Perfectly Honest

by O'Connor, Linda

  “She’s so tiny,” Jessie said reverently.

  Mikaela laid a hand on Jessie’s abdomen. “Almost done, Jessie. You’ll have another couple of contractions to deliver the placenta,” she explained.

  Jessie nodded as she felt the pressure build again. “It’s not as bad,” she said, panting.

  “No, but you might feel like pushing and that’s okay.”

  Mikaela was examining the placenta as the paramedics arrived. She looked up toward the door as they came in, and noticed Sam by the door, watching her with a thoughtful expression. She probably had a bit of explaining to do, but more importantly, she needed to get Jessie to the hospital.

  “I’m Dr. Finn,” she said to the paramedics. “As you can see, the baby’s been delivered and has good Apgar scores.”

  “Maybe we could just skip the hospital altogether,” Jessie interrupted hopefully. Jeff frowned as he looked from his wife to Mikaela.

  Mikaela looked at her. “The baby should be examined, and you have a small tear that should be repaired.”

  Jessie nodded and Jeff visibly relaxed.

  “Jessie, I think there’s a piece of the placenta still in the uterus.”

  “Really?” Jessie said, looking resigned. “That happened with our son, too. I had to have a procedure to have it removed.”

  Mikaela nodded. “It may still deliver spontaneously, but it’s a large enough piece that we may have to take you to the operating room.”

  “Would you be able to do that?” Jessie asked, as Jeff squeezed her hand.

  Mikaela hesitated and glanced at Sam. “Of course,” she said. “I can come in the ambulance with you and admit you to St. Peter’s. I’ll make the arrangements while the paramedics get you ready.”

  She nodded to the paramedics who were checking Jessie’s vitals and preparing her for the trip. Mikaela removed her gloves and tossed them in the mess.

  She approached Sam and motioned for him to follow her into the foyer. He pushed himself away from the wall and followed her out the door.

  She stopped in a quiet corner and turned around. “So,” she said, trying to decide where to start.

  “So,” he repeated. “You’re a doctor.”

  “Yes, an obstetrician-gynecologist.” She tried to read his reaction.

  “Yeah, I got that. Nice work in there, by the way.”

  “Thanks,” Mikaela said, looking away, then back at Sam. “Sorry I didn’t tell you.”

  “Why didn’t you?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. It didn’t come up and didn’t seem important.”

  “You didn’t think that someone might recognize you?”

  Mikaela stiffened. “I never thought of that,” she admitted. “I guess it’s a moot point now,” she said with a grimace.

  “Yeah,” Sam said, putting his hands in his pockets. “I’m sure everyone will have heard of you by tomorrow.”

  “Sam, I’m really sorry about this. I should go with her in the ambulance. I think she’s going to need a D and C tonight.”

  Sam waved it aside. “Don’t apologize. I get it,” he said, frowning.

  He gets it, but he doesn’t like it, Mikaela thought. “It’ll probably be late before I can take her to the OR, but I could drive back tomorrow for the brunch.”

  “Don’t worry about it. The main players met you tonight and I think everyone will understand if you’re not there tomorrow. It’s not worth the trouble to drive back.”

  Mikaela looked at him, disappointment flooding her. “Okay, if you’re sure.” Sometimes medicine just sucked. “You’ll bring my stuff back with you?”

  “Yeah, will do. I’ll get it to you,” he promised.

  Well, that was something at least, Mikaela thought. Mikaela looked over as the doors opened and the paramedics wheeled out a stretcher with Jessie and the baby.

  “I should go.”

  “Sure,” Sam said. “I hope it all goes smoothly.”

  “Thanks. Thanks for everything.” She reached up and quickly kissed Sam’s cheek, then spun on her heel and hurried after the paramedics.

  Do not cry. Do not cry, she told herself sternly. Disappointment and regret washed over her. She looked up as the hotel staff held out her purse. She gave a tight smile and straightened her shoulders. Time to put on her Dr. Finn façade, she thought as she climbed into the back of the ambulance.

