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She did just receive her fall clerkship schedules this morning, and yes, she is in the emergency room at MGH for her rotation.
“Maybe,” I whisper, gathering her back into my arms and holding her against me as I press my lips to her hairline. “All I know is that it involves you and it involves me.”
Which is why I’m at my wit’s end. Seconds turn into minutes. My knee is bouncing, and the incessant tick of the goddamn clock making me more and more agitated.Finally, the door swings open, and in he waltzes, heavy steps along with the cloying scent of cigar smoke clinging to him.
“Callan.” He claps me on the back as he passes. “I appreciate you coming in. Sorry to keep you waiting.”
I still my bouncing knee and sit up straight. “Not a problem, sir.”
He takes his seat, the wheels of his office chair sliding back a foot as he drops his sausage fingers onto his round stomach. “I’m not going to beat around the bush. I have two reasons for bringing you in here this morning.”
My pulse spikes.
“The first is the easy one,” he continues. “I’ve received tremendous feedback from our board and students about your work in the classroom. I’d like to offer you a permanent position here at the medical school.” He holds up his hand, stopping me before I can politely decline, but that’s not what I was about to do. I’m too shocked by the offer to do much of anything other than stare bewilderedly at the man. Shifting in his chair, he scoots himself in and drops his forearms to his desk. “I know you told me you weren’t interested, but the raving reviews I’ve gotten from your students rival those of Dr. Lawrence and far exceed those of other first-year professors.”
If he’s offering me a job, that means he doesn’t know about me and Layla. He can’t.
Relief cools the adrenaline that had been thrumming through my veins, and I take a deep, steadying breath. “Sir, while I’m beyond flattered and quite frankly a bit floored by that, I’m not sure I am the best fit for this role. My focus and passion have always resided in my work in the hospital doing direct patient care. I only agreed to fill in out of respect to Dr. Lawrence.”
His head bobs, and he picks up his Monte Blanc pen, tapping it lightly against the base of his keyboard. “I assumed you’d say something along those lines to me. But please, do me a favor and consider it for a day or two before making your final decision.”
“I can do that,” I concede, and he gives me an absent grin, only for it to instantly slip from my lips.
“Now onto the second part of this. Murphy Wallace.”
And just like that, everything speeds back up, but this time in shock “What about her, sir? I thought you mentioned Miss Fritz to me in your message last night.”
He leans back in his chair once more, but his unwavering gaze tells me he’s anything but relaxed. “First, I’d like to hear your impression of her.”
I shake my head. “Which student?”
“Let’s start with Layla Fritz and go from there.”
Immediately I feel like this is a trap. Like there is no good answer and everything I say will be a setup.
“My impression of Layla Fritz as a student here at the school, in my emergency department, or in general?” I toss back at him.
“The first one and we’ll work our way through the rest.”
I refrain from wiping my hands on my thighs as I sit up a bit straighter and tell him the truth. “I’m a bit confused,” I admit. “Who are we discussing here today?”
“Both students. You see, Murphy Wallace is failing. Her simulator scores are horrendous, and so are her case studies.”
“I know about her case studies. I’m also relatively sure she’s copying and pasting straight from Google in them.”
He nods at me. “Murphy Wallace claims your case studies are unfairly difficult.”
I scoff at that, my eyebrows raised in challenge. “Unfairly difficult? These are actual case studies from when I was an intern and resident, and this is Harvard Medical School. I seem to remember my professors doing something similar when I was here.”
I get a crooked grin, almost as if I’m complimenting him, which I sort of am. Dr. Scabowitz was my second-year professor when I was a student here. “Yesterday, I confronted her about her scores, informing her that she’s officially on probation and that if her scores don’t improve, she’s gone before second-year starts.”
“I’m in agreement with that. But what does that have to do with Layla Fritz?”
He taps his pen twice and then drops it on the desk. “Murphy then came back to me with an accusation. She claims Layla Fritz cheats on her case studies. I know she’s not only your student here but your student at the hospital, which is why I’d like your opinion of her.”
Anger flares up inside me, but I do my best to quell it and answer him with an even tone. “Layla doesn’t cheat.”
“So you don’t believe that accusation has any merit?”
