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Chapter Five
Margo
Margo had spent the day after Thanksgiving off to spend with her family and catch up on sleep, but now she was headed back into the ER. The streets in Alexandria were recently decorated with holiday wreaths on the light poles and twinkling lights over storefronts, as if Santa’s helpers spent the night decorating for Christmas. It was her favorite time of the year because it always felt like there was a chance for holiday magic.
She’d been relieved and disappointed she didn’t see Drake again before her day off, but it was for the best, for her heart. He’d been more flirtatious than she would have expected from someone that left her behind. Seeing him again distracted her and proved some wounds didn’t really heal with time. Even twelve years hadn’t helped her get over him. But she needed to forget about Drake, focus on her work, and figure out what she was going to do next. After every day off, it seemed tougher and tougher to come back to work. She loved being a doctor, but the ten- to twelve-hour shifts, intense pace, and often heartbreaking cases had taken their toll on her.
As she walked through the ambulance bay, out of the cold, she smiled at the familiar paramedics and made her way to the doctor’s lounge. She was early for her shift and brought fresh roasted espresso beans as a treat for the other doctors. Once the aroma filled the air, she poured herself a cup, added a healthy splash of candy-cane-flavored creamer, and she had a perfect morning coffee loaded in her favorite festive mug. She even managed to wear fresh, unwrinkled scrubs.
She had been notified via email there was a new fifth-year resident joining the emergency department today, and it was her job, along with Dalton, to get them trained up for possible selection as a permanent physician to join the team. She was motivated more than ever to select highly skilled doctors now that the idea to try something new had taken root in her mind. If she did leave the ER, she would want to feel like she was leaving it in great hands.
“It’s going to be a great day,” she whispered to herself, standing in the doctor’s lounge blowing on her hot cup. She let her shoulders sag as she inhaled the sweet, rich, aroma.
“Dr. Monroe, may I have a word?” a familiar, smooth, baritone voice said from over her shoulder before she could take her first sip. She set the cup down on the counter, and spun around.
Like a dream, he stood with his dark, thick hair mussed just enough to look stylishly disheveled. His black eyes revealed nothing, and his lush lips were pursed in a tight line. The faint cleft in his chin only made him look more like Prince Charming than the real fictional character.
“Drake?”
“I just wanted to say before we started that I appreciate you being willing to work with me in the emergency department. It’s very professional of you,” he said, with no hint of humor. “And I’m not mad at you for not telling me about my mom’s illness when I was in LA. But you could have said something since I saw you this week.”
Her shoulders stiffened, her breath caught in her throat, and she noticed he was wearing the mint-green scrubs with the Mercy insignia on them. This could not be happening.
“What do you mean working in the emergency department?” she croaked.
He crossed his arms. “They didn’t tell you yet?” There was a hint of mischief in his brooding eyes.
“They didn’t tell me what? I was told I have a new fifth year with extensive experience joining the team today.” She trailed off.
“That would be me, your new resident.”
“Why? You live in LA. You’re a plastic surgeon.”
“I’ve been considering a new challenge, and I need to stick around for a bit to see how my mom responds to her treatments.”
Which meant he was only planning to stick around temporarily. There was no way he would leave his lucrative and famous career in LA for good. But for now he was going to intrude on her chaotic but Drake-free emergency room.
Picking up her coffee cup, she took a huge gulp and let the piping-hot liquid burn down her throat to stifle her desire to cry. Her mind raced. Why hadn’t she asked more questions about who the last-minute addition was? Could she shirk him off on Dalton? Would she survive working every day with Drake?
“But you’re not moving back? You’re not going to take a permanent job at Mercy in the emergency department, so why put yourself through fifth year work?”
“I’m considering a change, and the director of Mercy agreed to a two-month trial split between the plastic surgery department and ER. Then I get a feel for the hospital and emergency work, see what I’m missing in LA. Mercy gets a feel for me and tries to convince me to stay on in the plastic surgery department.”
His confidence wasn’t cocky but still abundant. He knew full well Mercy would benefit from having his expertise and was likely aware they always had a deficit of seasoned doctors in the ER. She wanted to ask what he was hoping to find, but she didn’t dare.
“And I just wanted to be clear. I understand why you didn’t call me to tell me my mom was sick, even though I wish you had.”
“Drake, you know damn well it would have been unethical for me to tell you, not to mention your mom asked me not to tell anyone.”
“Right, so I’m not mad. Actually, I appreciate you being there for her. I just wish both of you had known you could come to me.”
Words were forming in her mind, but nothing was coming out. She’d thought he’d be furious or at the very least upset when he found out that she had known and gone with his mom to several appointments. He was letting her off the hook, but why?
“Fine, so you’re going to play at being a fifth year again for a few weeks. That’s your call. But I think you’ll find the ER in particular is governed by a strict set of rules and procedures. It gets chaotic here, and if you don’t know how to do something, don’t wing it.”
“Got it.”
“And there is a policy for residents. You can’t date the nurses or other residents assigned to the emergency department. It always causes too much drama.”
