Matt pointed at me. "Hestartedit."
I glanced down at my stained clothes, shaking my head. Alex would've had something to sayaboutthis.
"I have to go," I said, gaining my feet. "Lauren, thank you for talking. Matt, yes, to answer your question. Yes, definitely. Absolutely. We're going to keep it that way." I checked the time on my phone. "I have to go. I need to see Alex. I'm ready. I'm reallyreadynow."
Lauren took the seat I'd gracelessly vacated, and set the coffee and yogurt in front of Matt. "I'll text you about that other thing," she said. "We'll make someplans."
Matt, to his credit, focused on stirring hiscoffee.
"Andy, too," I replied. "Start a group chat. You and Andy, and me. We'll figure out something good, and then loop in theothers."
I didn't wait for a response, instead hauling my ass out of there as fast I could manage without inciting anothercatastrophe.
ChapterThirty
Alexandra
Iwason the hunt for surgeries. Anything to keep my mind—and hands—busy. I didn't care whether it was interesting. I'd take a procedure as simple as a hot appendix or some basic suturing in the ER. Whatever it took to avoid my empty, joyless apartment and push off dinner with myparents.
Of course, I was already committed to dinner tonight and all day tomorrow so I wasn't blowing them off for obstructed bowels. Just delaying the inevitable questions about my boyfriend's vanishing act and when I'd be finding aniceguy andsettlingdown.
Except I didn't want a nice guy. I wanted the man who was kind and loving, quirky as all hell, and an absolute fuckingbeast.
Too bad that beast wantedsomeoneelse.
Staring at the surgical schedule, I spied three different cases where my residents were slated to assist. They could live without biopsying a gallbladder or patching up an ulcerated stomach today. I'd motioned to the nurse who ran the board—the only one permitted to change a damn thing—when a hand landed onmyhead.
"Are you robbing your residents of procedures again?" Hartshornasked.
I pivoted under his hold and glanced up at him. "It won't kill them to run labs or catch up on charting today," I replied. "I spoil them. You know it's true. I never keep the good surgeries for myself when teachable moments are involved. They owe me a day or two ofhoarding."
He offered a vague murmur and shook his head. "How many appies have you pulledthisweek?"
I jerked a shoulder up. "A few,"Isaid.
Seven. I'd removed seven inflamedappendixes.
"But you were the one who taught me that it's essential to take routine cases to keep your skills sharp," I added. "You used a metaphor about chefs who forget how to dice carrots when they spend their days running the kitchen and imagining newdishes."
He folded his arms across his chest. "You haven't forgotten how to dice the carrots,Emmerling."
"I haven't," I admitted, softening under hisstare.
"Then go home," he said. "Your residents know how topageyou."
"But I need to stay busy right now." I held up my hands and let them fall to my hips. "I get the sense you understand that phenomenon because it's Saturday morning and you're lurking around the surgicalwing,too."
Nodding, Hartshorn turned his attention to the board. It seemed like he'd dropped the topic for a minute, but then he said, "Riley's at yourapartment."
I turned, gaping at him as if he'd said the Pope was preaching in Copley Square. "What do you mean, he'sat myapartment?"
He didn't respond right away, instead touching his index finger to each surgery listed, one after another. I understood many of his methods but none of his madness, and stood silently while he studied the scribbled details. Patient name, procedure, anesthesia type, attending physician, surgeon, scrubnurse.
But my greater concern was whether Riley was loitering around my building. Hartshorn had a key to my place, and it was possible that he'd let Riley hang out on my couch. Not likely, but possible nonetheless. None of that was good news for me. At some point today, I'd have to stop at home to change into clothing appropriate for an evening out with my parents because scrubs wouldn't cut it. I didn't want to also dodge Riley while coming andgoing.
Hartshorn finally tore his gaze from the board and glanced at his watch. "He's been theresincenine."
I leaned back as the velocity of that information hit me. "I'm going to need more specific details,please."
