I had two thoughts when I first ran into this snarky girl this morning.
One, she’s fresh meat, likely a student or new nurse. Someone who isn’t from around here because she clearly had no idea who I am, and if she did, she would have thought twice about copping an attitude with me.
And I definitely would have remembered that smart mouth.
My second thought, once I took a better look at her and confirmed she was likely in her twenties, was that if I wasn’t in a rush to get coffee before my meeting with Richard, I would have taken another minute to truly appreciate her beauty.
Swirls of dark, curly hair peek out from the sides of her scrub cap. Her eyes are a deep chocolate, and when those doe-shaped eyes grimaced at my attitude for her clumsiness, I was half tempted to drag her into the closest supply closet and spank her pert ass raw.
Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined this was Richard’s daughter. This was the young woman who he worried wouldn’t have the guts to become a surgeon and who he wanted to have a cushy life in a low-key practice? I’ve never seen a picture of the two of them together. I had always imagined a meek, timid girl. Someone who lets her shoulders curl in on themselves when attention shines on her. One who's smart but shy—a giver by nature. Someone who lets others walk all over them. But with the one interaction we’ve had, I can tell that she has the balls, and now I just need to make sure she has the brains.
Then I need to figure out how to squash her dreams.
“Richard.” I nod, shoving my earlier feelings aside and taking the seat next to Annaliese. Her chocolate eyes follow my every move, and I’m curious if she’s going to be the same fiery woman I just crashed into in the hall or if she’s going to put on a sweet facade now that we’re in front of her daddy.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me, Dad,” she snarls as she turns back toward Richard with a thumb jutted in my direction. “Thisis Dr. Andrews?”
I smirk into my cup of coffee. I guess that answers my question.
Richard’s head whips in the direction of his daughter. “Princess,” he chides. “Watch your mouth when you’re talking to a superior.” His brows pull together for a beat. “Do you two know each other?”
“You could say we—”
“We haven’t officially met,” Annaliese interrupts. She spins in her chair to pin me with those dark eyes while reaching a hand out in my direction. “Annaliese, or as you’d prefer to say, the kid.”
I bite down on the inside of my cheek to temper a laugh. She’s sparky, I’ll give her that. But that attitude will soon fade once she’s run herself to the ground, worn out from working hundred hour weeks, and suffering through on-call trauma cases without a real break in between.
I clasp her hand in mine and my body instantly warms at the size difference between us. She squeezes firmly, likely trying to crack my knuckles with her fire but it only spurs me on.
“Ready for a real surgical rotation, Princess?”
The pissed-off expression that washes over her face has Richard leaning back in his chair with a laugh. “Oh boy, I knew you two would butt heads. I’m almost sorry I won’t get to see it firsthand. But Colt is right, Princess.”
Her head whips back in her dad’s direction.
“This isn’t going to be a day of vaccinations and antibiotics for ear infections; this is a real trauma hospital where we have to act fast because we’re often making life or death decisions in real time.”
“I’m fully aware, Dad,” she grits out with her arms crossed firmly over her supple breasts. “Are we done? Or are there any other sexist or demeaning comments either of you want to get off of your chest before the day truly begins?” She stands abruptly, her chair scooting back with the motion as she moves to stand at the door.
My smile falters, and I pin her with a firm stare. “Let me finish up here. I’ll meet you in my office to discuss expectations before you start your day.”
She whips the door open and leaves, slamming it forcefully behind her.
Richard leans back in his chair with a laugh. “I knew you were the right man for this job.”
My chest swells at his compliment, but there’s a small nagging voice in my ear that tells me even with our few interactions, Richard might have underestimated his daughter. “She doesn’t seem nervous or unsure of herself like a lot of the residents,” I point out. “She might be cut out for this career after all.”
Richard cuts me a stern glance then nods slowly as his gaze falls to the door. “Doesn’t matter because it’s your job to change her mind, remember?”
Chapter Five
Colter
“Thispagerisyourlifeline. You eat with it, you piss with it, and you sleep with it, got it?” Annaliese takes the pager from my hand, grimacing when I say the word piss.
“Keep the pager on me at all times, got it.”
“During the day, you’re one of three general surgery residents. All three of you are responsible for answering pages for possible surgical consults that come through the ER. I expect you to consult, solve it at the bedside if you can, or contact the specialists if you need to defer. At night, you’re one of two residents on call. If you call an attending at two in the morning to consult on a case, that patient better need surgery.”
