It's been a while since I posted. I recently received a PM asking if I was going to continue the story, so I sat down and write a new chapter:
so here's where we left off last chapter:
…
Ten minutes after eleven, Cuddy found herself making her way upstairs to the third floor of the hospital.
"Sorry I'm late. My ten o'clock ran over," she began apologetically, as she walked hurriedly into one of the boardrooms, where Edward Brooks, the hospital's chairman, sat at the long rectangular oak table.
The sharply dressed Chairman sat in the center of the table, with fellow board members flanked on either side of him, including Karen Simmonds, who sat on the opposite side of Brooks.
"Well, you should have spaced them out better!" Brooks replied, harshly, with an air of complacency as he smoothed the red striped tie he was wearing. "This has been on the schedule for weeks, which you knew about. Sit."
Opening her mouth to argue, Cuddy saw Karen shoot her a silent warning look out of her peripheral line of vision, and she was closed her mouth, without saying a word. Exhaling, she sat down across from him.
"Now, as I was saying before you interrupted, Lisa," Brooks resumed speaking, "I think we've narrowed down candidates for the Chief Financial Officer vacancy - "
"Woah, hang on," Cuddy interrupted, swiftly, "I was never informed of any candidates, nor received any resumes. I've been waiting."
"I could have sworn I let your assistant know…what's her name again?" Brooks replied, with a gleam in his eye, his lips curling upwards into a grin.
"You obviously didn't," Cuddy shot at him through gritted teeth. She stared incredulously at Brooks from across the table.
"I thought I was pretty clear that I was to be CC'd on everything, and kept in the loop, and you deliberately kept me in the dark on this Ed, avoiding my calls." Cuddy could feel her blood pressure rising steadily, the blood pounding in her ears, as she continued to stare at him.
"This all moved super quick, as I am sure you were aware," the recently appointed Chairman started, but he was interrupted.
" - Oh don't give me that, Ed!"
"And you had other things on your mind – the merger, I'm sure is not an easy thing to keep track of, and of course, your personal lif-"
Cuddy narrowed her eyes. "Do NOT go there," she spat out, in a dangerously low voice. "Who was the one to go over the finances with Mark's number two? Me! More than you would think, I might add," she continued, staring at the Chairman, who remained stone-faced, as he stared right back at her.
"I have been heavily invested in everything that has been going on at this hospital, so don't you dare tell me that I had 'other' things on my mind; you just decided to go behind my back and vet candidates for the CFO position without my consultation or input -"
Edward Brooks raised his hands in mock surrender. "Okay, okay. I'll send you the resumes. We're meeting with candidates starting tomorrow morning."
"Tomorrow?!" Cuddy exclaimed, "Jesus, Ed, you REALLY wanted to make sure I wasn't a part of this. What the fuck else do you have up your sleeve?!"
The Chairman glanced swiftly around the table before choosing his words extremely carefully.
"Not all of the board trustees could be here today, but most of them -," Ed paused, his eyes sweeping the room, his gaze lingering at Karen Simmonds a mere half-second longer than anyone else, before continuing again, " – feel that you should take a step back in the next month or two, and that your responsibilities should be delegated elsewhere -"
"Hang on!" Cuddy interrupted, firmly, "that is NOT your call to make.
"At all," she added, her eyes flashing dangerously. "Do you realize what I've done for this hospital?! The fundraising, the donors, the money I have secured for this hos -"
"No one is denying what you've done. I'm simply saying -"
Cuddy glared at him. "Oh I know what you're saying," she spat out, trying not to lose her patience, which was running extremely thin.
"Ed, don't deny you've had it out for me ever since you secured your spot on the Board seven years ago. And now you're going to try to get your foot in the door when I go out on leave. But let me tell you something – as long as I'm still calling the shots here at this hospital, that is NEVER going to happen!"
The entire Board room was slant, no one moved a muscle. Everyone was either staring at Brooks or gazing at the Dean of Medicine with a mixture of admiration and fear.
Edward Brooks narrowed his eyes. "…I would tread very carefully here, Lisa."
"Jesus, look at the numbers, Ed! Numbers don't lie. Over the past ten, fifteen years, this hospital has had enormous growth, and also great staff consistency. We are constantly exceeding expectations in patient care. Staff enjoy working here. Our numerous donors are happy…the upcoming merger with us and the University Medical Center will be extremely beneficial to us now and for years to come! – And no, it's not just because of me – it's a product of our Board, our employees, Mark Leonard, and everyone else who helps run this machine of a hospital."
