“Funny because it sounded like it did involve me. In fact, it seems like you sought out my wife to make up lies about me and my work.”
His eyes narrow. “I’m concerned about patient safety. Something you used to care more about before you got careless.”
“Patient safety?” I laugh bitterly. “That’s a fucking riot coming from the guy who is actively sabotaging my procedures and changing medication orders under my name.”
Skylar gasps and takes a step back, color rising on her cheeks as her eyes bounce back and forth between the two of us. “What? Is that true?”
Josh’s expression doesn’t change, but something flickers in his eyes. Surprise, maybe. “That’s a serious accusation, Dr. Hughes. One you’d better be able to prove. As it stands, you’re the one making mistakes. Not me. Everyone’s seen it.”
His smug look has my fists clenching, and I have to blow out a breath through my nose so I don’t knock him out right here. He’s fucking with my life, and that’s not something I take quietly or lying down.
“Did you think I wouldn’t figure it out? It won’t exactly be tough to prove if you’ve been logging in and changing orders, and when I do, your career will be finished. Is all of this really worth it to you?”
His chin lifts defiantly. “You don’t know anything about me.”
I give him an arrogant as fuck grin. “I know you’re after a woman who will never be yours again. A woman who wants nothing to do with your weak, pathetic ass.”
Josh flies at me, and Skylar jumps in between. It pisses me off that she just did that. Josh is unpredictable, but he manages to hold himself back when she puts her hands up, outstretched toward him. Seeing that, I realize how fast my heart is racing. How tight my chest feels with this barely contained rage.
Everything right now feels like it’s spiraling out of control. Again. The world I know and love is slipping through my fingers once more.
“You will not fight in my ICU. Dr. Wesley, you need to leave and cool off.”
“Me?!” He points to his chest. “Tell that to your asshole husband who’s spreading lies.”
“Coming from the master of lies himself. Fine. We’ll go.” She spins around, takes my hand, and leads me out of the room. I glance over my shoulder and give him a look. One he doesn’t mistake. He has no clue who he’s fucking with.
34
ASTON
Skylar drags me down the hall and shoves me into an on-call room. Before the door can even click shut behind us, I’m pressing her against it. “What the hell was that?” My voice comes out rougher than I intend, adrenaline still coursing like a wildfire through my system. The on-call room is small and narrow. It fits a small desk shoved into the corner and a twin bunk bed. I’ve never slept in here. But when I was a resident, I used rooms like these plenty.
Her eyes flash. “He cornered me while I was clearing out the room after my patient had been sent to the step-down unit. I didn’t seek him out, Aston.”
“You should have paged me the second he walked in.” I run my hand through my hair and take a step back, willing myself to calm down. “He’s dangerous. You know this. But more than that, what I said about what he’s doing isn’t an exaggeration. The medication orders and the faulty equipment. It’s him.”
“You really think he’s the one doing that?” Her voice holds a note of shock but not disbelief.
“I don’t have proof. And these things don’t always happen when he’s in the OR with me. But it started after you and Iannounced we were married, and today he blatantly called me out on it in the OR in front of staff. He’s trying to make me look dangerous and incompetent. And he’s putting patients at risk by doing it.”
She looks sightlessly into the room as she thinks. “He’s jealous or whatever. I don’t know why he can’t let me go, but he hasn’t.”
“I know that,” I snap, my hands going to my hips. “Is he following you? Has he shown up at the house?”
“Not that I know of, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t. He mentioned Zoey just now.”
“I know. I heard him.” I grit my teeth. “I’m going to hire security or at the very least get a PI on him.”
She leans against the door, propping her foot up onto it. “First things first. If you think Josh is trying to sabotage you, you need to speak to your supervisor immediately.”
“I need proof. He works for me, and I’m married to his ex that he’s not shy about letting everyone know he still wants. He has access to everything I do.”
“Aston, I’m not saying he’s not doing it, but he’d be a moron to log in under his name and change your orders. That leaves a visible trail.”
“He must be using my credentials to change orders then. I don’t know how. That part isn’t very clear to me, and I haven’t worked it out. But obviously he has no boundaries with me and none with you. I don’t want him near you again.”
“That’s not exactly possible, and you know it. I work with him. Though I’m thinking it’s time I bite the bullet and get a restraining order. I’ve been avoiding it, not wanting to stir up drama or shine a spotlight on things, but at this point, I might not have a choice. Still, I’m your wife—fake or otherwise—and you still need to trust me that I can manage my own interactions with my ex.”
