The Doctor Who Has No Ambition (Soulless Book 9)

by Victoria Quinn

  Daisy rolled her eyes dramatically. “Jesus, you’re annoying.”

  I turned back to her. “I’ve been out of medicine for—”

  “Your perfect score on your exams contradicts whatever you’re going to say next.” She cut me off then grabbed a fry out of the basket on the table. “Let’s get something straight. You were never a bad doctor. Incompetence and negligence were never your crimes. Just a broken heart. So just stop it—for the love of god.”

  I gave her an annoyed look.

  “I’m with her on this one.” Derek took a fry from the basket as well. “And you know we aren’t blowing smoke up your ass.”

  “I’d die before I blew smoke up your ass.” Daisy grabbed another fry but didn’t pop it into her mouth because some guy came to the table.

  Young, handsome, and holding two beers, he set a bottle in front of her. “I thought you could use another. I’m Rhett.” He flashed her a smile and ignored Derek and me. He must have assumed we were a group of platonic friends because he probably wouldn’t come on to her in front of her older brothers or…possible lovers.

  Daisy beamed right back and shook his hand. “That’s very sweet, Rhett. A woman never has too much beer.”

  I’d seen both my dad and brother get hit on, and it didn’t bother me. But it always bothered me with Daisy. I kept my mouth shut and did my best to respect her adulthood and treat her like she was the same as Derek, but it was hard.

  “But I’m actually seeing someone,” she said. “I’m flattered by the offer, though.” She held up the beer to salute him.

  Rhett didn’t walk away. “You aren’t married, right? We should—”

  “She said no.” It was impulsive and uncontrollable, and the words spewed out of my mouth like word vomit. The glare I gave him was hotter than the sun, and the instinctive protectiveness that consumed me was so evolutionary that I would break his face in that goddamn bar if it came down to it.

  Rhett turned to me, raised his hands slightly in surrender, and then walked off.

  The glare Daisy gave me was worse than the one I’d just given Rhett. “What the hell was that?”

  “You said no.”

  “Yes, but was he forcing himself on me?” she asked incredulously. “Chill. Seriously.”

  I didn’t apologize because I wasn’t sorry. I let the tension linger and smolder like coals in a fire that wouldn’t go out.

  “I can handle myself, thank you very much.” Just to stick it to me, she took the beer Rhett bought for her and took a long drink.

  Derek cleared his throat. “You’re seeing someone?”

  I remembered that pretty boy in her apartment. Fit, good-looking, pulling off a leather jacket like it was made for him. His confidence was dangerously close to arrogance, and he didn’t seem the least bit intimidated that I was her brother—which told me he didn’t care whether I liked him or not.

  That meant he wasn’t serious about Daisy.

  Daisy answered Derek’s question before she continued to drink. “Yes.”

  “The guy from the apartment?” I asked. “Mason?”

  She turned to me, her fire simmering down at the change of subject. “Yes, in fact.”

  I didn’t like the guy. He was a panty-chaser, bad boy, heartbreaker. My sister was way too good for a player like that. “It’s serious, then?”

  “I wouldn’t say it’s serious,” she said dismissively. “I just really like him.”

  “What does he do for a living?” Derek asked.

  “Uh-huh.” She waved her finger in front of our faces. “We aren’t doing this interrogation bullshit. If and when I’m ready to bring a guy around to be grilled by the two of you, I’ll let you know. The only reason this topic was broached was because a hot piece of man made a pass at me. Not fair.”

  I wanted to spit out my opinion of the boy toy she was keeping around, to warn her to steer clear of guys like that, but it wasn’t my place. Besides, I had the worst judgment in people…because Catherine was the biggest mistake of my life.

  “We’re talking about you here.” She returned her elbows to the table and pointed at me. “Take the teaching position. Come on, you loved it.”

  “Past tense.” I grabbed my beer and pulled it closer.

