3. Scarlett

For the most part, Scarlett's weekend was quiet and relaxing, although a few times she found her thoughts drifting back to that steamy online chat with her mystery friend. After it happened, she had felt too embarrassed and awkward to log back in. Instead, she had dedicated her weekend to reading, exercising, and working on her application, trying to distract herself from the intense, unfamiliar feelings swirling through her.

Now, it was Monday morning, and time for another busy week. She woke up at the break of dawn, as usual, and changed into her workout clothes to go for a run. It was early September, and the weather was mild and pleasant—one of those perfect early autumn mornings that made running outdoors a real joy. Sweaty and slightly winded, she finished her short route around town just as the sun rose above the horizon line.

Feeling satisfied and exhilarated by the exercise, Scarlett hopped in the shower, got dressed, and headed to the hospital for her shift. By eight, she was walking briskly through the busy corridors and nodding politely at everyone who greeted her. She made a brief detour through the cafeteria to grab a cup of black coffee, which she sipped gratefully as she rode up the elevator and headed down the hall to the cardiac ward. The familiar rhythm and sounds of the workplace energized and reassured her. At least here, things made sense. Even in the hectic chaos and pressure, it was predictable.

The calm, organized morning didn't last, however. Scarlett had been in the staff room for about fifteen minutes when the call came through. A serious traffic accident left several people with massive injuries, and their ICU department had the highest demand for surgeons available. Setting down her half-empty coffee mug, the redhead grabbed her stethoscope from the hook on the wall and rushed down to the emergency room to prepare for the ambulance that would be bringing in their latest patient.

Upon entering the large space with its blinding bright lights and chaotic hubbub, Scarlett immediately spotted Dr. Gianna Rodriguez across the room. Her colleague looked far more casually elegant than anyone had a right to in her dark blue scrubs and sneakers, chatting calmly with the nurse who was prepping their patient for the procedure. Her glossy ebony hair was tied up in a bun that bobbed and weaved as she chatted cheerfully, and she waved her hands expressively. Glancing over at the door, those sultry, almond-shaped amber eyes immediately locked with hers, and Scarlett felt a jolt of something intense sparkle through her veins.

Despite her best intentions, her traitorous gaze remained fixated on the radiant, infuriating woman. Since Gianna had transferred here a little over a year ago, they had been butting heads about virtually everything, from surgical procedures to patient care to departmental funding and budget cuts. That would all have been fine—Scarlett was entirely comfortable arguing with her coworkers if required—if not for the fact that Dr. Rodriguez was the only cardiac surgeon in the hospital whose skills matched hers, and therefore a genuine threat to her professional standing at Rose Bay Hospital. It was that simple.

And also not quite so simple. Scarlett found Dr. Rodriguez extremely frustrating yet irresistibly attractive. The two sensations couldn't exist alongside each other without short-circuiting her brain every time she saw the other woman. Right now, for instance, despite having about five minutes to prep for a life-or-death surgery, she was utterly incapable of focusing on anything other than the gorgeous bronze-skinned doctor.

"Good morning, Dr. Miller," Gianna purred, smirking lazily at her with that insufferable confidence oozing from every pore. "I heard about this one on the radio on my way here. Some asshole in a Ford Focus crashed right into a tree truck and took out three cars. Looks like we've got a busy day, huh?"

The carefree, laid-back demeanor irked Scarlett on a profound level. Everyone found Gianna's effortless charisma and casual approachability so damn endearing. To Scarlett, it was nothing of the sort. It made the brunette come across as lazy and uncommitted, like she couldn't be bothered to treat their very serious profession with due gravity and respect. Still, everyone just loved her, for some reason. It was absurd how easily she could charm every nurse, intern, and assistant into doing exactly what she wanted. And the board. As soon as Dr. Anderson officially announced her departure, Scarlett was sure that Gianna would be falling all over herself to suck up to them for the sake of getting her hands on the department director position. Her irritation rose just thinking about it.

Okay. She needed to calm down. The ambulance was pulling up, and in a matter of minutes, they'd be neck-deep in work. Now was not the time to let herself get distracted or riled up. Taking a deep breath to collect herself, she nodded stiffly at her colleague, putting on her best businesslike demeanor.

