Page 3 of The Doctor's Simple Life

SIENNA

“Good morning, Sienna.”

“Good morning, Sally Anne. How are you doing?”

“Good.”

“Morning, Sienna.”

“Good morning, Dr. Michaels,” I say.

This is how every day goes when I step into work. I’m met by a chorus of greetings, and I smile at everyone just the same. None of it’s fake in this hospital. We all care. It’s what makes the team like a family.

“Morning, Giselle,” I say as I pass my boss.

“You excited to start your first day?”

“Giselle, it’s not my first day,” I scoff.

It actually couldn’t be further from my first day. This is how every morning of my life has gone since I was twenty-six years old and fresh out of nursing school. There’s nowhere else on earth I would rather work. I love my colleagues. I love my town. I love this hospital.

And most days they love me pretty well too.

“New job, new day one,” Giselle says, raising both eyebrows.

The florescent lights reflect off her dark skin and give her brown eyes a twinkle, making her look like she’s up to mischief. I narrow my eyes. “This isn’t exactly a new job,” I say. “It’s the same job I’ve been doing the last six years.”

“Nevertheless, hon, you’ll find out pretty quick that being a nurse is fun. Being a manager of nurses… well, sometimes they take a little herding, that’s all.”

“I think I’ll cope just fine.”

“I know you will.”

Giselle is one of those people who, if you don’t know her, seems stern and cold, but she’s actually one of the warmest, nicest people I know. She’s just professional. There’s a certain manner you should take with patients, firm and kind but objective, and she manages to strike that balance perfectly.

She can also drink almost anyone under the table.

I’ve never challenged her, and I doubt I ever will.

“Look, Sienna,” she says, taking my elbow to pull me aside into another corridor, somewhere a little more private. “I know this is your first day,” she says, and I give her a look. “But I have a favor to ask.”

“Go on,” I say, bracing for whatever’s about to come.

“You know everyone loves you here, right?”

“Yeah…”

“And that’s why you’re the perfect person to help me out with this.”

“Cut to the chase,” I say, folding my arms. She’s starting to test my patience.

She smiles apologetically at me. “Come with me,” she says, leading me into another room.

My heart starts pounding in my chest. This is my sixth year at this hospital. Surely, I haven’t done something so wrong that I have to have a disciplinary.

It makes no sense. Giselle just said it. Everyone likes me.

I know that sounds bigheaded, but it’s true. I’ve worked hard to get where I am. I pride myself on being a good coworker and in caring for my patients, making it so that each and every one of them feels an individual connection to me. I work hard, and I thought it had been paying off.

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