Page 75 of The Love Operation

“I have the strong urge to slice his tires. Because this isn’t fair.”

I appreciate Dahlia taking a stance with me. We’re a team.

“We just need to breathe and think.”

In the quiet of us both trying to calm our rage, my phone pings.

I hold the screen so we can read the email reply together.

Dr. Wren,

These changes were approved at the executive level as part of a department-wide restructuring. Your previous concerns regarding scheduling fairness were a key discussion point. We trust that you will adapt accordingly.

Sincerely,

Russell Vaughn, MD

Chief of Surgery

Lockewood University Medical Center

“Passive-aggressive prick!” Dahlia says.

If they wanted a rise out of me, they succeeded.

“Can you get everything ready for our case this morning?” I ask Dahlia. “I’m going to talk to administration.”

I stride down the hall, then text Isaac.

Me: Are you at the hospital?

Isaac: Just got to my office. Need something?

That’s all I needed to know. I don’t respond. When he calls a second later, I don’t answer. This needs to be in person.

I reach his office, push the door open, and step inside without knocking. I leave it open. Let people hear. This is business.

His head snaps up from his phone, and he stands.

I don’t waste time. “Vaughn said the OR-block time changes were approved by the executive team. Tell me you didn’t sign off on this.”

He pales slightly, and my anger ignites like dry kindling.

“I didn’t have a choice,” he says calmly, quietly, like he’d prefer if I kept my voice down too.

In the corner of my eye, I catch movement—Isaac’s assistant settling behind her desk.

I turn back to him. “You always have a choice. And this was a really bad one. Undo it.”

His jaw tightens. He rounds his desk and closes the door. “Cord, I can’t.”

“Like hell you can’t.” I step closer, heat rising between us, but the only fire I feel is rage.

“Listen to me,” he says. “Shephard is up Vaughn’s ass. He presented a new schedule to Vaughn, trying to prove he’s a ‘man of action’ and paint you as all talk. Vaughn brought it to the team. I saw where they put you, and I said something, tried to argue about it. They nearly accused me of playing favorites. I had no choice.”

I gape at him, heart threatening to thump right out of my chest. “This shouldn’t have anything to do with us. This is about the administration doing what’s right for the hospital. My words are being twisted against me. I meant we should use data. Objectively—I should be getting the best OR times. I was willing to share my block time if it meant retaining quality surgeons, but this? This is deliberate sabotage and goes against data entirely. And you let it happen.”

His expression tightens. “I was protecting us.”