Broken Lion (36 page)

Lion signaled and changed lanes. He reached over and grabbed my hand and held it.

“Is your attorney meeting you at the hospital?”

“Yes,” I said. “She texted that she’s already there.”

“Excellent.” He squeezed my hand. “I have a good feeling about today. Things are going to work out. I can feel it.”

“That makes one of us,” I chuckled with no humor.

He glanced over and smiled. “Don’t you know love conquers all, my love?”

“That’s only in the movies.”

“This isn’t a movie.”

I hoped he was right.

We parked in the hospital parking structure with time to spare, then made our way to the administration building. On the fourth floor, there was a waiting area across from the Sequoia Meeting Room. It was called that because it was named after the gigantic redwood trees found in California. These trees lived for hundreds of years, some as long as a thousand. Sequoia redwoods had an eternal quality that was the exact opposite of my career, which was minutes away from being cut down long before its time.

The double doors of the meeting room were closed, so I couldn’t see inside. Who knew what fate awaited me behind those doors?

A firing squad, possibly.

Or insane crazy-eyed lumberjacks with chainsaws ready to cut down my career.

Take your pick.

My attorney Vikki Baxter stood up from one of the waiting area seats and walked over to us wearing a charcoal gray skirt suit. I had already met with her two weeks ago at her office in Pasadena. I’d liked her immediately. She exuded calm confidence, but also a lightness and a sense of humor. She was very charming, and exactly the sort of counsel I wanted for something as serious as this. We both agreed my case was a human issue. It was about love, not breaking the rules. Hopefully we could make the committee see that.

“Good to see you, Brigid.” Vikki turned to Lion and offered her hand. “Vikki Baxter. And you are?”

“The patient.” He shook her hand. “Lion Maxwell.”

“So you’re the indiscretion,” she grinned.

Lion chuckled. “You could say that.”

Vikki winked at me, “I would say he was worth it.” She took a step back and looked us both over. “Did you two pick matching outfits on purpose?”

I looked down at my navy skirt suit and then at Lion’s navy blue suit. “Oh, no! What was I thinking? Why didn’t you say anything, Lion?” I guess I’d been too distracted by our sex and the rush out the door afterward to notice.

Lion chuckled, “I kind of like it. We look like a team.”

I grimaced at Vikki. “What should I do?”

She smiled reassuringly. “I think Lion’s right. You do look like a team. It might even work in your favor. I think it’s kind of cute. A show of solidarity.”

“I hope so,” I sighed.

Lion rubbed my back. “I agree with Vikki.”

The three of us sat down and reviewed our strategy. Let the committee present their case. Answer honestly but say as little as possible. We didn’t know what the committee would ask and Vikki had never handled a case exactly like ours.

She’d done quite a bit of research after we’d met, but she wasn’t able to find any cases similar enough to ours to use for guidance. Every case she found involved male doctors dating female patients, cases which often had the stink of prostitution (trading prescription drugs for sex with a patient who didn’t need the drugs for any medical reason) or coercion on the doctor’s part (abusing the power dynamic, especially during breast and pelvic exams). My situation was nothing like any of those, so we were essentially flying blind. Not my preferred way to operate, but we didn’t have a choice.

After Vikki and I finished, Lion said, “Brigid, remember, they need to know that we didn’t do anything wrong. This isn’t a scandal. It’s love.”

“I wish it were that simple.”

He frowned, “It is that fucking simple.”

Vikki arched her eyebrows but said nothing.

“Would you keep your voice down?” I hissed. “And watch your language please?”

“Sorry.” He squeezed my hand and muttered to himself, “It is that simple.”

How could he be so sure? I knew I had broken the rules. He knew it too. We’d had a discussion about rules the night we met. The entire time we’d been dating, we’d been taking a huge risk and we knew it. We were both complicit. That was the simple part.

I knew I needed to stay positive, so I tried to push my negative thoughts away. It didn’t help. My nerves were threatening to get the best of me. I took a deep breath and tried to relax. At the very least, I needed to stay calm if I wanted to get through the investigative hearing successfully.

The door to the meeting room opened and a women I recognized from HR named Michelle stuck her head out. “They’re ready for you, Dr. Flanagan.”

“Okay.”

We all stood up and walked toward the door.

