They met head-on, with no escape.
Ryan saw her too. Wearing his white coat, he quickly finished giving instructions to the head nurse before walking toward her.
“Nora.”
Nora nodded, masking her surprise with ease. “Ryan.”
“Lunch together?” he asked.
“First day on the job—probably too busy,” Nora said with a small smile.
“That’s fine. We can wait until you have time,” Ryan replied warmly.
After a brief greeting, Nora headed straight to the hospital director’s office. St. Mary’s was a private hospital, and her transfer from Brookdale had gone straight to the top.
Her father had promised not to intervene, but Nora remained skeptical.
The director was welcoming, his manner almost too warm.
“You were an Attending Physician in Brookdale?”
“Yes,” Nora said. She was a core anesthesiologist, handling surgeries, post-op pain management, and emergency ICU cases. “I’ve handled over a thousand operations.”
“We’re short an Associate Director in Anesthesiology,” the director said. “Can you start right away?”
Nora blinked. “Associate Director?”
Leaving Brookdale had meant walking away from five years of work experience and local networks. Just last month, her old director had promised her a promotion by mid-year—but every institution had its politics. Rarely did a newcomer get handed such an important title on day one.
The director nodded firmly. “A talent like you shouldn’t be buried.”
A weight pressed down on Nora’s chest—after all, the higher you stand, the harder you fall.
“If possible, I’d like to go through the normal promotion process,” she said carefully. “Otherwise, I worry people will talk.”
“That won’t do,” the director said, frowning. “Without someone in that position, the department can’t grow.” Then he softened his tone. “Trust my judgment.”
Nora reluctantly accepted. She knew the pay gap between a regular doctor and an Associate Director was significant—but now, on her very first day, she had been thrown straight into the spotlight.
Fortunately, she understood human nature and had preemptively bought Starbucks for everyone in the department.
Still, the gossip came quickly.
“Did you hear? The new doctor just took Dr. Lee’s position. And the director handpicked her—ridiculous, right?”
“No kidding. Total nepotism case.”
“Dr. Lee has been here five years. She just swoops in and takes the spot? And she doesn’t even need the extra ten grand a month.”
Ten thousand—the difference in monthly salary between Associate Director and a regular doctor. It was far better than what she’d had in Brookdale.
But Nora didn’t care much about the money—one design commission could feed her for years. Her work was about purpose, not survival.
For most of her colleagues, though, their job was their lifeline.
Nora hesitated at the doorway, debating whether to enter.
At that moment, she heard the voice of the woman they called “Dr. Lee.”
“I know you’re all worried about me, but this is the director’s decision—we can’t do anything about it.”
“But Dr. Lee, who knows when the next promotion will come? And you still have a mortgage to pay!”
Nora closed her eyes and let out a small, wry laugh.
Running away wasn’t a solution either.
She chose a moment when the room was full of sighs and knocked on the door.
The woman who opened it had swollen, red-rimmed eyes.