Cuddy paused briefly before continuing. She made sure she had Brooks' full attention, staring him directly un the eyes. She could feel everyone else's eyes on her.
"If you push me out, every single donor will leave with me, that is IF you get the majority vote you need for removal, and let me tell you, that is NOT gonna happen…I had to bust my ass to get this merger finally pulled through.
"So," she continued, "I would start by letting me have a say in the candidates for the CFO vacancy…and also, stop thinking that because you are a man, that would be better at my job than I am."
Rising from her chair, she grabbed her phone that lay on the table.
"And where are you going?" Ed asked.
Consulting her watch, she said, "I have a donor meeting in fifteen minutes." She looked across the table at him. "And, I think you and I are done here for the moment, don't you?"
The Chairman's mouth twitched as he stared at Cuddy, as his patience continued to run extremely thin.
"You'll be hearing from me shortly," he spat out coldly.
"I can't wait," Cuddy replied, her tone light and conversational. Without as so much as a momentarily glance around the room, she turned and walked out of the conference room, with seven pairs of eyes following in her wake.
Chapter 103:
While Cuddy was on the third floor of the hospital, actively restraining herself from going "ape-shit" on the hospital's chairman, House was one floor above in his office, still trying to figure out his patient.
Their patient "David" had another seizure that morning. Foreman had run a CT scan and found his adrenal glands were indeed affected.
"So, whatever this is, it's slowly affecting his brain," House muttered, staring at the whiteboard, with all the symptoms listed.
"Any pain in his head?"
"Yeah, and his back," Chase commented. "No lesions though."
House turned to Cameron, questionably. "You said porphyria the other day?"
"Yes, and you shot me down," Cameron retorted.
"Well now I think it's a good idea."
Cameron scoffed as she rolled her eyes.
"Did you test his urine?" House continued.
"Yeah, one of the first things we tested when he –" she paused, momentarily, as she saw a tall, thin blonde woman in a tan pants suit, standing in the doorway to the conference room. Not knowing what the woman, who was in her early sixties, wanted or who she even was, Cameron stayed silent.
House turned, and saw Karen Simmonds, a Board Member of the hospital, standing there. Surprised, he waved her in with his hand.
"Karen, what's up?" He checked his watch, frowning. "Aren't you supposed to be in a board meeting right now?"
Karen grinned widely. "It was cut short…your girlfriend has a set of balls."
Cocking an eyebrow, House smirked. "And you're surprised by that?"
Chuckling, Karen shook her head, still grinning. "Not really, no."
"What happened?"
"Well, I'm not going to fill you in on the entire thing, but basically, Brooks, the hospital Chairman is pretty much going to try and push her out -"
"- Yeah, that's never going to happen," House interrupted hurriedly, hardly daring to believe what he was hearing. "What –"
"I swear," Karen continued, interrupting him, "it was like watching a tennis match. The two of them were going at each other like tigers in a cage match, but Lisa held her ground. I was impressed….I'm not going to go into details, but -"
"He can't just do that, can he?"
"Do what?"
"Remove her -"
"No, he needs board majority approval," she interrupted him, "which he is NEVER going to achieve. Everyone is loyal to Lisa, not Ed."
Giving Karen a unconvinced look, House narrowed his eyes. "What if they flip? How can you be so sure -"
Karen Simmonds interrupted him, her hand raised. "- You don't understand the Board. Brooks has about one, maybe two or three loyal people to him on that Board. He thinks they are all loyal to him. Well, they're not. They'll never flip to his side. They've been loyal to Lisa since the beginning. But of course, they can't show that."
Pausing briefly, she glanced around at House's team, who were sitting there, speechless. It was as if she had noticed them for the first time.
"Sorry," she added sheepishly, "I didn't mean to spring this on you, I just -wanted to give you some heads up…."
"No, thank you…," House replied sincerely as he ran a frustrated hand through his hair. He could only imagine Cuddy's stress level at this very moment. "Where is she?" he asked quietly
Karen shrugged. "No idea. She got up and walked out. Said she had a donor meeting in fifteen minutes."
House nodded, trying not to let the concern show on his face. "Ok. Thanks for the head's up."
