fourth floor where the board was waiting on me and Jack. I leaned on his chest in a side hug, staring at the ring he'd picked for me. So it was a little backward, and the spontaneous proposal that led to more sex Saturday afternoon came before the ring which I got yesterday evening. I was happy to be with him. That was all that mattered.
"No matter what they say, you just follow my lead." Jack's calm reassurance, coupled with his hand in the small of my back, made me feel more confident. I had been off work since last week on Wednesday, but Jack had given me updates as far as how things were going with the investigation. And a detective did visit my apartment to ask me a few questions which she said were routine.
"I'm a little nervous, but it's not world-shattering anxiety. I have what I want. If the job doesn't work out, so be it." I sighed. "I'm confident, though, that they'll see I didn’t do anything wrong." Jack didn't realize how much his being here meant to me. His meeting with the board was slated for an hour from now, leaving them time to discuss things with me. We chose to come together because we were a couple now, and as such, Jack felt it important to address the board as a couple.
"You are brilliantly talented, and they'd be foolish to let you go. I just don't know how it will work out when we tell them." He looked down at my hand which I held out, turning it so the diamond sparkled in the light. Then he grabbed my hand and brought it to his mouth. He kissed my finger where the ring sat, and I smiled.
"I'm going to be Mrs. Jack Stewart." The thought made me giddy, and I couldn't contain my joy. I rose up on my tiptoes and pecked him on the lips in a very public display of affection. If security was watching the elevator feed, they got a show.
"You mean you wouldn't rather stay Dr. Ashley Sutton?" Jack sounded surprised by my joy to take his name. It was tradition, and I figured him a very traditional guy.
"How could we be Mr. and Mrs. Smith if I don't have your name, silly?" I snickered, and he shook his head as the elevator dinged and the doors slid open.
Both of us sobered, and Jack pulled away from me as we stepped into the hallway. It was empty, but neither of us wanted to stir the pot where the board was concerned. Jack told me that Dr. Fisher was a good friend and that he'd already spoken privately to him about our situation. It made me uneasy, though out of all the board members, Dr. Fisher was the one I respected most.
"Are you ready?" Jack was a steady anchor. I looked up to him and nodded.
"Let's get this over with."
In step, we walked up the hallway, though we weren't touching at the moment. Just having him near me was enough to make me feel grounded and stable. As far as I was concerned, my future was set now. The ring on my finger meant Jack had finally committed to me, and while it made my own insecurities poke their nasty heads up, I knew this time would be different. Jack and I had spoken already about how I feared he'd leave me. And just like I made him a promise to never hurt him the way he'd been hurt by his ex, he promised me that he wouldn’t leave me the way Sam had.
Jack opened the boardroom door and held it for me, and I walked in first. The entire board was seated around the table, as was one of the detectives who was working on the case. Jack shut the door and walked up beside me, and the intensity in the room made me reach for his hand unconsciously. I saw Dr. Fisher's eyes sweep down to where Jack gripped my fingers between his, but he said nothing about it.
"Dr. Stewart, your appointment with us isn't for an hour."
"Dr. Fisher," Jack said as he squeezed my hand, "Dr. Sutton and I prefer to do this together. If you don't mind."
Dr. Fisher again looked at our clasped hands, and I noticed a few other board members looking too. None of them looked angry or upset, but they all kept serious expressions. This was a huge black cloud over the entire hospital, and I knew they were tense about how to handle it. Patients couldn't trust this place to keep them safe, and it was affecting their bottom dollar now.
"Well, I suppose that's fine." Dr. Fisher took a deep breath and spread his hands in front of himself. "As you can see, we are all here to discuss the issue, Dr. Sutton, of your mistake and how it has affected both your patient and this hospital."
My body felt heavy, like a lead weight had been tied to me and tethered me to the floor. "My mistake" had cost me prescription privileges, but that was only the tip of the iceberg as far as the butterfly effect it had caused for everyone else. I was just glad they were calling it a mistake and not a crime. I kept my mouth shut, but I chewed the inside of my cheek.
"You will be happy to know you have been cleared of wrongdoing by both the hospital board of trustees and the police department." The minute the words left Dr. Fisher's mouth, I breathed in relief, releasing all the worry I'd been carrying around in my chest.
"So, what happened?" I asked and instantly felt like I was speaking out of turn, but I had to know.
"We can't release details, as this is an ongoing investigation," said the detective, "but just know the medications in the syringe you used to give your patient her prescription were swapped for something that was most certainly not an antibiotic, as you believed it to be."
I got cold chills when he said that. Someone really was trying to set me up, but who? I hadn't done anything to anyone other than to investigate the deaths of two previous patients. The only person who stuck in my mind was Dr. Blake. She hated me until the day I made that mistake and then suddenly wanted to cozy up to me and comfort me, which was really strange.
