Mr George, Don't Be So Arrogant

She never realized Euan would be so fast in picking up calls the moment she made the call. Since the call had been picked up, she decided to bite the bullet and speak. "Anything wrong?" Before even started to speak, Euan's deep and mellow voice was heard.

There was the crispy sound of paper flipping in the background, indicating he was still at work. Riley took a deep breath and stared at the tip of her toes. She fiddled with the corner of her white coat with one hand and said, "I've seen Lydia's pregnancy report, there's no problem of it."

Euan who was in the office was holding a signature pen, his movement stopped when he was about to write something. "I get it." Having received his curt reply, Riley suddenly did not know how to continue further. She bit her lip. Should she just hang up like that, or should she wait for him to hang up? Riley did not speak, nor did Euan.

Euan seemed to have forgotten he was in a phone call. The sound of him writing was heard and there was the sound of something clanking with each other. During the silence, she could hear his rhythmic and long breathing sound. His breathing was connected to his heartbeat. She could even discern the rhythm of his heartbeat. His heart was beating regularly and strongly.

"Anything more?" After half a minute had passed, he broke the silence once again. All of a sudden, a thought sparked in Riley's mind and she replied, "Oh yes, Hendrix has come to the hospital today. He said he wanted to do a body checkup because he wants to apply for schools."

Euan lifted his eyebrows and he placed his hands flat on the surface of the desk. He leaned back against the office chair slightly lethargically and said, "I know that, anything else?" Riley lowered her head more and more. Damn, had she lost her ability to think? "No."

A fierce look flashed across Euan's face. Did she call him just to talk about someone else's matter? He felt a rush of unhappiness. He hung up without hesitant the moment she said no. It was too sudden that Riley did not manage to respond.

From her memory, he was the one who always hung up first whenever she called him, and there was no exception. That recognition had made her quite uncomfortable. And she would not know that the moment she took her phone, Hendrix was standing beside the stairs and was watching her attentively through the crowds while hiding behind the pot plants.

His hands were shoved into the pockets of his torn off jeans. He had witnessed the way her expressions changed from longing to nervous, and from hesitancy to disappointment. Although he had no idea who the person she was talking to on phone, it was conceivable the person who was able to make her experienced such a complicated change in mood in just two minutes must have an unusual relationship with her. Could it be his big brother?

Riley exhaled and put her phone into her pocket. She frowned when she saw the bandage on her knee again. How long would the wound want to hold her back?

"Doctor Watson, are you a wonder woman? Don't you need to have your lunch?" Hendrix's frivolous voice was heard from the main hall and he was walking like a typical rich playboy. He came to her front in just a short while and the tall and lean young man was wearing a cheerful smile. "Why aren't you leaving yet?" It had already been late.

Hendrix pouted and scratched his forehead. "I do want to leave earlier, but the doctors at your hospital are too inefficient and my time is delayed. Since we've met at the right time and at the right place, let's have lunch together!"

"I'm going to the employee's canteen, you can have lunch yourself."

"Oh don't be like that, why can't we have lunch together? I won't cheat you anyway, I'll treat you, how does that sound?" He badgered her playfully and there was still a childish look on his face. It was reasonable as he had just turned twenty and it was the age to enjoy fun. Riley did not want others to see her coming close to those from the George family.

Many people still did not know Hendrix's identity and her relationship with Euan. But if there was a chance both of their identity were exposed, people would start to gossip about them if she came too close to Hendrix, and that would have a bad influence to her and Euan.

Without knowing why, the act of cuckolding Euan suddenly popped out into her mind. No matter how Euan humiliated her, she still refused to let him suffer from any damage in reputation. Did she not care about him? She had actually wanted to protect him with all her heart secretly.

"No thanks, I'll go to the canteen. I'm busy in the afternoon. You have nothing to do and have plenty of time, but I still have job to do, and I have no time to keep you company." "Riley, could you possibly be that coldblooded? If my heart has broken, would you make amendment to me afterwards?"

As Hendrix was pestering her, a white shadow came out of the lift. The lofty figure clad in white coat inevitably gave out a sense of pride that made people grew respect. The comer was William. He had seen her arguing with a casually-dressed young man the moment he came out of the lift and he quickly strode towards her without even looking at Hendrix. "Sorry to make you wait, Doctor Watson. Let's go now." Hmm? Hendrix and Riley both looked towards the one who was speaking at the same time. "I've made an appointment with Doctor Watson, if you want to treat her meal, better next time."

Contrary to Riley, the man did not have a work pass on his collar, yet it was easy to tell the doctor was unusual from his clothes and temperament. Hendrix did not care about him at all and he retorted rudely. William smiled and slowly glanced at Riley. "Doctor Watson, regarding the patient last time, looks like we need to arrange some other time to have a talk."

