Chapter 16 – Let the Games Begin
All the members of the surgical team were being brought together to discuss Connor Nelson's upcoming procedure. The young boy had a myriad of difficulties ranging from heart and lung complications to several physical deformities. His plight had been brought to public attention in recent weeks as his family did not have health insurance to pay for the extensive surgeries he would require. His condition had reached a critical stage and without surgery, faced a grim prognosis.
As Grace wasn't scheduled to work that day, she arrived at the meeting in business attire, wearing a beautiful black suit jacket and skirt, and a stunning pink silk blouse. Dr. Anspaugh had told them there would be some press at the hospital due to the publicity surrounding the procedure and she'd taken extra time getting ready to ensure she looked her best. One could argue that she was also hoping to make a point with her ex, by showing him what he was missing.
When she arrived, she noticed Romano was already speaking to Dr. Anspaugh and several members of the surgical team. As Anspaugh was ready to begin the meeting, everyone began to take their seats and Steven motioned to her as he called out, "I saved a seat for you beside me, Grace. She felt obliged to smile and sit down, to avoid an awkward moment in front of everyone. As the meeting got underway, they dimmed the lights and began with a powerpoint presentation. Moments later, Grace felt a hand on her knee, as Steven slowly slid his hand up her thigh, and she let out a slight gasp.
A few people looked over in her direction, and Anspaugh hesitated before continuing on. Romano looked over intently, wondering what was going on as Grace tried to subtly move her chair a few inches away from Steven's. A few minutes later when he tried again, Grace was ready for him. She took hold of his fingers and began to bend them backwards, causing him to utter a small sound, which once again drew the attention of the others. He finally released his hand from Grace's leg and the meeting continued on without further incident.
As they wrapped up, Steven leaned over and whispered to Grace, "You look good enough to eat, Grace. Have lunch with me?"
As they arose from their seats, she replied, "I doubt that would be a good idea, Steven. Let's just get through the next few days with as little interaction as possible and preferably on a strictly professional basis. We have a very big job ahead of us and neither one of us needs any distractions."
Shirley, who was also assisting in the surgery, came over towards Grace and Steven, "Grace, you have to promise not to consume all of Dr. Mancini's time." She flirted.
Grace looked at them, and hid her first impulse to burst out laughing. While it was true, he was well-known for his above average surgical skills, not to mention his good looks which had certainly caught Shirley's attention, Grace knew all too well how much Steven enjoyed being the man of the hour. He lived to talk about his medical accomplishments to anyone who would listen, but with all she'd gone through, Grace would always see him first as a poor excuse for a husband before thinking of him as a top notch surgeon.
"Actually Grace and I have worked together before." He smiled. "We used to be married."
"I had no idea." Shirley commented.
"Yeah, small world." Grace managed a polite smile. "Excuse me." She added and walked away to grab a coffee.
Romano hovered nearby and as Grace chatted with several other staff, she didn't notice initially that he had decided to take his opportunity with Steven.
"Hey, Rockstar. Moment of your time?"
"Yeah, sure."
"Just so we're clear, upsetting my staff is not part of deal I agreed to when we signed up for this shindig. You're here for one reason and one reason only which means Grace is off limits to you. As long as you get that, we won't have a problem." He said.
Immediately becoming defensive, Steven replied, "Are you this over-protective of all your staff, or just the hot ones?"
"Grace is one of our best nurses, cowboy. Just stay away from her, you've done enough already." Romano quipped, looking at him with disdain. "The last thing she needs is you blowing into town, guns blazing, trying to make up for your past indiscretions and ease your so-called conscience. You had your chance with her and you blew it."
Steven smiled sarcastically, keeping his voice low as there were still quite a few people looming close by. "Let's get a few things straight, Romano. My relationship with Grace past or present, is none of your business and if you think your little big man on campus talk is going to send me running off with my tail between my legs, you're sadly mistaken. I'll be the judge of what Grace needs and on top of that, I won't let you screw up my chance to look like a hero in all this. I'm well aware of the publicity, just as much as you are and don't even begin to pretend you didn't get involved in this for the same reasons I did."
Grace looked over at them, noticing they seemed to be engaged in a very intense conversation. She thought it best to wander over in case they needed to be sent off to separate corners.
"Do I need to send you boys to bed without supper?"
"Only if you promise to give me a proper spanking first, Grace." Steven grinned.
"Watch your mouth, Mancini."
Continuing on as though they were alone, Steven added, "Your boss was just warning me to stay away from you. I wonder why he would think I wasn't looking out for your best interests? He sure seems to have changed his tune pretty quickly." Steven said sarcastically.
"Maybe he can see through your less than sincere façade, Steven? We both know you're not here out of the goodness of your heart. I'm sure you're counting the dollar signs as we speak or maybe you're vying for some new award to add to your collection?"
Romano interrupted, "Heck of a job you plastics docs have. You wait for the real surgeons to scout out the territory and send in the cavalry, then waltz in with a splash of lipstick and spackle, and call it a day."
Ignoring him, Steven replied, "Babe, you've got me all wrong," trying his best to sound genuine. "When Donald called me about possibly helping with this, I jumped at the chance to make a difference in this little boy's life. But if you're wondering how much money there is to be made here, I suggest you ask Romano why County was so hot to agree to all this. Then again, you might want to steer clear of this one. I'd hazard a guess he has a lot more than your professional interests at heart." He said and walked away.
Not wanting a scene, she stepped in front of Romano, as Steven walked back towards Anspaugh. "Don't pay any attention to him, Robert. He'll say anything to get me all riled up."
"Well, he's right about one thing. I did agree to this primarily to capitalize on the publicity it would bring to the hospital. It is an election year after all and as usual we're facing a huge budget cut, and just as importantly, I can't let Weaver think she's the only one who can leverage funding for this hospital. We've scheduled some photo ops with the Mayor and the Governor and if all goes well, we should stand to see a hefty influx of cash from all this."
