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“Do you have a minute?”
“Sure. But just a couple.”
I don’t bother taking a seat. “I’d appreciate your confidentiality on what I’m about to say.”
He runs his hand across his forehead and leans back in his chair, studying me cautiously. “Of course.”
“I need to be taken off the final decision-making process for trauma fellows.”
His hands fold in his lap, and he stares at me as if my words aren’t making sense. “How come?”
“Because I’m in a relationship with Katy Barrows.”
He doesn’t react. Not even a deep breath or twitch of his eye. “How long has that been going on?”
“A couple of months. It began shortly after I started here.” I don’t tell him Katy is pregnant. It’s too new, and frankly, it doesn’t matter right now.
“Jesus, Bennett. Really?”
“I know the position?—”
“Do you, though?” After a long, suspended look, he sits up, resting his forearms on his desk and shuffling a few papers around. “You realize she’s your resident, and we have rules about that.”
“Yes. I do.”
“And I take it I don’t have to remind you about the condition for your hire?”
“No. You don’t.”
Slowly, he raises his chin, his gaze relocking with mine. “Which means this is serious enough to you to not only pull yourself out of the decision-making process for the fellowship you oversee, but you’re willing to risk your position here for her?”
“Yes, sir, I am. I’m in love with her. And while I love being here and I love my work as a trauma surgeon, I won’t risk her future for mine. If I kept my mouth shut and word of our relationship got out, we’d both be done. Katy deserves that fellowship. I would have recommended her for it regardless of our relationship. She’s smart, thoughtful, good with students, patients, and their families, and has by far the most talent of any fifth-year in her program. But ethically, I can’t recommend her for the position she deserves without compromising her integrity and my own.”
Now he sighs, displeasure all over his face. “What happens if she gets this fellowship? I agree, she’s earned it. I’ve known Katy a long time and she’s incredibly talented and hard-working. She takes no handouts despite the fact that her family is all over this hospital,and the staff adore her.”
I shrug. “Then she’s a fellow, and I’m an attending. We certainly wouldn’t be the first couple in that situation nor the last, and fellows don’t require the same oversight as residents do. But I can promise, as we’ve done so far during our relationship, we’ll keep it outside the walls of the hospital.”
That’s sort of a lie. I’ve had Katy all over this hospital in a million different ways, but no one knows about that but us.
“Bennett…” He trails off, sighs again, and then stands. “I hired you because I believed you when you told me those accusations were lies propagated by your ex-wife. Now you’re telling me you’re involved with a resident.”
I fold my arms over my chest and lean farther into the door. “One has nothing to do with the other. But if you’re going to punish anyone, punish me. Not Katy. She deserves everything she’s worked for and more.”
He grunts, putting his hands on his hips. “Do her uncle and stepmother know about you?”
“Yes, they do. All of her family knows.”
He stares at the floor for a very long, tense minute, and then finally he says, “Okay. I’m taking you off final decision-making for fellows. You’ll still be part of the interview process, but ultimately, the decision won’t be yours.”
“Thank you, Evan.”
His gaze meets mine, sharp and inscrutable. “Don’t thank me, Bennett. I’m not firing you yet, but don’t give me another reason to change my mind. This hospital cannot handle a scandal, and Katy Barrows with her family connections will hit the news. I will keep this between us because once word gets out, it won’t be good for either of you. Cricket Peterson especially won’t let that go. Keep your home life separate from work, and I trust this will be the last conversation like this that we’ll have to have.”
I nod, hearing his warning or threat or whatever you want to call it loud and clear, and leave his office. A sense of foreboding sits heavy on my chest. Katy will likely start showing around the time the fellowship decision is made, and once that happens, questions will start coming in.
But more than that, how long can a secret like this keep without it spilling?
Chapter Twenty-Four
