Chapter 2 Doctor Brooks

Callahan POV

I strolled into my walk-in closet and moved toward the section where my luxury watches were neatly arranged.

I studied them for a moment before picking one that suited what I had planned to wear today.

My movements were unhurried. They always were. There was rarely a reason for me to rush.

Because where am I rushing to? When it’s not an emergency.

I slipped the watch around my wrist and adjusted the strap before turning toward the mirror.

Dark trousers. A crisp white shirt. Black shoes.

Simple outfit of the day and professional.

I ran a hand through my hair, making sure it was properly in place, then picked up my car keys from the dresser.

My phone buzzed.I glanced at the screen.

Another message from the hospital.I didn’t open it because I already knew what it was.

My first official day at Crownwell.

The transfer had been finalized weeks ago, but because I’d only recently arrived in the city, I had spent the weekend at my parents’ house while I searched for a place of my own.

I wasn’t planning on staying there for long.

I preferred having my own space.

I left my room and walked downstairs, the sound of my footsteps echoing through the quiet house.

My parents were already in the dining room.

My father sat at the head of the table, reading something on his tablet while drinking his coffee. My mother was across from him, scrolling through her phone.

Neither looked particularly surprised to see me.

“Good Morning,” I said.

My father lowered his tablet.

“First day?”

“Yeah.”

“How long is the orientation?”

“Probably most of the morning.”

He nodded.

“Make sure you speak with the department administrators. There are a few things regarding your schedule that need to be finalized.”

“I know.”

My mother looked up.

“Are you still going to look at that house today?”

“After work.”

“Good. You need to settle somewhere soon.”

“Are you chasing him already out of the house?” My father asked my mom and she scoffed.

“What do you mean? Callahan is giving 28k years old and should be in his own, he needs his privacy!” She said and I rolled my eyes.

“I’ll handle it.”

My father took another sip of his coffee.

“Crownwell knows what they’re getting. Don’t let them waste your time.”

A faint smile tugged at the corner of my mouth.

That was about as close to good luck as I was going to get from him.

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

My mother smiled.

“Call me later.”

“I will mom.”

I picked up my keys from the counter.

“See you tonight.”

“Callahan.”

I paused at the doorway and glanced back at my father.

He looked at me for a moment before giving a simple nod.

“Do well.”

I returned the gesture.

“I always do.”

Then I walked out.

The morning air hit me the moment I stepped outside.

My car waited in the driveway.

I unlocked it, slid into the driver’s seat, and started the engine. I had barely pulled onto the road when my phone began ringing through the car’s Bluetooth.

Adrian.

I answered through the steering controls.

“What?”

“Good morning to you too,” Adrian said and I smirked.

“You’re calling me before ten in the morning. Something better be important.”

“You should be on your knees thanking me. I found the house.”

I glanced at the road ahead almost stepping on the brakes.

“You’re serious?”

“Very.”

“You actually went?”

“Unlike you, I don’t enjoy making real estate agents chase me.”

A quiet laugh escaped me.

“You’re enjoying this too much.”

“Of course I am. I’ve spent the entire weekend looking at houses because my best friend apparently can’t be bothered.”

“I was busy.”

“You were sleeping.”

“I was recovering.”

“From what? Existing?”

I shook my head, smiling slightly.

“What did you find?”

“It’s exactly what you said you wanted. Private. Modern. Huge kitchen. Four bedrooms. A pool. There’s a gym downstairs, and the neighborhood is quiet.”

“And?”

“And the owner is willing to negotiate.”

I considered it.

“Send me the address.”

“Already did.”

“I’ll look at it after work.”

“After work?” Adrian scoffed. “You don’t even want to see it before making a decision?”

“I trust your judgment.”

There was a brief silence.

Then he laughed.

“That’s probably the nicest thing you’ve said to me all year.”

“Don’t get used to it.”

“I knew there was a heart somewhere in there.”

“Goodbye, Adrian.”

“See you later, asshole.”

I ended the call, still wearing a faint smile.

Adrian had been one of the few people who had known me long before the titles, the surgeries, the reputation and everything else that came with my name.

He was also one of the few people who could speak to me like that and get away with it.

I pulled onto the main road, my attention returning to the city ahead.

Crownwell University Hospital wasn’t far now.

A new hospital.

A new department.

A new city.

None of it particularly bothered me.

I’d done this before.

Walk into a new place.

Prove myself.

Do the job.

Leave everyone else to figure out who I was afterward.

My eyes remained fixed on the road as the hospital slowly came into view in the distance.

Crownwell.

I tightened my grip slightly on the steering wheel.

It was time to see what the place had to offer.

Miranda POV

It had been over an hour since the emergency came in.  What initially looked like a single accident had turned out to be a multi car crash involving six victims. Two had sustain led serious but stable injuries and were being treated in the emergency department. Another two were still unconscious and under close observation, while the remaining two had been rushed into surgery.

