Page 8 of Sticky Situationship

I swallow hard and force a tight smile at Dr. Hanson, my fingers curling around my pen in a death grip as he proceeds to explain to the patient, in basic terms, what he’s ordering. Part of me wants to strangle my colleague by his blue paisley necktie. The very un-doctorlike part.

Zoe, at my side, nudges my arm as we file out of the room and leans in to whisper something in my ear, but Dr. Novak’s voice cuts her off. “Dr. Bauer, a word in the hallway. The rest of you, continue on.”

My stomach flips, but I nod and tuck a loose curl behind my ear. The other residents file out, and Zoe shoots me a look, her nose crinkled as if to wish me luck, before she follows faston their heels and I’m left alone with Dr. Novak in the barren beige hallway. As usual, my attending physician cuts right to the chase.

“Boards are in eight weeks, and I have concerns you’re not fully prepared.”

To be honest, I’m not sure I am, either. My regular sexcapades with Brock over the past few months might work wonders for my stress relief, but they’ve eaten into my study time. Not that I want to give them up.

Either way, I’m not about to let the influential physician staring me down believe there’s any cause for concern. “Dr. Novak,” I say, raising a hand as if to emphasize my point. “I assure you, I’ll be ready. I—”

“Your performance reflects not only your knowledge, skills, and abilities, Dr. Bauer. It also, for better or worse, reflects the quality of this hospital, this program, and me, as your recommending attending.”

I nod vigorously. “Of course, Dr. Novak.”

“If you need me to reduce your on-call hours so you have enough time to prepare or—”

“No,” I insist, reaching out to grasp her arm and immediately realizing my mistake and yanking my hand back. “I…I have time, I swear. I’ll spend every spare hour from now until the boards preparing. I’m fully committed to demonstrating my qualifications, as well as ensuring there’s not so much as a whisper about the quality of experience you, or this program, provide.”

Her gray eyes narrow, and for a moment, I hold my breath, waiting to see if she believes me. Knowing Dr. Novak, this could go either way, but with a single, sharp, “Good,” she spins on her low-heeled, sensible Mary Jane’s and clicks off down the hallway, leaving me breathing a sigh of relief.

I scramble to follow her, rejoining rounds in the next patient’s room, but my thoughts are still reeling. Thankfully, the next few cases are clear cut and wrap up quickly. As soon as we’re done, Zoe grabs my arm and pulls me into an empty on-call room, closing the door behind us.

“What did Dr. Novak want?” she demands, sinking onto the empty bed and pulling a half-empty bag of gummy worms from her lab coat pocket. “Spill it.”

I snag a red worm from the bag. “She doesn’t think I’m ready for boards.”

Zoe snorts. “None of us are ready for boards.”

“Yes, but she must be particularly concerned about me, considering the way she called me out.”

Zoe shakes her head and bites a worm in half. “You know that’s her M.O. One bad day at rounds, and she’s on your case. Remember how she made Sammy cry last month?”

“Yes, but in my case, she’s right,” I lament, pacing back and forth across the small room. “I haven’t been studying as much because I’ve been spending so much time with—”

“Don’t tell me you’re thinking about cutting it off with the hottie next door!"

"I—" I start, but she cuts me off.

"Come on, I've had to live vicariously through you since my dating life is nonexistent."

"I'm not dating!" I insist.

She waves a hand. "That's just semantics."

I reach for another gummy worm, ignoring the twist in my gut. “Brock’s a…distraction. Plus,” I add, stretching the sugary invertebrate between my fingers, “it’s not like I’m breaking up with him. He’s not my boyfriend.”

“Right,” she says, in a patronizing tone, “because ofthe agreement.”

“You don’t have to say it like that,” I snap, shooting her a look.

“I wouldn’t have to if you actually admitted you have actual feelings for the guy.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

She adjusts the stethoscope hanging around her neck. “Have you gone on a single date with anyone else since you met Brock?”

“I haven’t gone on a single date since my first year of med school.”

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