"I see that you have already turned down two dates." Alexander Maxwell smirked.
"It's three actually."
"Not interested in another relationship?" Alex asked, while checking his iPad.
"No," Gray replied, leaning back on her couch.
"You've someone in your mind," Alex stated, not taking his eyes from the screen.
"No," Gray answered again.
"Dr. Matthew Evans?"
Gray didn't say anything for two seconds. "No."
"You think I didn't notice your staring contest with him in the meeting. He looked like he want to eat you alive."
"Shut up. He's waiting to kick me out."
"No, he isn't. He's a good doctor, the one who knows to take the right decision. He wants you here, Gray, though he doesn't admit it publicly."
"He's...hot."
Alex chuckled. "Don't let Xavier or Zach hear this. Definitely not Brandon. They're not going to be happy."
"What about you? Not angry?"
"I do feel a bit uneasy when I hear my sisters are dating but I know that's not something I can or should control. You like that man and nobody can stop you if you take a step towards him. I really wish you find someone that makes you happy and if that's Matthew Evans then I have no problem."
Gray smiled. "You all make me happy."
"You know that's not what I meant," Alex retorts
"I don't want to date anyone..but Dr. Matthew Evans is getting into my head. He makes me angry and he..knows me. It's as if he can read me well."
"All the best for that one," Alex replied, smiling wide which caused Gray to sigh.
-----------------------
"Where's Dr. Matt?" Gray asked as she signed some documents.
"Oh... Dr. Matt is in his office. He lost a patient, Clarie today. She has been his patient for months. Her transplant surgery was scheduled tomorrow but she had a cardiac arrest today. It was tough on him, he has been treating her for a long time," Savannah replied, her face filled with sympathy.
Gray felt her body tighten. The familiar feeling of loss coming back to her and she couldn't help but think about the way Matt must be feeling right now. Loosing a patient is difficult. Loosing them when you thought that everything is finally over is even more difficult. Gray knew that, the feeling that everything is not in our hands. That there are times fate takes a nasty turn and you can do nothing to change it no matter how hard you try. It sometimes doesn't take her days to recover from losing a patient but there are a few that had touched her deeper. Like the one that kept her depressed for almost two months in Arizona. The two months where she kept her distance from everything around her, pushed people away. She didn't want that for Matt. She didn't want him to feel the suffocation she had felt.
"Ask Dr. Drew to come and meet me after his surgery," Gray instructed, handing the papers back to Savannah.
"Yes doctor."
Gray nodded as she rushed to find Dr. Matt and she succeeded when she found him in his office. She studied at the arrogant but kind doctor who always melted her with one look. His hands are jammed into his pockets, bottom lip caught between his teeth. He looks so uncertain, despondent even. She felt bad for him for so many reasons and she finds herself stepping closer. He lifted his head and met her eyes. He stood up and moved towards her, his lips curving into a smile. Despite the directive from her brain to stop, she wraps her arms around him, her cheek pressing against his chest. Her actions seem to have shocked him, because it takes him a moment to return the hug. His shoulders curl in as he embraces her.
"Everything will be okay," she said softly.
"I really want you to be right about that."
His palm smooths up her back until she feels his fingers skim the nape of her neck. She have to remind herself to stay in the lines between potential colleague and friend in the hospital. But this doesn't feel like friends or colleagues, especially not when he drops his head and his nose sweeps along the side of her neck, or when his lips touch her skin and he whispers her name.
"Gray, Dad wants you in his office." The thud of Alex's feet on the floor has us pulling away from each other.
Gray frowned when Alex's gazed from moved her face to Matt's and then back to hers. He had a idea about what was going on here but being the sensible man he was, he kept his mouth shut.
"I'll see him later," Gray muttered and Alex nodded his head after seeing the look on Gray's face and walked out.
"You don't have to stay," Matt said.
"I want to," she replied.
Matt's eyes widened but he didn't ask any questions.
Half an hour later, she was still in his office. She should leave. His proximity does something to her. But she can't seem to move away from him. "You okay?"
He sighs. "Yeah. Fine. Thank you."
"I didn't do-"
"You did. You didn't say anything but you were there. You're still here."
Gray's chest tightened. She was still here and she wanted to be here with him. What in the world was she doing with a man whom she knew only for a two weeks?
"You would've been okay. You'll cope soon."
He tips his bottle back as he contemplates this. "Yeah. I would have. But putting together a resume, having to interview, making another change and seeing Claire struggling for her last breathe..."
"What do you mean? Interview?"
His gaze moves over her slowly. "My contract will be done by the end of July. They're planning to let me go. I can't blame them. Who would want an attending who causes nothing but trouble?"
