Page 48 of Ellie 1
“I’m not a fucking moron like your bimbos and conquests, Tommy,” I hissed at him. “You absolutely set it up so everyone would find out doing it how you did. You went to her knowing she would telleveryone. I saw you fucking smirking. You are trying to save your position here by shitting all overmine.”
It was all over his face that I was right. I couldn’t have stopped myself even if I’d realized what I’d been about to do. I slapped him across the face with all I had, the warlock falling to the ground and staring up at me in shock.
“I warned you, Tommy. There was one rule I made clear if we ever got together. And I told you that if you went against that, I would see you gone from my hospital. Well, now you did it. Your days are numbered. Start looking for a new job, not just a new fuck buddy.”
I walked away with my head held high even if I felt everything crumbling inside. I couldn’t believe he’d thought to use me like that, his eventual mate, after he acted like such an asshole to everyone around us. He didn’t even see the joke that would make me because he thought himself too important.
One rule. That was all I ever asked.
He was never to let people know we were involved.
And he’d let themallknow after I’d dumped him.
Yeah, I wanted him out of my hospital, not just my personal life.
12
Ha-joon
I didn’t see Ellie the rest of the week. There was so much crazy and people running their mouths about everything. I heard everything from Ellie and Fitz were engaged to she was his first love he couldn’t let go of to she liked to watch all of his conquests.
It made it exceedingly difficult to not punch the asshole for doing this to her. She had every right to break off what they’d had, and he was too full of himself to believe she could leave him, so he torpedoed her life instead.
And things got worse. Apparently, the head of HR was related to the “leader” of the board somehow, Joel Warren. When he found out she was fired and then about Ellie and Fitz—the bastard called a vote of confidence in her. I was worried, but Drs. James and Tai weren’t. That said a lot, and I had a feeling they didn’t have the authority to really do that.
Sure enough, a memo went out that Joel Warren and two other members of the board were no longer associated with the hospital.
I walked up on Dr. Tai screaming at Fitz that she would end him. That the board came for Ellie because he was a selfish asshole and wanted to try and save his pathetic career.
“It’s her own fault for using their breakup as a reason to go after him and start all of this trouble,” someone in the crowd mumbled.
“Have the balls to say that in front of everyone or shut your damn mouth,” I snapped, drawing attention to myself. “You don’t know the situation or what really happened.” I moved forward and stared down the group before squaring off with Fitz. “You don’t care about her. You want her undercut so this mess goes away.
“Whilestalking and harassing herto have a real relationship now as if that will show you’ve changed and save you. No one with abrainis fooled. You want this place to be so toxic so better doctors thanyouwon’t come in. I was warned not to come here and take a step back in my career to high school, but I came anyways because I want to be part of restoring ASH.”
I glanced around at everyone else and made it clear that there were a lot of us who wanted this change and for people to be professional so to stop blaming one woman. She couldn’t be the reason the place got so toxic—especially when it was all the board’s rules that she protested—and a bitch for making everyone jump through hoops now.
The first day of my new practice started the same day the new head of HR, Beth Hudson, took over. It was the day the addendums went into effect and people signed or were out.
And almost one whole department refused to sign and didn’t tell anyone that they were going to do it. Four of the five dermatology practices walked right to HR and ripped up the addendums, saying they’d sue if they were put on unpaid leave.
Oh, and how did the hospital plan to survive without four of the dermatology practices?
The head of dermatology waslivid. I thought the wolf shifter was going to change forms and maul the people under her who did this without her knowledge.
Apparently, someone did know or Ellie had gotten a heads-up because the new legal counsel that was brought on to handle the situation was ready. She told everyone who was there for the stunt to follow her or they’d be escorted out by security and fired.
I walked right to the head of dermatology with everyone watching and told her that I could take any shifter patients since I’d done a fellowship in dermatology. Plus, my practice just opened and was fully staffed, so we could handle the patient load.
I also called a colleague I’d worked with in Paris and told him that there were changes being made to ASH and he might have a chance at getting into the dermatology department. He wasn’t quick to jump on the idea until I told him that some of the board had been kicked out and they were cleaning house of the toxic.
But it was hard to do without new doctors to replace them. I knew he had problems with his own hospital and his board wanting to make it more of a medical spa instead of letting him work with burn victims and helping different departments.
To humans, it might seem weird for supes to even have dermatology doctors, but we couldn’t heal from everything. Our bodies needed science and medicine too. Plus, when we were part animal and part person… We had issues.
Or vampires who couldn’t produce their own blood and had to drink it. They could have all kinds of skin conditions and problems. Same with magics who touched weird ingredients for potions and could still have allergies like humans. That meant allergic reactions and skin conditions.
Nothing and no one was perfect or had it easy. Being more than human normally came with more issues too.
