Maite's POV
I had a hard conversation with Hayden about hiring a top tier surgeon that would complement Lucas and she of course balked. I told her if we want to be premier we sure as hell won't be doing it with bones and we need a cache of doctors that speak for themselves. She couldn't argue with me there but she is worried about how much these doctors would command and I had to tell her you can't expect to succeed if you tap out before the fight even starts.
I have done extensive research on the type of people I want on my shortlist now it's about reeling them in. I have bet on myself when I decided to take a chance and board a flight to New Orleans to convince a doctor to leave a relatively good hospital and take a chance on Port Charles.
The amount of digging I had to do to end up at this bar in this seat was hard but not overly difficult. I have positioned myself in the best manner to get this doctor talking to me by invading their favorite place. What I don't know yet is if they will approach me first or vice versa. I've been here for an hour nursing my drink. I went for garish but not overboard drink. The Blue Long Island I ordered has been watered down by my waiting.
My calculations predicted that this Dr. Marcel should have been in this joint half an hour ago but I'm still here waiting. I just take a long sip of my drink when I hear a huff to my right and finally he's here.
He looks tired which is to be expected if he just came here after work. I don't say anything I just keep drinking my Long Island and pretend to pay attention to nothing in particular.
"I'll have what my friend over here is having…" He gestures to me and I just look at him and he stares back and I see the small glimmer of a smile and I think to myself he is a seducer.
"I warn you that my drink is pretty boring… the bartender can make more splendid drinks I've seen them in action…" I do my best to come out charming but not overly so. He is a man who definitely likes the challenge…
"Don't sell yourself short darlin'… ain't nothing boring about mixing 5 different alcohols in one drink." I just snort at his answer and he just chuckles at my response while shaking his head.
When he gets his drink he makes sure to make these animated sounds of him enjoying his drink and I find myself laughing a little bit because he is definitely charming.
"Since I'm here by myself and you're here by yourself why don't we get a table and drink more Blue Long Islands and share a meal?" I was actually expecting him to not act upon this urge as soon as he did. His flirting definitely let me know he was interested but maybe I underestimated his will.
"Does that really work on women?" I'm always astounded that men can be so successful doing these not so subtle lines.
"I guess it only works on the locals… and most visitors…" He tips his head and brags on himself which I almost appreciate because he doesn't try to hide himself.
"What makes you think I'm visiting?"
"Well darlin' if you have moved to the Crescent City it's only proper you have a tour guide and ain't no one know better than me…"
"Oh really because it seems that Lucien said he knows the city better than anyone else…" When I mention the bartender he just shrugs and goes to take someone else's order.
"Luc, he is a local but I can show you the hidden gems… not the typical Girls Gone Wild stuff that he's so fond of…" I guess he is throwing his friend under the bus…
"What is Girls Gone Wild?" I have no clue what this is but it sounds actually horrid and wildly sensationalist…
"So you most certainly are not familiar with New Orleans. If I answer you truthfully will you have dinner with me?" I smile at his answer letting him think that this is by his design…
"Fine…"
"Let me close out this tab so we can have some dinner…" He pays for both of our drinks and I say my goodbyes and wink at the bartender which seems to make Mr. Charmer look at us and I just get my bag like I don't feel his eyes on me…
"So where are you taking me for this dinner?"
"You want a typical New Orleans experience with some crawfish?" He has mischief in his eyes but he can't fool me.
"I will leave you right here if you think I am going to eat crawfish with this on…"
"Hmm so you ain't no rookie I see… Never been to New Orleans but you had crawfish or at least now how messy it can get…"
"They have some seafood restaurants in Atlanta that have seafood boils on the menu with crawfish…"
"Hmm so you had it in Atlanta it doesn't compare though…"
"I guess I'll have to be the judge of that…" I leave it open-ended enough where he is left guessing if it will be with or without him.
"So you visited or lived in Atlanta?"
"I lived there for five years when I was a kid for my dad's job. My accent must give it away that I'm from Mexico…"
"My accent must give it away I'm from the great state of Louisiana…" I give him a sincere laugh he sounds like a politician running for office.
"Where are you taking me mister?"
"Do you like Mediterrenean food?" I wonder where he's going with this but I don't give anything away.
"I enjoy it from time to time…" I keep myself vague but interested and wonder where he's taking me too…
"All right there's this place I love going to but you might laugh…"
"Why would I laugh?" Now I do have the urge to laugh…
"It's kind of a supermarket that has a little luncheon area but it's really good." Now I wonder what kind of Mediterranean food it is because it could be food from many different countries.
"Well I guess I will have to be the judge of that…" I guess it is not in walking distance because I follow him to his car and I have to take a leap of faith I don't end up on the news but I figure he's a doctor there's many ways he could kill me and they don't find my body. I have my taser in my bag if things go south.