The entire hospital seemed to have been thrown into motion. I still haven’t seen my head of department so with nothing else assigned to me yet, I decided to make myself useful by observing one of the operating rooms.

I stood behind the glass overlooking the theatre, watching the team below move around the patient with practiced precision. Every person had a role. Every movement was deliberate . Nurses passed instruments without hesitation while the surgeons remained focus on the procedure.

I found myself leaning slightly close to the glass, this was exactly where I wanted to be.

A few moments later,  another Doctor wearing the same navy blue scrubs walked up beside me. She didn’t say anything at first.. she simply stood there watching the operation below.

“ I could be helping there,  you know.” She eventually said.

I raised an eyebrow and glanced to my left, then to my right, wondering if she was talking to me or someone else.

“You mean, in there?” I pointed towards the OR, “with the doctor there?”

She nodded.

Oh.

She was talking to me.

“So, why aren’t you there?”

She sighed dramatically as she pulled some strands of her hair behind her ear.

“Because Dr. Callahan Brooks is in his way.”

“And?” I frowned slightly.

She looked at me as though I had just asked the most ridiculous question in the world.

“And I would rather not embarrass myself on my first day.”

I almost laughed, “ is he that bad?”

She laughed.

“Bad?” Her eyes widened.

“No. He’s brilliant”

But there was something about the way she said it that made me turn toward her.

“He is the head of Cardiothoracic surgery,” she continued. “One of the youngest surgeons to hold that position and apparently one of the best. I’ve heard about some of the surgeries he’s performed. His rates of success is insane.”

I looked back through the glass, “seriously?”

“Yes, seriously.” She lowered her voice as through she were sharing a secret. “ I specifically requested placement under his department because of him.”

That caught my attention.

“You did??”

“Absolutely, I didn’t come to Crownwell just to wear scrubs and write patients notes.”

A small smile crossed her face, “ I want to learn from the best.”

I looked back toward the operating room.

Cardiothoracic surgery.

This was exactly the field I wanted to pursue, I’ve been a doctor treating patients, doing little surgeries and all but this? This is what I want to be good at.

I’ve been studying it for months now, reading everything I could get my hands on and imagining what it would be like to eventually stand in an operating room and perform procedures that could quite literally keep someone’s heart beating.

If everything I just heard was true,  perhaps I ended up in the right place.

“Wow.” I murmured

She nodded enthusiastically.

“Just wait until you see him, you’ll love him!!” She gigged but before i could respond, voices drifted down from the corridor behind us.

My attention shifted.

“He’s here.”

The doctor’s voice was suddenly filled with excitement.

I turned toward the entrance, several people had begun moving aside as a man walked through the corridor.

A nurse approached him immediately, holding out a white lab coat.

“Good morning, Dr. Brooks.”

“Morning.”

His voice was deep and calm.

He slipped the coat on without breaking stride, adjusting the sleeves as he continued walking.

I stared.

So this was the Doctor Callahan Brooks.

He was taller than I expected, much taller.

His broad shoulders filled out the white coat perfectly. He had a dark shirt on with his suit pants. He carried himself with an effortless confidence that he didn’t require attention because it naturally attracted it.

His dark brown hair was neatly styled, slightly tousled at the top, but carefully cut around the sides. His face was sharply defined… strong jaw, straight nose, prominent cheekbones, and a pair of dark, intense eyes that seem to take in everything around him without lingering on anything for too long.

He wasn’t smiling, not even slightly.

There was something almost intimidating about the calmness of his expression.

It looked like someone who had no reason to doubt himself.

People greeted him as he passed, and he acknowledge some with a brief nod, ignored others completely, and continued toward upstairs and some corners to the end of corridor.

Oh, his office.

I followed and the doctor beside me leaned closer, “ that’s him.”

I didn’t answer.

For some reason, I couldn’t take my eyes off him.

He was nothing like the image I’d built in my head from everything I heard.

He was younger than I had expected, and unfortunately, far more attractive.

As he approached his office, his eyes suddenly shifted in my direction.

Our eyes met only for a few seconds.

His gaze moved over me briefly, stopping at my ID badge before returning to my face.

My heart gave a strange little thump.

Then, just as quickly as he’d looked at me, he looked away.

No smile, no greeting, nothing.

He simply opened the door to his office and disappeared inside.

I blinked

The doctor beside me, let out a quiet sigh.

“See?”

I finally looked at her, “See what?”

“That.” she gestured towards the closed office door.

“ he hasn’t even been here for five minutes and he’s already distracting everyone.” I glanced at the door again.

I wasn’t even distracted, at least…I didn’t think I was.

Is this what I came all the way up to see?

Ugh.

I rolled my eyes a little and prepared to head back to the OR I just left when few nurses walked past in a hurry mumbling words but i could pick what they said, “one of the patient is in critical condition. Dr. Brooks is required to come perform the surgery.”

I paused my step, and looked behind.

The same doctor that had just arrived?

And yes, they went to his door to knock.

I guess I’ll be seeing this doctor perform.