Page 14 of Hearts Clash

The next week flew by, filled with countless surgeries, long shifts, and hours of tedious paperwork. With every passing day, Gianna found herself more excited to head home at the end of the day to talk to DrHeart. It was odd, really. They had never met, and she had yet to see a single photo of the mystery woman despite all the raunchy messages they exchanged. Somehow, though, she felt a connection with this woman that she hadn’t experienced in a long time. Not since—

Jade. The name popped up on her phone screen in the middle of her lunch break, buzzing urgently while she picked at her salad. The ID was a blurry selfie of them taken in the bathroom mirror late one night in their late twenties, cheeks rosy from drinking, Jade’s arms slung casually around Gianna’s shoulders. She really needed to delete the damn thing. And block her ex’s number, probably, if Jade was going to continue bothering her like this.

“What?” she answered shortly as she picked up the phone, not hiding her annoyance in the slightest.

“Hey, girl. I never heard back from you,” Jade’s cheerful voice chimed on the other end. “I just got into Rose Bay, and I’m here for the next three weeks. When are we catching up?”

Gianna pursed her lips, stabbing angrily into a cherry tomato with her fork. Sure, maybe there was some part of her that was curious to see what her ex was up to, but going down that road couldn’t possibly lead to anything good. She had already learned her lesson. Time hadn’t lessened the pain or humiliation, and she couldn’t allow herself to risk getting hurt again.

“I’m really busy, Jade,” she replied pointedly. “I don’t think I have time.”

“Oh, come on!” Jade laughed in that carefree, bubbly way that had once made Gianna’s heart skip a beat. Now, it just reminded her of how reckless, selfish, and destructive Jade could be. “It’ll be fun. Coffee or drinks or whatever. Clear the air, get some closure, all of that?”

Gianna sighed. A part of her wanted to do it, mostly to prove to herself that she had fully moved on and grown past it. Maybe it would do her some good to sit down and talk everything through, just to get Jade out of the way and put it behind her. They had spent eight years together, after all, and as much as she had no interest in getting back together, it made some kind of sense to give the past its due diligence.

Before she could answer, though, the familiar beeping of her pager went off in her lab coat pocket. Thank God. Saved by the bell.

“I just got a page, gotta run,” she said brusquely, shoving her half-eaten lunch back into the refrigerator of the break room.

“Oh, come on—”

Gianna picked up the still-beeping pager and held it up to her phone to blare loudly.

“Ugh. Fine. Text me?” Jade exclaimed.

“Yeah, I don’t know. Maybe.”

With that, she hung up unceremoniously and rushed to prep for the emergency surgery that had been called in. Sometimes, being a surgeon was less stressful than being a person with all sorts of messy, complicated thoughts and feelings.

It was a fairly simple emergency coronary bypass. A middle-aged man had suffered a heart attack while out for a run, and they needed to open his arteries to restore blood flow to the parts of his heart that had been damaged. The surgery took three hours from start to finish, and by the time they had finished, the patient was in stable condition. All in all, a straightforward success with no unexpected complications. It was what all those years of schooling, training, and practical experience boiled down to.

After getting changed out of her scrubs and showering off the smell of antiseptic, she trudged wearily back to her office. On the way, she walked past Scarlett and Carla speaking quietly by the nurses’ station, heads bent over some paperwork on a clipboard. They seemed busy, so Gianna decided not to disturb them, but it filled her with a momentary surge of resentment as she strode onward down the corridor.

That Monday, Carla had announced her decision to resign after working in the cardiology department for twenty years, leaving her position as Head of Cardiology open. Clearly, the pristine Dr. Miller had already been aware of this, no doubt having received advance notice so she could prepare herself for the competition. It pissed Gianna off. She was every bit as qualified as the redheaded doctor, if not more, but no one had bothered to let her in on the news. Not even when they were all drinking and actually getting along last Friday night. Instead, she’d had to find out just like everyone else, and now, she would be rushing to get caught up in hopes of being able to compete for the job.