  “The Doctors Without Borders position sounds exactly like something you would enjoy,” Derek said. “There’s no way you can do all three and stay on top of patient care, so I suggest you choose two. I’ve spread myself too thin before, and I don’t recommend it.”

  “I don’t know about that,” Daisy said. “Now that you have an assistant, you should be able to juggle everything.”

  “He shouldn’t spend all his time working,” Derek said. “There’s more to life than the job.”

  “Well, I don’t have a life,” I said with a sarcastic chuckle. I took random women to my apartment and worked out. That was about it. Sometimes I’d hit the bar with a couple friends, but even then, it wasn’t much.

  “For now,” Derek said. “But you will.”

  I used to picture myself having the life Derek had, coming home to a couple of kids and a beautiful wife. Now that was the last thing I wanted. Derek had kids and Daisy would have kids, so there was no need for me to settle down and start a family. I could be a terminal bachelor and get plenty of ass into my sixties. “Then maybe I’ll do all three. The Doctors Without Borders option is only quarterly, so…”

  “True,” Derek said in agreement. “Looks like you’ve made your decision.”

  “You like your assistant?” Daisy asked. “Mom said she was great.”

  “Yeah, she’s cool,” I said noncommittally, thinking about the last conversation we’d had, when her words had sunk into my flesh and dissolved into my heart.

  “Have you seen Mr. Torres?” Derek asked.

  I shook my head.

  Daisy watched me with her shrewd gaze, and even though she probably had a lot she wanted to say, she chose not to.

  Derek moved his hand to my shoulder and gave me an affectionate squeeze. “You’ll get there, Dex. I know you will. I never thought I would launch another rocket, but when the time was right…I did. You will too.”

  The elevator doors opened, and I stepped into the office.

  I stilled as I surveyed the area because it looked completely different from the last time I was there. The lobby had a large area rug with an assortment of couches and chairs, the natural light coming through the window and giving it a modern sleekness. There were paintings on the walls, and in the entryway was a table with a tall sculpture on top.

  Sicily had texted me and said she wanted to show me something at the office.

  I figured out what she wanted to show me.

  “Sic?” I stepped farther inside and saw the coffee station for patients and then examined the large desk with computers already set up. There were vases of real flowers and subtle music in the background that made the place feel more like a spa than a doctor’s office.

  It would definitely reduce the blood pressure of my patients before they came in to see me.

  Her voice came from down the hallway. “What do you think?” She left the entrance to the hallway and emerged, wearing a long-sleeved sweater dress with brown boots. There was a brown belt secured around her waist, drawing in the material to show off her hourglass figure. Her heels tapped against the hard floor as she came closer to me, her curled hair bouncing slightly with her movements.

  I looked her up and down, having forgotten how pretty she was because it’d been so long since I’d last seen her. The last few weeks have given me time to decompress, to accept the inevitable, and now I could see the world through a clearer lens. “Yeah, that’s a bitchin’ outfit.”

  Her eyebrows furrowed at my comment before she let out a chuckle. “No, I mean the office.”

  “Ohh, that makes more sense.” I nodded and brushed off my embarrassment. “Yeah, it’s amazing.” I took a look around, crossing my arms over my chest as I moved farther into the hallway. “
Really impressed.” I walked into one of the patient rooms and saw the equipment installed correctly, my echocardiogram, ultrasound machine, and all the other items I’d asked for. My eyes lingered for a while, seeing all the tools I used to use all the time, remembering my old routine and my patients. It felt like a lifetime ago, but also, like it just happened yesterday. I wasn’t sure how long I stood there, lost in thought, but it must have been a few minutes before Sicily got my attention.

  “Everything alright?” she asked from behind me.

  I turned back around and looked at her in the doorway. Her smile was gone, and now she was tense, as if she feared I didn’t like the setup. “Yes, it’s great. I just… My mind went somewhere else.” I moved past her and checked out the other patient rooms and then passed the office on the right.

