Page 55 of Sinful in Scrubs

“Looks like that’s us,” she said.

Whatever I thought I was going to say to her got lost as we rushed back down to the emergency department. We were barely given any information, just that we had multiple incoming and that it was an all-hands-on-deck situation, and there were children involved.

By the time the EMT crews arrived, whatever had been on my mind was effectively erased while I focused on taking care of the patients in front of me.

It was intense, and at times gruesome. I didn’t feel like I let out a breath of air until my last patient was stabilized and being rolled away to recovery. Everyone on the team was exhausted. There was no possible way I was going to be able to have a productive conversation with Emma at this point. It would just have to wait until later.

I stepped into the prep room where she was washing up. I let out a frustrated grumble, and I said something unflattering because she was there scrubbing soap up past her elbows without a goddamn shirt on again.

“If this bothers you so much,” she snapped, “you can step out of the room until I leave. I thought you were an adult, but clearly, you?—”

“Emma,” I groaned. “I’m too tired to argue right now. But you should know that James Collins is already concerned about your professionalism.”

She turned and looked at me, her mouth open in what I could only assume was tired annoyance. “James isn’t here right now. So if he has a concern about my professionalism, he can shove it. You certainly didn’t seem to be worried about any of this before.”

I started to open my mouth, unsure of what I was going to say.

“You know what, Marcus? Don’t worry about it. Don’t worry about any of it. I will be out of your hair soon enough, and you won’t have to worry about my professionalism or lack thereof.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” I asked.

She grabbed a shirt from the stack of folded scrub tops on the shelf and pulled a clean scrubs top over her head. She wadded up the towel she had draped over the front of the sink and shoved it at me as she stormed out.

“You’re a smart man. I’m sure you’ll figure it out when you don’t see me around here anymore.”

I stared after her as she pushed her way out of the room. I had wanted to tell her that I thought James might be after her, and instead I was left standing holding a damp towel.

I stared at it for far too long before my overly taxed mind caught up. I had burned all of my mental energy on stitches and surgery and doing my job. Emma required a delicate balance between my personal and professional lives. I had always kept the two completely separate. And it was clear I was fucking up and blurring the lines between the two.

I didn’t know what to do with Emma, but at least I knew what to do with the towel. “I need a drink,” I said as I tossed it into the appropriate dirty linen hamper.

25

EMMA

“If this sounds interesting to you, we would like to fly you out and show you around,” the woman on my laptop monitor said.

“I don’t think that’s going to be necessary,” I said.

The video conference had been going well. I had been emailing back and forth with Sylvia Pink from L.A., and this was a one-on-one follow-up video call. She paused and looked a little confused.

“Oh, I haven’t changed my mind,” I said enthusiastically. “I don’t need convincing. I think we need to start the paperwork—if you still want to have me.” I was more than ready to cut my ties and start my life free of the weight of my past.

A broad smile crossed her face. “Are you sure? You don’t want to see the facility? You don’t want to meet the other doctors? The staff?” she asked.

I shrugged. “It just feels right. I don’t think more meetings are going to make me change my mind.” No one in L.A. knew Kevin, and he wasn’t in a position to be able to reach over three thousand miles and make trouble for me. Somehow, I suspected they got their claws into Marcus too. It was that, or his daughter was winning whatever power struggle they were dealing with at home. I was done, and I needed a fresh start. I didn’t tell her how desperately I wanted to get out of New York—and the sooner, the better.

“Well, in that case,” she said, “let me get the paperwork started and get that offer letter officially sent and signed.”

“It sounds fantastic,” I admitted. I couldn’t wait. The second I scrawled my signature across those pages, I could turn in my resignation.

Everything in the past few days had gone sideways so fast. It had only been a couple of days since my life had gone from looking promising to feeling disastrous. I needed to get away from Marcus so that I could get my head clear. He confused me on so many levels. I felt that the sooner I could get away from him and Kevin, the sooner I would find clarity once more.

“How soon do you think you’ll need me?” I asked, almost hoping she would invite me to come within the week. I really did feel the need to get out of this place as soon as possible.

“Of course, we’d love to have you as soon as we can, but I understand you need time to wrap things up and get packed,” she said.

I hesitated. “I can probably be out there in a week… two weeks?”

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