“So you’re filling in for Dr. Nualli, I hear?” Morris asked around a mouthful of his sandwich.
“Yeah. Just
for a little while. No offense, but I’m not trying to make mortal hours a permanent thing.”
Morris laughed heartily, once again beckoning to the table with him. “Well, in the meantime, I hope you’re having something more than just coffee for lunch, doc. You’ll be a jittery mess by the time your shift ends. Those of us working in the daylight have to refuel properly.” He held up his sandwich as if offering me a bite. “You should know that.”
I smiled tensely again, not liking the sound of anyone telling me what I should know, even jokingly. Yet, right on time to save me, Dr. Morris’ pager went off. He swore under his breath. “Can’t catch a break around here these days!”
“Another day, another dollar,” I said, gratefully resettling into my seat now that Dr. Morris was rising from the table, being called for duty.
“You’ve got that right. See you around, Evan.”
“Yeah. See you, Morris.”
The instant I was alone again, I almost regretted it. Morris’ brief appearance had at least managed to push Tessa from my mind. But now that I was in solitude once more, I no longer had a distraction.
While her looks were undeniable, her skills had left me rather stunned as well. It was obvious that she was light-years beyond the other nurses. The way she worked around the GSW, she could have been a doctor. It’s not every day—or ever, in my case—that a nurse catches and calls out a doctor for making a mistake. Something about the way Tessa spoke to me while treating that gunshot patient had made me feel like a scorned child. It was like I was 14-years-old all over again, getting scolded by my algebra teacher in front of the whole class about “being too smart to be so careless.”
On the other hand, I didn’t even have legit reason to be upset with Tessa. She had every right to call me out on my mistakes because she was one-hundred percent right. If something had been overlooked with that patient, the blame would have ultimately been on me. Yet, this realization did nothing to alleviate my conflicted feelings about her.
And it was just barely past noon. Dammit.
With a sigh, I drank the last of my coffee and tried to mentally prepare myself for the long hours ahead.
CHAPTER 3
Tessa
In the break room, I drank the last of my water and threw the plastic bottle into the recycle bin just as Molly walked in.
“Long day,” she said.
“Tell me about it.”
“Are you okay?” She tilted her head in concern. “You seem a little annoyed.”
I shrugged my shoulders. “I’m fine..”
She pursed her lips and folded her arms. Molly had known me for a long time, and we had started working at the same hospital within a week from each other. We went through our adjustment phase together, and both of us had been mentored by Dr. Nualli. Hence, she knew me well enough to know when I was bluffing, or hiding my frustration.
“You in a hurry, Molly?”
She placed a finger on her plump chin. “Hmm…At home, I have a tall, dark, and handsome stranger waiting for me. But he’s on my DVR, so I guess he can wait.” She smiled. “What’s up?”
Together, we took seats at the table.
“I guess I’m just worried about Dr. Nualli. Do you know where she is? She hasn’t left us, has she?”
A wrinkle appeared in Molly’s brow. “Honestly, I’m not sure. Maybe she’s just taking some time off, you know? It can’t be anything serious, otherwise, I’m sure we would have heard something. She’s a busy woman. She deserves some time off. Hopefully she’s on an island somewhere with a big fruity drink in her hand and some handsome company.”
I laughed, though the word ‘handsome’ immediately sprung thoughts of Dr. Sholly into my mind. I suppose it showed on my face too, considering the way Molly narrowed her eyes at me. I tried to rearrange my expression into something more neutral, but it was pointless. Sometimes I was sure Molly was psychic.
Although Molly and I had started working at nearly the same time, she was at least fifteen years older than me. She often felt like a cross between a big sister and a surrogate mother. She had a few children of her own, so her maternal instincts were strong. I presumed that had to be why she was so good at reading nonverbal cues.
I cleared my throat and tried to keep my voice as nonchalant as possible. “So, do you have any idea if we’ll be stuck working with Dr. Sholly until Nualli gets back? Or was this just for today?”
“Stuck working with him?” she said with a smirk. “I’m not sure the other young nurses around here would describe it that way. They all seem pretty pleased to have him around.” She laughed.