Don’t Fall for the Doctor by Lacey Bolt
Chapter 3
Ashley opened the back door to the notoriously demanding cardiology clinic, channeling her inner spy. When she was a kid, she would sneak into her parents’ bedroom to snoop. Now, she used those childhood skills to sneak into the cardiology unit. If all went well, no one would notice her. Particularly Dr. Evans.
The clinic hallway was empty. She let out a quiet breath and tilted her head. Soft chatter floated in her direction, most likely from the nursing staff’s morning meeting in the conference room. They’d come spilling out to the hallway at any moment.
She crept towards the noise, heart pounding in her throat. She stopped when she reached the cleaning supply closet and then slowly opened the door, which let out a loud squeak. She froze. The quiet chatter from the conference room continued. Wiping her forehead, she opened the door the rest of the way, and proceeded to toss a few random boxes on her cart. If all went well, anyone who saw her would assume that she’d already been working for the past half hour.
She glanced at the list attached to the wall, then grabbed an empty bucket, placed it under the faucet, and turned on the water. She leaned against her cleaning cart and closed her eyes. The slow stream of water gurgled like a waterfall on a sandy, warm beach. Did Dr. Evans know how to swim? Or any of the other cardiologists? Probably. But if they were all stuck on a deserted, tropical island, she would definitely push them into the water to find out. And if they were stuck on that island together, they’d all soon come begging her for help. No one else could take a scattering of fruits, vegetables, and fish and turn them into a gourmet meal. They’d be forced to talk to her like an actual human instead of ignoring her.
“Ashley!”
Ashley bolted upright and stumbled. She reached for the cart to catch herself but pulled too hard. The cart fell over, knocking the half-filled bucket onto its side. A cold sensation washed over her feet as the water spread.
Ashley muttered under her breath and turned off the faucet. She faced her friend and tried her best to look stern. “Kelly, you surprised me. Are you on clinic duty with me today?”
Kelly shook her finger at Ashley in a motherly manner. “Wipe that look off your face. It’s only water.”
“It’s only water to you because you aren’t the one who’s about to get fired.” Ashley grabbed the cart and pushed it upright. She bent down to examine the wheel. The bracket attaching the wheel to the cart was even more bent than it had been yesterday.
“It’s just the two of us today. Jean called in sick.” Kelly glanced around and lowered her voice. “I covered for you earlier, so no one knows that you’re late. Everything ok?”
“Everything’s fine. Gwen just changed the schedule and never bothered to tell me.” Ashley started picking up the fallen items and piled them on the cart.
“Well, don’t worry about a thing. I told Dr. Evans that you were running to the main supply closet to restock on a few of the cleaning supplies.”
“Thanks. I owe you.”
“I’ll take payment in the form of brownies.” Kelly grinned. “Hand me the mop. I’ll get the water over here. Any news about graduate school?”
“Haven’t heard a thing yet. Thought I’d at least hear something by now. A rejection is better than just not knowing.”
“Don’t talk like that. Of course you’ll get in. I believe in you, and Emily does too. She wouldn’t have recommended you to her former social work school if she didn’t think you’d get in.”
Ashley shrugged. What was there to say? Either she’d get accepted into a social work graduate school or spend her days cleaning and trying to figure out what would make her happy.
Kelly leaned in close again. “Cover for me? I missed breakfast and am starving. I need to run to the cafeteria, shouldn’t take more than five minutes.”
“Of course. But I put some of my homemade breakfast bars in the staff fridge. They’re better than anything you’ll find in the cafeteria.” Her grandma’s recipe never failed to impress.
“Ashley, you are a lifesaver.”
“Ok, go, I got this.” Ashley pulled the mop out of Kelly’s hand.
First, clean up the watery mess in the hallway. Watery messes meant an increased risk of someone falling, getting hurt, suing the hospital, and losing her job. The vomit in the exam room would need to wait.
Mop up excess water. Check. Empty dirty water down the drain. Check. Fill the bucket with clean water and sanitizing soap. Check. Shoot, forgot to put up the wet floor signs. Ok, that’s done now. Check. What next? That’s right, mop the floor to clean and sanitize the area . . .
“What are you doing?” A large shadow appeared over the wet floor.
Ashley’s heart skipped a beat as she faced the man. His red face was lined with a bead of sweat. Dr. Evans.
“Give me one good reason why you are mopping the hallway floor and not cleaning the exam rooms? Room one needs cleaning before the next patient is seen, and Dr. Tobers just told me that room four has vomit! It’s been there for seven minutes. What’s the hold-up? Go!” Dr. Evans yelled loud enough for patients in the waiting room to hear, not to mention everyone in the staff meeting down the hall.
Words caught in Ashley’s mouth, and her legs froze. Dr. Evans grabbed Ashley’s supply cart and pushed down the hallway to exam room four, placing it in front of the open door. He turned back to her, arms crossed against his chest and face bright red.
Ashley bit her lip and followed. One of the nurses shouted something down the hall to Dr. Evans, and another nurse stuck his head into the hall from one of the exam rooms. She made brief eye contact with Dr. Tobers, the cardiologist who thought every woman in the hospital wanted to date him just because he looked like an underwear model. He stood at the far end of the hallway, his nose wrinkled like he could actually smell the vomit from his location.
She looked down at her feet and kept trudging down the hall. Being reprimanded at work was one thing. Being humiliated and spoken to as if she was a child in front of an audience was another.
If Dr. Evans were caught on the deserted island with her, she’d burn his portion of fish and tropical fruit. Then drop the food in the sand.
Who was she kidding? She’d never burn food on purpose.