"Anytime." Karen turned to leave. House turned back to the whiteboard, as he heard the glass door close to the conference room. He studied the list of symptoms to give his mind something to focus on, as he let out a slow exhale.
Cameron watched him with concern but said nothing.
House turned and glanced sideways out into the corridor, and saw Cuddy walking towards Karen, who was standing in the hallway.
Out in the corridor, Karen had stopped the Dean of Medicine, as she stepped out of the elevator, and started walking toward House's office.
"Hey, you okay?" she asked, quietly.
Cuddy nodded. "Yeah, Ed's an asshole."
Smirking, Karen reached out and squeezed her friend's arm. "I'm impressed. This is why you make a kickass Dean of Medicine." She paused, adding in a low voice, "He shouldn't have treated you like that, not in front of everyone."
"I told House that he needs Board majority to remove you, which by the way, he is never going to get."
"Trust me, I'm not worried about that." Cuddy lowered her voice. "I'm just really pissed about how he went about it. He didn't have to make a scene…"
"I know," Karen replied, nodding.
"Listen," she continued, shifting gears away from business, and to the personal side of their friendship. "Let's grab dinner tonight. I'm sure you can use a night away from this place…"
Cuddy shook her head. "I would love to, but I have a conference call at 5. Not sure how late it'll run. I was going to try and do it from home…what about tomorrow?"
"Sure. We'll touch base later. I'm sure Rick is working late."
The two women said their farewells, and went in opposite directions, Cuddy continuing toward House's office while Karen headed to the elevators.
House saw her coming, and jerked his head, signaling her to wait in his office while he was in the conference room with his team.
"House, if you have to go -" Cameron started to say.
"She can wait two minutes. We're in the middle of a differential."
Cameron opened her mouth, but House cut her off.
"Porphyria," he said loudly, staring at his team. "Seizures, back and neck pain."
"Porphyria doesn't explain the adrenal gland issues," stated Foreman, as House's mouth dramatically gaped open.
He stared at Cameron. "Wow, see what Foreman did there?! He added to the differential diagnosis because that's what we are talking about." He stole another glance toward his office, where he saw Cuddy staring out of the window behind his desk.
"Do another CT scan. Focus on the adrenal," he added, still looking in Cuddy's direction. Without waiting for an answer, he grabbed his cane and limped into his adjoining office, closing the door softly behind him.
Cuddy heard the dull thud of his cane on the carpet but did not turn, still gazing out of the window.
Quietly, House limped beside her. Studying her side profile, he noticed her entire body tense, her posture stiff, and her brow furrowed in deep concentration.
"Hi," he began, softly.
"Hi," she echoed back, tersely. Letting out a slow deep breath, she turned to face him, her hand resting on her stomach, shielding her son from the thoughts running through her mind.
"I guess Karen told you what happened?"
"She told me briefly what happened, yes." House paused. "She also said you stood your ground," he added quietly.
Grinning widely, he added, "Personally, I would've loved to see you in 'Don't Fuck with Lisa Cuddy' mode…"
Cuddy chuckled softly, as she broke her gaze and let her eyes wander down to her stomach, her hand still caressing the soft dress material.
"You can't let him get to you," House continued in a low voice when she didn't say anything.
"It's how he did it," Cuddy spat out bitterly, "Brooks practically left me out there to drown in the deep end." Pausing, she shook her head, frustrated.
"He's such a fucking asshole!" she muttered, quietly.
Very surprised at her choice of words for the hospital's Chairman, House said nothing, still eyeing her carefully, watching her.
"He's not CCing me on emails; he's not telling me about any candidates for the CFO vacancy…thank god I have full control of this merger, which is I feel, about the ONLY thing I have control over with him…" She paused, exhaling slowly as she began to calm down.
"It's my fucking hospital, not his," she murmured.
Resting his cane against his leg, House moved directly behind her, and placed his hands on her shoulders as he started to gently massage the stressed, tired muscles that plagued the woman standing in front of him. He swept her hair to one side and kissed her bare neck.
"Relax," he whispered in her ear. "I understand your frustration, I do, but right now, you need to relax."
They stayed silent for a few moments before Cuddy opened her eyes. "I need to get out of here," she muttered.
Removing his hands from her shoulders, House consulted his watch. "Early lunch?"
"Not here," she replied.
"Then let's go somewhere," House decided, as he grabbed his jacket that was sitting on the back of his chair. "You can push your meeting."
"You need the break," he continued, quietly, "Even it's it is just for an hour."
