"Head Nurse Simmons, have Logistics set up a private office for her. Right next to mine."
I stared at Nathaniel. "Excuse me?"
Nora squealed and threw her arms around his neck, planting a loud kiss on his cheek. "Really? You're the best!"
The bright red lipstick smear on his face hit me like a slap.
My nails dug into my palms. "She left a surgical sponge inside a patient, and you're giving her a promotion?"
Nathaniel's gaze turned cold. "Are you certain?"
A junior nurse stepped forward, voice trembling. "Yes, Director. Head Nurse Simmons led the search for hours yesterday. It has to be inside the patient. We need to order a CT scan immediately and inform the family—"
Her voice withered under his darkening expression.
Panic flickered in Nora's eyes, but she masked it with a pout, clinging to his arm. "If we tell him, he'll file a complaint. He seems fine. Rachel, just pretend you don't know." She looked up at Nathaniel with wide eyes. "Right?"
His jaw tightened. "Nora is right. This funding round is critical. We cannot volunteer that information. Rachel, keep your mouth shut."
A chill swept through me. They intended to bury this.
Emboldened, Nora smirked and slammed her shoulder into mine as she passed. "Get moving on my office."
Exhausted from the sleepless night, I lost my balance and hit the floor.
Nathaniel didn't glance back. He simply walked away.
My heart turned to ice.
Fine. If they wanted to play with fire, I wouldn't burn with them.
I drafted my resignation and changed out of my scrubs.
The emergency line shrieked through the nurses' station.
"What kind of butchers are you running?" Mrs. Harrington's voice was shrill enough to hear outside the receiver. "My son is in agony! The scan shows a foreign object! Director Fleming, is this your standard of care?"
"I want the name of whoever did this. I will sue you for everything you have!"
Through the glass partition, I watched Nathaniel hunch over his desk, unable to meet the speakerphone's fury.
Ten minutes later, the break room door slammed open.
Nora let the tears flow. "Nathaniel, what do we do? I didn't mean to! You have to fix this!"
"How the hell should I know?" he roared.
She wailed louder.
I approached and slapped my resignation onto the table. "Sign it."
He stared at the document. "You're quitting?"
Nora's screech cut the air. "You're running away? Coward! You're the Head Nurse—this is your responsibility too!"
I laughed, dry and humorless. "My job was to assist, not slap the phone out of your hand while you scrolled social media during surgery. If you want to drag someone down, try to be less obvious."
She choked on her words.
Nathaniel slammed his fist against the wall. "Enough. Both of you."
His gaze turned icy. "Head Nurse Simmons, Nora is a novice. You should have supervised her better. The hospital's reputation is at stake. We don't have the luxury of pointing fingers."
