House couldn't believe what he was about to do as he limp through the main lobby of Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. He had buckled under the pressure and allowed Cuddy to arrange an interview for another fellow. House went through employees like the other doctors used latex gloves. The prickly older doctor smirked as he thought about the last one he had driven out. Dr. Jaclyn Roberts had been a strait laced, tightly wound woman during her first few days on the job. She left after three weeks, screaming for the whole hospital to hear about reporting him for verbal abuse and other such misdemeanors. All she got in reply was a small wave and a bright smile. House chuckled darkly to himself as he shuffled toward the elevators.
As he rode the lift up, he thought about the kid supposedly waiting in his office. Dr. Robert Chase, the son of one Dr. Rowan Chase, the famed rheumatologist. The kid was supposedly a genius for his age, top of almost all his classes. He looked down at the file that Cuddy had given him yesterday. Apparently the boy was an intensivest. House gave a short bark of laughter. No wonder Cuddy wanted him hired. As he looked at Dr. Chase's CV, House saw just how qualified the young doctor was. Over qualified in fact. He had the credentials, he had the smarts, all House had to do was see how well Chase-lite could deal with his new boss.
He smirked as he stepped out of the elevator and all the way down to his office. When he opened the door, he stopped dead and stared at the man sitting in HIS chair. He had expected the man to be good looking, as most from such incredibly rich families are bound be, but not quite like this. Dr. Chase could have made a fortune in the modeling industry. Medium height with shaggy dark blond hair, and full pouty lips, he might have stepped out of the front cover of a magazine. Unfortunately it seemed the man had no taste in clothes whatsoever. Sure his well cut business pants and shirt fit him well enough, but they were the most horrifying color combinations House had ever seen. The shirt clashed with the pants, the pants clashed with the tie, and even the colors of the tie and shirt fought for rights as the most blinding. House closed his eyes and shook his head slightly before looking backing at Chase. The man rose smoothly and stepped to the side, offering House back his chair with his hands and a small bowing motion. House walked over to his chair and sat down, as Chase pulled one of the less comfortable chairs over in front of the desk.
"So you are Dr. Robert Chase, hmm?" House said with a little raise of his eyebrows.
"That would be me," Chase agreed with a small smile.
"Now we are supposed to have some long, boring conversation about whether or not you are qualified for the job, yadda yadda, but why don't we just skip that and get to the good part?" House said as he turned his back to Chase and looked out the window. He turned his head back just in time to see Robert shrug.
"Here's how we're going to do this; I'll ask you questions and you give me the first answer that come into your head." Without giving Chase a chance to reply, House swung around in his chair, leaned forward and asked in all honest sincerity.
"So what's better, boxers or briefs?" That question had gotten the better of more than one interviewee, but Chase did not stumble.
"Boxers, Dr. House. More comfortable for everyday wear." A little smile appeared on Robert's face, as if to mock House for the simplicity of his question. House nodded and tilted his head to the side.
"Good answer Dr. Chase. Now, what is your favorite lunch meat?"
"Turkey," came the reply, "Not exactly standard Australian cuisine but, not entirely unheard of."
House's lips twisted up into an evil grin; here was something he could play with. House mock gasped.
"Oh, so you're Australian. Funny I would've pegged you as British. Huh." House turned back around to the window. He could literally feel Chase grinding his teeth.
"No, Dr. House, I am Australian. And you knew that already, so don't try faking that surprise. Glee is obviously not an emotion that comes easily to you." The annoyance had begun radiating off Chase in waves. House smiled in his head. It seemed the man could give just as well as he could take.
"And what makes you think I already knew that you were Australian? You didn't exactly mention it on your way in."
"You read my file, it was in there."
"And what makes you think I read your file?"
"You knew I was intelligent enough for the job. If you thought I was stupid or unqualified, you would've brought it up and mocked me for it till I ran home crying. Because no matter how annoying or mean you try to be, you would never allow someone who couldn't keep up to work with you." Chase smirked at House. The older doctor's respect for him went up a few notches. It seemed the young man had a spine after all. House smirked back.
"Nice." He said. "Just a couple more questions. Coffee or tea?"
Chase was right there with an answer. "Coffee, the caffeine addiction one develops in med school never quite wears off." He said with a chuckle.
"Really, I would've though you British types would go for tea. Isn't it your national drink?"
"Australian, Dr. House. I'm Australian." Chase replied with a glare. House's mouth twitched in amusement, before he managed to reign in his facial expression.
"Oops, silly me. I forgot." House poured on the sarcasm. House saw Chase's mouth quirk into a smirk quickly, before returning to that sugary sweet smile that annoyed House to no end. He got the feeling that Chase knew how badly it bothered him.
"Alright, what is your drug of choice?" House said with a smirk on his face and satisfaction in his eyes. No one got past this question without losing every inch of respect they had gained from House during the rest of the interview. But Chase jumped in just behind him, without even a pause to think.
"Morphine," He said quietly with his eyes downcast. "For the pain." If House was more inclined to shock than he was, he believed his jaw would have dropped. Once again, his level of respect for Chase rose.
"Well at least I know I'm not alone." House said dryly and Chase looked up. The two men's eyes locked through Chase's bangs. They both smiled at the contact, before House looked away and started digging through the numerous papers in the drawers of his desk. About a minute later, he came back up with the paper he had been looking for and spread it out on his desk. The sweet, fake smile was back on Chase's face as he looked down at the paper House had pulled out. He frowned as he saw it was a cheat sheet for one of House's many video games.
"One last question. Have you ever played Tekken IV?" House said with all seriousness.
"No, Dr. House, I don't believe I have." Chase replied with the same level of severity.
"Well Chase, if you're going to work for me your just going to have to learn, now won't you?" House said with a smirk.
"I'll get on it, House." Chase said as he stood up and left the office. House once again spun his chair toward the window. He wondered what Cuddy would say about him hiring Chase. For once it seemed he would have an enjoyable fellowship. He closed his eyes and smiled as he turned his I-pod on, humming along to his favorite Rolling Stone's songs and basking in the midday sunlight.