Strictly Professional

STRICTLY PROFESSIONAL

Stud Service 1

SANDY SULLIVAN

Copyright © 2010

Chapter One

“Doctor Gibson!” Savannah’s head snapped up at the tone from the attending physician across the table. “Don’t you think you need to pay attention to the case at hand, Doctor?”

She trembled slightly at the piercing look he gave her over the blue mask covering the lower half of his face.

Damn! I need to quit dillydallying. I wish I knew why Mom and Dad insisted we all come home for the weekend. I hate when they call us all together like this. It usually means another lecture on why we aren’t married with children on the way. I’m only thirty.

“Yes, sir.”

“Then pull that retractor back so I can see what the hell I’m cutting.”

Savannah tugged at the metal retractor in her hand hard enough to expose the tissue in the patient’s abdomen. Doctor Richardson cut away the fatty lining covering the liver. The surgery being performed couldn’t have been simpler. They were only there to take a biopsy of the tissue and remove the gallbladder and appendix. Her rotation was almost complete and this was her last surgery. Then she could focus on what she really wanted to study—emergency medicine.

Several tense minutes later, Doctor Richardson stepped back, snapped off his gloves, pulled off his gown, and glowered. “You can close, Doctor. I’ll see you in the lounge in thirty minutes.” He pushed through the swinging door of the operating room and when the door closed behind him, she could almost hear the audible sigh of relief that echoed through the room.

“Don’t worry about him, Savannah. He’s always like that with the residents.” Her gaze met that of the anesthesiologist over the blue drape separating her from the patient’s head. His green eyes twinkled and she knew he smiled behind his mask.

Jeff’s ever-present good nature made her smile in return. She didn’t think anything ever pissed him off.

She shrugged before returning her attention to the patient under her hands as she methodically closed his abdomen. “I don’t mind him. My attention wasn’t on the patient like it should have been. I’ll be glad when this is finished, though.”

“We’ll miss you around here, you know,” Danielle said from near the patient’s feet and the surgical technician returned to counting the instruments and needles to make sure nothing was left inside.

“Thanks, Danielle. I’m going to miss you guys, too. I’ve enjoyed working with all of you. I hate the pompous surgeons, though, and I’d rather be working in the emergency room. Unfortunately, surgery is part of the training.” Her hands worked to close the patient’s wound in the best way possible within the time frame she had been given.

It wouldn’t do any good to make Doctor Richardson mad because I took too long closing.

Once she finished, she pulled the drape off, wiped the remaining blood from his abdomen with the wet towel, and put the dressing across the stitches, taping it down securely. Jeff worked to wake the patient up from his anesthesia while she removed her gloves and bloody gown.

“Call me if there are any problems,” Savannah said as she headed for the door. “I have my beeper.”

“Sure.” Jeff turned off the anesthesia and removed the tape from the patient’s eyes. “Hey, Savannah? How about a beer later?”

Everyone's attention focused on her. “Sorry, Jeff. I’ve got call tonight for the emergency room.”

“Maybe this weekend then?”

She didn’t want to encourage him. He’d asked her out several times since she started in their department and he seemed to be a really nice guy, but he wasn’t the
one
.

“I can’t. I’m going to my parents’ this weekend.”

Frown lines appeared between his eyebrows. “Some other time, then.”

She smiled. “Sure. See you guys around unless you call with a problem.” Pushing through the doors, she walked several feet away before she exhaled a forced rush of air. She didn’t like putting people off, but things were getting a little too intense with Jeff. He was pressuring her a lot more lately and it made her uncomfortable.

The door to the doctor’s lounge loomed in front of her. Punching in the code, she pushed it open just in time to hear Doctor Richardson say, “She’ll never make it. Her parents are paying for her to be here to satisfy her curiosity about medicine. She doesn’t have the drive or the desire to be a real physician. For her, it’s like playing doctor with her rich little friends.”

“I think you’re wrong, Dick. Doctor Gibson is a fantastic person, she loves her patients, and she knows her stuff. It’s a good thing she doesn’t want to stay in surgery. The two of you would never get along.”

Savannah bristled at the tone in Doctor Richardson’s voice. Thank goodness Doctor Collins stuck up for her, but anger zipped down her back at the condescending attitude of the attending physician.

Stopping behind the two men, she said, “Thank you for standing up for me, Doctor Collins, but let me tell you something, Doctor Richardson. I’m here because I want to be a physician and take care of patients, not to make you look better because you’ve taken me under your wing. My parents are not paying for my education. I am. I work forty plus hours a week besides my time required here to complete my residency. I have taken out more loans than I can ever repay to pay for this high-price education and not because I know my parents would pay it for me in a heartbeat, but because I love what I do and I’m good at it. Emergency medicine will be my choice, not surgery, and not because I can’t hold a retractor tight enough to satisfy you, but because I want to be able to interact with my patients. I want to be able to hold a child in my arms when they don’t feel well. I want to be able to hold the hand of a dying patient and comfort their family when they take their last breath. You, Doctor Richardson, are bitter and you might think about retiring.”