The thought had her seething in the elevator down the hall. Oh, Scarlett Miller was Dr. Anderson’s favorite, sure, but everyone knew that they were both equally qualified and deserving of the promotion. Not to mention that she was much better with people. A department head really ought to be approachable and willing to listen, and the stoic ginger was cold, arrogant, and standoffish. So what if she had been the first hire? She was hardly even nice to patients, for goodness’ sake.

Oh, well. Gianna’s results spoke for themselves, and she still had time to write and deliver a stellar presentation for the board to sway them in her direction. At the very least, this gave her more motivation and incentive to succeed. As she jotted down her report from the surgery and updated the electronic files on the system, that thought filled her with determination. She had never been one to back down from a challenge, and she certainly wasn’t about to do so now.

***

After the announcement, Gianna had suggested that the surgeons in cardiology all go out for dinner to celebrate the retirement and leave their old boss with plenty of good memories. Everyone had agreed to it enthusiastically, and Saturday night saw the seven of them gathered around a table at one of the nicest seafood restaurants in town. Sure, it was a bit of a schmoozy move, but if Scarlett was going to play dirty, then there was no reason why she couldn’t do the same.

When the waiter arrived with the third bottle of expensive Chardonnay, the conversation was lively and vibrant, everyone laughing and reminiscing about their days of training and Carla’s many years of tirelessly serving as their head. Scarlett, unsurprisingly, was mostly quiet, although Gianna couldn’t help occasionally stealing glances over at her whenever she wasn’t looking. In a smart blazer, a white button-down shirt, and sleek toffee-colored trousers, the woman looked refined and elegant in an understated way. Her fiery hair was pulled back in a low bun, showing off the delicate contours of her face. Damn, she was gorgeous, no matter how obnoxious she could be.

Halfway through dessert, Carla stood unsteadily to give a speech, raising her glass in an exaggerated gesture and slurring her words slightly as she rambled on. Everyone laughed and nodded along, each of them a little tipsy by that point. Gianna was relieved to see that Scarlett had loosened up quite a bit and even cracked some jokes, smiling and laughing openly. Her smile was a welcome diversion from her usual sour expression, lighting up her whole face. She didn’t seem as uptight as usual. Who knew she had it in her?

A little bit later, Gianna excused herself to use the bathroom. The world was spinning a little as she climbed off her chair and made her way down the hallway. Okay, maybe she had gone a little hard tonight, considering this was a work function. Then again, everyone else seemed to be on the same wavelength, too, so it didn’t really matter. Tomorrow was Sunday. They could all sleep it off, recover, and be back in the hospital on Monday like responsible adults.

She glanced at her reflection in the mirror and smiled at herself. Tonight, she wasn’t quite as boldly dressed as she might otherwise have been, but the sleeveless little black dress suited the occasion perfectly. It wasn’t indecent but also hugged her in all the right places, flattering her shape. Looking at her reflection, though, she noted that her lipstick had begun to smudge, so she dug through her purse for a tube.

Just as she leaned in to touch it up, the door creaked open behind her. Scarlett Miller appeared in the mirror, looking flushed and slightly disheveled. It was quite an appealing sight, Gianna had to admit, and she found herself smirking mischievously. At the same time, it occurred to her that this was the first time all week they’d been alone together, and she had a thing or two to say about the whole promotion situation. She turned around and leaned back against the bathroom counter, arching an eyebrow inquisitively at the redhead as the woman approached her.

“So, afraid of a little competition, huh?” Gianna taunted, tossing her hair back over her shoulder.

“Excuse me?” Scarlett retorted, taking a few steps closer. “I don’t follow.”

Gianna scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Oh, yes, you do,” she sneered. “Don’t act all innocent like you didn’t know Carla was quitting. You must have known, with her being your best friend and everything.”

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