"Thank you," I say to Henderson, though I'm not entirely sure what I'm thanking him for—the second chance, the willingness to consider Sebastian's proposal, or simply not firing us both on the spot.
Henderson nods, already turning his attention to the stack of files on his desk. "Close the door on your way out."
Sebastian's hand finds the small of my back as we exit. The moment the door clicks shut behind us, I round on him, equal parts awestruck and horrified.
"Are you out of your mind?" I whisper furiously. "You just threatened to quit… Over me."
His expression softens and that rare full smile breaks out across his face. "Best career move I've ever made," he says, and the absolute certainty in his voice makes something flutter in my chest. "Besides," he adds, brushing a curl behind my ear, "I meant what I said. Whatever comes next, we face it together."
Chapter 41
Mia
I've been staring at the same spot on Sebastian's office wall for so long that the framed medical degree has started to blur into an indistinct beige rectangle. Three weeks since Sebastian marched into Henderson's office and dropped his career-ending ultimatum. Three weeks of uncertainty, of walking the halls with my badge clipped back in place but the ground still shifting beneath my feet. And now we're here—Arjun, Laney, and me—packed into Sebastian's office like anxious sardines while he meets with Henderson one floor up to learn our fate.
"What about Thai?" Laney asks, thumb scrolling rapidly through options on her phone. "That place on Third has those dumplings you like."
"The ones with the peanut sauce?" Arjun doesn't look up from his own screen. "Last time we went there, the service was slower than my grandmother doing yoga."
I fidget with the edge of my lab coat, picking at a loose thread until it unravels another quarter inch. "Anywhere is fine. I'm not even sure I'll be able to eat."
"You'll eat," Laney says, shooting me a look that leaves no room for argument. "Celebration or consolation, food is non-negotiable."
Arjun snorts. "As if Walker would let them touch a hair on your brilliant head. The man threw Harper against a wall for you. He'll walk before he lets them push you out."
The memory of Sebastian's fierce defense still sends warmth blooming through my chest, even as anxiety claws at my stomach. It's been three weeks of walking a tightrope—back at work but with our status in limbo while Henderson consulted with the board. Three weeks of Sebastian's hand finding mine under conference tables, of stolen kisses in supply closets, of falling into a rhythm together that feels so natural it's hard to remember life before it.
"What time did his meeting start?" I glance at the clock for the sixteenth time in ten minutes.
"Two-thirty," Arjun answers. "Which means they've been at it for approximately..." he checks his watch with exaggerated precision, "forty-seven minutes and twenty-two seconds."
"That's a good sign, right?" I press my palms against my thighs to stop them from trembling. "If they were just going to say no, it wouldn't take this long."
Laney sets her phone down. "Or they're negotiating terms. Maybe figuring out which of your first-born children they get to sacrifice to the hospital gods."
"Not helping," I mutter, but my lips twitch into a reluctant smile. This is why I love Laney; she knows exactly when to pull me out of my own head.
We've fallen into a comfortable pattern, the four of us. Dinners twice a week, Laney and Arjun bickering like siblings while Sebastian watches with that quiet amusement that makes his eyes crinkle at the corners. It feels like family, the kind youchoose, the kind that holds you together when everything else threatens to fall apart.
"So," Laney says, voice dropping conspiratorially, "are we ever going to talk about the fact that you two practically live together now?"
Heat crawls up my neck. "We don't live together. We just... stay at each other's places."
"Every night," Arjun adds helpfully. "Alternating apartments like you're playing some kind of domestic tennis match."
I can't deny it. Sebastian and I have fallen into a rhythm that neither of us planned but neither wants to break. One night at his condo with its absurdly comfortable bed and spectacular city views. The next at my plant-filled apartment where he grumbles about Fitzwilliam that keeps dropping leaves, but waters him anyway when he thinks I'm not looking. We pack overnight bags, leave toothbrushes and spare clothes at each other's places, and somehow it works. I haven't spent a night without him since Montana, and the thought of doing so makes my chest tighten uncomfortably.
"It makes sense logistically," I say defensively, though we all know it's more than that. "Our schedules are crazy enough without trying to coordinate when we can see each other."
"Mmm-hmm." Laney's eyebrows communicate a novel's worth of skepticism. "And I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that you're stupidly in love with each other."
Before I can sputter out a denial—or worse, a confirmation—Arjun saves me.
"Speaking of love stories gone wrong," he says, finally pocketing his phone, "did I tell you Harper cornered me in the cafeteria yesterday? Still ranting about nepotism and favoritism and every other 'ism' he can think of."
I groan, dropping my head into my hands. Harper's reaction when I returned to work had been exactly as awful as I'dexpected. He'd stormed out of our first department meeting, face flushed with rage, shouting about calling his father on the board and making sure "everyone knows what's really going on here." But it’s three weeks later, and nothing's come of his threats. Just sullen glares in the hallway and passive-aggressive notes on patient charts.
"He's all bark," Laney says dismissively. "Besides, everyone knows he's just pissed because Walker exposed him for the mediocre hack he is."