  Chapter 9

  Written in the Stars by Esmeralda Garnet

  ARIES (March 21-April 19) Emotions will escalate and confusion will set in with regard to a partnership you thought you could count on. Take time to absorb what’s happened. You are sitting in a much better position than you realize. Bide your time.

  At two o’clock in the morning, Mikaela tiredly paid the taxi driver and let herself into her house.

  Everything had gone well. The baby was examined and was fine. Jessie needed the extra procedure, but it went smoothly and the small tear was repaired. Both mom and baby were staying overnight in hospital and would be discharged in the morning.

  Jessie was extremely grateful, embarrassingly so. Mikaela had tuned it out after a while, and the anesthetist had hardly paid attention. Unfortunately, the OR nurse had listened with an avid interest and egged Jessie on when Sam O’Brien’s name was mentioned. Mikaela wondered if she should be worried about that. Probably should. Maybe tomorrow she would. Tonight, she was too tired to care.

  Tired and disappointed and feeling like an idiot. So Sam could add another notch to his bedpost, the nurses would have food for their rumor mill, and she could work at mending her heart. Mikaela sighed. She had enjoyed being in the moment with Sam. In the moment, in his bed. On the tennis court, in the pool. The moments were all good, she thought sleepily. She just wished the moment lasted a bit longer.

  One week later, Mikaela sat in Dr. Scott’s waiting room, eyeing his secretary and tapping her foot impatiently.

  What the hell was this all about? The secretary for the head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology had called Mikaela’s secretary and made arrangements for a meeting. Which was odd. They held monthly departmental meetings to weigh in on major issues. For minor matters, Scott usually caught them in the hallway between patients or dropped by at the end of a clinic.

  So what was the deal with arranging a meeting? A formal meeting. In his office. It must be a big freakin’ deal, but she had no idea what it was about. Mikaela felt like a resident again, being called into the head’s office for an evaluation. Which was part of the problem of staying here long term. She didn’t feel like a colleague, she felt like an underling. Again. She sighed in frustration.

  The hospital clinic was a great set-up and Mikaela really liked the nurses and the support staff. They were all great – reliable and smart and fun to work with. She liked the clinics and the fact that someone else managed the staff, the supplies and all the administrative stuff. She had all the operating time she needed and the shared call worked well, so she didn’t have to be on call twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. It really was a golden job, especially for someone who feared change.

  But the fact that she couldn’t shake the aura of an underling was immensely frustrating. Mikaela couldn’t imagine Scott summoning Dr. Engel or Dr. Parent like this. They had been in practice longer than she had been alive. She couldn’t imagine either of them cooling their heels in his waiting room. She checked her watch again and thought about the patients who would be kept waiting when her afternoon clinic started late.

  And who arranged a meeting without an agenda? What’s with that? Wasn’t it common courtesy to let the parties involved know what was going to be discussed so they could be prepared? Which she wasn’t – probably. That was the problem. She wasn’t prepared because she didn’t know what this was all about, she thought with rising frustration.

  Okay, deep breaths. Calm down. Starting off a meeting antagonistic and angry with the head was probably not the way to go. Look at the other side of the coin. Others seemed gen
uinely pleased to have her on board with the department. And she wouldn’t have been asked to stay if they didn’t respect her work. One would think. Mikaela sighed again.

  “I’m very sorry about the wait, Dr. Finn,” the secretary said, interrupting her thoughts. “You probably have a clinic to go to. Dr. Scott thought this conference call would only be twenty minutes. They must be running behind. Would it be more convenient for you to reschedule?”

  Mikaela looked at the secretary. See, the respect was there. She just needed to wrap her head around it. “No, I’ll wait a little longer,” Mikaela said, too curious to postpone. “The clinic is scheduled to start at one-thirty and the nurses will take a few minutes to get the patients ready. But thank you for offering.”

  “It’s not a problem. If it gets too late, let me know.” She smiled.

  “Thanks,” Mikaela said. As she checked her watch again, the door to the office swung open and Dr. Scott bustled through with an apologetic air.

