Page 5 of The Doctor's No-Strings Deal

Another of the residents must have noticed her discomfort because she reached across the table and shook Megan’s hand instead. “I’m Amy Shepherd. It’s great to meet you, Megan. Not sure what his problem is.” She was a pretty young redhead with braids in her hair.

Megan laughed awkwardly. “Good to meet you, Amy. And you?” She turned to the other man at the table, whose eyes kept darting between Megan and the as-yet-unintroduced blue-eyed resident.

“Oh,” the other man said as though he’d just woken up from a daydream. “I’m Keith. Sorry, I mean Brandon. Keith Brandon.”

“Two first names!” Megan said. “Nice. That’s always a good-luck sign.”

His smile broadened as he shook her hand. “Gosh, I sure hope so.” He had a nice Southern accent, Megan noticed, and he perked up quite a bit when he was engaged.

Though Megan had always been good at getting people to smile, there was still a challenge left in the room. She arched an eyebrow at him. “Guess you don’t have a name?”

Amy responded. “Oh, he has a name all right. He just doesn’t feel the need to introduce himself because everyone already knows who he is.”

The striking male resident glared at Amy and finally reached out to shake Megan’s hand. “Charlie Sullivan,” he said. “I’m not here to make friends.”

Amy rolled her eyes at him. “You didn’t have to tell us that. It was obvious.”

Megan squeezed his hand, noting how warm it was, and smiled. “Well, none of us are really here to make friends, but I’m hopeful we manage to do it by accident anyway.”

He blinked at her like he couldn’t even believe she existed. He seemed to have forgotten to let go of her hand, until he overcame his shock that someone so ridiculous was addressing him. At least, that’s how Megan interpreted his expression and behavior. He seemed to be about the least likable person in the world. Well, there always had to be a grump in every group, right? Shewould just have to look at him as a test of her own fortitude, her optimism, her positive?—

“I’m also not here to date, in case you were wondering,” he added.

Amy snickered. Kayla blushed on Megan’s behalf. And Megan did everything in her power to hold her smile and not explode at her new, extraordinarily unpleasant fellow resident.

She yanked her hand back and dropped into her chair just as their attending physician made his way into the room.

“Thank you for being on time,” he said while taking a seat at the head of the table. “I’m Dr. Ralter.” He was a large man with salt-and-pepper hair and a neatly trimmed beard. He passed out orientation packets to each of his new residents, sliding them down the table like he was the world’s fanciest bartender.

Megan pulled her glasses from her pocket and put them on to read the packet, just as Amy piped up. “Walter?” she said with an amused snort. “Your name is Walter Ralter?”

Dr. Ralter arched an eyebrow at his unruly resident. Keith suppressed a laugh. Kayla pinched her lips together with her teeth. But again, Charlie couldn’t be bothered to react.

“Well,” Megan said without the hint of humor in her tone, “I think rhyming names are the best names. If I ever have kids?—”

“God forbid,” Charlie mumbled.

Megan shot him a dirty look but quickly suppressed it in favor of a warm smile. What was his problem with her? She hadn’t done anything to him. She hadn’t even had time enough to do anything to them. “When I have kids,” she continued defiantly, “I’d love to give them names that rhyme.”

Dr. Ralter seemed about as unimpressed with Megan’s good will as he was with Charlie’s bad mood. “My name is about the least interesting thing you’ll be learning today,” he said. “Let’s move on.”

The entire time Dr. Ralter was giving them their orientation, Megan couldn’t stop wondering what she had done to deserve that kind of treatment. It was stupid, she realized. Charlie Sullivan didn’t owe her kindness, or friendship, or anything of the kind. In fact, they would likely eventually be in competition with one another, so he was probably right that they couldn’t be friends. Didn’t make it hurt any less, though.

They were given a tour of the hospital and asked various questions, likely to get them used to being tested on the job. Everyone seemed to be answering well except Kayla, who stumbled at every word. The more she failed to respond as quickly as she thought she should, the more nervous she got, which only fed her insecurities. By the time they got to their first patient, her hands were visibly shaking.

The patient was a middle-aged man with mild chest pain, and Dr. Ralter wasn’t going to take any chances. “Kayla, get an IV into him.” Then he turned to the patient and began listening to his heart with a stethoscope. “Just standard procedure, sir. No need to panic. We do this for everyone.”

The patient laughed a little. “Bull.”

“It’s true.” Dr. Ralter nodded to Kayla as he continued talking to the patient. “We don’t mess around with chest pain. It’s probably just gas, but you know how it is.”

Kayla hesitated, and Charlie stepped in. “I can take care of it, Dr. Ralter.”

“Nope,” the doctor said casually. “I already know you can do it. I want Kayla to show off her skills.”

The patient’s smile dropped. “What am I, some kind of guinea pig?”

“Not at all,” Dr. Ralter said. “But thisisa teaching hospital. Not to worry, though, we only have the very best residents here. And I’ll be right here to supervise.”

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