We do make small and insignificant banter but it's fun and he's witty which makes him a good debater. We get to this grocery store and I'm cautiously excited.
"You can thank me later…" He makes sure to come and open my door. He lends a hand to me even though it's not needed but he wrings a smile out of me…
"Hmm… we will see…" I can hear the clack of my heels as it hits the concrete and as soon as I open the door for myself it's clear that this place is Lebanese. I can tell from the products being sold. It looks like my mother's pantry.
A lady greets me and I ask if I could get a table for two and the doctor has caught up to me.
"Hi, I am Monica… is there anything I can get for you while you look at the menu…"
"It is nice to meet you my name is Maite. I was wondering I don't see it on your menu but can you make Arak attacks?" Arak attacks are some of the yummiest cocktails you can have.
"That is an uncommon request are you Lebanese?" It is fair question… My mother's family is Liba and my father's family had roots from Haiti and El Paso.
I answer her in Arabic telling her of my mother's family roots in Beirut and Tripoli. We get into it seeing if our family have ever crossed paths. The Kevin Bacon 6 degrees of separation in like a real concept in Lebanon especially for the diaspora.
"I understood just a little of what you were saying to her because you were speaking so fast. I wasn't being presumptuous when I suggested here…"
"I didn't think you were when you said Mediterranean it could have been just about anything… Why do you like this place so much. I am guessing you aren't Lebanese…"
"No… my mom came her from Iran during the revolution and my dad is half Persian and half French… the food has it's own identity reminds me of the kebabs my dad would perfect or the sauces my mom would make from scratch with Persian yogurt. It brings me a comfort and I can't really cook anything outside of breakfast foods and anything that involves a stockpot."
"You should really learn to make your favorite dish… the labor and love I find when I make dishes close to my heart makes the food taste better even if it's just a mind trick…"
"I never thought of it that way Maite…"
"You know my name but you never reciprocated…"
"Where are my manners?! My name is Crockett Marcel…" I knew his name but the name sounds so absurd I can't stifle my laugh…
"I'm sorry to laugh but why on earth would your parents call you Crockett no offense…" I have been wondering that ever since I started my research… Monica comes back and takes our order and gives us the Arak attacks.
"My dad is sneaky… My dad loves the show Miami Vice so much he wanted to name me Crockett but my mother said absolutely not. She used to say what kind of name is Crockett for a Persian boy. So my mom said we can call him James before I let you call him Crockett. Anyways my mom gives birth to me and my dad says they should just settle it with a coin flip and my mother insisted he cheated. She calls me James though…"
"That is absolutely absurd!" I can't help but laugh because his poor mother just gave birth and his dad made such a big decision on a flip of a coin.
"Okay Ms. Albert Camus… Anyways what do you do for a living?"
"I do finance and analytics for a hospital… and I teach History"
"You have two jobs and they don't intersect at all. How do you do both?"
"I was intrigued by helping this hospital. It's a city hospital not a private one so it has a big problem with people who can't afford to pay for care and they have been through some challenges but I want to be a part of revitalizing it and the role it serves in the community. I can't do anything to change the bureaucracy of insurance but I can help shape how the hospital can stay solvent through innovation and strategic investments while championing the staff to deliver what they do best… great patient care." I'm so happy to see my food and it brings me back to smelling my grandmother's house when I was a kid.
"I get the frustration I hate dealing with the realities of not being able to help my patients because the bottleneck their insurance sometimes like to throw at us. It's playing with people's lives and if its frustrating me as a doctor I can only imagine it for them because it's their mortality."
"Do you ever wish you could do what you love somewhere else?" He looks at me with narrowed eyes and he is as smart as I thought he would be…
"Are you pitching me?"
"It's only pitching if you're interested…" He doesn't know if he should be mad or impressed so I see the back and forth warring on his face.
"You knew who I was this whole time didn't you?" He takes a stab into his meat and he's a little miffed but he hasn't left so that's a good sign.
"I like to do research…"
"What did your research turn up about me?" He does have a little bite to him but it only makes me smirk which makes him more upset and I have to refrain from laughing.
"Rare to get yourself matched at home but you did. You were passed over for a fellowship with Gaffney Chicago Med but you were able to transfer to Oschner and be a fellow there. Chicago Med has you on a shortlist to come on board as response to Connor Rhodes leaving to join his fiancée in Minneapolis…"
"How the hell do you know that?! I didn't even know that…"
"I'm nice…"
"I'm learning you a shark… If they are offering me what I wanted in the first place why would you think that your employer has a chance?"
