Page 44 of Obeying

"What?"

"You look intense. More than usual, which is saying something. Maybe try not being so obvious that you're trying to catch them."

"I'm not trying to catch anyone. You're making me sound like a predator."

"You look like one right now."

I give him a look.

"Right." He takes a bite of his sandwich. "You're just casually staring at a door with the energy of a man who's been ghosted. Very subtle, Maxwell. Very cool."

My gaze still flicks to the door.

"Seriously, though, if she's avoiding you, chasing her is only going to make it worse. Back off. Let her come to you."

"Since when are you a relationship expert?"

"Since I've been watching you act like a lovesick intern for the past few days. Someone has to intervene." He stands up and picks up his tray. "Eat your food. Stop scaring people at the door. And for the love of God, fix your face."

He leaves. I eat my food. I stop watching the door. I don't know about my face though.

I hate that he's right.

For the rest of the afternoon, I don't look for her. I do my rounds, run my department, handle consults, check on post-op patients, and sit in on a meeting about OR scheduling that I could not care less about. I don't walk past the residents' lounge, hoping to accidentally run into her. It's excruciating.

By late afternoon, I'm in my office reviewing a stack of charts that need my signature, and I'm doing a terrible job of concentrating because my brain keeps circling back to the same three seconds in a parked car.

My phone rings. I look at the screen.

Dad.

Well. That'll definitely take my mind off things. I pick up.

"Logan. I heard you're involved in some kind of hearing."

"Where did you hear that?"

"It doesn't matter where I heard it from. What matters is that the news reached me, which means it's a big enough deal for people to talk about." Of course. The medical world is a small town with expensive degrees. "What's going on?"

I lean back in my chair and take off my glasses. "A resident on my service was being harassed by her ex. He showed up at the hospital and physically grabbed her in front of patients. I intervened. He didn't like being embarrassed, so he filed a complaint against her and named me in it."

"What kind of complaint?"

"That I threatened a visitor and that I'm in an inappropriate relationship with a resident on my service." I keep my voice even. "Both of which are false. He entered my department and was physically aggressive toward one of my residents. All I did was tell him to leave."

"And the relationship allegation?"

"Fabricated. He's trying to discredit me because I intervened."

My father is quiet for a moment. I can almost hear him calculating. He always calculates before he speaks. "And the board is proceeding with this?"

"There's going to be a hearing. I've agreed to cooperate."

Another pause. "Logan, I want to be direct with you. Getting involved in someone else's personal situation is not like you. Our name is clean. Our family has built a reputation in this field over decades. Getting pulled into a hearing over a resident's domestic issues⁠—"

"It wasn't about her domestic issues. A man assaulted someone in my department. I stepped in. That's not careless, Dad. That's the Maxwell name doing exactly what it should. Standing up for what's right."

"Standing up for what's right doesn't usually come with a formal hearing, Logan."