  Mikaela glanced up and, despite her nerves, smiled. Dr. Scott always reminded her of a snowman. His round face and balding head were a perfect match for his round middle. Twinkling eyes, a button nose and a perpetual smile made her wonder if he kept a magical top hat.

  “I’m very sorry to keep you waiting.” He ushered her into his office. “That was a conference call and we were late starting due to ‘technical difficulties,’” he said putting the last two words in air quotations. “Personally I suspect the crew out east just plain forgot, but it was important enough to wait until they sorted it out.”

  He gestured for Mikaela to sit down in one of the comfortable chairs in front of his large mahogany desk. “Please, sit down,” he said and went behind his desk to seat himself. “Do you have a clinic booked this afternoon?”

  “Yes, at one-thirty.”

  “I won’t hold you up too long,” he said, slipping on wire-rimmed glasses and pulling a file folder over and opening it up. “First of all, I would like to extend my congratulations to you.”

  “Th—Thank you,” Mikaela stammered. “For what?”

  “On your engagement,” he boomed heartily.

  Mikaela’s eyes widened and her smile faltered. “My engagement,” she repeated.

  “Yes, your engagement to Sam O’Brien,” he announced. “O’Brien’s a fine surgeon. You could do worse.”

  Mikaela blinked and stared. Was that appropriate? She thought not. But neither was lying to a hospital board of directors or the head, for that matter, so she wisely kept quiet. She frantically wondered how he knew and why he cared.

  “Okay, well, thanks. If that’s all,” she said, starting to rise. The less said, the better. There was no need to tell him that she hadn’t been in contact with Sam since she left in the ambulance with Jessie. Sam had dropped off her bag with her secretary and didn’t that raise a few eyebrows. Mikaela had scooped it up and put it away, along with the speculation and curious looks. She did not want to go there with her staff. And Sam hadn’t contacted her since. So fine. It was over. She was moving on.

  “No, no, there’s more,” he said, skimming the letter in front of him.

  Great, she thought as she sat down again.

  “I also wanted to commend you for your dedication and hard work. You make us look good,” he said with a wink. “I have a very complimentary letter here from Jessie Desarmes.”

  Uh-oh.

  “She writes that you went beyond the call of duty when she went into labor in Emerson. She cites your professional and calm demeanor, your excellent skills in a less than ideal environment, your command of the situation, and your willingness to advocate for her when she needed to be admitted here, which meant the safe and healthy arrival of her daughter. She is very appreciative, very grateful,” he said, peering at her over the rim of his glasses.

  “I’m glad it all worked out so well.”

  “Yes, and in order to acknowledge how grateful she is, she has made a very generous donation to the hospital, and specifically to the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.” He looked at Mikaela. “She states that you would not accept a gift and wanted to make this donation in your name.”

  “I’m honored. That’s a lovely thing to do,” Mikaela said, touched.

  “It is. The board members here were thrilled and obviously want you to have input on how the money will be spent.”

  “Certainly, I would enjoy that,” Mikaela agreed, worrying about where Jessie sent copies of the letter. Obviously to her department head and to St. Peter’s Hospital Board of Directors. Hopefully that was it. She was going to have to contact Sam and ‘break up’ soon.

  “Further, she wanted to let us know how excited she is that you’ll be accompanying Dr. O’Brien when he moves to Emerson.”

  What?

  He lowered his glasses. “Bill Truent is a golfing buddy of mine. He’s been chairman of the board at Emerson for seven, eight years now. As a matter of fact, we were at a charity golfing event last weekend. He tells me that they were reluctant to take on an eye surgeon, but you were the icing on the cake for them. They’ve been trying to woo an ob-gyn there for years. They’re absolutely delighted that you’ll be headed their way.”

  “Oh, but …” Mikaela stammered, trying to think. “I didn’t hear about a decision being made. And I don’t think we ever discussed me going. It was really Sam’s deal.”

  “It was news to me and I told him as much. But Fiona Harkness insisted that you mentioned you would be accompanying him.”

  “Fiona Harkness?”

  “Yes, she’s probably the most powerful board member there. She’s a quiet soul, a diminutive woman. You’d never know it to talk to her, but she’s got family money behind her. Family money that speaks.”

