In a daze I run into Caden and Dev as they step around a corner.
Chicago. Chicago. Chicago.
“Everything okay?” he asks, seeing my expression.
Chicago. Chicago. Chicago.
Mangal’s brow shoots up. “Something big come in?”
Chicago. Chicago. Chicago.
Caden asks, “Need me to run to the E.R.?”
Chicago. Chicago. Chicago.
Dev says, “It’s been a slow day today, huh. Guess we should be thankful.”
“You’re being sent to Chicago.”
Caden blinks at me. “What?!”
Dev’s mouth opens, speechless.
Furious, Caden steps closer. “Are you serious?”
Struggling to remember how I would normally have acted under these circumstances had we never kissed, had he never lit my body on fire, had he never given chocolates to an entire floor who needed kindness, I employ the voice I have used on more occasions than I can count. “Unfortunately there have been budget cuts, and—”
“—Is Janet leaving, too?”
Swallowing regret, I blink and shake my head.
Caden drags a hand through his hair, “Chicago?!” dropping his frown to the tile.
His friend, normally so amiable, is furious. “This come from the chief?”
“Yes.” My gaze flicks from him to Caden. “I wasn’t supposed to tell you.”
Caden stares like I just threw him a used bone when he deserves the steak. “Great. Thanks.” He storms off.
Dev pauses a beat before chasing after him. “Maybe you could talk Chief out of it, Dr. Myers!” He breaks into a run to catch up.
I’m standing here, helpless, knowing this is my fault.
CHAPTER 24
C ADEN
“C ome in,” Chief says at my knock.
Registering the anger on my face, Oberhan leans back in his leather chair and motions for me to sit.
“You’re sending me to Chicago?”
He glances to the chair I can’t occupy right now—my blood is boiling—and exhales as he meets my eyes again.
“Dr. Cocker, how did you find out this information?”
“Is it true?”
“If you think you can use that tone with me, you have another thing coming.”
“Or what? You’ll send me to Chicago? Because that’s pretty much the worst thing you can do. And you’re doing it already.”
With lack of patience, Oberhan eyes me for a couple beats. These are supposed to wilt my resolve. They do not. “I don’t have to send you anywhere. Normally we let interns find their own program when they’re let go. I could send you to a city where all you'll be doing is a whole lot of nothing, if that’s what you’d prefer.”
My eyes flicker. “Chief, I need to stay in Atlanta. I became a doctor to be here for my family.”
“You understood when you took residency with our hospital that you could be transferred to anywhere that needs you most.”
Blinking to the wall, I rub my face with shaky fingers. “I know that. I want to be of use. Believe me I do. But I am very close to my family, and they live here. I have four brothers and sisters. My parents and I are extremely close. Not to mention my cousins. Look, it would devastate them.”
I was about to say me.
Both are accurate.
“I’m sure they’ll be proud of you, Dr. Cocker.” He returns to his computer with a blasé spin of his chair. “Besides, I heard you want to become a cardiothoracic surgeon, and they have an excellent program there. Perhaps even better than our own. Look at this as a forward step to a better future. We're done here.”
She told him about my decision?
But she didn't pick me to stay.
“Yes Chief, I want to do that. Since I’m choosing a specialty none of the other second-years have, could that help me fit into the budget? I could take a pay cut, too, until something changes. I’m not here for the money. I need enough to get by and pay my bills, that’s it.”
He stares at me over his glasses. “We have another second-year requesting cardiology.”
“Who?” My frown smooths out. “It’s Gilroy, isn’t it.”
“Yes. And after the recommendation of Dr. Myers, the choice was clear.”
Stunned to hear it aloud, I blink at him, growl, “This is just great,” and walk out of his office.
“Close the door, Cocker!”
I almost don’t. But he’s right—he could send me anywhere. Not only that but I do not wish to show up in Illinois with a bad reputation preceding me.
I find Dev hovering nearby. “Did you talk him out of it? I bet you talked him out of it, didn’t you? I know you! You always get your way. You don’t even have hair on your butt!”
“Fuck,” I mutter, rubbing my face. “I forgot to ask him something.” Turning on my heel I head back, knocking on the door with more respect this time lest my future fall apart before my eyes even more.
“Come in.”
“Excuse me, Chief. I forgot to ask when I’m leaving.”
He doesn’t even look at me. “They’re prepared to give your orientation three days from now.”
My heart is pounding. “Are you flying me there, or do I have to pay for my own ticket?”
“Under the circumstances, you’ll be getting a small stipend for your move. It’s up to you whether you want to drive north so that you have your car with you, or fly. You can talk to my assistant about all of the arrangements. I have a hospital to run.”
“Ah, I see you’re not close with your family.”
His head whips up, eyes flashing. “I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that. And the reason I’m going to pretend is because I think you have a good future in medicine, but if you say another word you will make me doubt that. Need I remind you that I can snuff your career out with my fingertips if I am so inclined? Go home. The next hospital you check into won’t be mine. I don’t want to see you here again.”
I shut the door without having to be asked.
And how I wanted to slam it.
Seething, I pass Dev. “It’s done. I have to go home. He just kicked me out.”
“No!”
“Yes.”
Dev jogs up, keeps pace with me. “What did you say to him? Isn’t there something we can
