I meet his eyes. “Nick was right, Ethan. A drain would have been safer.”
“Fuck you, Luke,” he says angrily.
“Ethan. Can you look me in the eye and tell me you weren’t drinking yesterday?”
“Okay, you’re right,” he admits, like a negotiator who’s willing to concede a minor point. “I’ve been drinking too much. I met with my lawyer yesterday about the lawsuit, and it threw me. But last night was a wake-up call, and it won’t happen again.”
I wish I could believe it. “Ethan, you need professional help. Rehab, and something like AA?—”
“I’m not an alcoholic, Luke!” he exclaims in disgust.
I take a deep breath. “Ethan, everyone in the OR last night knew there was a problem. Drew’s going to hear about it?—”
“You gonna tell him, Luke?” He takes a step toward me, bringing his face within inches of mine. “You gonna report me?”
“Drew’s going to hear about it,” I repeat, trying tokeep my voice even. “And it’ll look better if he hears it from you. I can come with you, if you want.”
“Oh, sure,” he says sarcastically. “You can come with me, and while we’re there, you can confess that you’re fucking a patient’s mom.”
It comes out of nowhere, and it hits me like a punch to the gut. “What did you say?”
“We can talk to Drew together,” Ethan says. “I’ll tell him about last night, and you can tell him all about your little affair with your patient’s mother. You told me about her, remember? I think you even said you were gonna stay away, so you wouldn’t risk your medical license, but I guess you couldn’t resist, huh?”
“Ethan—”
“I saw you two having brunch on the weekend,” he continues. “Looking pretty loved up. You’re fucking her, right?”
A heavy silence falls, and I take a deep breath to try to keep hold of my temper.
“What, you gonna hit me now?” Ethan taunts, and I realize my right hand is balled in a fist. “We can talk to Drew about that, too. We’ll get you some professional help for anger management.”
With a superhuman effort, I relax my hand. Step back from Ethan and move behind my desk, putting a physical barrier between us.
“You’re fucking her, right?” he asks again.
“I’m in love with her, Ethan!” The words explode out of me. “And I’m not treating her kid anymore, so it’s not an ethical violation.”
“Well, that’s great,” Ethan says sarcastically. “You can tell Drew all about it. He’s going to hear about it anyway, and it’ll look better if he hears it from you first. He’sprobably obligated to report you to the Medical Board, but with a body like that, maybe she’s worth losing your license.”
My right hand twitches again, and I’m glad my desk is between us. I try to remind myself that this isn’t really Ethan; this is the addiction talking. I remember the way he came to the rescue when Melissa’s daughter had anaphylaxis.
“Get out,” I say through gritted teeth.
He unlocks my office door and leaves without another word.
I collapse into my chair, wondering what the hell I’m going to do. There was no mistaking his threat; if I go to Drew with what happened last night, Ethan will report my relationship with Melissa.
And the truth is, I don’t know what the Medical Board would think about it. They’d probably want to interview Melissa about the relationship, and I’d hate for her to have to go through that.
But I don’t see the alternative.
I pick up my phone and text Drew Malone.
THIRTY-ONE
MELISSA
Luke doesn’t text until just before six P.M., and when he does, it’s to say he’s running late. He says to go ahead and eat without him.