"Well, at least you're honest about it and in the end, Connor will be the lucky one either way. But I know he's doing this solely for the sake of personal gains, all the while pretending that he's the humanitarian of the year."
As the team gathered outside to answer a few of the reporter's questions, Steven took centre stage, as he reveled in the attention, as Dr. Anspaugh and Romano stood just to his left.
"So, Dr. Mancini. Did your previous malpractice suit have any bearing on County Hospital agreeing for you to come here?"
"Uh, that case was settled out of court and has no relevance here." Steven answered.
"And are you looking forward to working closely again with your ex-wife?" A few faces seemed surprised at this revelation, as did Grace who didn't expect this to be public knowledge.
He smiled, "I have the utmost respect for Grace. We make a good team," he said, pulling her next to him.
"Miss Hanson, do you feel the same way?"
On the spot, Grace stammered a bit, not having any experience talking to the press. "Well, I…I'm sure we're all looking forward to working with such an experienced surgeon. County is a teaching hospital after all, and this is just another example of how they're able to provide a great opportunity for us to observe someone of his caliber. I've seen first hand some of the remarkable transformations he's performed in the past and of course we all want the best for Connor. Coming together and collaborating with so many skilled professionals will really make a difference in this boy's life, and I for one am very honored to be a part of it." She smiled and stepped back over to where the others were standing.
"Miss Hanson, what about your personal feelings towards your ex-husband? Won't that make for a lot of tension in the operating room?"
Dr. Anspaugh jumped in, "I think Miss Hanson has answered enough personal questions. Let's remember we're here for Connor, and I have every confidence that each member of this surgical team will perform with the utmost professionalism in and out of the OR." He said, looking at Grace and Steven.
After a few more questions relating to the surgical procedure, which Anspaugh answered, they all dissipated into the hallway.
"Well, gee that was fun." Romano quipped to Grace. "But as usual, you were quick on your feet. You turned what could have been a very awkward moment for the hospital into an opportunity to plug the great work we're doing here. You sure you weren't a politician in a previous life?"
"I've had to fake a few things in my day where he's concerned. I just tried to steer the conversation back to the topic at hand instead of making it about tabloid fodder."
"You never cease to impress me, Grace. We're a lot more alike than I thought."
She smiled. "Was that supposed to be a compliment?"
"Sounded like one to me."
"Are you scheduled for surgery later on? If not, I was hoping we could grab lunch."
He eyed her up and down, keeping his distance until they were completely alone, but wishing he could take her right then and there. "Great skirt." He commented, as he titled his head so he could check her out from behind. "No wonder botox boy made a move on you under the table."
Smiling, she replied, "I wanted to break his hand, but then I really would have had a lot to answer to."
Dr. Anspaugh approached them both, "Robert, Grace. I'd like to see you both in my office." He said, as though it was not up for discussion. "Ten minutes."
As they made their way upstairs on the elevator, Grace worried about his reaction.
"Don't worry, I can handle Anspaugh." He assured her.
"Do you think he wants to pull me off the team? Then again, it might not be a bad idea."
"Grace you deserve to be here. Neither he nor I would have considered it if you didn't
have the experience and the skill. There's no reason for him to change his mind now."
"But they might not have put me here without your 'gentle coaxing'."
They went inside Anspaugh's office and sat down, and noticed he looked less than pleased when he arrived.
"Not exactly the press conference I was expecting, but I must say, thanks to Grace here, at least we didn't come off any worse for it. You handled yourself very well and you represented County General in the utmost professional and positive manner."
"Thank you, Dr. Anspaugh. I must say, I was surprised they would even know about my previous marriage to Dr. Mancini and even more so that they would ask about it."
"They live to dig up dirt. Always trying to find a reason to slam the health care system." Romano added.
"Well, I was unaware of it myself." Anspaugh said. "To be honest, I probably would have turned down Robert's request to have you on the team if I'd known. Nothing personal, Grace, but I'm sure you can understand."
"Yes, completely. But I can assure you, Dr. Romano had no knowledge of my previous relationship with Dr. Mancini. I use my maiden name, Hanson, as you know."
"That brings up another concern, your relationship with Dr. Romano. I understand you two are seeing each other?"
At first, neither of them said a word, but just looked at each other.
"I know you were at the New Year's Eve benefit. Whatever's going on between you could provide additional copy for a slow news day. I'd prefer you keep this quiet, at least for the time being."
"Understood." Romano replied tersely and Grace nodded. "Now, what about Motown Mancini's malpractice suit? His prior indiscretions don't exactly help to keep our noses clean in all this."
"More of a misunderstanding from a few years ago, if I'm not mistaken, Grace?"
"I'm really not at liberty to say." She offered noncommittally. She knew it was best if she didn't go into the details. Obviously Anspaugh had his own ideas about Steven and if things went according to plan, he would be back to Detroit in a matter of days. No sense airing her dirty laundry.
Romano nearly jumped in to tell Anspaugh the truth, but Grace put her hand on his arm and he kept silent.
"Well, I'm sure it will all blow over once the surgery is over and all the press will have to worry about is how Connor is thriving after receiving the best care possible. Well, then. I guess we'll see you two shortly? Steven insisted I invite you as well, Grace. Reservations are at Tru for 1:00."
As they left and made their way into the elevator, Grace questioned Romano, "Don't tell me we're all having lunch together? Maybe this is my punishment for being very bad in a previous life?"
"Hey, why torture yourself when life'll do it for you?"
"Thanks for the good thoughts." She said sarcastically.
"Sorry, I know you prefer the erotic ones." He said, kissing her hungrily.