"Who was it, then? Was it Dr. Blake?" I asked, again speaking out of turn, but I had to know. She was the one who did this. She had to be.
Jack squeezed my hand again, a gentle reminder to follow his lead, not charge into the fray unarmed. I'd gotten so hung up on Farah being the one to blame because of her morbid comments that I refused any other evidence. In my mind, it was her, even when Jack pointed out that she was a good doctor, or when Michael insisted she was a great human being.
"It was not." Dr. Fisher cleared his throat and glanced around at the other board members before continuing. "We have video of a nurse entering the pharmacy on each occasion." He swallowed hard while scowling and added, "Dr. Samuel Gooding told us how he found a few other instances of mysterious deaths where patients had been given potassium chloride that later resulted in death. Those were deemed accidental or natural causes, but we are going to look into them as well."
The satisfaction I derived from that statement was on par with the feeling of contentment I had knowing Jack and I were officially together. My hard work had paid off, even if Sam had been the one to get the credit. But it did frustrate me that my assumption about Farah had been off. They were trying to finger a nurse for it, but which one? I had to rack my brain as Jack asked a few questions and the board responded to him.
Then it hit me. Naomi was there the time the second patient died. She acted weird then, and I wondered what her problem was. Then I saw her in the hallway outside my patient’s room just before I went in there to give Mrs. Maier the meds.
"Naomi," I breathed, and then I covered my mouth. Dr. Fisher didn’t have to say anything. I knew based on the look on his face that I was right. This whole time, I just thought she was weird, even when Jack had to scold her that day, even when she was more than willing to skirt the rules and change my patient's meds for me.
"Now, the investigation has gone another direction, and the two of you are good. Just be open to answering any questions that might come up." Dr. Fisher folded his hands together again and raised his eyebrows. "As far as the matter of Dr. Sutton's paperwork?—"
"If you don't mind," Jack said, interrupting. Dr. Fisher stopped and peered at us for a moment and then again dropped his eyes to where we were joined together in a firm handhold. He didn't say anything, and Jack continued. "I would first like to apologize to the board for mishandling Dr. Sutton's paperwork.
"I asked her to join my team to help me. I believed one of my interns may have been responsible for the death of my patient, and I wanted Dr. Sutton to become very friendly with them in the interest of getting more insider information." He cleared his throat. "I was wrong for assuming I could handle things myself. Dr. Sutton is a fantastic surgeon and a full-fledged board-certified doctor in her own right."
"Yes, Dr. Stewart, we are well aware of that." One of the older women around the table looked down her nose at Jack, and Dr. Fisher held up a calming hand.
"Go on, Dr. Stewart." Dr. Fisher gestured, and Jack continued. I was nervous, shifting from one foot to the other. This room felt stuffy and small. I wanted this to hurry up and be over because I thought I might throw up again.
"Dr. Sutton and I would also like to make our official statement to the board that we are seeing each other. It happened sort of accidentally, and we don't want to be in violation of hospital policy." The entire time he spoke, he never pulled away. It felt like he was already keeping his promise. He had no idea how comforting that was to my heart that had been deserted before.
A few of the board members murmured among themselves and ignored Dr. Fisher's attempts to quiet them. So Jack spoke over them.
"I would like to continue to employ Dr. Sutton, but as my partner here at the hospital. She could head her own surgical team, teach her own interns. I believe Cambridge could benefit from having her talent and expertise." He stood with his shoulders squared as finally, the board settled and Dr. Fisher got them under control. The detective smirked and hid it behind a palm, and it made me snicker.
"Dr. Stewart, while your behavior in regard to Dr. Sutton's paperwork is genuinely concerning, I can understand how you felt backed into a corner. That said, the board has already decided that we will look past it. Given your circumstance and the stress you were under with the lawsuit, we won't pursue any consequences for you.
"Regarding your relationship with Dr. Sutton now, should we continue to employ her, you will have to go through the proper channels in HR to have the paperwork filed. You understand this means you will both be under scrutiny? That you'll be held to higher standards than other doctors?" Dr. Fisher's eyebrows went up again, and Jack and I both answered at the same time.
"Yes, sir."
"Of course.”
He stood behind the table and leaned on it. His presence was menacing to me, but Jack didn't shy away, nor did he remove his hand from mine.
"Your proposal to keep Dr. Sutton in the department as a partner is an interesting one and something the board will have to discuss. She certainly is an asset. Now, we have other business to tend to, and I'm sure the two of you need to get to your rounds. Dr. Sutton, your privileges are no longer suspended. You will both hear from us before the week's end."
We walked out of the board room with some relief, but still, questions. I knew Jack would fight for me, but ultimately, it wouldn't be his decision. I worried I'd have to do a job search, and I wasn't sure how many thoracic surgeon jobs were available in Boston. But at least Jack and I were together. Now to tell Dad…