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“Juliet, I thought I saw you making your way in. I thought I would catch you before the day officially starts …” I watched as Jim closed the door behind him and made his way to the spare seat. A closed-door was an ominous sign.
Jim was a great boss. I couldn’t ask for better, he pretty much gave me the autonomy to run the department as I saw fit, as long as the essentials that generally revolved around budgets and stats were adhered to. He kept things ticking in a quiet and calm manner which made the atmosphere much more relaxed than in other hospitals, but a closed-door usually meant he had news I wouldn’t be fond of.
His manner influenced my observation of his appearance. Maybe if I met him in a bar, I might see the salt and pepper hair, his height, and his cheeky smile as attractive. However, his calm nature made him seem less sexy and more … gentle.
“ … how was your time away?” He asks softly with a hint of care and concern in his voice, and I offer him a sincere smile in return.
“Good, probably long overdue, but I feel much better now for it. Thank you, Jim. Really. I know that to give me that time … was not the easiest. So, I really appreciate the effort you went to, to do that for me.”
“I think we all need time away from here. It creeps up on you until you don’t realize how much of our lives we dedicate to it. It is important to get that perspective. I have seen it with so many colleagues, and often it is too late when they see a break is due. I am just pleased you took the time when you needed it and have been able to come back to us feeling like yourself.”
I smile. “Thanks, Jim. So … tell me the bad news.” His eyebrows raise, I have caught him off guard by being so direct. I have derailed his preplanned speech before he has the chance to begin. I watch him stumble then straighten.
“Well, it isn’t exactly bad news. It is … Well, I think it is great news actually. I am hoping you will be very happy, but …”
“… but …?” I question,
“There is the potential for you to feel a little … perturbed. However, you should know that I didn’t make the decision lightly. I weighed up all the options and I just felt … after last time … It was better that I acted …”
I take a deep breath and adjust in my chair. “Okay Jim, you have to just tell me now before I go into myocardial infarction.”
“Well, we can't have that, we both know you are the best in that business,” he says with a cheeky smile and I fight the urge to roll my eyes, he is after all, still my boss. He clears his throat. “The thing is that Dr. Jerez was already talking about leaving before you went on your break and pretty much your first week off, he confirmed he would be moving. So, I put the advert out. Not to undermine you, but we both know how long it took last time.”
I smil, “Jim, you did the right thing. Saved me a job, in fact, you don’t need to worry about that.”
“Well, yes … I wasn’t concerned about that part. The thing is that just a few days after we had an applicant, but they had already been offered a position elsewhere but really wanted to stay in the city … So, I thought I would meet them.” His voice trailed off and I felt the conversation begin to turn. My manner shifting. “This applicant is perfect, Juliet. They have all the credentials and more. They are young, smart, eager, hungry. I just know if you had taken the interview, you would have made the same decision.”
I take a deep breath. I can imagine my new surgeon now, he will be some young arrogant wannabe cardio genius. He will have charmed Jim with a smarmy smile.
Ugh.
My team is my baby. I take hiring so seriously, it is never just about ticking the right boxes, my surgeons need to really fit into the team. I want them to fill the slots we have but also to complement the others. We need to be able to work together fluidly, seamlessly. Jim is a great boss, but he isn’t in my team every day. He doesn’t operate with me.
“I suppose I’ll do my best,” I say diplomatically though even I can hear the cold edge in my own voice. “When does my new surgeon start? He had better not be a prick, Jim.”
I watch Jim turn a flushed pink, his shirt seems fastened half an inch too tight around his neck. His whole body shows how uncomfortable he was. “Yes well, that is the other thing. Your new surgeon already did start …. In fact …”
I cut him off. “He already started? Without me? Jim … I was gone a few weeks! You couldn’t wait?! You know that I am the best and the reason I am the best is because I have a way of doing things.” I sit back in my chair with a petulant swipe at the papers at my desk. “I can’t believe that you would not only hire someone but then get them started in my team without waiting for me … I mean if I had been gone 6 months, a year, okay I could understand but weeks, Jim. Weeks.”
Jim takes the difficult decision to cut me off early. Had I been in his position I don’t know if I would have been so brave, but he slides across me.
“Juliet, I knew you would be upset but I had to act in the interest of the department. We were faced with the real reality that two of our surgeons were not available. I would never hire someone rashly or impulsively however I also would not unduly put patients at risk when I know that I have a great young surgeon asking me to take the available job, who can start immediately and continue the incredible work and ethos you have brought to this department and hospital.”
Indignation burns bright. I want to erupt. I want to explode, but Jim makes a good point that I can’t deny. His priority, as is mine, is the health of the patients. And Jim is correct, he is not a rash man. He wouldn’t have made the choice without weighing up all the options, including my response to the news. It seems to take an age for the anger to simmer and for me to calm but when I did, I nodded.
“So, when do I meet him?”
He responded with a slightly relieved smile, “I was hoping you would say that and you won't need to wait long, your new surgeon is in the waiting area. Keeping a safe distance until the coast is clear …” He chuckles and then stops himself as he can see I’m not quite at “jokes” level just yet.
“Well, I suppose I better meet him then?”
“Your new surgeon isn’t a he, Juliet, your new surgeon is very much a she. Doctor Arya Harris.”
My eyes widen. I didn’t anticipate my new young hungry surgeon would be a woman. I hate myself for a second for my assumption and I am pleasantly surprised to be corrected.
Dr Arya Harris.
If only I knew then, what affect she would have on my life.