  It had a floor-to-ceiling window in the background, and all the furniture was white and feminine, with a vase of flowers on the corner table and a floral painting on the wall. “This is your office?”

  “Yes.”

  “It’s nice.”

  “Don’t worry. Yours doesn’t look like this.”

  I chuckled and moved into the corner office, seeing a masculine setup with dark but neutral colors. My large desk was a deep mahogany color, and the chair behind the desk was made of leather with gold nailheads along the stitching. Bookshelves were on either side, already filled with books. On the walls were frames holding my medical degrees and my series of awards. There were also pictures of me doing my humanitarian work in South Africa. It took a while to survey it all, to step into the past as well as the future.

  Sicily came to my side and stared at the wall with me. “Your mother gave those to me.”

  “I’m not sure how…because I threw them away.” I’d left my practice and bagged up my shit and tossed it in the dumpster. I didn’t know if my parents dug through the garbage to get everything, or if they contacted my alma maters and got new copies of everything. I wasn’t sure how they got the photos.

  Sicily crossed her arms over her chest and continued to look at the wall of accomplishments. “I really love this picture of you.” She stepped forward and examined the picture of me with a little boy from the village.

  I moved to her side, getting a closer look at it. “His name was Thamuku. He was born with a heart defect.” I remembered how brave he was, how he didn’t cry when I told him I’d have to cut him open and operate. His mother was in tears, but he wasn’t.

  “Yeah?” she whispered. “What happened?”

  “I operated. This picture was taken a year later when I returned to his village to serve other patients.” I inhaled a deep breath when I remembered the first time I saw him. He recognized me instantly and sprinted toward me, that adorable smile on his lips. His mother brought me a fruit tray and said it was all she had to thank me for saving her only son.

  Sicily turned to look at me.

  I felt the distant moisture coat the surface of my eyes, not because I was sad, but because it was one of the highlights of my career. There were hundreds like him, hundreds of patients that were a part of me.

  Her hand moved to my arm, and she gave me a gentle squeeze. “You’re going to help so many more people just like Thamuku. You’ll never forget them—and they’ll never forget you.”

  We sat on the couches in front of my desk and faced each other. She didn’t use the back of the couch for support and sat with perfect posture, her long legs crossed and sheathed in her heeled boots. She had her notebook in her hand with her pen clicked open and at the ready.

  “How did you pull this off in just a couple weeks?” It felt like an established practice, a place that had seen patients for at least a decade. It reminded me of my old practice, but much nicer. It had a feminine touch that I’d never experienced because I hadn’t had an assistant like Sicily before. I’d had people working behind the desk and an office manager, but not somebody this intimately involved in my life.

  She shrugged. “I guess I hustled.”

  “You had to do more than hustle to get all this delivered and set up in this insane amount of time.”

  She shrugged again. “I may have gotten a couple tips from Superwoman…”

  I chuckled. “You call my mom Superwoman?”

  “Well, I’d call her Boss Bitch, but that’s a little inappropriate.”

  This time, I really laughed. “She’d like that name, actually.”

  “I’d still rather not take the gamble.” She dipped her chin and looked down at her notebook, her brown hair falling forward, so she had to tuck it behind her ear. “So, have you given any more thought to the positions I lined up for you?” She didn’t have any notes to take, but she continued to look down for a few seconds.

  It gave me the perfect opportunity to stare at her, to notice how gentle she was in all her movements. When it came to women, I wasn’t picky, and I could find something good in pretty much everyone, but she was the definition of a soft woman. Everything about her was soft, from her green eyes, to her skin, her hair…everything.

  She looked up when I didn’t say anything.

  I got back on track. “All.”

  She gave me a blank look at first. “All?”

  I nodded.

  That surprise was still on her face.

  “What? Did you expect to shove a butter knife under my nails to earn my cooperation?”

  “Not that, specifically…but kinda.” She looked down and added the notes.