Cuddy eyed him curiously. "Wait, don't you have a case?... And I don't actually have a meeting…. I just used that as an excuse, so I could get out of there…"
"Yeah, and my team are off running necessary tests so ergo, I'm free." He grinned. "That's a very 'House-like' thing you did about your meeting, if I do say so myself."
"Oh shut up."
Continuing to grin, House limped after her to the doorway. "Don't deny it….oh but first, let me check your blood pressure. My guess is it started to get high when you walked into the meeting."
The two of them went downstairs to the clinic. House grabbed a spare cuff from an empty exam room, before proceeding to Cuddy's office. House closed the door. As the two of them sat down on the couch, Cuddy watched wordlessly as House wrapped the cuff around her upper arm.
"140 over 90," he read off, as he unwrapped the cuff and slid it off her arm as he finished the reading.
"I had a feeling it was going to be that high."
"Well, that's not good," House replied.
"Yeah? Well, I can't help it that the fucking Chairman wants to screw me out a job and make me look bad," Cuddy aggressively shot back at him.
"Sorry," she added sheepishly. "I don't mean to take this out on you."
"I know you're stressed. No need to apologize," House replied lightly. He stood and grabbed his cane.
"I want to take another reading in three hours."
Cuddy rolled her eyes and glanced up at him.
"Is that really necessary?"
House gave her a persistent look. "Do you want this to turn into preeclampsia? I don't."
Cuddy agreed. "You're right."
"Of course, I'm right." He took out his phone and sent a quick text to Dr. Parker, Cuddy's obstetrician, letting him know the reading and the circumstances.
After retrieving Cuddy's jacket from the coat stand in the corner of her office, House turned, and offered her a hand to stand. "Ready?"
~~~ A SHORT WHILE LATER, DOWNTOWN PRINCETON ~~
"Wait, so…he just reams you in front of the entire Board? And has the nerve to tell you that you should step back and let the Board handle your responsibilities?!"
Cuddy nodded, as she took a sip of water. "Pretty much."
"Jesus!" House exclaimed.
Cuddy had just finished explaining what had happened when she walked into the Board meeting that morning. House did not interrupt, knowing she had to get everything vocalized.
"He's been after my job for years!" Cuddy exclaimed, "And now? He sees the perfect opportunity when I go out on maternity leave."
"…. speaking of which…" House said slowly.
"Don't," Cuddy shot at him, "And no, I haven't decided when I'm stopping working -"
"Well," House interrupted, "you should."
Cuddy exhaled. "I know, it's just…shitty timing."
"It's always going to be 'shitty timing'. There's no such thing as 'good timing'," House told her. "Especially for you."
Looking at him sharply, Cuddy hesitated briefly. "What are you saying?" she questioned slowly.
"I'm saying don't push it," he said quietly, once he knew he had her full and complete undivided attention. "I'm saying, listen to your body. I know you know when to stop. I know you're trying not to work as hard. I know your job demands a hell of a lot of responsibility. And I'm worried."
"You have a lot on your plate right now. I get it," he continued quickly, as she opened her mouth to refute.
"But you need to chill out. We're – you're nearing the home stretch.:
"You're high-risk," he continued, softly. He paused, seeing how she was deep in thought, how she nibbled slowly on her bottom lip - that was one of the funky quirks he loved about her – she could be so stubborn but headstrong at the same time – and that's why she was good at her job, at being in control.
Cuddy didn't say anything right away. Instead, she chewed her bottom lip, thinking, the way she always did when contemplating a decision.
"Don't give me the lecture now, okay, Greg please?" she pleaded, looking at him sharply. "I know what I have to do. I know when I have to stop." She paused briefly.
"I'll stop working in a few weeks. The merger is almost done…We're getting closer, hopefully, to filling this vacancy, that is if Ed doesn't pull any other shit behind my back – I can't just abandon everything without tying up loose ends."
"So you have thought about it," House questioned.
"Of course, I have!" she exclaimed. "It just – it - it has to be the right time…."
The waiter chose that moment to approach the table to take their food order. After they both gave the young man their order, House waited until the young man was out of earshot before speaking.
"…And it probably does not help that the Chairman – what's his name, Ed – is on your ass…"
Cuddy scoffed, as she took another sip of her water. "No, it certainly doesn't." Sitting back in her chair, she took a quick intake of breath as she felt a surprise kick from her son within her womb.
