Chapter 2 #2
It would be unprofessional of her to match tone, but Dr. Victoria Ellis, M.D.
, F.A.C.S., was really starting to get Anna’s back up.
She looked down at the file in her lap and composed herself.
“Dr. Ellis, you’ve been asked to see me today because yesterday, several hospital personnel reported that you were experiencing some emotional distress following the loss of a patient. ”
“Did they?” One perfect blonde eyebrow went up. “How odd.”
“You’re saying you didn’t?” Anna looked up, keeping her face neutral.
“If I did, I don’t see why it would be any concern to anyone else.” The continued composure, the icy stillness… it would be impressive, if it weren’t an absolute red flag.
“If it’s affecting your ability to perform surgery, then that would be of concern to many people. Including your superior,” Anna replied.
A flash of anger lit up the cool blue eyes. “A minor aberration following an absolutely uncalled-for assault on my abilities and personality by a patient’s family.”
“It is unfortunate that the Jennings family felt the need to take their loss out on you.” Anna had read the report of the altercation, written by one of the admissions desk nurses.
It had been a deeply unpleasant read, so she could only imagine that experiencing it in person would have been excruciating.
“I understand they’ve submitted a formal written apology. ”
“Have they. Interesting.” Victoria’s full lips pressed tightly together.
“I also have a report here indicating that you had something akin to a panic attack in a stairwell?” Anna flipped through the pages. “Do you want to talk about that?”
“Damn it, Hayley Milton,” Victoria muttered, pinching her mouth even more tightly.
“No, I do not in fact wish to talk about that, or about any of this. Dr. Monroe, I had one less than stellar day, behaved somewhat out of character for the first time in my fifteen-year career here at Oakridge, and suddenly, I’m supposed to talk about my feelings with a psychologist in a Laura Ashley skirt and Nine West ballet flats? ”
Anna looked down at her clothing, mildly astonished to be twitted in this way by a medical professional.
“Well, I don’t think my clothing has anything to do with this.
” Except that it is a very interesting look into your defense mechanisms. “Dr. Martin actually observed your meltdown in the operating room. She certainly seems to think that it warranted further evaluation, so that it doesn’t happen again. ”
“Which of course, it won’t.” Anyone else who didn’t want to go through therapy might have thrown their hands into the air in frustration.
Victoria Ellis simply rolled her marvelous blue eyes.
“I’ve lost several patients in my career, Dr. Monroe.
It’s an unfortunate reality of my profession.
As is the occasional confrontational family.
I am perfectly capable of managing myself.
One poor day doesn’t define me as a person.
” She stood up. “I have a full day ahead. If you’ll excuse me? ”
“We have an hour booked,” Anna said mildly, not leaving her chair. “I genuinely suggest you complete it. It’s hardly been fifteen minutes.”
“It has been fifteen minutes longer than this entire farce warrants,” Victoria snapped. Bending down, she picked up her bag and coat. “I’ve got lives to save, Dr. Monroe. I feel that’s a better use of my time.”
Head held high, she swept imperiously out of Anna’s office, heels clacking down the corridor.
Anna took another long breath into her nose and closed her eyes.
Her next appointment was a coffee meeting with Elaine Martin, and she was not at all looking forward to discussing just how very poorly this session had gone.
She let her breath out and inhaled again, noticing the delicious scent of a very expensive perfume lingering in the air.
A clean floral, with a hint of citrusy warmth.
Again, the odd pull of interest tugged in her stomach.
Dr. Victoria Ellis was certainly an infuriating woman, but Anna couldn’t deny she also presented a deeply interesting challenge…
something that had always gotten her in trouble in the past. “Lord help me,” she breathed, shaking her head.
“We got a long road ahead of us, don’t we? ”
In the Staff Wellness clinic lounge, Dr. Martin was shaking her head over her cup of decaf chai, her halo of gray-blond curls bobbing gently.
“Oh, no, I didn’t expect this initial appointment to go well at all,” she chuckled.
“Fifteen minutes was actually twice as much time as I expected you to get out of her.”
Anna sat back with her mug of oolong, surprised. “Oh.”
Elaine’s smile was compassionate. “Don’t get me wrong, Dr. Monroe. You have an excellent reputation for getting the most difficult doctors to cooperate.” She leaned forward and offered Anna a reassuring pat on the knee. “But our Victoria, well. She’s quite the force.”
