Page 42 of Embrace

His thick brown eyebrows drew together as uncertainty flashed in his gray eyes. “Then you know Asher Christmas and now Christmas Family Industries own the hospital.”

I nodded gently and pointed at one of the chairs at his desk. “May I?”

“Please do,” he said.

I carefully sat in the chair. I kept my lips pressed into a humble smile. He was the chief of surgery, so respect was in order.

“I haven’t told anyone, though,” I said.

He nodded then smiled. “Good. That was going to be my next question.”

We chuckled together. That was a good sign.

“But I’m not here to talk about Jake… I mean Asher,” I said.

“Then you know he and I have been friends since childhood?” he asked.

I closed my mouth and swallowed. Apparently, I was done talking about Asher, but he was not.

“Yes.”

“And you’ve received our fellowship offer?”

I had to think. “Oh yes, Deb mentioned it.”

He remained pressed back against his chair, studying me shrewdly. It was never good when the chief looked at anyone that way.

“Is everything okay?” I asked, suddenly feeling flushed.

“You do know that Dr. Christmas will no longer be practicing here come Monday?”

I jerked my head back as if the news had punched me in the nose. “What? Does he know that?” Even though our night had been interrupted by Julia Valentine, I was sure that if Asher knew he was leaving the hospital, that would’ve been one of the first things he told me.

He shook his head. “No,” he said quietly. “So…” He cleared his throat. “My offer to you has nothing to do with him. You’re an excellent surgeon.”

“Yeah, but honestly if Jake… I mean Asher isn’t going to be around, then…”

He held up a hand. “What about Roland Agnew?”

I froze momentarily. “What about Roland Agnew?”

His fingers formed a steeple again, and he tapped the tips together while grinning proudly. “You’ll be working directly under Roland and part of EBHI if you accept our fellowship.”

“Wow,” I mouthed.

Roland Agnew was the world’s leading expert in radiosurgery and neurosurgical oncology. He’d also founded and chaired the Expansive Brain Health Institute, whose headquarters was in Baltimore, Maryland. I had applied for a position with EBHI, along with all the other neurosurgeons in the universe, none of us caring if it was a residency, a fellowship, or an attending position.

I narrowed an eye. “But the EBHI is in Maryland.”

“You’ll travel to and from.” He scratched the side of his face. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, isn’t it? Not to mention an extremely competitive position. And it’s all yours, if you want it.”

I cracked a tiny smile. He was being cocky simply because he knew only a fool would turn down the chance to be an EBHI fellow.

“Yes,” I said quickly. There was no other answer but that one. “I agree. I’ll take it. I’m a fellow—I mean, I’ll be a fellow.” But then I thought of Asher, and all my excitement dwindled as I collapsed against my chair. “But why does Asher have to leave?”

“Because he’s back to being a Christmas. There’s no way he’ll be able to practice in a hospital ever again.”

“I don’t get it,” I said, frowning.