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“I understand. I’m still pretty pissed after this morning’s meeting.”
If only this morning’s meeting were the sole issue fucking up her day right now.
Actually, this morning’s meetingwasat the crux of it all, because it’s where she’d discovered that Drew would be working in this hospital.
“I guess we should be grateful that the board has brought in this consulting firm,” Aleshia continued. “It would have been a lot worse if they’d decided to just sell the hospital outright.”
Any other day, London would have immediately agreed with her. But when she was still damn near ballistic over her confrontation with Drew, if given the choice between the hospital being privately owned or seeing Drew every day, she might just pick option number one.
“Let me know if you need any help with the bowel obstruction case,” Aleshia offered.
“Thanks,” London said. Once Aleshia left, she returned her attention to the iPad, but then her desk phone rang. “Dr. Kelley,” she answered.
London’s eyes fell shut as she listened to the person on the other end of the line. Ten minutes later, she was sitting in a chair that had seen better days, opposite Dr. Douglas Renault, the man who had convinced her to transfer to the residency program at County following her first year at a private hospital.
After three minutes of waiting for him to get off the phone, London had decided to take a seat, even though he hadn’t given her permission. She and Doug Renault shared a unique relationship. Basically, he allowed her to get away with shit most residents wouldn’t even attempt to pull.
She slouched back in her chair and folded her hands over her stomach as Dr. Renault gave her anI’m almost donelook. A second later, he ended the call.
“Why do I feel as if I’ve been called to the principal’s office?” London asked before he could speak.
“Why are you giving Coleman a hard time?” Renault asked.
“What?” She sat up straight. “I haven’t said a thing to Coleman all day.” Even though she’d wanted to light into him.
“He said you gave him a look in the meeting this morning.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“When you have a reputation for being the squeaky wheel, sometimes you’re heard even when you don’t speak.”
“So, I’m now being called out for the way Ilookat people?”
“We’ve had this conversation before.”
“Yes, we have. And with all due respect, Dr. D—”
“Cut the ‘all due respect’ crap, London. Give it to me straight.”
“Fine,” she said. “You want to know the truth? People like Coleman take the joy out of working here.”
“Coleman has a hard job to do too. This hospital has been running at a deficit for the past decade—”
“So has this country, but no one is talking about selling it to the highest bidder.” Dr. Renault stared at her with a raised brow. “Okay, that was a bad example. Still,” London said. “Coleman and his crew have refused to listen to anyone who’s tried to provide solutions. There’s a group of us who have been working on other paths the hospital can take—myself, Aleshia Williams in Radiology, Lennox Templeton in Ortho, Joslyn—”
Renault held up his hands. “That’s all well and good, but I don’t know how much of a difference that will make with the board of directors. They’re doing what they think is best for the hospital.” He pointed at her. “You have a laundry list of projects you want to implement—something most hospitals wouldn’t even entertain from a resident.”
“It’s because my ideas add value to patient care,” she said.
“It’s because you have more fans on the staff than that NSYNC band, and they all get behind whatever you champion.”
“Umm, again, with all due respect, Dr. D, NSYNC hasn’t released an album in twenty years. And calling other staff members my fans is a bit…icky.”
“How else do you explain it,” he said. “Your influence at this hospital is unprecedented, especially for a resident. You had this rock star aura about you because of that solo cholecystectomy when you were a first-year, and it has only gotten stronger.” He held up his hands. “I’m not saying it’s a bad thing. Just be mindful of it, London. People listen to you. They look up to you.”
London would argue that that surgery four years ago had nothing to do with it. People listened to her because she treated everyone with the dignity and respect they deserved, from the nurses, to the security guards, to the custodians.
“And here’s another thing you need to be mindful of,” Renault continued. “Those ideas you want to implement? They’re good, but they cost money. It sounds as if this new consulting firm may give at least one of those programs a fighting chance, so you’d better choose wisely.”
