Remission by Ofelia Martinez
Chapter 17
Under Fire
After the closing remarks of the conference, Hector and I left for the airport. Not surprisingly, he was returning on the same flight. It would be hard not to suspect this was intentional, but really, how many afternoon flights from Boston to Kansas City could there be? I let it go. There was no point in bringing it up now, not after our conversation that first night.
Hector never offered any information on the lunch with his wife or if anything came of it, and I’d be damned if I asked him, so I tried to concentrate on work. In the waiting area for our flight, I decided to check my email. I was excited to open the messages waiting in my inbox, ready to dive into work, and grateful for the distraction, but it all changed as I read them one by one.
“What’s wrong?” Hector asked, no doubt seeing the concern plain on my face.
“This can’t be right.” I scrolled to the next email and the next, but they all said the same thing.
“What is it? You’re starting to scare me.”
I placed my phone in my pocket and looked up at him. “They all said no.”
“Who? No to what?”
“My follow-up grant. The doctors at Heartland Metro, who I invited to sign on to the follow-up grant for the trial, all said no. I shared the preliminary data report to hook them in, and I pitched some ideas for what might be included in the proposal.”
“Okay . . .”
“They all said no. Every doctor I invited to participate in the next trial.” I let out a breath that shrank me like a deflated mylar balloon.
“What? All of them?”
I nodded. “Well, the physicians at the hospitals administering the current trial in California, Texas, and New York all said yes. But every doctor I contacted at Heartland Metro said no.”
“How many?”
“Six. I re-invited the four on the trial now, plus two more. I wanted to add a psychological support component to the next trial, so I invited two of our top-rated psychologists as well.”
Hector’s jaw clenched. “Those sons of bitches.”
“What could this be about, Hector? Doctors usually jump at a chance to be included in a project like this. I figured with you involved, it was an easy sell. I’d understand if one, or even two said no—especially if they were over-burdened with other projects. But all six? Something is off here.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll figure it out when we get back.”
We didn’t have the opportunity to investigate, however, because, on our first day back, I was called into Chief Stuart’s office. When I arrived, Hector was already in one of two chairs in front of the chief’s desk.
“Dr. Ramirez, please take a seat.”
“What is this about?” I asked.
“We’ll get to that,” Chief Stuart said.
“How was the conference?” he asked. “I wanted to go but couldn’t make it work with my schedule.”
He looked between Hector and me, and it wasn’t clear to whom he had directed the question. Shit, I thought. He knew we had been there together. When we didn’t respond, he smiled.
“Hector asked for the time off for the conference several months ago. When you asked, Carolina, I didn’t put two and two together.”
I nodded, and he continued. “We have a problem. I’ve been ignoring the rumors, but it’s getting harder to—”
“Chief,” Hector said, jumping in. “You have my word that the rumors are unfounded. We have done nothing that we would be ashamed of. Our relationship is purely professional.”
Well, it was mostly true.
The chief turned to me, and I winced.
“Dr. Ramirez, do you have anything to add?”
“Yes, um—” Damn it, I felt like a kid in the principal’s office, and all my confidence ran out the window. I cleared my throat. “I think the rumors stem from some professional jealousies. It hasn’t always been easy since I got the trial funded. But I view Dr. Medina as nothing other than a mentor. I respect him, and I wouldn’t dishonor his wife or their marriage by entering into any type of relationship that wasn’t professional.” And that was nothing but pure truth. I could see Hector from my peripheral vision as he turned to face me.
“Well,” said the chief, “if it were all still rumors, eventually they would die down when everyone realized they were unfounded. But now, we have a bigger problem. We’ve received an official complaint through Human Resources.”
“About me?” I asked.
“About Dr. Medina’s preferential treatment of you due to an inappropriate relationship. This is why we have a hospital policy against superiors and subordinates dating.”
“We are not dating. Who made the complaint?” I clipped.
“That is confidential,” Chief Stuart said.
“It was Keach, wasn’t it?”
“Complaints are anonymous.” The chief leaned back in his chair. “But if it was Dr. Keach, I wouldn’t be happy about it if I were you, Dr. Ramirez.” He raised an eyebrow in warning. “This competition you two have going has got to stop. I realize the fellowship is prestigious and highly competitive, but that is no reason to act out. It will only ruin your chances.”
“I am not competing with him. With all due respect, sir, all I’m trying to do is the best work I can, which I can do here or as an attending elsewhere.”
Chief Stuart looked flustered, and he straightened up in his chair. “No one is going anywhere,” he said.
Now that I was bringing in the big research dollars, Dr. Stuart couldn’t afford to lose me. He would also be hesitant to let go of the Keachs’ generous donations to the hospital. The chief had a choice to make, and I needed to make that clear.
“Things aren’t getting easier for me, Chief. This will get back to you, so you better hear it from me. Physicians are taking sides. Every doctor I invited to participate in my follow-up trial said no. That has Dr. Keach’s name written all over it. What do you have to say about that?”
“I’ll talk with them,” he said.
And I knew he would. He wouldn’t lose out on the potential of millions of dollars in research funding for a petty little man who didn’t have the chops to let his skills speak for him.
“You do that, Chief,” I spat and stormed out of his office. I couldn’t believe I had just spoken to the chief like that.
I ran to the stairwell; I needed a minute. I was great at keeping my shit together in front of the chief, but I was at a crossroads. How I handled this situation could make or break my career. It was such a delicate problem. One wrong word. One false accusation—and I could lose everything I’d worked for.
I sat in the stairwell, letting out the first tears I would ever shed on the clock during my professional career. They tasted bitter, and I resented them immediately. I wasn’t that girl—oneshaken up by a boy’s club. This wasn’t me—crying in a stairwell because of some rumors.
The rumors. The rumors that were this close to ending my career. My dreams. No. I wiped the tears away and straightened my light-blue scrub top. Even if it ended here, I would succeed elsewhere.
The door to the stairwell burst open, and Hector descended the stairs toward me. I was hoping there was no redness in my eyes or nose, but when his eyes softened, I knew the traitorous signs of tears were there.
“Carolina.”
“No!” I hissed, and he stopped in his tracks. I looked up at him from several steps below. “From now on, it’s Dr. Ramirez and only Dr. Ramirez. You will not address me directly. If you need to work out schedules, have your secretary talk with my RA. If you need to discuss a patient, reach out via email. The next grant proposal we can work on via email as well—”
“Carolina—” He closed his mouth when my glare snapped up to him at the sound of my name.
“No. You will not talk with me. You will pick a seat on the opposite side of the table in conference rooms, and as far away as possible at any presentations we may be attending at the same time.”
My eyes stung when I saw him swallow hard, and his Adam’s apple bobbed. But I had to continue. “If you get drunk, you will get a taxi; you will not call me. And if you see me in the hallway, do not say hello.”
He looked like I had stabbed him in the gut.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I’m trying to fix this. I can’t lose my career over something that isn’t even happening.”
He nodded.
And he followed my every order faithfully.
For two years.
The longest two years of my life.