Page 79 of Crash: Love in Scrubs
“Ms. Andrews?” A middle-aged Black woman in a navy suit appeared beside me. “I’m Janet Morrison. Thank you for coming in so quickly.”
I followed her into a conference room where another woman sat at a large table surrounded by manila folders. My stomach dropped.
“This is Rebecca Chen from our legal department,” Janet said as we sat down. “We appreciate your cooperation in this matter.”
“Can someone please tell me what this is about?” I asked, my patience finally snapping. “Your phone call was pretty vague.”
Janet exchanged a look with Rebecca before opening one of the folders. “We’ve received several reports regarding your relationship with Dr. Malik Holloway. Reports alleging that this relationship began while your son was under his care, which could constitute a serious ethics violation.”
“Ms. Andrews, has your relationship with Dr. Holloway been consensual, or has there been a quid pro quo arrangement? We take that type of thing very serious.”
“Excuse you?” I blinked hard, heat crawling up my neck. “Andseveralreports? From who?” My blood ran cold as I stared at her like she’d just called me a bitch to my face. The nerve.It was both, I thought.Consensual and reciprocal—he was good to me, and I was good to him.
“We can’t disclose the source,” Rebecca said smoothly, sliding a sheet of paper toward me like she was handing over a death sentence. “But we do have documentation suggesting the relationship began before your son’s treatment ended, including photos that appear to show intimate moments between you and Dr. Holloway.”
“This is insane.” My voice cracked. Today was feeling like the day from hell.
“There’s more,” Janet added. I groaned. “We’ve been made aware that your son’s father filed a formal complaint as well. Hereported a physical altercation involving Dr. Holloway during a recent visit. He’s seeking a financial settlement, though we’ve had trouble locating him since receiving the complaint.”
I stared at the paper in horror. It was a screenshot from that viral kiss cam video, but there were others, intimate photos from our first night together that made my stomach lurch. Someone had been watching us, violating our privacy in the most disgusting way possible. I grabbed the trash can beside me and emptied my lunch into it.
“This is from a basketball game,” I said weakly, wiping my mouth. “We weren’t hiding anything. And my son’s treatment isn’t even finished…” My voice got stronger as the reality hit me.
“Which is exactly the problem,” Janet interrupted, her voice softer than Rebecca’s but still firm. “Dr. Holloway is still providing care for your son. The timing of your relationship raises serious concerns.”
The room started spinning. “You’re sitting here using illegally obtained photos to destroy a good man’s career. Because we did what do grown individuals wanted to do. How is that ethical? How is this affecting you? How is it stopping this hospital from providing care?”
This wasn’t happening. This couldn’t be happening. Not to us. We’d just come from the most amazing trip; life was supposed to be smooth sailing from this point.
“It’s about liability. Today things are fine and then the next you’re suing for emotional distress. We have to be careful.”
“This is some dumb ass shit. What now?”
“We’ll need to speak with Dr. Holloway as well,” Rebecca said, already reaching for her phone. “I’ll have him called up immediately.”
I watched her press a few buttons and sit back with a satisfied expression. Janet looked at me with sympathetic eyes, but Rebecca, this woman, was clearly enjoying her little gotchamoment, like she’d been waiting for an opportunity to take down someone like Malik.
“He’s on his way,” Rebecca announced. “This shouldn’t take long.”
All I could do was sit there, staring at those horrific photos, wondering who hated us enough to sabotage our relationship, threaten our future like this. I was upset for myself, seeing myself in grainy photos didn’t feel great but I was really upset for Malik. I knew what he’d said about finding another job, but we were grown and shouldn’t be in this position to begin with.
I felt and smelled him before he walked in, that familiar cologne mixed with wave grease that just gave him a delectable scent. He spotted me immediately and kneeled beside my chair, grabbing my hand. “Look at me,” he said softly. He hadn’t even addressed them. I turned to face him, tears already blurring my vision.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered as his eyebrows bunched together.
“Hey, don’t do that. I love you and I’m not worried about none of this bullshit. Just you.”
He stood and took the seat beside me, his presence immediately making me feel less alone even as my world was crumbling.
“You rang?” he said to Janet and Rebecca, his voice calm but with an edge that made both women sit up straighter.
“Dr. Holloway, we’ve received reports about your relationship with Ms. Andrews,” Janet began carefully.
“I don’t know what the problem is. We are two consenting adults.” He gestured toward the photos on the table. “What you have before you is a failed attempt at extortion.”
I jerked my hand away from his, my head snapping toward him. “Extortion? What are you talking about?”
“Sir, we’ve received several reports,” Rebecca interjected, clearly enjoying the tension she’d just created. “Even from co-workers.”