Gray stiffened. The board was planning to let him go and this was another one reason why she shouldn't get involved with Matt. No matter what others say, her mind can never accept that Matt is not good enough. Not when she thinks so highly of him. Not when a part of her forgets about rationality when she's sitting so close to him.
"You don't need someone to tell you what type of doctor you are. You know it and that's enough." She puts a hand on his forearm.
His head drops and he releases another long breath. His next words are barely a whisper. "What if I can't do this? What if they're right and I'm not cut out to be a good doctor?"
"Don't sell yourself short. You're doing a great job. You've been working as an attending for seven years and that's most definitely something."
He huffs a small, humorless laugh. "I had no idea what to do tonight. I didn't stay there with Claire's parents. I just wanted to get out."
"You needed time."
"I shouldn't put that on you." He threads his fingers through mine, curling his over the back of my hand. It's unexpectedly intimate and strange how natural it feels. "But I want to."
"You're not putting anything on me if I'm offering."
"You were helpful." He traces my thumb with his own.
"I'm glad I was able to help."
"Me, too." His smile softens.
"I have to go," Gray said. Matt nodded his head and Gray smiled at him before walking out the room. Hours later, she could still feel the sensation from his touch.
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"I heard you wanted to meet me," Gray said as she entered her Uncle's office.
Benjamin Maxwell gestured her to sit down. Gray stepped inside the room to find her father and uncle settled on the couch. "Something wrong, Dad?" Gray asked as she settled on the couch opposite to them.
"Dr. Perez has decided to appoint Dr. Campbell as the head of GS," Henry Maxwell replied, his voice filled with coldness.
Gray sighed. Dr. Carl Campbell has been an attending only for an year or two and is a junior consultant in the GS. Matt was his senior by five years and the most deserving to be the next GS head.
"Don't you have anything to say?" Benjamin Maxwell asked.
Gray shook her head. "It's not up to me," she replied, trying her best not to get agitated on behalf of Matt. Her personal feelings didn't count here.
Henry Maxwell frowned, his coldness disappearing after seeing the indecisiveness present on his daughter's face. He rarely saw that and her choice of not commenting on the issue intrigued him. He decided to let it go for now. "Matthew is here on the basis of a contact and we have renewed it twice after seeing his work and it's time to renew it again but this time the board doesn't agree with it."
"You can't push it?" The words jumped out of her mouth.
Henry raised his brows. "I can and I plan to but if I do that, then I won't be able to ask Dr. Perez to appoint Matt as the head of GS. If I support him now then I won't be able to do it later during his contract renewal."
Gray shook her head. "Why is the board involved in the contact renewal?"
"He has been the center of some fights in the hospital and his reputation as a team leader has not been good lately. The breakup and being rejected for the position of GS for a junior has not gone well with him. If we push for his GS head position then it's going to be very important for him to bring up his reputation. Especially considering that he has an history with one of the investor and his past relationship with one of resident is frowned upon," Benjamin replied.
Gray nodded her head. "Do what you think is right Dad. I'll support you know matter what," Gray replied, having complete belief in her father and uncles.
Henry smiled, wanting to know how far her daughter will go for the doctor whom she met before three days. "If I decide to appoint Matt as the head of GS, will you be able to vouch for him?"
Gray looked at him in confusion. "What?"
"Do you think that he'll be in his best behavior for the next two months?"
Gray didn't hesitate. "Yes," she replied.
"Can you assure me?" Henry pushed but Gray didn't budge.
"Yes." she replied. She knew Matt. He was practically a stranger but the last three days has brought him close to her than she could ever imagine.
Few hours later, Henry Maxwell sat on the chair in his patio along with his brothers discussing the details of the hospital. It felt good to relax at home after a long day at work especially considering the intensity of his work nowadays.
"Dr. Darius Brannon did a symposium today and it was great. I invited him to join us for the Sunday dinner just as we planned. This will be an opportunity for Gray and Darius to get know each other more. Honestly, I did have some doubts about this working in the beginning after hearing Darius' opinion about Gray in the meeting but today he talked fondly about her. Looks like he is interested. Hopefully our plan will work," Mark Maxwell said, taking a sip from his coffee.
Benjamin Maxwell shook his head. "It's not Darius I'm worried about," he started, grabbing a cookie from the plate and taking a bite from it. "Gray doesn't seem too interested in Darius, at least not in a romantic level. Do you think it'll work?"
"It will not," Henry Maxwell declared, smiling nonchalantly.
"Why?" Both of his brothers asked in unison.
He simply said, "Dr. Matthew Evans."
"What about him?" Mark asked, leaning towards his eldest brother.
"She likes him," Benjamin concluded after seeing the look on the face of his elder brother.