"No need, we can talk now." Upon finishing, Riley straight away passed by Hendrix and headed towards the employee's canteen at the right. William nodded at Hendrix like how a grownup facing a child. Hendrix was so irritated that he still locked his eyes at their back until they walked around a corner and disappeared. "Thank you for helping me just now." Riley stopped and thanked him without saying anymore further. William stood in front of her and said, "Can I use the two 'thank you' as an exchange for a meal?"

Riley was still not used to having someone she was not yet familiar with to joke with her, especially males. "I still have something to do and I have to go up." A smile suddenly broke upon William's lips. "Do you think I'm going to eat while wearing like this? What are you afraid of? Doctor Watson." Afraid? Was she? "Your eyes and your little movements have told me you're afraid to be with me alone, or should I say, you even resist the young man just now. Doctor Watson, your subconscious mind is alarmed of something."

"I do not." As if her hidden secret was found out at a glance, she only wanted to deny it quickly, yet she could not hide it from William's eyes no matter how.

"Doctor Watson, don't try to argue with a psychiatrist. Your argument and denial would only consolidate the fact." His voice was always gentle as if he was talking to his patient. Riley choked. "And don't you try to judge me with your so called professional knowledge, Doctor Hardesty. You helped me just now, but that doesn't mean you can invade my privacy."

William burst into laughter and there was a line on his chin as he smiled. It was a symbol of a sexy and attractive man, yet...the man before her could not be called sexy, as he was too pure. "You really do have an excellent debating skill. Alright, I still have patient to look after, do mind your work too, Doctor Watson. Mind your knee. If you've worked too hard again, I'm afraid you're gonna have to go to the plastic surgery department next month."

Watching him leave, Riley suddenly felt she had become invisible. His eyes were like X-rays and he had done a complete CT scan on her thoughts and feelings. Yet it turned out he was capable to tell what he observed in a simple and amiable way that she could not feel disgusted.

She went upstairs, took off her white coat and changed her clothes. Serena and Margot were there too and both of them kept on complaining. "Doctor Watson, you've gone downstairs just now and you have no idea what happened here. The patient from bed number thirty was too annoying! That patient was too reckless!"

"Oh don't mention that anymore. I'm hungry and I have to go to the canteen for energy supply."

The employee's canteen was overcrowded at noon. There would always be someone who complained during that time that the meal was not enough because the patients were too many and the doctors too less. It was in fact the opposite. The number of the doctors was way more horrifying.

Serena ate the tomato with eggs in her lunchbox and started to gossip, "Don't you guys feel weird? The new deputy director has filled the role but he has never shown himself even once. He's not even present during the welcome party last time, why is he becoming so mysterious?"

Margot replied, "A patient coincidentally needs a surgery last time and there was not enough man force, therefore he has gone to lead the surgery, it's not his fault that he's absent. What makes me feel weird the most is as a surgeon, why would he become a deputy director in the medicinal department? That's too strange."

Riley only concentrated on her meal and her thought. She did not care about the deputy director who liked to act mysterious at all. He could do whatever he wanted and she would not give a damn.

"Big news! Doctor Nygard has been transferred to the branch hospital to become the director in the interim! That might sound like a promotion, but could the branch possibly be comparable against the main one? It's obvious he's demoted." Doctor A who was sitting at the table next to them spoke and Doctor B chimed in dramatically, "No way! There's not even a sign, that's too sudden."

"Exactly, Doctor Nygard used to be the director of the neurology department, he then became the deputy director of the hospital. He used to be dedicated in his work, yet it seems like due to bad health, he has to stop working for a year for treatment, and I wonder what illness is it."

Doctor Nygard had fallen sick? And he was demoted too? Having remembered the professor assessment form given by him, Riley felt her heart slightly wrenched. "Then who's the new deputy director?" "No idea, nevertheless the deputy director of our hospital was always chosen from the big departments like neurology and cardiology. They would definitely not come to our dental department." The discussion still continued and Serena touched Riley with her plate.

"Doctor Watson, the hospital's experiencing a dramatic change. Our deputy director of the department has not yet arrived, and the deputy director of the hospital has collapsed first. Do you think we'll have a chance?"

"Stop dreaming, do you know how long your work experience is? If you want to become the deputy director of the hospital, you'll have to get bald first."

"Damn! It could be the new director is not bald!"

"Female?"

"Go away!"

After finishing meal, Riley went to the resting room first. Her duty began at two o'clock and she could read a book and evaluate the work first. Essay was a difficult task and her head hurt whenever she thought of it.

She took a cup of coffee and sat on the table. A book that she was reading lately was placed on the table. As she flipped it, a paper slip slid out from the pages. Somebody had inserted a bookmark into the book.

With neat handwriting and concise wording, the words had pinpointed on the emergency treatments for the cardiac tamponade caused by heart bleeding. Every word was considered as classics. "Doctor Watson, don't you have to give me a heads up when you took my book?"