CHAPTER SIX- MORGAN
The first few weeks working with Dr. Pierce went by fairly quickly. Overall, it wasn't as bad after that terrible first day. Dr. Pierce kept his sexist remarks to himself, and I witnessed just how amazing he was in his field firsthand. Hell, I even started to admire the man a bit. Friday night rolled around, and he was closing up shop a bit early after a long week that contained several long, complicated surgeries in addition to his office hours. Lila and the nurses had already left for the day so it was just him and me locking up.
“What are your plans tonight, Morgan?” he asked me.
“Uh, nothing, really,” I said. “Why?”
“Because I wanted to take you out to celebrate the end of this hellish week,” he said. “You deserve it for surviving it and putting up with me.”
I seriously contemplated for a moment, but it just felt wrong to go out with my boss. When I hesitated, Gavin could apparently read my face because he quickly countered.
“It's not a date, nothing like that, I swear,” he said, holding his hands up. “Just celebrating the end of the week and the four successful surgeries we had. It's not something I care to do often.”
He smiled at me, and there was a softness to his face I hadn't seen before. I knew I should get to know my boss a bit better, to maybe learn more about him and perhaps even network with him. My career depended upon it. But the idea of going out for drinks with Gavin Pierce made me nervous. I knew his reputation and it worried me.
In the end however, I wasn't about to pass up the opportunity to pick his brain. I was very serious about my career and having a big gun like Gavin in my corner could only help me down the road.
“Okay,” I said. “Sounds like a plan.”
Gavin drove us in his brand spanking new BMW. He was right when he'd said he made a lot of money doing what he did, so I guess I could understand why he'd offer up a little pro-bono work to the likes of Michael Greene. Still, it seemed so out of character for him to actually be that kind and compassionate. I found that it was yet, something else I wanted to pick his brain about.
“How's Michael doing?” I asked.
“He's doing great. The break is healing up just fine,” he said. “He's a lucky kid.”
“Yes, he is,” I said. “So how many patients like Michael do you help? I had no idea you did that sort of thing, it's not really well known.”
“And I intend to keep it that way,” he said, side-eyeing me. “I don't want people knowing about it. That's my little thing – my private little thing.”
“Why? You don't want people to know Dr. Gavin Pierce has a heart?” I laughed.
We pulled up to the restaurant and he passed his keys off to the valet, avoiding my question until we were inside and seated, where I brought it up again.
“I just don't need the kudos for doing it,” he said with a shrug. “I'm not doing it for the praise or the publicity. It just sort of happened, you know? And schools know it, so when a kid has trouble paying for medical expenses, sometimes they send them my way.”
I could tell Gavin was uncomfortable and didn't really want to talk about it, which endeared him to me a little bit more. It almost made up for the rest of his demeanor and reputation. Almost.
“So how many people like Michael have you helped?” I asked. “Rough estimate, of course.”
He sighed. “I don't know,” he said. “I don't keep score. It's not about that for me.”
“Estimate,” I said again with a smile.
Our waiter served us some wine and we ordered dinner as Gavin continued to avoid answering me. I kept pressing him, grilling him until I got the answers I was looking for.
“Well, if I had to guess, I'd say somewhere between ten and fifteen kids last year?” he said. “Yeah, I think it was maybe eight guys and four girls, I believe?”
“Girls too, huh?” I asked.
“I didn't think I'd have to remind you that women are also athletes, Morgan,” he said.
“Yeah, but after our first day working together, I thought perhaps you didn't think women and athletics mixed,” I reminded him.
He cringed. “Yeah, about that – I was in a shitty mood and said some things I regret. Of course women play sports. Of course they're knowledgeable about them.”
“I thought maybe you were going to say they were all cheerleaders,” I teased.
“Some were, but not all,” he said with a small shrug.
I could tell my boss was getting a little uncomfortable as I kept up the third degree, but for whatever reason, I kept pushing the issue. Perhaps weeks of pent up frustration was finally coming out with the help of the wine. I was fascinated by this dual personality.
But I could tell he was trying to be better about things and figured that I needed to chill out. Especially if I wanted things to continue to go well on this internship.
“Enough about me,” he said. “Tell me about you, Morgan.”
“Well, you already know why I want to be in this field.”
“No, not about your career or your father,” he said. “About you. What do you do when you're not working or studying?”