  “The rotation with Doctors is only once a quarter, so we’ll just plan the schedule ahead of time. And when it comes to research, it sounds like you’re in the trenches getting your hands dirty all the time, but there’s actually a lot of waiting around for data, peer evaluations, edits…blah, blah. And teaching…” The only reason I agreed to that one was because of my sister. “That’s going to be a little difficult, but I’ll get the hang of it.”

  “Why?”

  I sat with my forearms on my thighs, examining the coffee table between us and the vase of flowers sitting there for no one to enjoy. “It’s a long story.”

  “Well, I’m on the clock twenty-four seven, so I’ve got time.”

  “God, please tell me that isn’t true.”

  “Honestly, I’ve got nothing else to do anyway, and I could use the money.”

  “I don’t even know how much I’m paying you, actually.”

  She gave an innocent shrug. “A lot. I’ll leave it at that.”

  I knew my parents were the silent partners in all of this, but once things were running smoothly once again, I’d be able to pay them back—with interest. “I’m sure you’re worth every penny. I mean, look at this place.”

  Her smile was impossible to suppress, and she even had a slight flush under her skin, as if she weren’t only touched by the compliment but even a little embarrassed about it. “Thanks. So, why will teaching be difficult?”

  My eyes shifted out the window as I considered how to explain it to her. “Basically, teaching is really important in my family. My dad’s primary focus is research and patient care, but he takes bright minds under his wing in the hope of making them perfect physicians like he is. And my older brother is also a professor, and teaching is his entire life. He doesn’t just teach in the classroom, but at his aeronautics company, and he believes educating the next generation is his calling to help humankind. So…big deal.”

  “Then teaching sounds perfect for you.”

  “Yeah, but sometimes I’m not sure if I have the right to teach other people.” I bowed my head, reliving that moment over and over, the distinct lack of sound once he flatlined. The constant beep of the monitor was annoying, but once that sound was gone…you missed it more than anything.

  “You’re being too hard on yourself,” she said gently. “They wouldn’t have offered you the position if they didn’t think you deserved it. Anytime I’ve had schooling, the intangible lessons that come from education have taught me more than the education itself.”

  I star
ed at her, unsure what that meant.

  “Sometimes teachers attempted to get their lessons across, but I never got it, no matter how hard they tried. But I admired their commitment and compassion toward me, and I integrated that into my life so I could help someone who wasn’t understanding something themselves. Theoretically, another surgeon could take your position and teach those students just as well, but they’re going to miss the intangible lessons you can impart, like compassion, kindness, heart, humility…and the million other qualities that you possess. You’ll remind them what’s important about the profession—which is the patient. It’ll inspire them in a way they won’t be inspired by somebody else. So, I think you should take that position more than somebody else because I know how doctors can be, showing off their ridiculous penthouses and their fleet of cars, caring about the money and the fame. But you aren’t like that, Dex.”

  My mouth was frozen in place because I had no idea what to say to that. All I could do was stare at her and absorb the enormous compliment she’d just paid me. When we worked together as concierges, I noticed her kindness and her warmth, but now I was seeing so much more of her that I’d missed previously.

  When she knew I wouldn’t respond, she cleared her throat and changed the subject. “So, your brother is a what? An aerosol manufacturer or something?”

  I reduced my loud laugh to a chuckle because I didn’t want to embarrass her for misunderstanding what I’d said. “He’s an aeronautical engineer. He builds rockets and rovers, stuff like that. After leaving NASA, he started his own company, but he works in collaboration with them now. He’s also a professor to graduate students at the university. And he runs an internship program at his company for new engineers.”

  Now she was the one who looked like she had no idea what to say.

  “Yeah, he’s an overachiever.”

  The shock slowly waned, and her smile came through. “Damn, I’ve never even heard of someone like that before.”

  “He’s a lot like my dad. You know, quiet, contemplative, a little bitchy, a super genius.”