  Quiet soul, diminutive woman? The woman Mikaela sat beside during dinner? The one she pumped for information? Oh no. “Well, really sir, I don’t want to make any hasty decisions or make any big changes—”

  “Nonsense,” Dr. Scott interrupted. “You’ll have a great set up there. They’re willing to modernize the equipment to your specifications. If I were twenty years younger I’d jump at this.”

  “Really, I think I …” she said as she tried to stop the tsunami of change.

  “And because of your exemplary record, we’ll continue to award you privileges here. It actually works out well. We have a new high-risk delivery fellow starting in November and he’ll pick up your clinic and OR time. I was trying to juggle it all to make it work for him. Funny how it all works out, isn’t it?”

  Chapter 10

  Zodiac Zach—Don’t leave home without him.

  ARIES (March 21-April 19) A proposal with potential to propel you forward should be considered. A sudden change will lead to a contract or alter the way you currently live. Love and romance are highlighted.

  Dr. Scott had rambled on for another ten minutes, but Mikaela hadn’t heard a word he’d said. She was still reeling from the shock. After he announced he was giving away her time, her mind went blank.

  She was fired. Essentially. No operating room time. No clinic space. How had this happened? She would still have privileges, but big whoop. What good was that without being able to operate or have clinics?

  This meant change. Big change. Big scary change. That she hadn’t planned. Zodiac Zach and Esmeralda had warnings, but what about happenstance weighing in?

  Mikaela stared blindly at her schedule for the afternoon clinic. How was she going to fix this?

  Okay, she would go back and tell Dr. Scott that it was all a misunderstanding. Tell him she wasn’t engaged to Sam. Tell him people just made that assumption when they showed up together. Haha, just kidding.

  Mikaela groaned. They’d be caught in their lie. How would that look? Yeah, we lied so Sam could get the position he really wanted. Both hospitals and the medical licensing body would most certainly be unhappy with that behavior.

  She could go back and tell Dr. Scott that she and Sam broke up. Tragic, but true, and now s
he needed her job back. That might jeopardize Sam’s chances of moving to Emerson, but what about her job? She lost her job. That wasn’t fair. And why should his job be more important than hers? They needed to fix this. He needed to fix this. He got her into this, and he needed to get her out.

  Mikaela grabbed her cell phone and sent off a text to Sam.

  We need to talk.

  Done. Now she needed to take a deep breath, put it aside and focus on work. While she still had a job.

  With barely concealed fury, Sam disconnected the call. That was not what he wanted to hear.

  They were so delighted to welcome an obstetrician and gynecologist to Emerson. It was part of the hospital’s long-term strategic plan to recruit one and they had incentives and bonus money. It was an underserviced specialty and they couldn’t be happier to welcome Dr. Finn. Would she consider the position of head of obstetrics and gynecology, they wondered? Would she be able to help them update the delivery suite? They would guarantee her as much clinic and operating time as she needed.

  And, oh yeah. He could come, too. They could probably find a half day every two weeks for him to operate. Probably. Maybe.

  Sam was livid. He had been required to submit a ten page application, a resume, references, a background check, and verification of good standing from the College of Physicians and Surgeons. He had attended two formal interviews, presented rounds and had informal interviews at dinner and brunch that idiotic weekend, and this is what happened? What the fuck? That was it? Deliver one baby and that was it? Did anyone even check her credentials? She told him she was a painter, for God’s sake.

  Apparently, painters who deliver babies had more street cred than a fully qualified ophthalmologist with subspecialty training. Sam shook his head in disgust. Maybe he should rethink this whole thing. If that’s what they considered a priority, maybe he should change his.

  A little late for that. After that weekend, he was so sure of getting the job that he’d submitted his resignation and accepted an offer on his house. Everything had looked like a go. Several people had hinted that he was a shoe-in. He was told they were trying to draw specialists to the hospital. That they would never turn down an ophthalmologist. So what the hell happened? Who made those decisions? Certainly not the same people he talked to.