His question took me by surprise. I tried to remember what I did before medical school got in the way of normal life.
“Well, I like reading, listening to music, relaxing on the water,” I said. “My dad used to take me out on his boat and I loved listening to the water crashing into the sides as I stared out at the sea.”
Gavin listened – he actually listened – as I talked my dad and his boat.
“What happened to your dad's boat?” he asked.
Before I could explain how my brother inherited it – and sold it – a woman began hysterically screaming Gavin's name from across the bar.
“Gavin Pierce,” the blonde said, walking over to our table with a scowl on her face. She looked at me, then back at my boss.
“Tracy,” he said, standing up to greet the petite blonde. “What a pleasure to see – ”
“Save it, Gavin,” she said, looking over at me. “I see I've been replaced already. That sure didn't take long.”
“Excuse me?” I said, standing up. “I'm not dating him, I – ”
But the woman named Tracy wasn't having any of it. She picked up the glass of water on the table and tossed it in Gavin’s face.
“You're no different than Tyler, you son of a bitch,” she spat. She turned to me and shook her head. “This man, he's nothing but a lying, cheating, pig. I hope you know that.”
“Tracy, come on,” Gavin called out to her. All eyes were on us, and I suddenly felt extremely exposed. I just stared at Gavin with wide eyes and my mouth hanging open.
“Who was that?” I asked quietly. “An ex-girlfriend?”
“No, we never dated, I swear,” he said. “It's complicated. But let's go. I don't feel like being the evening’s entertainment anymore.”
He dropped payment for our drinks down on the table and took my hand, leading me from the bar while everyone stared at us as we left. It felt weird for him to be holding my hand, but I let him lead the way to the valet station. Tracy was yelling at one of the attendants, who was doing his best to pacify her.
“Sir, I'm afraid she managed to stab one of your tires with a steak knife before we could stop her,” one of the other attendants said. “The police have already been called.”
ooo000ooo
“Well that was an interesting night, to say the least,” I said as we walked back to his office. “I'm sorry about your car.”
“Yeah, me too,” he said with a chuckle. “Hard to believe a woman I'm not even dating could be that crazy. But, it is what it is, I suppose.”
He'd had his car towed to a nearby shop to get the tires replaced. Tracy had managed to get a knife into two of them before the police arrived. She'd also managed to scratch and dent a door as she fought with the valet attendants.
“Can't imagine what would have happened if she’d actually been your girlfriend,” I said.
“Oh no. No way would I ever date someone like her,” he said.
“Oh really? She seemed exactly your type,” I teased. “Blonde, perfect body, beautiful, and sassy.”
“There's more to a beautiful woman than blonde hair and a good body,” he said. “And besides, I prefer classy over sassy any day.”
Yeah, right. I side-eyed him because I doubted he'd date anyone seriously – much less someone who wasn't a blonde bombshell. He had a reputation as a player – one he didn't really seem to care to hide all that well.
“Seriously,” he said. “If I were to date someone again, she'd have to be smart, well-educated, and able to keep calm under pressure. Because as you know, I can be a real asshole at times, and I can't afford to replace my tires every time I dare speak to another woman.”
At least Gavin could laugh about his own dickish behavior, I had to give him some credit for that. When we got back to the office, I offered to drive him home.
“Nah, I'm just going to call an Uber,” he said. “Go home, it's late.”
“You sure? I don’t mind.”
“Go,” he said. “I've kept you late enough. It's the weekend. You shouldn't have to see me again until Monday.”
“Well thank you for an interesting night,” I said, opening my car door. “I actually had a good time.”
“Your idea of a good time and mine might be a little different,” he teased.
“You tried at least,” I said.
“You're way too nice, Morgan. Do you know that?”
It was a compliment – a sincere one at that. I found myself blushing from the weight of his gaze as he stared into my eyes.
“Nicer than I deserve, I know that for a fact,” he continued.
He was standing a little too close, and for a second, I thought he might be trying to kiss me goodnight, which would go against everything I stood for. But at the same time, I couldn't deny that I would have liked to have seen how good of a kisser he was. He had delicious-looking lips that I could devour if given a chance.
“Goodnight, Gavin,” I said, slipping into my car before I let my hormones get in the way of common sense or my career. “See you on Monday.”
“See you, Morgan,” he said, waving as I shut the door and drove off.