Perfectly Honest (16 page)

Chapter 28

Zodiac Zach
—
Don’t leave home without him.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) Address partnerships and professional relationships head-on. It’s important to keep your position clear if you want to avoid a misunderstanding. Being vague will lead to disappointment.

Sam listened to Mikaela leave. What the hell? Where the hell had that come from? He had no idea that his demands, no surely not, his
request
, for more OR time would have this impact. He just asked, for god’s sake. How did it escalate into ruining what they had going? He had really been looking forward to this weekend. It was rare they both had it off, and he pictured them spending it together. They were good together, damn it. Outdoors, indoors, in the pool, in bed, he wanted to be with her.

So while he was figuring out how to make the engagement real, she was fingering him for pulling strings behind her back and screwing her. Nice. Great opinion she has of you, O’Brien. But why would she think that? Why would he do that?

Sure he’d jump at more OR time. It wasn’t a secret. But why would she think he would do something underhanded to get it? Especially to her. Did she think so little of him? Sam rubbed his eyes, suddenly very tired. Of course, it wouldn’t have anything to do with the fact that he was asking her to live a lie. That her whole world was turned upside down by the fallout. But she had done so well. She had the sweetest set-up. Why was it such a big deal?

Because it was all lies and deceit. Their whole relationship was based on lies and deceit. And how could she trust a liar? Why would he think she would?

This relationship crap was bullshit. He knew he wasn’t any good at it. He couldn’t even make a fake engagement work. What a joke. It was too much work and even if he was willing to stick his neck out, she wouldn’t trust him. He would always be the liar and cheat making her life miserable. She’d be questioning his motives and believing the worst before he was even aware they had a problem. And when they have a problem, she just up and leaves? Whatever happened to sticking around, talking about it, working it out?

Sam winced as he listened to himself. Jeez, how many times had he heard that and dismissed it as he walked out the door and moved on? One night stand, one week, one month, it didn’t matter. He couldn’t be bothered. It was never worth the effort or the time to get into a discussion. If there was a problem, he would move on. End of problem.

His gut clenched as he stared outside into the darkness. She’d come back. She would take some time to cool off and she’d come back. They would sit down and have a
discussion
. Even if it killed him.

He would tell her how he felt. Sweat broke out on his brow and his heart raced. He rocked back on his heels. Maybe not. Maybe he would just start with an explanation about the OR time. Ease into this discussion thing. Plain and simple. Find out what was going on in her head and fix it. Sam winced. No, um, find out what she thought he had done and clear it up.

He frowned.

The trouble was he did want more OR time. Looks like he had a weekend to figure out how badly.

Chapter 29

Written in the Stars by Esmeralda Garnet

ARIES (March 21-April 19) How you treat others will be influenced by how others treat you. Listen to both sides of the story before you take action.

Later that night, Mikaela invited Margo in and pulled her close for a fierce hug.

“Hey,” Margo said as she stepped back, noting the strained look on Mikaela’s face. Mikaela was wearing sweatpants and a sweatshirt. Comfort clothes, Margo thought.

“Come in,” Mikaela said. “I ordered Indian food and it just arrived so we should eat it while it’s hot.”

“Sounds good. I haven’t had Indian for a while,” Margo said. She took off her coat and threw it on the nearby banister and followed Mikaela into the kitchen.

Mikaela pulled out the dishes and set the kitchen table.

“I picked up a caramel pear cheesecake for dessert. There’s a new bakery downtown and I was tempted by the chocolate creations, but the caramel had my name on it,” Margo said as she set the box on the counter.

Mikaela laughed, and Margo breathed a sigh of relief as she watched her friend relax just a little.

Margo grabbed the cutlery for the table.

“Wine?” Mikaela asked, holding up a red and a white.

“Absolutely.”

Mikaela picked a pinot gris, twisted off the cap, and filled two glasses. She handed one to Margo as she sipped her own and gestured for them to sit down.

“I ordered chicken korma, shrimp jalfreezi, saag paneer, cauliflower bhaji, and palao rice. And naan. So help yourself,” Mikaela invited.

They filled their plates with a little of everything and ripped a naan bread in half to share.

“The shrimp dish is spicy,” Margo commented as she scooped another mouthful. “I like it.”

“It is good. I like the korma, too.”

“Something about food I don’t have to cook just feeds my soul,” Margo said.

“Amen to that.” Mikaela smiled. “So catch me up on things. How’s work?”

“Work is good. My practice is as busy as I want it to be, and the painting is surprisingly busy for this time of year,” Margo admitted. “You know how they’re redoing the Lakeview Suites? And I was really bummed because Chloe and I put in a bid for the contract and we didn’t get it?”

Mikaela nodded. “Yes, I’ve boycotted them since.”

Margo laughed. “Well, you can stay there again. It turns out, the company that won the bid underestimated the job. No surprise there, for me, anyway.” She grinned. “They have a completion clause, and they’ve realized they’re not going to finish on time. So they subcontracted the work to us, and there’s enough work to take us into January, I figure.

“Plus, one the busiest times for the hotel is over Christmas, and they’ve asked us to take a break from December twenty-second until the
twenty-seventh. Which is great. So Chloe and I will have steady work into the New Year, and we’ll get a break over Christmas. We’re not the primary contact, so we don’t have to waste time sorting out paint colors, coordinating with designers, or dealing with the paperwork. In short, the administrative shit. We just show up, paint, and go home. It couldn’t have worked out any better,” she beamed.

“That’s perfect.”

“I know. I’m very happy. Last year it was difficult getting jobs through the winter. This year definitely looks better. And,” she said, waving her fork, “Bennett Homes should be ready for painting starting in February. They started to build a new subdivision in the fall, and they should be finished at the end of January or beginning of February. And we did win the contract for that one,” she said, winking, “so we’ll be set into the spring when homeowners start thinking about renovations. It’ll work perfectly.”