"Really? Did she tell you that?" Mark asked, getting confused. "I thought they didn't like each other."
"She didn't say a thing but she's definitely leaning towards Matt. She is keeping it professional but I could see the compassion in her voice. I don't think it has gone anywhere but let's wait and watch," Henry finished.
"I didn't see that coming," Mark replied. "If Gray is interested in Matt then it's going to be a huge conflict of interest. She's practically his boss. Obviously, dating between colleagues is allowed and not against our policy but still this is a mess."
"Of course it is," Benjamin said, taking another bite from his cookie. "It's not just her being the chief of surgery. Her father is the chairman and her mother, two uncles and aunts are shareholders of the hospital. Half of her family is working in the hospital and above everything she has individual shares in the hospital. She has direct and indirect influence over him and his job."
"It's the same if it was Darius she choose," Mark argued.
"No it's not," Benjamin retorted. "Darius is the only one working in the hospital. None of his family is here, he has no problems with any of the investors and his reputation is great. Any decisions regarding Darius has not reached the board, it's all under the control. At the same time, Matt's mother, sister and uncle is working in our hospital and his contact renewal will be put on table soon. He's being considered for the position of the head of GS, he's also involved in multiple lawsuits and has a history of getting involved with one of the resident which ended very badly. Gray cannot be involved in any of this. If it's not handled well, we'll have battle in our hands in the next board meeting."
"So match making obviously backfired," Mark said. "Are we going to change our decision regarding Matt? Is it going to affect Gray?"
Henry just smiled. "Relax, guys. Gray will handle it. If she really likes him then she'll not let anything go out of her hands. She'll handle it wisely and our decision regarding Matt will be the same. There's no reason to change it." Henry leaned back on the chair. "I hope she will finally open that heart of hers to someone other than family and if that someone is Dr. Matthew Evans then it's for the better. He's a good man and I really wish he's the right man for her."
Mark and Benjamin smiled, agreeing with their brother completely.
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"Sir, you need to calm down," Dr. Philips, the new ER said as he pushed down the patient onto the bed as he tried to get up.
"I don't want a male doctor. I want a female one," Lieutenant Collins slurred as his vision blurred.
Matt looked at the Lieutenant of Homicide, LAPD, Robert Collins in amusement. The cop got injured while chasing a suspect and was immediately brought to the ER by the paramedics along with his partner, Sergeant Reed. He was given painkillers by the paramedics which apparently got made him drowsy and an awful impulse to not control his tongue.
"Good lord," Dr. Philips muttered when the Lieutenant tried to pull the doctor's hair. "Let's tie him up."
Matt tried to hide his smile as the nurses and the Sergeant struggled to handle the huge man. He was obviously stronger than any of them even when injured. Matt stepped in to help but stopped when he heard a familiar voice.
"Let him go, I'll check him," Gray muttered as she moved towards the patient. Dr. Philips smiled and stepped back. He too was an acquaintance of Gray and Matt didn't understand how she knew so many people. "You want a female doctor? Fine, I'll check on you," Gray said as she leaned towards the Lieutenant.
After checking the patient, Gray muttered, "You're lucky, no broken bones. Just a mild concussion, nothing to worry about. We'll keep you in observation for the night as a precaution and the nice nurses will dress your wounds."
"Hmm, you could be that nice nurse. What's your name?"
"Gray," she replied.
"You're easy to talk to for a doctor... Gray." Experimentally, he skimmed a fingertip down her arm. When her brows lifted, he took the fingertip over her jawline.
"Am I?" Gray asked, smiling wide. Matt was taken aback by the brightness that shined across her face and he especially didn't like the reason behind it.
"You have nice lips, all four red and pretty," he slurred, his eyes fixed on Gray.
She chuckled. "Glad you could see all four of them."
"In a hurry?"
"Why?"
"Well, I've got some time, and you're very attractive. Why don't we both go off the clock for awhile?"
Matt clenched his fists, trying his best to not push him away from Gray.
Gray waited while the Lieutenant lowered his head, while his lips hovered just above hers. "Are you half as good as I think you are?"
Matt heart fell at Gray's response.
"I'm better." He smiled, let his hand slide down to her neck. "I'm much better."
"In that case... I'd have to order a colonoscopy on you." She smiled as he jerked back. "And that would make both of you and our resident very sad." Amused, she patted his cheek. "And the only one going of clock is you because the painkillers' are going to fade soon. We'll talk once you feel the pain again."
Matt smiled wide, his blue eyes expressing his happiness.
Gray stepped back from the patient and walked out of the ER but not before watching the relieved expression on Matt's face. She felt a sort of joy inside her seeing the reaction of Matt at the closeness of the Lieutenant.
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