"You?" asked Bob easily, oblivious that Luke had nearly fallen out of his chair, as had Chris.
Reid paused. "I'm pretty sure I didn't stutter," he replied, annoyed.
"I'm curious, Doctor Oliver, as to why you think you would be a good fit to head this project."
Luke's eyes were growing wider by the second, fixed on Reid. He didn't even notice Lucinda smiling to herself on his other side.
"Well, for starters, I actually know what I'm doing," he began evenly. "But besides being one of the top neurosurgeons in the world whose skills are far superior to Channing's, I've also worked for the Cleveland Clinic in the past. I did my residency with them in Cleveland, done research and performed break through surgeries at clinics all over the country and the world, including Dubai," Luke raised a brow at this interesting piece of information, "and my involvement is what originally led me to Dallas before I changed to the hospital I'm at now. I understand how their neurology center works; I learned under the best, I know how they operate, and I'm responsible for countless advances to their centers."
Bob was silent, letting Reid's words sink in. Luke forced himself to look away from Reid, eyeing the gentleman across the table from him. As he watched him he noticed the smile curl onto his wrinkled lips and saw as his eyes turned to Lucinda briefly and then back to Reid. Brows furrowing, Luke turned to his grandmother, who was the only one still eating, to find her smiling and looking far too calm. His mouth dropped open and he gaped at her. Again she smiled innocently. Luke sighed, covering his forehead with his hand, realizing that Lucinda Walsh was at it again.
"Should I consider this to be an official offer, doctor?"
Everyone looked up when Bob spoke, who was still smiling and folding his hands on the table. It wasn't fair how calm he was. Chris nearly fell out of his chair again, staring at his father.
"You can't be serious?" he interjected. All eyes turned to him. "You're honestly going to consider letting this guy lead the project? He can't even have a civilized conversation over dinner, how do you expect him to handle our patients? Or how the hell is he suppose to talk with donors and business associates without knocking down everything we've started?"
Bob held up a hand and Chris begrudgingly quieted, leaning back and crossing his arms like a child throwing a tantrum. Reid looked amused.
"Well, Doctor Oliver?" Bob pressed again. Reid's smile faded. Luke was staring at him again.
"Sure, what the hell," he said halfheartedly, lips tight again. Bob smiled, looking far too amused as he silently went back to his meal. Lucinda continued to eat, and Reid went back to picking at his own food as well. Kim, Luke and Chris all exchanged looks, clearly trying to sort out what all had just happened though having a difficult time with that task.
After dinner Reid was taken aside by Bob before Luke had a chance to say anything. So instead, he cornered his grandmother and pulled her out into the side hallway.
"This was your plan all along, wasn't it?" he asked quickly.
"I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about darling."
"Oh, Grandmother, I'm not in the mood for your games! You invited Bob here so that he and Reid would get talking, so that you could trick Reid into wanting to work at Memorial!"
"I wouldn't use the word 'trick'," she began with a shrug. "More like, suggesting."
"More like tricking, Grandmother," Luke said sternly.
"Oh, darling, why are you in such a twist over this? Your boyfriend might be coming to Oakdale! For good! You should be excited about this!" she said softly, cupping Luke's face. It suddenly hit Luke that Lucinda was right, and it hit him hard. He was too overwhelmed to answer. She just patted his cheek and then kissed it gently. "Talk to your lovely doctor about it, dear. It couldn't hurt to have the option there." Lucinda smiled kindly at her grandson before stepping back into the main room.
Luke's vision was foggy and though he heard voices that didn't mean he necessarily heard words. His head was spinning, which escalated to his entire body forgetting to balance itself, and just in time a pair of strong hands gripped his forearms from behind, holding him up.
"Woah, careful there," said Chris, lowering Luke into one of the chairs. Luke shook his head, red with embarrassment but thankful that they were in the hallway so only Chris had seen his moment of weakness. "What was that all about?" Chris asked, leaning on the wall and crossing his arms.
Luke looked up, wide eyed again. "Oh, um, just thinking about dinner…" he managed to say.
Chris frowned. "Yeah. That was something, wasn't it?" Luke could easily detect Chris' distaste for Reid in his voice, not that he was trying to hide it.
"He's not as bad as you think he is," said Luke smiling.
"Yeah, I know, you're probably right. Still, no offense Luke, but this guy?" he said, eyes squinting a bit as he stared dumbfounded at Luke, pointing over his shoulder into the other room.
Luke laughed. "I know, he's not exactly the most charming is he?" he said sheepishly, scratching the side of his face. "But he's brilliant, and he is a nice guy, when he chooses to be."
Chris actually smiled for a moment. "Yeah, well, he's certainly doing a good job of winning my parents over," he sighed.
"What all are they saying?" asked Luke, sitting up on the edge of the chair.
"Well, he's not saying much. My dad's laying out the basic plans for the wing, what all they hope to bring to Memorial, why he should honestly consider the job, all that fun stuff."
Luke leaned to the right and glanced into the room, watching as Reid stood, stiff and uncomfortable, with Bob and Kim in front of him. Kim was holding Bob's arm and Bob was doing all the talking. Lucinda sat in a chair off to the side, content in her solitude and drinking what Luke assumed to be tea.
"Do you think he'll want the job?" Luke asked, turning back to Chris, who merely shrugged.
"Hell if I know. You know him better than we do."
Luke nodded and then frowned. It was true, he did know Reid, better than probably anyone else in the world, so why did this sudden development shock him so much? Oh, that's right; because it was something he never would have predicted Reid to do. He sighed, leaning into the chair and fighting the urge to watch Reid talk with Bob. Chris sighed as well, and both men leaned back and shut their eyes.