Michelle looked at Lion and Vikki and said, “Are both of you Dr. Flanagan’s attorneys?”

Lion didn’t say anything, just looked at me hopefully.

I sighed. I wanted him in there with me, but I knew he wasn’t allowed. “No. He’s my boyfriend.”

He smiled when I said it. “Damn right I am.”

Michelle frowned. Did she know the details of the hearing? Or was she just offended by his language? “He can’t be in here.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Lion said. He took my hands.

My eyes darted between Vikki and Michelle who were both watching me and making this moment more uncomfortable than it should’ve been.

He rubbed his thumbs on the backs of my hands. “Just remember, it’s love.” He raised both my hands and kissed the backs of each one.

That made me feel better. I smiled at Lion, on the verge of tears. “Okay.”

“Awww,” Vikki said.

Michelle scowled impatiently.

Vikki said softly, “We should probably go in now.”

“Yeah, okay,” I sniffed.

Reluctantly, I released Lion’s hands and walked through the doors.

Time to face the firing squad.

Or the crazy lumberjacks with their revving chainsaws.

<<<<<<<>>>>>>>

The meeting room was set up with a line of tables near the windows. Behind them sat a row of people I recognized.

Sidney Copeland, MD, the Chief of Staff at LACH.

Cynthia Badhoff, the Head of Human Resources.

Marina Davis, MD, the Chief Medical Officer of LACH.

Randolph Tanaka, MD, the Chairman of Orthopedic Surgery and the head of my department.

Ivan Hackett, Major Dick and one of the assholes who probably told on me.

There were two women I didn’t recognize, but I knew both were representatives from the Medical Board of California.

The only dick who wasn’t here was Donald. Maybe that meant Hackett was the tattler? Or would someone on the committee read a prepared statement from Donald accusing me of breaking the rules?

I’m sure I would find out.

Michelle from HR led us toward the two empty seats facing the committee, then sat down at the tables with the rest of the firing squad. The only thing they were missing were rifles and chainsaws. I’m sure both would be brought in at the end of the hearing so each committee member could pick their weapon of choice.

Vikki and I both sat down. We didn’t have a table for her briefcase, which was rude. I didn’t bring one so I didn’t need the table, but I felt like we were hanging out in the open without one. If the committee decided to pull out their rifles, Vikki and I could always kick the table over and hide behind it for cover. That was probably why the committee hadn’t provided one. I hoped Vikki didn’t get caught in any crossfire.

Cynthia Badhoff spoke first. She made an official preamble noting the time, the purpose of the hearing, blah blah blah.

My eyes glazed over as Dr. Sidney Copeland read a prepared speech from several sheets of paper, periodically glancing up to meet my eyes. He droned on about things like “my grievous disregard for the ethical policy of the hospital and the Medical Board of California” and “the likelihood of irreparable and monumental financial consequences” and “punitive action commensurate to the numerous instances of sexual misconduct in question.”

In so many words, he was telling me that my career would be over shortly.

I was nauseous in the extreme. I didn’t know if it was my hormones from the pregnancy or my fear. Probably both. I’m sure I was scaring the baby. Well, my fetus. He or she probably wasn’t enjoying this either.

When Dr. Copeland finished his speech, he set his papers down and folded his hands together on the table. “Dr. Flanagan, how would you like to respond to these allegations?”

I wanted to shout,
Who’s the asshole who told on me?!
I felt like jumping across the table and strangling Dr. Hackett, who looked suspiciously guilty and had not looked at me once during Copeland’s prepared speech. I restrained myself just in case it wasn’t him. It easily could have been Donald who tattled. But I didn’t know either way because
they had not fucking told me!

“Dr. Flanagan,” Copeland said. “Are you or are you not engaged in a sexual-romantic relationship with Lion M. Maxwell?”

YES!!!

I hated this. I didn’t want to say it out loud.

Vikki nudged me gently, “Brigid? Are you okay?”

“I—I’m fine.” But I wasn’t fine. I was furious and scared and didn’t know what to do. They had me dead to rights. I had broken the rules. I had known I was breaking them, but I’d kept right on going like I didn’t give a shit, which was partially true. Once I knew Lion had good intentions and was a good person, I didn’t really care about the rules.

