Mitch headed to the elevator to go up to the suite of admin
istrative offices. The nurses called it the tower of terror, an
apt description in Mitch’s opinion. He had a meeting with the
powers that be, followed by a meeting with Charlie Buckley. The
meeting with Charlie had nothing to do with Sophie Young’s
complaint. It was a different issue altogether. Mitch knew it
meant one of two things: either he was keeping the chief officers
of WMI happy and getting his promised bonus, or they expected
more from him. Either way, he was fucked. He was committed to
the project, and he had no choice but to answer to Charlie. He
didn’t come up here much. In fact, he hated this place. He didn’t
particularly care for Charlie either, except Charlie was respon
sible for getting Mitch to where he was now—chief of high-risk
obstetrics. Mitch’s ten years of success had directly impacted the
rise and financial success of Metro Hospital, which was no small
accomplishment.
As he waited for Charlie, he stood in the middle of the suite
of offices. The floor-to-ceiling windows looked out over the city.
The noise of the city was muted by the thick plate glass. Here
in the tower, he was removed from it all. Life eight floors below
played out like a silent movie.
An ambulance pulled up to the emergency entrance. EMTs
pulled the stretcher out of the back of the ambulance, carrying a
bloody, unconscious, very pregnant woman—probably a car acci
dent, thought Mitch. A taxi pulled up and dropped off a man
58
JULIE HATCH
with a big bouquet of flowers. Mitch watched two people argue
over one parking space. A group of four surgeons ran back from
the corner Starbucks with large cups of coffee, still wearing their
surgical caps and booties, bracing themselves against the cold.
Charlie’s secretary touched Mitch’s elbow, interrupting his
thoughts, and escorted him into Charlie’s office. A group of
doctors, several administrators, and their secretaries were seated
around a large conference table. Mitch was surprised to see Josh
and Amanda there. Josh was the representative from Kindred
Pharmaceuticals. Metro Hospital was Kindred’s biggest account.
The president of the hospital called the meeting to order.
One of the administrators loaded his PowerPoint and projected it
onto a blank wall. He went on to discuss the quarterly financials
of the hospital. Two doctors stood to present their ideas about
how to cut costs and bring in more business with more advertis
ing outside of the city, by extending into the boroughs and onto
Long Island. The meeting droned on for forty-five minutes.
Finally, the group stood to leave. Jabbering among them
selves, they filtered out of the office. Charlie, Mitch, Amanda,
and Josh remained behind. Mitch turned to see Rita, Charlie’s
associate, walk in. She was the numbers person. She knew the
NICU numbers—how they changed throughout a shift, a day, a
year—and she kept up with every admission into the NICU and
every discharge or transfer out.
“Sorry I missed the meeting,” Rita said, “but it wasn’t any
thing I needed to be there for.” She took a seat at the table.
“Mitch,” Charlie said, “we want Amanda more involved. She
spends more time in triage than you.”
Mitch knew Amanda was the best nurse in triage. She always
knew his next move and next decision almost before he did.
She knew her maternity triage business better than any nurse
he’d met. But crossing into his territory of what he did in triage?
Uh-uh.
59
THE VERY BEST OF CARE
“No way,” he shot back.
Rita jumped in. “Mitch, calm down. Nobody is usurping your
power. Amanda is in a perfect position to help.”
Mitch couldn’t deny that. He looked down and examined
his fingernails. They did work well together, and there was no
denying a physical attraction—mutual, he was sure. He waited a
few moments, then looked up at Charlie. “On second thought, I
think it’s a great idea.”
“Good,” Charlie answered, “because you’re not getting the
job done fast enough, Mitchell. You need to ramp up your work.
They’re watching our numbers, and right now, they’re not too
happy with what they see. You’ve got to do more.”
He felt like he was twelve years old again, back in the liv
ing room with his father. Mitch reached into his lab coat pocket
stuffed with small squares of scratch notepaper and found a
paperclip. As Charlie talked, Mitch cleaned his cuticles, looking
up every so often to let Charlie know he was listening, even if he
wasn’t fully paying attention.
“Look, Mitchell. We need you. You’re a fine doctor, and you
have the respect of all your colleagues. But if you want to play,
you’ve got to pay. I don’t know what you’re going to do to make
it happen, and I don’t want to know.” He poked his finger on
Mitch’s chest as he said, “Pay to play. Got it?” He turned to Josh.
“And you’ve got to keep those medication carts fully stocked.
I don’t want Mitch or Amanda having to scramble to find the
meds they need. Understood?”
“Understood, boss.”
When the meeting ended, Mitch was the first one out the
door. Josh caught up with him as he waited for the elevator to go
back down to triage.
“Yo, Mitch, no hard feelings. We’re all feeling the pressure
here. We’re cool. It’s all good. You’ll see.”
Mitch waved him off. “Yeah, okay, whatever.”
60
JULIE HATCH
Josh disappeared through the door to the stairwell.
Amanda was the last to leave the office. She ambled up next
to Mitch, where they stood together waiting for the elevator.
Mitch took a step back to admire the way Amanda’s scrubs hugged
her hips, something he’d never noticed before. He decided that,
yes, this meeting had gone just fine. He would be quite happy to
work more closely with Amanda. There could be some benefits
in it for him.
Later that evening, Mitch and Amanda were leaving triage at
the same time. The halls and elevators were less crowded than
during the day. They got on the empty elevator together, and
Amanda started talking over the details of their last delivery.
Once the doors closed, Mitch took a step toward her. Her
face was plain with pale green eyes and thin dirty-blonde hair
that hung limply to her shoulders. He moved closer, close enough
to feel her breath. She didn’t pull back. He put his hands on the
back of her neck, feeling her ponytail brush his hands. He gently
pulled her to him and kissed her.
Amanda yielded and opened her mouth. I knew it, thought
Mitch. He forced his knee between her legs and leaned into her
harder.
Thirty seconds later, the elevator bounced to a stop. They
stepped apart. Mitch slicked his hair back, straightened his
jacket, and strode off the elevator. He could feel her eyes on him
as he walked away. Christ, I’m almost old enough to be her father.