"Right. We have less than five minutes before the EMT arrives, and we have a patient with extensive internal trauma. He's going to need cardiopulmonary bypass in order to prevent him from bleeding out," she declared firmly. She frowned down at the paperwork on the tablet, then pointed it toward Gianna to show her the x-rays of the man's injuries. "We'll be operating together. Are you prepared, Doctor Rodriguez?"

Gianna rolled her eyes at Scarlett's curt, condescending tone but shrugged nonchalantly.

"Aye, aye, captain," the gorgeous Latina replied dryly, giving her an ironic salute. "Shall we get moving, then?"

When the man arrived, both doctors sprang into action. Their bantering fell aside and they moved seamlessly in tandem, working efficiently and calmly together to extract the patient's organs and assess the damage. They both had extensive experience, and while neither of them said as much aloud, there was no denying that they were perfectly suited as a team.

The blunt force trauma to the man's internal organs had damaged just about every organ, not to mention the broken ribs that had perforated his liver. The abdominal distension alone was alarming, and the blood flow suggested significant damage to major arteries and vessels. A small leak in his bowels was causing toxic waste material to be released directly into his body cavity, meaning there could be any number of nasty infections in play. It was a terrible situation, but if anyone was qualified to handle such an intricate mess, it was the two of them.

Scarlett shared a glance with her colleague over their masks. No words were spoken between them, but she could tell by the twinkle in the older woman's eyes that they were in agreement. A strange warmth filled her at that connection. They both nodded once, then got to work on their first priority: shutting down the internal bleeding caused by all the perforations. Once that was handled, then the rest of it could be taken care of.

For the next five hours straight, there was nothing but the steady rhythm of work, the music of a smooth team dynamic, and the occasional muttered order as they danced around each other to operate on the poor, wounded man on the table. In that small window of time, it felt as though there were no bad feelings between them, no jealousy or rivalry to divide them. All that mattered was saving this patient's life.

Scarlett occasionally caught sight of Gianna's elegant fingers as she passed her instruments or used the laser scalpel, and every time a hint of a shiver ran through her. Even her hands were perfect. Everything about the woman seemed to taunt her, demanding that she look and look again, no matter how much she might want to tear her gaze away. If nothing else, it was definitely motivational; Scarlett forced herself to double down, paying meticulous attention to everything she was doing, focusing so intensely that the outside world almost entirely ceased to exist.

Then, eventually, the patient had survived the first round of surgeries and was carted off to recovery. With that accomplished, they could step back and take a breather for a few moments. They headed to the scrub room, where both women dutifully washed their hands at the sinks side-by-side in silence, both no doubt reflecting on all that they'd just accomplished. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see how Gianna's chest rose and fell, her shoulders drooping slightly as exhaustion started to catch up with her.

Scarlett could relate. Situations like these were draining, no matter how experienced you might be. When someone's life was hanging by a thread, it took a lot out of you, even when it went well. Not to mention all the emotional weight that came along when it didn't. Too many times in her career, she'd come home with bags under her eyes because a patient hadn't made it through. Sometimes, even when you did everything right, it wasn't enough to save someone's life.

This time, at least, it was a win. They had successfully stopped the man's internal bleeding and repaired the damages, including setting his broken bones and stitching up his ruptured liver. He would need more surgery in order for him to make a full recovery, and the damage might cause him permanent physical difficulties and limitations, but at the very least, he had survived and had a chance to get better. For now, this was a victory.

After a few moments of silence, once she stepped back from the sink, Gianna turned to look at Scarlett with a wry grin and a mischievous twinkle in her warm, whiskey-colored eyes.

"You're lucky I was here to save your ass with this guy," she remarked, her expression smug. She placed her hands on her hips, striking a heroic pose, and tossed her hair with feigned vanity. "Could you imagine if you had to do it all alone?"

It took a monumental effort for Scarlett to stop herself from rolling her eyes and snorting out loud at the obnoxious display. As it was, she merely offered her colleague a withering stare.

