Later, that evening as he and Devon were leaving the hospital, they noticed Al and Julia walking together further up in the parking lot. They were talking and laughing, and he couldn't help but enjoy the sound of her laugh.
"What do you think?" asked Devon.
"About what?"
"Dr. Adams."
"From what I've seen, she's a great doctor and amazing surgeon."
"I heard she stayed by her patient's side until he woke up. She spent an hour talking with him about the operation and what would be the next steps."
"Not surprising from what I've gathered of her so far."
"She also spent 15 minutes with each of the surgical assistants and nurses getting to know them and explaining the way she worked."
Conrad frowned. "Already sounds like Cain."
"That is where you are wrong, she's his complete opposite. She talked about rotations and respecting the maximum number of hours they could work. She said that along with the well-being of her patients, they were her priority and if there was anything she could do to help them, that they should let her know."
Conrad stopped walking. "You're making this up."
"No, I swear, three different OR nurses told me the same thing."
"She's going to find Kim on her path if she starts putting that in place, you know he's all for the money and not the patients."
"Maybe, but Red Rock Medical is the one who hired her, so I guess they know how she works. I hear they want to bring Chastain to a trauma level 3 hospital, and they need her on staff to achieve that."
They resumed walking.
"You could find an ally in her," said Devon.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, it appears to me as though you two are very similar. You're trying to start a revolution with Bell against Red Rock Medical, maybe she can help."
"Either that or they sent her in to spy on us."
"What?!"
"Ever heard about the Trojan horse?"
"I think you're a tad paranoid, Conrad."
They watched as Al and Julia turned the bend and headed for Al's car.
"How do you think that Al knows her?"
Devon shrugged.
"I don't know. It's obvious they know each other but I didn't ask."
Conrad reached his jeep.
"I'll see you tomorrow. Good night."
"Night Conrad."
Julia walked inside her hotel room. The house she had bought was undergoing a few renovations that had been delayed, reason why she had opted to settle down at the hotel for another week. Staying out of the way of the contractor and his workers was probably best.
Al had offered to have a drink and dinner at the hotel, but she had told him she was tired and had asked for a rain check. She dropped her bag, freshly printed and laminated hospital badge, and headed for the bedroom. From the closet she took out a plastic laundry bag and placed it on the bed. She stripped down to a minimum and placed her jeans, button-down shirt, and sneakers inside it. She filled in the form and placed it inside the bag.
She grabbed the robe in the bathroom, dialed housekeeping advising them that she needed laundry to be done and explained the reason for the blood. The last thing she needed was for them to think she had murdered someone in the hotel room.
She dropped the bag in the corridor in front of her door and headed back for the bathroom. She removed what was left of her underwear and stepped into the luxurious Italian marble shower. She spent the amount of time she needed underneath the hot flowing water. The accident had made her body and muscles sore, and she was happy for the release.
After having showered and blown dried her hair, she put on a pair of black jeans, a red top, and black sandals. The shower had dissipated her fatigue and allowed for the hunger to settle in. She hesitated at first in calling room service, then changed her mind. She grabbed a book, her phone, key card, and headed downstairs to the lounge.
After having eaten her burger, she remained there and read for a while. She liked the lounge, it wasn't as filled up as the restaurant, just enough people without too much chatter and most of them were businessmen and women.
"If I didn't know you any better, I'd say you orchestrated that accident to make for an unforgettable first day."
He noticed her smile from behind the page of her book then look up at him.
"Good thing you know me and know it's not true."
He smiled back.
"And if I didn't know better, I'd say you were ignoring me today," she added.
He pulled the chair back and sat down.
"I was stuck in a meeting all day with Red Rock Medical and the board. If it had been up to me, I would have been there."
She closed her book and stopped the waiter that was passing by.
"A beer and a cognac," she said.
The waiter nodded and walked over to the bar.
"I heard you were on the bus."
"I'm fine."
He nodded.
"What about your patient?"
"It'll be a long road, but he'll recover fully. He'll even be able to drive a bus again once he's comfortable with the prosthetic."
"I assume you ran into Conrad?"
She raised an eyebrow.
The waiter placed the glasses in front of them.
"Yes."
She left it at that, and he glanced at her as he took a sip of his cognac.
"What do you want me to say?" she said seeing her initial response wasn't sufficient for him.
"I don't know. Is there anything to say?"
"No. Our interaction was minimal. All I can say is that he appears to be everything you told me he was."
She took a sip of her beer then eyed him.
"Look, I'm not debating what you are putting into place, but from what you told me, wouldn't it help if Conrad knew everything?"
He leaned forward.
"Right now, it's best he isn't aware of the situation. We only have a short window to get to our objective. When the times is right, he'll be advised."
She in turn leaned over the table and locked eyes with him.
"Marshall, this may put your relationship to the test. Are you sure you want that? You've worked hard to have it where it is today to jeopardize everything."
Marshall seemed to think about what Julia had just said as he stirred his cognac in his glass.
"If everything goes according to planned, then he'll understand."
She smiled trying to ease up the atmosphere.
"You sure like to gamble, but then again you didn't get where you are today without needing to."