Page 3 of Hearts Clash

Scarlett furrowed her brow but nodded. The petite brunette gestured for her to follow as she headed towards her office, and moments later, they stepped inside the familiar room. They each took a seat in one of the chairs facing each other across the desk. Carla clasped her hands together, resting her forearms atop her desktop calendar with a smile that looked almost conspiratorial.

“What’s going on?” Scarlett asked curiously.

“Well, I’ll be announcing it formally in a few days, but I figured you might like a heads up,” the older woman teased. Her eyes flickered to the title card on her desk, which read Cardiology Director, then met her curious stare. “I’ve handed in my resignation. Once my three-month notice period is up, I’ll be moving to take up the position of Chief of Surgery at the Parkes Clinic in Denver.”

Scarlett’s eyes widened a little. “What? Really?” she exclaimed. “Congratulations! That’s fantastic news, Carla.”

“Thank you,” Carla said with a bright smile, gesturing toward the old family photo of her with her two children, her husband, and their dog that stood on the side of her desk. “My daughter-in-law is pregnant. When the opportunity came up, well, I figured it’d be nice to move closer to them and be a proper grandmother.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful,” Scarlett agreed earnestly.

“It might be good news for you, too,” Carla noted, lowering her voice slightly as she glanced over at the office door to check no one was eavesdropping. “When it becomes public knowledge that I’m leaving, I have to assume that you’ll want to submit an application, right?”

Scarlett tried very hard to hide the elated grin that threatened to tug at her mouth. Her reaction must’ve been transparent, though, because Carla chuckled affectionately and shook her head.

“You’re one of the best cardiac surgeons in the country, Doctor Miller,” she praised proudly. “This isn’t my decision, so I can’t promise you anything, but as far as I’m concerned, I think you’d be the best possible successor.”

Scarlett swallowed, her heart pounding in her chest. A large part of her wanted nothing more than to accept Carla’s endorsement as gospel truth. Still, she was aware that the decision ultimately rested with the rest of the board. Nobody could argue that she was skilled, of course, but there were a lot of talented doctors here, and some of them... Well, even at a hospital, there were internal politics and intrigue. She was good at her job, but not necessarily the best at networking. She didn’t want to get her hopes up too high. There was at least one person here who would no doubt stand in the way of that promotion.

“Don’t mention it to anyone, okay?” the senior doctor said, lowering her voice a fraction. “People are just going to gossip. If you want it, submit a formal application and we’ll review your credentials during the hiring process.”

Scarlett straightened in her chair, offering her colleague an appreciative nod and smile.

“Thanks for the heads up, Carla,” she said warmly. “I really appreciate it.”

Carla shot her a wink that spoke louder than words.

“Anytime, Scarlett,” she quipped. “Now, I’ll let you get back to it. There’s a group of interns down in OR 16 who could probably do with your expertise.”

Scarlett pushed up from her chair with a grateful nod.

“Will do. And congrats again. Really, I mean it,” she added.

Back in the busy ICU ward, a hint of excitement buzzed through her like an electric shock. Maybe all her hard work was about to pay off. With unusual cheer, she made her way down to OR 16, where a group of young, wide-eyed twenty-somethings fresh out of medical school waited for her. Usually, this wasn’t her cup of tea, but the possibility of a promotion to chief of the department energized her, and today, she found herself more than happy to show these students the ropes of the trade.

2

Gianna

There was time for nothing more than a quick shower and some light makeup to freshen up in the on-call room after the shift before Dr. Gianna Rodriguez had to rush downtown to meet her younger sister for drinks. She was running late, which probably wouldn’t come as a shock to anyone who knew her. This time, at least, it wasn’t her fault. An emergency bypass surgery had popped up just as she was about to clock out, meaning she barely had time to get out of her bloody scrubs and touch up her eyeliner.

“Finally!” Bianca exclaimed theatrically as Gianna breezed through the door to their favorite bar half an hour late.

The eclectic old dive bar in downtown Rose Bay had become their place since Gianna moved to the city just over a year ago. Her younger sister had moved here with her husband almost ten years before that, and they had finally worn the older sister down enough that when a position had opened up at Rose Bay Hospital, she jumped at the opportunity to relocate to be closer to them. She was still relatively new to the area, so Bianca had done her best to show her around and introduce her to the local scene. This spot had quickly stood out as a favorite. It was intimate without being stuffy, the ambience was lively but not overwhelming, and they did cheap drinks on Fridays. What more could a girl ask for?

“Hey,” Gianna huffed, breathless, as she slid onto a barstool beside the curvy brunette. “Sorry. I was busy saving a man’s life.”

She shot her sister a pointed look, silently daring her to keep making a fuss. Thankfully, the younger woman just laughed and leaned in for a hug, which Gianna happily reciprocated. They were the only girls in a large family, with three brothers and about two dozen male cousins, and ever since they were kids, the two had been thick as thieves. Even now, both in their mid-to-late thirties, they were inseparable.

“Oof! You stink of disinfectant,” Bianca teased, leaning back against the polished oak of the bar and raising a hand to attract the bartender. “What happened? Surgery kept you longer than expected?”

“Yeah, I was just about to leave when the boss paged me,” she confirmed. “Teenager with heart failure. What was I supposed to do, tell his parents nah, actually, not my problem, I’m gonna go grab margaritas with my sister?”

“That’s what I’d do,” her sister joked. “If my students’ parents call me about anything at seven o’clock on a Friday night, I’m telling them, you know what, I’m real busy with this glass of wine right here. I don’t care if that kid set the chemistry lab on fire, my ass is staying firmly parked on this sofa.”

Gianna let out a full-throated laugh at that. At work, she was all business, a consummate professional with only one priority: her patients. When she was off the clock, however, she was much more laid-back and free-spirited. Her sister, a high school Spanish teacher, was the same way with her students. They could joke and laugh irreverently off the clock, but once they walked through the doors of their respective workplaces, it was game-faces-on until it was time to clock out again.

They took pride in their work, and it had been instilled in them from a very young age. Their grandparents had come here from San Juan to build a better future for their family, and Gianna and Bianca were the first members of their family to go to college. Neither one of them ever took that for granted.

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