Why couldn’t I be bold at a time like this? Why couldn’t I stand up and flip everyone off and shout,
Your rules are fucking stupid! I love him! He loves me! We’re having a baby! What’s the fucking problem?!

I bet Lion would do something like that. But the truth was, I knew that kind of behavior would backfire in my face. I needed to calmly explain my side of things and hope the committee understood.

I took a deep breath before opening my mouth to speak.

The door behind me banged open loudly.

I gasped and jumped out of my seat.

Vikki gasped too and everyone behind the tables stared over my shoulder.

“Okay, fuck all this bullshit,” Lion growled in a commanding voice. “You all need to listen to what I have to say.”

Chapter 42

LION

Everyone stared at me.

I set my bag down just inside the door. I was breathless from fast walking down to my car to get it.

Vikki the lawyer and Brigid were twisted around in their seats. Brigid hissed, “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

I walked up behind her. “Trust me. I’ve got this.”

“You need to get the hell out, is what you need to do!”

I placed my hands on her shoulders and leaned down, kissing the top of her head. “I told you, Irish. I’ve got this.”

I walked up in front of the tables and started pacing while I talked. “I know you guys got a bunch of rules about doctors dating patients. I also know those rules are there so doctors don’t take advantage of patients because of their authority. Here’s the thing. Dr. Flanagan wasn’t the one who took advantage of me. I took advantage of her.” There were a few women on the committee sitting behind the tables. I focused on them. “I mean, look at me. What woman in her right mind could resist me? Can I wear a fucking suit or what?”

One of the women rolled her eyes. Another grimaced. The third? I could tell I was getting to her. So I turned to the two who weren’t convinced.

“Don’t give me that eye roll bullshit, ladies. You would both fuck me and you know it.”

One of them grimaced.

The other blushed.

“And you guys,” I pointed at the men. “You know I can pull ass anytime, anywhere. You all hate me for it too. I’m sure you have plenty of doctor money and you get your fair share of hot gold diggers. But that isn’t how things work for Lion Maxwell. That’s me, by the way. I’m an MMA legend. Undefeated champion. Never. Lost. A. Fight.” I nodded for emphasis. “You wanna know what my reality is? Women throw themselves at me all the time. Hot women.” I singled out the platinum blonde, the one who’d blushed and was pretty cute. I winked at her. “Yeah, I see you looking.” She snorted a laugh. I turned to the men. “Guys, I’ve had naked women waiting for me in the locker room after a fight plenty of times. No bullshit. Can you picture that? Once, there were three. Three. It was like walking into a strip joint filled with naked hotties and all those strippers make a beeline for your dick, but they don’t want your money. They just want your dick. Correction. My dick. That’s my life, guys. And that’s a fact.”

The men glared at me.

They hated me.

Good.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I’m a fucking dick. I know it. And that is my point, gentlemen. And ladies. Because Dr. Brigid Flanagan knew it too. She knew I was an asshole from the moment I laid eyes on her and I tried to get her to suck my dick in the emergency room. No, seriously. I tried to get her to suck my cock in the exam room. That’s how I roll.”

Brigid was horrified.

But the three women on the committee? Their gears were turning. I was wearing them down. They were wondering what it would be like to get plowed by a cocky motherfucker like me.

“But you know what, people? Brigid didn’t play that. She wasn’t having any of my bullshit. So I chased her. Chased her hard. I’ve never wanted a woman so bad in my life, and I went after her with a vengeance.” That wasn’t entirely true. We both wanted it and it was the easiest relationship I’d ever had. That’s why I knew it was for real. But I was making my case. “I wore her down, people. At no time did she ever take advantage of me. Truth be told, I think I took advantage of her. When I want something, I get it. And I got her. And I plan on keeping her. No matter what you decide.” I looked each of them in the eyes, one after the other. “And there you have it, ladies and gentlemen. I put a spell on Dr. Brigid Flanagan. It wasn’t the other way around. I rest my case.”

I hoped that worked.

I walked to the wall and sat down in an empty chair and folded my arms across my chest. I half stood from the chair, “Oh yeah. Brigid is a kick ass doctor and the only reason I wanted Dr. Hackett to do my knee surgery was so I could date Brigid.” I sat down. Then stood up and muttered, “So let her keep being a doctor. She’s a damn good one.”