Chapter 2

Simon looked seriously pissed. And honestly, I got it—giving Emily, his intern, a hard time was basically a direct insult to him in front of everyone.

Emily started crying again, clutching her cheek. "If Dr. Shepherd says it's my fault, then... okay, it's my fault. Can we all just stop arguing? But please—please don't report me. My full-time offer depends on this review."

She laid it on thick, and of course, everyone started feeling sorry for her.

Simon couldn't hold back and jumped in to defend her. "Dr. Shepherd, you're just assuming things. The surgery went smoothly, didn't it? Why blame Emily for something that never even happened?

"This was her first time in the OR. Anybody would be nervous. Do you really have to make such a big deal out of it?

"And hitting her? That's way over the line."

"And how can you report her to the higher-ups over such a tiny mistake? You were a rookie once too."

Emily had Simon totally fooled. She was always laying it on thick with him, and he ate it up. No wonder he always took her side.

All that coddling just made her more entitled. She thought rules didn't apply to her.

I shot him a cold look. "As the lead surgeon, it's my job to evaluate her performance honestly. That's not snitching.

"And tell me, Simon, if you were in my shoes today and something had gone wrong, could you have guaranteed the surgery would still be a success?"

He knew I had him. He glanced away, but still muttered, "Whatever. Hitting her was still wrong."

I snorted sarcastically. "Fine, I hit her. I apologize. Emily, I'm sorry."

I raised my wrist, showing off the angry red scratches where she'd grabbed me. "So, does she plan on apologizing for this? Funny how no one jumped in to defend me when she kept pushing. Where was all this concern then?"

Simon fell silent, his eyes fixed on the marks on my skin.

"If she wants that full-time position, earn it with skill and professionalism, not just by playing cute or playing victim. The second she puts on that white coat, her patients come first. Always.

"I'm documenting exactly what happened today—no filter, no spin. If anyone has an issue with it, feel free to take it up with Carter. I'm pretty sure our director knows how to be fair."

*****

Emily could practically feel that job offer slipping through her fingers.

The next day, she barged into my office with a few other doctors from our department, not even bothering to knock.

"Dr. Shepherd," she started, putting on this contrite act. "I know I was out of line yesterday. I just wanted to help, but I made everything worse."

She shrugged, trying to downplay it all. "But honestly, what's the big deal? We were only set back a little bit. It's not like it derailed the whole day or anything.

"We're all on the same team here, and I'm still the new one... I'd hate for one little misunderstanding to ruin my review. Can't we just forget it ever happened?"

She kept calling it an apology, but bringing an audience was a straight-up power play. She was making it almost impossible to say no.

"I know I'm not there yet, but I promise I'll do better. Seriously, Dr. Shepherd, I'm begging you for another chance," Emily said, laying the desperation on thick.

I just looked back at her, a slow smirk forming. "Since you're so eager to prove yourself... fine. You'll get your chance."

A flash of triumph lit up her eyes, and she started to gush, "Thank you so—"

I cut her off sharply by rapping my knuckles on the desk. "Starting now, you're pulling every night shift this department has.

"You'll assist me on every surgery, observe everything, and learn. And after each one, you'll hand me a full report."

William York, the department chief, finally cut in. "Whoa, hold on. That's excessive, and you know it. She's just an intern. You can't load her down like that."

I let out a short, derisive laugh. "Really? Since when? We all went through the same grind. Go ask any of my former interns if they got handled with kid gloves.

"If she wants to pass her review and actually earn the title 'doctor,' then she needs to be ready to put in the work. There are no shortcuts here.

"You think you can just network your way to the top? Skip the night shifts, cherry-pick the easy cases? This isn't that kind of place."

William was left speechless.

"Let's forget about the promotion for a second," I said, my tone lowering. "If she doesn't buckle down and actually develop some real skill, what attending is ever going to want her on their team?

"By the time she makes a mistake that really matters, it'll be too late for any of us to save her."

This was originally just typical workplace drama.

William, as the department head, had no business stepping in. But there he was, openly taking her side in front of everyone.

William's expression tightened, his face darkening. "Grace, come on. Can't you give her a break? Emily didn't do anything to you. Why are you being so hard on her?"

I slapped my pen down on the desk and met his gaze with a cold smirk. "Even if you keep defending her, I'm not changing my review. I'll report everything she did. Everyone here should know what's unacceptable."

William slammed his hand on the desk and stood up abruptly. "You know what, Grace? You should know what's unacceptable. Throwing your weight around just because you're senior and bullying an intern? Do you even respect my authority anymore?"

Emily hurried over and grabbed his arm, putting on her sweet, innocent act. "Sir, please. This is all my fault. If Dr. Shepherd doesn't want to help me, that's okay. Really, don't be upset because of me."

William looked at her with softness and approval. "Emily, you're just too kind for your own good. People will take advantage of you."

Then he shot me a sharp look. "I want an explanation on my desk by the end of the day, Grace. Don't make me repeat myself."

I rolled my eyes, done with their little performance. "Like I told you yesterday, William, if you have an issue, take it up with Carter."

A smug look crossed his face when I mentioned Carter. "Carter's on leave. Don't think he's around to back you up this time."

"Fine," I said, closing my book and standing up. "Then let's go see Richard. Right now."