“I won’t argue that point.” Anna took a sip of her tea, savoring the delicate array of flavors that washed over her tongue. “I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who has presented quite the challenge that I suspect she does.”
“It’s interesting,” Elaine mused, her face thoughtful. “I find that very often, it’s us heart doctors that are the toughest nuts to crack. It’s as if we handle so many hearts, that we know how easily damaged they can be, so we do our level best to protect our own in every possible way.”
“But every nut can be cracked,” Anna observed.
“Too right. And I saw Victoria crack myself, on the OR floor.” A tiny frown of concern furrowed Elaine’s gentle brow.
“Which I fear means she’s going to build up her walls twice as high and twice as thick.
I do hate to put you through the wringer, Dr. Monroe, but I need Victoria to be healthy in every way.
Her way of going on… it’s not sustainable.
She’s one of my top surgeons. I not only can’t afford to lose her to a mental breakdown, I’d hate to see her go through one. She’s too gifted and bright for that.”
Anna looked down at her mug and toyed with the handle. “I can’t promise anything. I mean, if she doesn’t want to be helped, you can send her to me for two sessions a week for a year and we wouldn’t get anywhere.”
“I believe you can work wonders. Not miracles, I know neither of us believe in those.” Elaine smiled.
“But I think with what I’ve heard about you, that if anyone can get through Victoria’s walls and start helping her to stop being quite so cut off and hard on herself, it’s you.
You can figure out what makes her tick. And you can head off what is otherwise certain disaster. ”
Not too much with the pressure there, Doc. “A rather big bill for me to fill there, don’t you think?” She kept her tone light even as a pit of nerves opened up in her stomach.
“I think if anyone can do this, it’s you,” Dr. Martin reiterated simply. “But please feel free to let me know if it’s too much, or if you’re running into any insurmountable obstacles. I’m happy to help support you through this if I can.”
Anna couldn’t help but smile. “I don’t usually get this kind of backup from the department heads who send me their damaged doctors.”
“That’s a pity. Even counselors deserve to be counseled, if they need it.” Elaine stood up and set aside her now-empty cup. “Thank you for the lovely chai. I’m so pleased you had decaf available, nobody else has ever thought to.”
“Well, you’re entirely welcome, Dr. Martin.
I’m happy I had something for you. I like to keep a good variety.
” Despite her stress over figuring out how to help Victoria Ellis, Anna found she was enjoying this time with Elaine Martin.
She could see the iron will under the velvet glove, but knew now that it was always only ever wielded wisely.
She did feel confident that if she had to approach Elaine about Victoria, that she would indeed get any help Elaine could provide.
“It was a real pleasure to meet with you today,” she added, speaking sincerely as she also stood and extended her hand.
“I think we’re going to be good friends, Dr. Monroe.” Elaine took Anna’s hand and shook it. “Please, call me Elaine.”
“Anna.”
“Splendid.” Elaine beamed. “Now. I’ve got to go track Victoria down and give her what she’s undoubtedly going to see as very unwelcome news. But rest assured that you will be seeing her again, quite soon.”
“Good luck,” Anna called after her as she left.
Then she sat back down, elbow on the table and chin in hand, thinking hard.
Figuring out her way in was always the hardest, most delicate part of any treatment.
Apart from very guarded conversations with Elaine, she actually wouldn’t really be able to consult any of Victoria’s colleagues or, however remote the possibility of their existence seemed, her friends.
And she did not feel that Victoria would be particularly forthcoming on personal details for at least their first few sessions.
“Stalking it is, then,” Anna said aloud with a rueful chuckle.
Not her favorite method, and not something she was particularly good at; being clandestine wasn’t exactly a specialty for someone who generally wore her heart on her sleeve.
And Victoria, as excellent a surgeon as she purportedly was, would certainly be observant enough to spot Anna lurking around her, and she would almost definitely not like this at all.
But sometimes, being a nosy irritant itself was a good way in.
And this early in their professional acquaintance, it wasn’t as if Anna had anything to lose.
She checked her calendar in her phone; no appointments until after lunch.
That would give her more than enough time to wander up to the Cardio Wing and take a little gander at the whiteboard on the wall, see if she could surreptitiously work out a schedule for observing Dr. Victoria Ellis at work.
“Just a bit of light stalking,” she chortled, getting to her feet.
There was no time to waste.