“We need to get this over with. I have a consult later this morning and a surgery this afternoon.”
“Nose job, right?”
He nodded. “You can ditch Jeffries’ hip replacement and assist me instead.”
Giggling, I shook my head. “We’ve talked about this. Dr. Jeffries is already expecting me.”
He frowned but didn’t protest any further.
A minute later, the heads of the hospital walked in along with the chief of surgery and an older man who didn’t look familiar. I was surmising this must be the new consultant when Jacob’s abrupt movement to my left had me looking over at him instead.
His back was ramrod straight as he stared ahead, glaring at the man. Tension filled his body just that quickly and the guy hadn’t even said anything.
“Thank you all for coming in on time,” the hospital’s president began. “As you know, Memorial Hospital has decided to hire a consultant to help us determine how we can improve operations and better serve our patients. We have decided the most critical departments to start with are the emergency department and the surgical unit, which is why we’ve asked you all to join us. I would like to take this time to introduce you to Daniel Reynolds from Healthcare Solutions. Mr. Reynolds comes to us all the way from the West Coast, and is delighted to be joining our team for a while to help Memorial be the best hospital it can be. Mr. Reynolds, please introduce yourself.”
The president stepped aside, holding out his hand to Mr. Reynolds who then took his place at the center of the lecture stage.
Reynolds.
I turned again to Jacob who was sitting still as a statue. His face appeared as if it was made out of granite. The scowl that he’d always worn when I first met him was back, and though I couldn’t see them from this angle, I imagined the dark storm clouds that were often in his eyes were in full force.
Jacob is from the West Coast,my brain reminded me.
He had grown up in Washington, the Seattle area. I turned to look down at the man who was now speaking about his record as a consultant with various hospitals around the country, and his career in the healthcare industry prior to starting his own company. Squinting, I tried to ascertain whether or not I could glean any resemblance between the man down front and the man sitting next to me.
But I didn’t need to. Once Mr. Reynold’s eyes circled the room as if searching for something while he continued to talk, they paused … or rather, hesitated, when he peered up and his gaze landed on Jacob. The movement of his feet halted and he stumbled slightly, but he quickly recovered. It was obvious then that this man was related to Jacob. And I would venture to guess, by the way Jacob glared at him, this Daniel Reynolds was his father.
****
Jacob
“What the hell are you doing here?” I growled at the man who dared to enter my office.
My father’s lips pinched, and a crease appeared in his forehead.
“Jacob, you left the room before I could get a chance to speak with you. You didn’t even bother to come say hello.”
“Did you honestly expect me to?” I shoved my hands into the pocket of my scrubs.
The displeased expression on his face deepened, causing me to scoff even more.
“Jacob, we haven’t seen you or your brother in years. It is not fair—”
“Fair?” I paused to gather myself, and lowered my voice, stepping closer to my father. “You want to talk about fucking fair?”
“Listen, son, I know I wasn’t around a lot when you were younger, and your mother … well, she had unconventional ways of raising you two boys, but we wanted the best for you—”
“Unconventional?Are you out of your—” Inhaling again, I pulled my gaze away from my father. I centered my gaze on the familiar sight of my office, my name placard on my desk, and the stack of patient files directly behind it. All of this reminding me that I was no longer a child, living in his home, at the mercy of his absenteeism and my mother’s destructive and soul-crushing rearing.
Slowly, I exhaled, peering back up at my father.
“Jacob, today is not a day you should be spending without family. It’s your—”
“Do you know what I told that bitch the last time I laid eyes on her?”
My father’s eyes ballooned. “Do not refer to your mo—”
“Do you know what I said to her?” I growled while I stepped closer, getting directly in his face since we both stood at six-feet-two inches. “I told her that if sheevertried to contact me again, I’d tell you and anyone elseexactlywho she was.”