"I've been working at this hospital for over ten years, Doctor Rodriguez," she replied coldly, "and we've handled worse complications without you before."

The arrogant, boastful comment hit a sore spot for her. Though she would never admit it, she was painfully aware that Gianna Rodriguez was every bit her equal. Scarlett's seniority in the department aside, her colleagues genuinely liked Gianna as a person, admired her dedication, and recognized her skills, whereas Scarlett struggled to form close bonds with other employees because she didn't have the time or energy for socializing when she had so many more important things to focus on.

The second Gianna had come waltzing into Rose Bay, she had become everyone's favorite person, and everyone treated her like she was God's gift to cardiology despite the fact that Scarlett had been doing everything she could do without making a flashy spectacle of herself for over a decade. Not everyone needed to be constantly validated and adulated for being good at their job.

"Honestly, Scarlett, lighten up," Gianna laughed, pulling out her hairband to readjust her bun. Her dark, silky hair fell in waves over her shoulder, and Scarlett found herself mesmerized for a moment as she stared longingly at the cascade of gleaming ebony waves. She swallowed and forced herself to pull her eyes away from that luscious mane and back to the shorter woman's eyes.

"You'll have to forgive me for not treating my job like it's a joke," Scarlett snipped icily.

"Oh, come on," Gianna shot back, "I'm every bit as competent as you are. Without me, that man wouldn't be alive right now. You didn't even notice the tears in his superior mesenteric artery."

"Because that was your responsibility. I was busy repairing his ruptured colon and stabilizing his fracture," she countered coolly, meeting her gaze directly. "And what about the ruptured splenic vein that you overlooked? Had we failed to seal that, that man would be dead now."

"That wasn't as urgent as his aorta," Gianna fired back. "It's called prioritizing, Doctor Miller. I don't need to justify my every move to you, especially when you were the one who was wrong about—"

"Wrong? Please. Your method worked, but mine would have been more efficient," Scarlett countered. "He would have bled out before we got him into surgery if we'd spent all that time—"

"There was a higher risk of brain death from the bleeding—" Gianna began hotly.

Soon, they were shouting over one another, lost in a haze of passionately defending their methods. In truth, they had worked seamlessly together throughout the whole procedure, with minimal disagreements and no bickering. But now that it was over, and they were exhausted from the prolonged exertion and adrenaline of performing such a complex procedure, the tensions and doubts bubbled back up to the surface once again, and they were right back to square one.

As they argued heatedly over the events of the surgery, Scarlett felt a rush of conflicting emotions. She was pissed that the other woman kept dismissing her efforts and contributions to the operation, but at the same time, the verbal sparring thrilled her on some primal level. Being in her colleague's presence always seemed to heighten her emotions, making her feel intensely one way or the other about even the tiniest things. It was unsettling but somehow addictive at the same time. The tension between them was electric.

Gianna had a fierce glow in her eyes as she argued animatedly. Her arm was firmly planted on her waist, drawing attention to the shape of the body beneath the unflattering hospital scrubs. Her makeup was flawless as ever, and the tiny little hairs on her forehead clung together with sweat, and her lush, luscious lips were mere inches away from—

Stop it!Scarlett scolded herself inwardly. Stop that at once, Scarlett Miller. You're at work, and you're on duty. It doesn't matter how gorgeous she is. Besides, she's infuriating. Arrogant. Entitled. Selfish. She thinks she can walk around like she's better than everyone just because she's gorgeous and charming and—

Oh God.

"You know what?" Scarlett snapped. "I'm not wasting my time on this. I have more important things to do."

She spun on her heel, taking her coffee cup in one hand and storming off toward her office. Her cheeks were flushed bright red as she hurried through the halls. Was it because of the argument with Gianna? Or was it because she was imagining pushing Gianna back against the counter and kissing her senselessly to shut her up? God. What was the matter with her?

She shook her head hard to dismiss the mental image then entered the cardiac wing of the building. Okay. She needed to file a report of the details of the surgery. Concentrate on that. Paperwork. File reports. Drink coffee. Fill out patient charts. That was good. That was productive. Productive things were good. The hospital was depending on her.

One, two, three, breathe. Let it go. Focus.