She spun on her heel and walked out the door as bitter tears streaked down her cheeks and her vision blurred.

Down the hall and to the left, she moved in a desperate attempt to get somewhere so she could cry until she had no more tears. She turned the corner only to slam into a solid wall of muscle.

“Whoa. Hold on there.” Large, strong hands wrapped around her upper arms.

Wiping her tears, she looked up into the most gorgeous blue eyes she’d ever seen. Then she saw it—cowboy hat. “I–I’m sorry. I didn’t see you.”

“That’s kind of obvious. You okay?”

She pulled her arm out of his grasp, fighting the zing of awareness that rippled along the surface with the deep timbre of his voice. “I’m fine.” Dropping her gaze from his, she said, “Excuse me.” She stepped around him and walked further down the hall, but once she reached the locker room door, she turned back to take one last look.

He still stood in the same spot and when their eyes met, he tipped his hat and smiled, flashing a hint of a dimple in his left cheek.

He is kind of cute, but damn it, why does he have to be a cowboy? I hate cowboys!

Shaking her head, she pushed the door opened and quickly walked to her locker. She spun the dial and lifted the lock.

“You okay, Savannah?”

She spun around to find her friend and colleague, Adam, behind her and she shook her head, not trusting her voice. Even though she knew he would understand, she couldn't find her voice right then, to be able to tell him.

“Come here.” He wrapped his arms around her and she cried broken tears on his shoulder while he ran his hands down her back. “It’ll be okay. Whatever it is, it can’t be that bad.”

After several minutes, she raised her head and wiped the tears from her cheeks. “Thanks.”

“Anytime, sweetie.”

“Some guy will be very glad to have you someday, Adam.”

“From your lips to God’s ears.” He swiped a remaining tear. “You wanna tell me what’s got you so upset?”

“Doctor Richardson. He basically told Doctor Collins my parents are paying for me to be here and I’m playing at being a doctor. He said I'll never make it.”

“Ah. I should have known. Don’t worry about him. He’s an ass and everyone knows it. You will be a fantastic physician. You're compassionate, caring, beautiful and sweet."

“Thanks. I know I shouldn’t let him get to me.”

Adam smiled, showing the deep dimple in his cheek. “No you shouldn’t, but you are too sensitive sometimes.”

Her shoulder lifted in a shrug before she turned toward her locker to grab her duffle.

“Are you headed home?”

“Yeah, but I’m on call tonight for the emergency room and I have a feeling I might as well stay here. If I didn’t have to get stuff together to go to my parents’ this weekend, I probably would.”

“Your parents?”

“Yeah. They’ve called us girls together again for the usual lecture about getting married and having babies.”

“Don’t they do this like once a year?”

“Yep. Like clockwork.”

A warm chuckle echoed in the air. “Well maybe this year will be different. Maybe they’ve come to their senses and realized you and your sisters will find the perfect men in due time and give them the grandbabies they so desperately want.”

“Yeah and they’re calling for snow this weekend, too. Never mind the fact that it’s July.”

Laughter rolled from his mouth, filling the locker room with his mirth and Savannah couldn’t help but smile.

Too bad he’s gay. He’d make the perfect man.

She grabbed her duffle and pulled out her car keys. “I’d better go. I need to try to get a little sleep before the phone rings. I’ll see you on Tuesday.”

“Take it easy, Savannah, and don’t be so hard on your parents.”

“I wish it was that easy. See you later.”

Savannah pulled open the door, looked to her right, and sighed in relief when she didn’t see the gorgeous guy from before. She shook her head and walked out into the hall before she headed for the door to the parking garage. Her ugly Volkswagen bug sat in its usual spot.

I really need to get a new car.

Her bag landed in the back seat before she slipped behind the wheel. A big black dually pickup sat so close to her front bumper, she had to fight the urge to push her front end under it.

“Damn cowboys,” she grumbled when she started her car and backed out. “Can’t get away from them even in the city.”

She pulled out her cell phone, flipped through the contacts, and hit talk.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Sis.”

“What’s up, Vannah?”

“You got the call from Mom and Dad, right?” Savannah pulled to a stop at the red light and looked to her right. A cute blond winked and smiled from his mustang convertible, but a frown settled over his features when he saw her car. When the light changed, he disappeared in a cloud of dust while she shifted into first gear and slowly pulled into the intersection. She rolled her eyes and sighed.
Men are so materialistic! And they say women are bad!

“Yeah. You’ll be there?”

“Of course. Do we have a choice in the matter?”

A soft chuckle met her ear when Susannah laughed. “No.”

“So what’s your take on this?”

“You mean, what do I think the lecture is about this time?”

“Yeah.”