The ringing of House's phone broke the momentarily silence. He glanced down at it before turning the phone to silent and slipping it back into his pocket.
"Who was that?" Cuddy questioned curiously. She winced again as she felt another strong jab from directly beneath her rib cage on the right side.
"Wilson. I'll call him back later." He eyed her with concern, and moved into the seat next to her, placing his hand on her stomach, as he felt the strong kick of his son against his palm.
"Has he been kicking there a lot?"
"Just in the past hour. It's like he's wedged just below my ribs…I'll probably do my five o'clock call from home later."
House drew his hand back and retuned to his seat. "That's probably smart."
"I spoke to Jeremy from Michigan. We'll go out there in the next two weeks." She halted when she saw the look of concern across his face. She reached across the table and grabbed his hand reassuringly.
"It's fine. You and I both know that flying is strongly forbidden after thirty-six weeks…plus, we'll get away from the hospital…"
Smirking, House sipped his water. "Baby moon in Michigan? Romantic," he snickered.
Cuddy rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean," she scoffed at him.
"Just…be careful. You don't know what Brooks has up his sleeve in terms of calling the Board together for an emergency voting session…"
"It'll be fine," Cuddy reassured him, but also reassuring herself at the same time, "I'll deal with it if anything happens."
~~~ LATER THAT EVENING ~~~
At twenty to five that same evening, Cuddy pulled her car into the driveway. Grabbing her purse and laptop from the passenger seat
Letting herself into the house, she shrugged off her jacket, and kicked off her shoes before walking into her home office to prepare for her five o'clock conference call.
It turned out that the meeting only lasted fifteen minutes. The management at the University Medical Center were not prepared for the call, and they rescheduled for the following morning.
Since House was still at the hospital finishing his case, Cuddy poured herself a glass of water and then proceeded to the master bathroom to draw herself a much-needed bath for relaxation.
She was entirely immersed in her own thoughts that she didn't hear the front door open.
"In here!" she yelled, when she heard House calling her name. She heard the dull thud of his cane on the hardwood. Checking her phone, she looked up as he entered the bathroom.
"I thought you had a conference call?" he questioned.
"I did, but it was rescheduled after fifteen minutes…"
"That's annoying."
"Yeah, well, it's been an annoying and shitty day," Cuddy remarked, as she let out a slow breath.
House sat down on the edge of the jacuzzi tub Cuddy was occupying and leaned his cane against the marble. He gazed at her lovingly, admiring how her hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail; her brow was furrowed, but her eyes remained soft. His eyes travelled down to the curve of her breasts, which were covered in suds from the bubble bath.
"What?"
He smiled. "Nothing. Just…you look sexy when your hair is pulled back," House replied, softly, as his eyes flickered upwards to her face.
Cuddy smiled slyly, as she blushed. "Thanks"
House grinned. "I love how I can still make you blush like a teenager." He reached out his hand and grabbed onto hers, stroking her thumb softly.
"Is there anything I can do?"
Cuddy shook her head. "I don't think so."
"Well, I'm here if you need me."
"Thank you for letting me vent today," she told him.
"You're welcome….You know that –" The interruption of his phone ringing stopped him.
"Shit, it's Cameron," he noted, glancing down at his phone. "I better take this."
Cuddy waved him with her hand. "Go, it's fine. I need to get out anyway."
"Oh, then I'm definitely not taking this call if that means missing seeing you naked," House growled.
Cuddy blushed'; "Oh stop. Go, it's your team!"
"Minx," House muttered, as he brought the phone up to his ear. "What, Cameron?"
After House had gone out of the bathroom with the phone to his ear, Cuddy carefully climbed out of the tub and towel-dried herself off. Wrapping the towel around her bump, she walked into the bedroom o change into a maternity nightgown.
House limped into the bedroom, after finishing his call with his team, and stopped, gazing at Cuddy's back facing him
"Not so fast," he growled softly, as he limped up to her, and grabbed the nightgown she had in her hand, tossing it on the floor. Amused, she spun around, a smile tugging at her lips.
House set his cane on the dresser, and placed one hand low on her hip bone, while the other one came up and cupped her cheek. He kissed her hard on the mouth. She responded by bringing her hands around his neck and pulling him toward him for a deeper kiss, running her hands through his hair.
Slowly, their mouths never separating as they hungrily yearned for one another, House moved Cuddy backward, his hand firmly gripping her ass.
