Page 30 of Merciless Attraction

“No. Request denied. If you lied, cheated, and bribed your way into hiding your criminal record, why should I believe you won’t take a position at a rival institution? Don’t you get it, Antonio?”

“No, I don’t.”

“If you work at a different hospital, it isn’t just you that leaves. Every nurse that requests to be on your shift, every orderly that works for you, they’ll all follow you. You’ll take 25% of the ER staff with you when you leave. Not to mention your ties to Julian Blackwell jeopardize construction on that new wing we’re putting in. The only way to stop that is to ensure you stay here, or you never work anywhere else in this city.”

“That is so fucking insane, I can’t believe you’re trying to blame me for your shitty turnover rate. If the staff leaves, uproots their life, to start at the bottom of the totem pole in another hospital, they’re just as crazy as you. You know what, I take that back. They wouldn’t be crazy. They’d be justified because if this is your reasoning, you have my resignation, Dr. Stavros. It will be signed, sealed, and delivered to your desk first thing tomorrow morning.”

I disconnect the call and block her number. My phone skips across the counter like a rock skims a lake as I let it fall out of my hand.

What the fuck have I done?

My stomach twists in knots as my face stings with tears threatening to fall. My life is being turned on its head all over again because of Marzano family bullshit. No, it’s not bullshit. Protecting Gemma isn’t bullshit. She shouldn’t pay for the feuds of her father and brothers.

I don’t want to be a surgeon but a part of me would have done anything Melanie asked me to because the hospital did take a chance on me. I shake my head and start banging pots and pans around, forgetting Gemma is asleep in the loft upstairs.

There are nearly a dozen eggs swirling around a large pan while coffee brews and I butter toast. I use some left-over prosciutto to complement the scrambled eggs. Gemma comes into the kitchen just as I finish plating our breakfast.

She’s in a pair of panties with a tank top that threatens to have me swipe everything off the island to eat her for breakfast instead.

“What did those pots and pans do to you?” Gemma asks with a slight grin.

“Nothing,” I tell her, wanting to bask in her beauty and avoid thinking of how I just threw my career away. “I’m sorry I woke you.”

“I was awake before the clanging. Did I hear you quitting your job?” she asks.

I don’t have the energy to lie or deflect, so I do what any fiancé is supposed to do. I tell Gemma the truth. “Yeah. I asked for some time to deal with the fallout of this Frankie shit and the Director thought I was taking the time to find another job. It’s like letting a really good lawyer leave the firm.”

“Wow, I never knew doctors were allowed to sign non-compete clauses.” She takes a bite, closing her eyes and moaning to my delight. “What is in these eggs? They’re delicious.”

“A little mascarpone and heavy cream,” I tell her. “It’s illegal in the state of California to have any doctor sign a non-compete agreement, but she has something over me to compel me to stay.”

“Obviously not since you just quit.”

“I quit because I hate feeling like someone has anything over me. She knows about my past. Bash did everything in his power to seal my prison record, but the director found out somehow. I’m certain that was Charleston Blackwell’s doing. Bastard.”

“Good old Uncle Charlie who was never allowed around me or any of my friends. The stories I heard about him were gross. I can only imagine what he was like in real life.”

I nod in agreement. “Yeah, no one got anything out of him for free. It makes sense that if Bash or your father asked him to scrub my past, he’d keep it to hold me under his thumb. A favor he’d likely cash in at the most appalling time he needed. Thankfully, he died before he could cash in that chip.”

“Why do you have to pay a debt to a dead man?”

I shrug. “It’s not an enforceable debt. There are too many people tangled in this web for it to be exposed. It is enforceable enough to stop me from going to another hospital. She’ll whisper in anyone’s ear to stop another medical facility from hiring me.”

“What does that mean for your career? Are you going to have to leave San Francisco? Or are you going to call her bluff?” She asks.

“I’ll work at the clinic with Ronan and his sisters for now. I know they can use me full time.”

“Isn’t that a pay cut? Will you be able to afford this place?” She gestures around her with a fork full of food in her hand.

“I own this place outright. I just pay the condo board fees, taxes, and utilities. I’ll be fine for a while.”

“Is that why you mentioned me not having to work? You want to stay cooped up in the house with me all day long?”

That brings a smile to my face. “I wouldn’t mind that at all, but I know me. I can’t sit still too long. It’s why I love the rush of being an ER doctor. After we fucked on every surface of this place twice—”

She cuts me off. “Then we’d venture outside?”

I don’t have time to reply before her phone rings. Her expression falls as she ends the call.

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