“Your connection with Trace Bennett have anything to do with winning that contract?” she asked, raising her eyebrows and smiling.

“Most definitely did,” Margo said with a huge grin.

“They’re lucky to have you do the job,” Mikaela said.

“Well, I don’t know about that . . .”

“No really. You show up on time, start when you say you will. Your work is exceptional, you finish when you promise, and you clean up the site afterward. Not all painters are as reliable or as talented,” Mikaela said in earnest.

“Well, thank you,” Margo said with a laugh. “If I ever need a reference, I’ll get them to call you.”

“My pleasure.”

“And how are things with your job?” Margo asked. She was disappointed to see the smile disappear and the tension show in Mikaela’s face the minute the words were out.

“It’s fine. There’s a bit of a tug of war going on for operating room time, which is creating some friction.”

“Ah, administrative shit.”

“Exactly. The medicine is great. The administrative shit, as you so succinctly put it, is a headache.”

Margo paused. “Why is it making you sad?”

Mikaela looked surprised.

“Dark circles, tears. Something’s bothering you.”

“You know, you could just be polite and not mention my haggard appearance.”

“Well I could, but then I wouldn’t be the best friend I obviously am.”

Mikaela just harrumphed.

“You know, since you started this job, I’ve seen you handle tons of administrative shit. At first I worried about the workload for you. But whenever you talked about it, you had this energy about you. Your eyes were shining, you talked about it excitedly, like you were enjoying the challenge. But this is the first time I’ve seen you . . . sad. It’s like the balloon popped and you’re the deflated version of it.”

Mikaela grimaced. She toyed with the napkin ring. “I guess because this time it involves Sam.”

“Sam? How?”

“Sam wants more OR time. And he’s probably going to get it, too. But he’s taking it from my department and he’s doing it through the chief of surgery.”

“Sam is? Why would he do that?”

“Because he really wants it. And because he figures he can. After all, it comes down to his job or mine. And of course, his is more important.” She shook her head in disgust.

“Jeez. Shades of Elliott all over again,” Margo murmured.

“Exactly,” Mikaela exclaimed, leaning back in her chair.

“What did he say when you talked to him about it?”

“He said ‘have a good weekend.’”

“What?”

“Yeah. I told him that I was coming here and would have to spend the weekend writing a proposal to justify keeping my OR time, and he said to have a good weekend.”

Margo was silent. That sounded like the beginning of the end. “That’s it? Was it like ‘have a good weekend’ with a smile and wave, or was it ‘have a good weekend’ I’m so guilty I can’t look you in the eye?”

Mikaela frowned. “More like ‘have a good weekend’ I don’t care, I’m walking away.”

Margo grimaced. Ouch. “And no explanation about why he went behind your back to organize this?”

“Nope.”

“Did he talk to you about it before? I mean, did you know he was going to do this?”

“Nope. The chief of surgery asked to meet with me and informed me that because I haven’t used all my time, they were taking it and giving it to ophthalmology, who have been requesting more.”

“I find this hard to believe. Sam really seems into you. I can’t believe he would do something so underhanded.”

“Yeah, it’s not like he ever lies or anything.”

“Mmmm. You do have a point there. But really, maybe he just requested extra time and didn’t have control over the rest. You know how these things can spiral out of control.”

“Yeah. That I do know. But he’s so aggressive with it.”

“What happens if he doesn’t get more OR time?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t really discussed it with him. His skills get rusty maybe? His waiting list gets too long? One of the reasons he left the General was because they were going to cut his OR time.”

“So it’s important enough for him to be aggressive. He wants it so he puts a bug in his department’s head, haha excuse the pun, who runs with it and gets the chief of surgery on his side. Sam may have been left out of the loop beyond talking to his head. I don’t know. I’m speculating. But it might be worth sitting down and talking it out further. If it matters to you.”

Mikaela sighed. “Yeah, unfortunately it does.”

“I guess you just have to decide what matters more.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know. Maybe I don’t know enough about the whole thing. But it sounds like you could be pulling an Elliott on Sam.”

“What? How?”

“Well. Sam versus OR time. Sam needs more OR time and you have a chance to help him out. You feel your department is more important so you don’t, but by putting your job ahead of him, you jeopardize his job and your relationship with him. You Elliott him.” She shrugged.

Mikaela just stared. “What?” Tears filled her eyes.

Margo panicked. “Sorry. No. Not really. It’s completely different. Just pretend I didn’t say that. How about some dessert? That pear cheesecake looks delicious.” She stood up and collected their plates.

Mikaela didn’t move. “Am I? Elliotting him?”

With a sigh, Margo set the dishes on the counter and sat down and covered Mikaela’s hand with her own. “Talk to him, Mikaela. Find out what Sam thinks. Maybe there’s a solution you both can live with. If you care enough, let him know.”

“You make it sound so easy,” Mikaela complained.

Margo wiped a tear from Mikaela’s cheek. “I know. Giving advice is always easier than following it. Especially when I have no idea what I’m talking about.” She smiled. “Feel free to tell me to mind my own business and stick with painting. I’m good at painting.”

“You are good at painting. And for being there when I need you. And for saying things I need to hear. Even when I don’t want to hear them. I love you, you know.”

“I love you, too.” Margo gave Mikaela’s hand a quick squeeze. “And just remember that. Tomorrow when your feet are complaining, and your nose is cold, you love me.”

“Maybe not that much.”

“Too late. One o’clock start. How about some cheesecake?”

“Sounds good. I feel the need to carbo load.”

Margo laughed. “I’ll give you a big piece.”