Page 1 of The Doctor's Simple Life

CHAPTER 1

REECE

“Out!”

“No way, dude!” Joe shouts.

“Why don’t we let the umpire decide?” I grin.

Joe glares at me from the other side of the court. These guys don’t want to admit it, but I’m actually really good at tennis. It’s not bragging if it’s true. It’s not arrogant to know your own worth.

I suppose one of the key traits a doctor has to have is arrogance. After all, you need a degree of complete faith in yourself if you’re cutting into other people, saving their lives, changing them irreversibly.

Joe’s a heart surgeon, so it makes sense that he hates losing. I’monlya plastic surgeon, which the other surgeons look down on. But my success rate is high, and the regret rate is low. As far as I’m concerned, that’s all I need to feel job satisfaction.

Nathan nods from the umpire’s box after reviewing the footage. “It’s out,” he concludes. “Reece takes the semifinal.”

I jump in the air, punching my fist to the sky. Joe stares at me, not bothering to mask his disdain.

“You realize this isn’tforanything,” he sniffs.

“It’sformy own personal satisfaction,” I shoot back, grinning. Winning and beating Joe is very satisfying indeed.

We were interns together, so we’ve known each other forever. He hated me back then too, so I guess nothing much has changed. We’re always looking for ways to outdo each other, and this time, for a change, I’ve outdone him.

“Well, your winning streak is over now,” says Mikey, slapping his palm against the strings of his racket. “Or is your confidence enough to take the prize?”

“I thought we weren’t playing for anything,” I say, clenching my fingers around the handle of my racket.

I’m not going to let it show, but I am kind of nervous to face off against Mikey. Not only is he a really good player, but he’s also my boss. I’ve been friends with him for years, so it’s not like this is going to affect our relationship. But still, I want to prove I can do something better than him.

“Well, why don’t we make it a little more interesting?” Mikey grins. “I’d say, if you win, I’ll pay you a month of my wages and vice versa, but that’s so boring.” He taps his finger against his head, pretending to think hard, even though he definitely already has an idea in mind. “I’ve got it. You know how I recently bought that hospital?”

“Yes,” we all groan in unison. He hasn’t shut up about it from the moment he became a majority owner of that place. I have no idea why he did it, other than some delusional notion of power, because it’s in the absolute middle of nowhere with some redneck doctors and, no doubt, the most tragic-looking people you’ve ever seen as patients.

“Well,” says Mikey, carrying on as if he didn’t hear our disdain. “You all think that I wouldn’t last a second out in Silverbell.”

Wisely, we all keep our mouths shut. It’s true, we don’t, but we’re hardly about to say that to his face.

“Well, I don’t think Reece here would last any longer than me. In fact, I think he wouldn’t even last a day.”

“That’s true,” pipes up Joe. I shoot him a really, really dirty look.

“So here’s the bet. Loser goes to Silverbell for a month. I’ll arrange accommodation, food, position, everything. But there’s no backing out if you lose. You go to Silverbell. You prove that you’re as tough as you say you are.”

“All right,” I say, holding out my hand. “Prove you’re that tough. You’re on.”

Mikey grins at me, takes my hand firmly and shakes.

If I wasn’t already sweating from playing a hard game in the summer sun, I would be now.

I can think of very few things worse than spending a month out in the country.

My entire adult life has been spent in Miami. I’m a city kind of guy and like the convenience of it. I like the bustle, the people, the buildings. I like knowing that no one knows me and no one cares.

We take up positions on the court, and Mikey bounces the ball a few times. He didn’t even ask who was going to serve first. But if he thinks going first is going to give him an advantage, then I’m happy to roll with him. I want him to feel overconfident.

Overconfidence is where people make mistakes.

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