Always, Lily

▫️Four

LILITH

Very odd things were happening to me.

Just an hour to the end of my morning shift, a doctor from the outpatient clinic had informed me that the hospital director wanted to see me.

Those words had come as a great shock to me, the nervousness that followed thereafter being something I couldn't control.

Being called in by the superiors was a big deal and on my way to his office, I racked through my head to find any mistake I'd done.

A meeting with the director could either be about a doctor's misconduct or having your title stripped off because of an avoidable accident.

None of those applied to me unless one of my patients had reported me, accusing me of any form of malpractice.

To have the director smile at me as soon as I entered his office was yet another surprise. He'd even offered coffee, to which I politely declined.

The questions that he asked me were general, any other staff could answer and that made me really nervous.

He asked whether everything was going on well with the hospital, more so our department. He again asked whether there was any area that I thought needed to be improved.

These were questions that I knew a survey form would provide the most accurate information but I answered them nonetheless.

The director had then nodded to all my replies, even going to the point of noting down some of my responses.

Ten minutes into our talk, he'd leaned back into his chair and I thought it was all over until he asked me about the new surgeon.

You know that face one makes when something unexpected gets thrown at them and they don't know what to say?

That was my expression and to have him say that he'd seen how close the two of us had gotten, shocked even further.

Dr Lorenzo and I were close?

How close was this close?

I answered to the questions about Dr Lorenzo with a straight face though my mind kept replaying our interaction some hours ago.

The director just asked how the new surgeon was doing and I gave in a good word because the man was really great at his work.

I had left the office thereafter and then texted Oliver about what had happened, his replies coming instantly, one after another.

He immediately asked for a quick meetup so that I could explain everything to him and I smiled, thankful that I had such an awesome best friend.

Right now Oliver just stared back at me after my detailed narration. I waved my hand in front of his face and he blinked, settling back.

He gave me a playful glance and then his smile broadened as he mumbled something I didn't clearly hear.

"So, do you think this is normal?" I eventually asked and Oliver just passed me that playful glance.

"What do I think is normal?" He asked back as he leaned forward, spreading both of his hands on the table separating us.

He shook his head at his question as if disregarding his previous thought and then asked, "The director calling you in or you and Lorenzo being close?"

He smiled mischievously at the last part and I shyly looked away, biting my lower lip.

"We're not that close!" I quickly defended myself when I felt somehow shaken by his claim.