We head to the parking lot together, where he waits for me to get safely in my car before heading to his own.
I don’t exhale until he’s out of sight.Only then, I’m finally free to take a full breath.
Chapter 19
Brant
Ididn’tsleepwelllast night.Memories of the moments in my office kept replaying—The way Regan’s hand felt against mine, the way she looked at me like she was waiting for something I couldn’t give her.Or wouldn’t, I’m not sure which is worse.I’ve spent years building walls, keeping people at arm’s length.And then she walks into my life, and suddenly I’m questioning everything.
The conference room is already partially full with department heads, a couple of senior nurses, someone from legal, two finance reps, and the ICU chief, all already in their seats, murmuring over coffee and printed agendas when Regan and I walk in.
I hold my folder close to my chest, fingers tight around the edges.Regan looks around, tense, then bites her thumbnail as we stop at the front of the room.
I lean toward her, close enough to catch the soft scent of her shampoo, clean and a little citrusy.I brush my knuckles lightly against her elbow, just enough to draw her attention.“Just imagine them all in their underwear,” I whisper.“Makes them less scary.”
She drops her hand and gives me a small smirk.“That’s disturbing,” she mutters, but her shoulders relax.
I let my fingers rest a second longer against her arm before pulling back.She doesn’t move away.
Across the table, Dr.Thomas flips through his notes.He has a pen behind his ear and a crease between his eyebrows.He looks up, meets my eyes for half a second, then looks away.
I glance at Regan.“Ready?”
She smooths the protocol sheet in front of her.“As I’ll ever be.”I catch the way her fingers tremble, so I brush my hand against hers briefly, ignoring the jolt that hits me when I do and focus on calming her.Her breath hitches, but she nods.
Dr.Thomas clears his throat.“Let’s begin.We’ve asked Dr.Harrison and Dr.Thomas to lead this quarter’s protocol review.The last two reports flagged performance gaps.We need real solutions.”
Everyone looks at us.I can feel the skepticism.I care until I take a look at her face and see determination there.She’s set, and that fire helps me push out the scrutiny.
Regan nods slightly, giving me the go-ahead.I straighten.
“Thank you,” I begin.“Over the past seventy-two hours, we’ve met with department leads, reviewed the latest data, and built a revised protocol to fix two major issues: post-op medication delays and discharge communication problems.”
I click the remote.The first slide lights up:Medication Delay: The Causes & Process Obstacles.
“We found three primary causes,” I say, clicking through.“Delayed written orders, no pharmacy runners overnight, and poor use of the system to mark urgent medications.”
Regan steps in smoothly.I slide my hand a little behind her on the table, like I’m framing her into the moment with silent support.
“Our proposed fix includes auto-escalation for flagged post-op orders, better training across departments, and adding overnight pharmacy support on rotating shifts.”
Murmurs ripple across the table.A few people nod.It all looks positive, and I wasn’t expecting that.
I move on.“The discharge issue isn’t just between doctor and patient.It’s between departments.We’re recommending a shared checklist so nothing gets missed.”
“We’ve also introduced a final-step confirmation,” Regan adds.“Meaning, nurses and doctors will both sign off before a patient is released.It builds accountability without adding more time to the workflow.”
Someone from legal nods.A finance rep writes something down.Dr.Thomas’s expression is unreadable, but he’s listening closely now, his hand resting near his chin.I think he’s impressed.
We wrap it up with the last slide:Costs and Savings.
Regan takes over to walk through the budget.As she talks, I rest a hand lightly on the edge of her chair behind but not touching her.Resisting the urge to, knowing this isn’t the place.When she finishes, I pick up with a breakdown of how much time we can save, which should improve patient flow and reduce unnecessary overnight stays.
Then we stop.
The room is quiet.Too quiet.Fuck, they hate it.How?I thought we impressed them all.How did I get it so wrong?Regan shifts beside me as we wait for approval, criticism… forsomething.
If this fails, it’s not just a protocol rejection.It’s proof that I can’t lead the way I need to.That I’m still not enough.
