The ER fell silent except for the beeping of the machines.
“Excuse me?” he asked in the now tension-filled room.
Tessa squared her shoulders and looked at him. “With all due respect, Dr. Myers, that dosage is too much, and in my opinion, I don’t think we should be taking that risk. Sir.”
If the room had been silent before, it now felt like they were in a vacuum as everyone held their breath, and Dr. Myers stared at her with annoyance in his steely gaze.
“Nurse Luis, I am not sure how things usually work around here, but as of today, I am the new head of trauma, and this is my ER. If you cannot follow through on my request, I suggest you leave.” He spoke in a level tone.
Fire glittered in her blue eyes, and her hands fisted at her sides as his arrogance slapped her with force. Wordlessly, she slipped past him and walked out of the operating room.
“I don’t know who he thinks he is talking to me like that,” she huffed as she dragged her gloves off before dropping them into the waste bin. She removed the rest of her surgery garb before washing her hands, then headed to the main area of the ER to monitor the other nurses. Her mind returned to how Dr. Myers had treated her, and her blood began to boil once more as a few choice words flitted across her mind. After reviewing the nurses’ files on the patients, she jotted some things to share at their next development meeting. She organized the medical staff’s roster for the rest of the week and then headed to her office to sort through the paperwork. She shook her head when she noticed how significantly higher the pile of files on her desk was. Courtesy of Mark, she guessed.
Tessa rounded the desk and sank into the chair. Releasing a sigh, she reached for a few of the files and skipped through them, ticking off the potential nurse hires and setting the training time for the interns. When her lunchtime rolled around, she’d already finished half the pile of files on her desk. She stayed in her office for the next two hours sorting through the rest of the files.
She made her way back to the ER to make her rounds, but at the sight of Dr. Myers by the front desk chatting with one of the nurses, she turned on her heels to make a hasty retreat.
“Nurse Luis,” the man called before she could get away.
Tessa stopped in her tracks but contemplated continuing with her first plan and pretending she hadn’t heard him. Instead, she turned around again and headed toward him. “Yes, Dr. Myers?” She stressed his title as she looked at him with faux innocence.
The man looked at her for a good ten seconds, his expression unreadable. His scrutiny made Tessa uneasy.
“May I have a word with you in my office?”
“Okay,” she agreed.
She followed him down the hall past her own office.
“Please, have a seat.” He gestured to the unoccupied chair in front of his desk before taking his seat.
Tessa gingerly sat down and folded her hands in her lap as she stared across at the man whose eyes were now studying her.
“I understand that as the head of the nursing staff and a long-standing employee here, you are entitled to your opinions about the course of action taken on the patients we treat every day,” Dr. Myers said. “I also know that back in the ER, tempers were high, and I apologize for my harsh reaction to you. However, having you publicly question my authority as the new head of this department makes me look incompetent, and it also breaks down the trust I’m trying to build with this team and you.”
Tessa’s hands tightened in her lap, and she rolled her eyes internally. She understood what he was saying, but somehow hearing him say it irritated her more than it should. Maybe it was the fact that she’d learned that he’d already made changes to the budget that she and Edwards, the former head of trauma, had done as a team effort. To her, it felt like Dr. Myers was about to undo all the progress they’d made in keeping Oak Harbor Medical as a fully functional entity.
Dr. Myers started to speak again, knocking her out of her thoughts. “Your concern about the patient was valid, but I still believe the call I made was the right one. I’ve been a surgeon for more than twenty years, Nurse Luis, and I’ve had to make tough calls to save a patient’s life on multiple occasions. The patient is now stable, and his heart rate has stabilized, but he is in a coma due to the massive blood loss. We will continue to monitor his brain activity, but overall, the treatment went well.”
“That’s great to hear,” she responded with a slight upturn of her lips. “I also want to apologize for overstepping my boundaries as I am merely just a nurse. I assure you that will never happen again.” She smiled a saccharine smile.
“That’s not what I was—” He halted when she pushed back the chair and stood.
“It’s fine, Dr. Myers. I get it. If you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to what the hospital pays me to do.”
He nodded and watched her retreating back as she left his office.
Tessa sighed in frustration.
The new head of trauma would definitely be a problem for her.
ChapterThree
Diane
“Here you go. One chocolate frappé and one croissant. That’ll be seven thirty-five.” Diane pushed the ice-cold chocolate beverage over the counter and smiled at the young woman standing there.
She fished out the money and handed it to Diane, who smiled while accepting it. She rang up the order and provided the woman with her change. “Thanks for coming, and enjoy.”