"You're a surgeon… whether you want to admit it or not you have an ego and you were understandably miffed you didn't win that fellow position however why would you herald yourself as the consolation win. I don't want you to be a backup I want you to be a first choice with me. I can be your advocate… I love innovation and I will always fight for my staff to make them the premier specialists in the world and not just in the state or the country… Do you want to be the back-up with the shot… comfortable at home… or embark on something new and establish your own reputation." I just eat my rice and look at him and his face conveys nothing but I can do the same thing.
"So what? You thought you could come to New Orleans and lure me to Port Charles in upstate New York? What happens if I didn't pay you any attention?"
"I would have found you and made my pitch… I obviously know where you work…"
"So you would have stalked me like you have been doing since you came here…" I do feel a type of way when he says the word stalk but I really am here only to do my job.
"In a professional capacity yes… if this isn't something you can envision yourself doing I won't force you… you might be my first choice but you aren't my only…" the chicken I bite into was grilled just right it makes me happy.
"Let's just see how this dinner goes…" I can feel the walls rising and him letting the tension breakthrough…
"Why a doctor? You could have been a model if you wanted too… you have the height and the hair…" He just looks at me with that confidence he pursued me at the bar with.
"You are joking right? With Persian parents there's only so many careers to choose from… How else is my mother going to be able to brag to her friends? You really think I have the hair to model?" He looks amused at me.
"Yes I do… you reek of men who wake up without having to do anything to their hair and it has that effortlessly tousled look to it…" I drink my cocktail and I realize he never started his. He animatedly shakes his head and I giggle. "… if you don't want the cocktail I can drink it but you can't just leave it there…"
"I've never had it before so I don't know…"
"It's going to taste like aragh sagi but better…"
"You just had to get a dig in didn't you…" He drinks it as he says this and his face is surprised by how much I am assuming he likes it…
"Yes I did because it is better. How does it taste?"
"Delicious like everything I'm eating…" He looks at me and he's talking about the food but the way he looks tricks my mind. He is a man with many tricks.
"I'm glad to hear it… If you could be anything besides a doctor what would it be?" I am curious to know more about him…
"I'll only answer it if you do first…" What are we six?!
"If I wasn't an educator and umm recruiter I think maybe I would be an archeologist which is kind of cheating because I teach history but whatever. I like understanding the past especially if you have ever been displaced or your family has traveled to somewhere new and unknown. It's a fascination… an intoxication to uncover the mystery… what about you?"
"Probably an educator. I'm not just saying that! I had a great time when I was a TA in college. Sometimes I did want to rip out my perfect hair and strangle a few students but it was really cool experience. I was a TA but I was teaching the class and doing lesson plans which in hindsight shows my boss in a bad light but it was a good experience for me. It has helped me deal with the teaching aspect of my job…" This was the right question to ask because he doesn't look as guarded as he was even five minutes ago.
The rest of our dinner was good filled with intellectual discourse and I explained to him numerous times why he's full of shit which seems to make him. I offer to pay for the dinner and he objects under the rule of he chose the place so he will pay.
"I can't believe you took me to a Lebanese place… now I have to buy some things. In Port Charles there's no Lebanese markets so my mom has been sending me things every now and then from Guadalajara but this store is what I needed." I choose a good assortment of things like my apple tea and some candies for my sister. I truly feel like a little kid again.
"You're welcome…" I give him a little shove and roll my eyes and he is happy to invade my personal space with his smug face.
I make sure to buy my things before he wants to be a gentleman…
"It looks like we've come to the end of the road… that is what you Americans say right?"
"Yes it is but surely you will let me see to it you get back safely."
"It would be an imposition and uber can take me…"I have to let him think about things and calm myself down…
"I am enjoying your company far too much for it to be an imposition…" I get into his car again and let him take me back to my hotel… It doesn't take long at all for him to make it back…
"Thank you for the lift… Dr. Marcel…"
"Hmm you're welcome… Will this be the last I see of you?" He's for once bashful which is an adorable look on him.
"That depends…"
"On what me accepting the job?" He scoffs at me and doesn't look at me anymore
"No… I will wait on your decision on that front with no pressure… I just meant you're a highly specialized doctor so long hours are your norm so you'd likely be tired."
"I don't have any surgeries planned so my days have been nice and boring lately with the exception of tonight. I'd like to oblige you for some of your time and company…" He is too much of a smooth operator for this not to get to me…
"I'm afraid if did those things you would break my heart Crockett Marcel…" I don't know what comes over me but I shush his lips with my finger and use my other hand to put my phone number in his phone. I grab my things and get out the car and do my best to not look back but I fail. He waves goodbye and on one hand I know it won't be the last time I see him on the other hand my mind already knows I'm headed for trouble.