Page 8 of The Doctor's No-Strings Deal

“It’s just the dog,” the patient said in an effort to excuse herself. “I… I don’t like dogs. I’ve been scared of them since I was a kid. If you can get the dog out of the room, I’ll feel a lot better.”

She sounded normal, rational, but there was no dog in the room.

“Where’s the dog?” Charlie asked her. She pointed to an empty corner, and Charlie didn’t hesitate to add, “She’s also having hallucinations.” And he added it to her chart.

“Good,” Dr. Ralter said with a nod. “Now that we have her symptoms, what should we do next?”

Charlie glanced at the patient, who now looked mortified. Megan quickly mitigated the situation, once again. “Can you tell what kind of dog it is?” she asked the patient. Why did it even matter? It didn’t, of course.

But the patient answered. “It… It looks like a black lab.”

“Oh, really? I love black labs. My cousin used to have one named Shadow. I was scared of him at first because he seemed so big. But he was a sweet boy, really. Always wanted belly rubs from everyone he met. Even at the vet.”

The patient glanced back to the empty corner. “I guess it is kind of cute.”

“It’s not growling, right?”

Timidly, the patient shook her head. “I guess not.”

“Probably just here to make sure you’re safe, then,” Megan added.

The room went quiet for a moment, and Charlie knew everyone was waiting for his answer to Dr. Ralter’s question, but he couldn’t get his mind off the way Megan made him want to simultaneously punch the wall and shove her into it, trapping her in his own embrace. He’d never wanted someone he hated so badly, and it was making him deeply uncomfortable.

“Do you think maybe we should run a tox screen?” Megan said, answering the question Charlie had been asked — in the form of a question, no less.

“Obviously, we should,” he snapped. Megan had given him the answer and given him an out. She was allowing him to answer her question and so keep the credit, although Charlie knew it wouldn’t fly with their attending. Dr. Ralter would know full well who had truly answered his question.

They sent the patient to get her tox screen. On the way out the door, Megan called to her. “You’re going to be just fine, Ms. Cooper. Don’t you worry now. And give your shadow puppy agood boyfrom me. He’s doing a wonderful job looking after you.”

The patient waved and smiled despite the dark circles under her eyes. Charlie saw her glance once at an invisible something and smile at it, too. Somehow, Megan had taken what mighthave been a frightening delusion and casually turned it into a protector. He couldn’t help a quiet smile himself, although he managed to bury it before Megan turned his way. Regardless of how well she was doing, Charlie’s pride had him seething, chomping at the bit to cut her down.

Dr. Ralter patted her on the shoulder as they continued down the hall. “Watch you save that woman’s life and make her comfortable at the same time. Excellent choices, Megan. You have good instincts with people.”

Megan shrugged. “It’s something I’ve always been able to do. I get it from my mom, I think.”

“Tell your motherthank you, then. She’s given you a foundation that will make you a wonderful doctor. Patients do worlds better when they have hope and feel safe. Excellent job pinpointing the problem without frightening your patient.”

Dr. Ralter went on ahead, and Megan fell back to walk next to Charlie.

“What do you want now?” Charlie grumbled.

“I wanted to thank you for the advice,” she said.

“What advice?”

“You know, about this being a competition and how we shouldn’t be making friends and all. Normally, I would have been too shy to speak up during your examination, but you were right. We’re not here to make friends. If I’m going to beat you, I’ll just have to be more aggressive in this game. Right?”

He narrowed his eyes at her as they made their way into the elevator. “You may have scored a point today, Bright, but you’re miles from winning the game.”

CHAPTER 5

MEGAN

Megan could have sworn she saw the briefest smile on Charlie’s face, but it was gone now, and she began to question its existence. She was determined to bring it out again, but how? He was impossible to read.

They made their way to their next patient, a teenaged girl with an injury to her lower calf. The girl lay on her stomach, stretched out on the examination table. Her vitals had been taken, and her injury exposed for examination. The fact that her mother was in the room, watching like a hawk over every little thing, only made Megan more confident. This was where she knew she could shine. So when Dr. Ralter asked Megan to take care of this particular patient, she did so with confidence.

“So what happened to your leg, Sarah?” Megan began after reading the girl’s file.

---