"Get on the bed," he growled quietly in her ear.
Cuddy giggled, "Someone is demanding tonight."
"You like it," House retorted, as he passed a pillow to her so she could lean against it, as he climbed onto the bed after her.
He gazed lovingly at her as he slowly splayed her legs open, caressing her inner thigh.
"Is that okay?" he asked softly, as his concern for making her comfortable as possible was his top priority, as her body continues to change
She nodded, her eyes locked onto his. "Mhhmm."
Grinning, House ducked between her thighs, planting soft lingering kisses on the skin, working his way to the spot on the inside of her upper thigh, where he knew drives her absolutely wild.
Hearing a low moan escape from Cuddy's throat, House grinned and continued kissing her inside thigh, working his way slowly around her pubic area. As his tongue explored her folds, he heard her moaning gown louder. He grinned, his tongue moving faster, as he ignored his own urges. This was about her – about having her relax.
He heard Cuddy's breath quicken, and he grabbed her hand, squeezing it. Once he knew she was close to the edge, he paused, hearing her whimper.
"Keep going," she whispered, her eyes still closed as a tiny smile appeared upon her lips.
"Yes, ma'am."
As she orgasmed, Cuddy felt House raise his head and plant tiny kisses on the underside of her belly. Opening her eyes, she saw House rest his head on top of her bulging stomach. She smiled at him.
"Hi," he whispered, locking eyes with her.
She matched his tone. "Hi." Suddenly, she winced and put a hand to her lower back, closing her eyes as she felt discomfort.
"Turn on your side," House immediately told her. In one swift motion, he lifted the t-shirt over his head, causing Cuddy to whistle softly. He moved to lay behind her, his stomach pressing up against her back. He rested his hand on her stomach, caressing the underside of her belly. With his other hand, he brushed her long curly hair away from her shoulder and planted a tiny kiss on her shoulder blade.
"I certainly hoped you're becoming more relaxed after that," he told her softly, grinning.
"Definitely." She rested her hand on top of his on her stomach as she let out a slow, relaxed breath as she closed her eyes.
"You can handle Brooks," House told her softly, resting his chin on top of her shoulder, "Hell, you can handle anybody."
Cuddy's phone rang from the bathroom. Opening her eyes, she groaned and went to stand, but House moved his hand toward her hip, pulling him closer to him.
"Don't," he growled quietly into her ear. "Comfy."
Laughing softly, Cuddy settled back against the pillow. "Okay, then."
House inhaled the scent of her lavender shampoo as he nuzzled her neck, planting a soft kiss against her shoulder. He propped himself up on his elbow, his other hand still cupped her hip bone, stroking it gently.
"You do know that the Board supports you, - not to mention every single one of the department heads -, right?"
Cuddy turned her head upwards to face him, as she sighed. "Yeah, I know, but knowing Brooks, he won't stop until he gets what he wants."
"Like I said before, you can handle him. He's not going to push you out. He needs majority of the Board."
One day at a time," he continued.
"Thanks for the pep talk," Cuddy laughed.
The two of them lay in comfortable silence, House's fingers traced up and down her arm, as he buried his face in her hair.
"I think I might go back to doing yoga," Cuddy spoke, as if there hadn't been a break in the conversation."I think that's a great idea. Especially, if it'll help you relax."
"I had an unlimited membership at the place on Route One. I'll see if they just let me unfreeze it," Cuddy mentioned.
House grinned. "I'll help you do 'downward dog' anytime…"
Chuckling softly, Cuddy was about to throw a snarky remark at him but was interrupted by the ringing of her cell phone.
And once again, she was stopped by House's hand on her arm. "Don't get it," he murmured again,
"It might be important."
"At almost seven o'clock? I seriously doubt it."
Rolling her eyes, Cuddy untangled herself from his embrace and stood. "When you run an entire hospital, start missing phone calls. Tell me how that works out."
Grabbing her robe that was hanging on the closet door, Cuddy headed into the bathroom to retrieve her phone.
"Shit," she murmured, as she saw a missed call from Frank Luella, one of the hospital's Board members. As she listened to his voicemail, she pulled her robe on, tied the sash and, after giving House an apologetic glance, headed out of the bedroom, and down the hallway to her home office, ready to face the chaos of whatever Edward Brooks had up his sleeve.
~~~~ To be continued...