Read Online My Sweetest Sasha: Cole's Story (Meadows Shore Book 2) by Eva Charles - Free Book Online

squeaky clean. An eagle scout. The worst thing I’ve ever heard about him is he plays bad music in the OR and sings along. But you. You created your reputation, you’ve lived off it, and so now you’re stuck with it.”
    His voice was deceptively calm, but his words were menacing. “Keep your hands off my surgeons. We’re done here.”
    The young woman bolted from the room like it was engulfed in flames.
    “You don’t mince words.”
    “She’s an adult. And deserves everything I said to her and more.”
    “Pretty harsh from someone with quite a reputation of his own.”
    “I never slept with anyone to get ahead.”
    “What about Diana?”
    He scowled at her.
    “I’ve seen the file.”
    “Then you know what happened.”
    “I’d like to hear your version of the story.”
    “For your report?”
    “No, not really, it’s old news. But I want to understand what happened from your perspective. I want to understand you. I can’t make a fair assessment without figuring out what makes you tick.”
    “You almost sound like a real social worker.”
    “Don’t get too comfortable.”
    Comfortable? He hadn’t had a moment of comfort since he laid eyes on her. Something about her called to him, sucked him in, made it impossible to look away. They’d been together day and night for more than a week, and there’d been scarcely a moment when he didn’t want to bury himself inside her, feel her tighten around him. But he knew better. He forced himself to keep as much physical distance between them as possible, because one inadvertent touch, one tiny, innocuous touch, and all bets were off.
    “Diana was a neurosurgeon on staff here. She was talented and beautiful, and troubled. Every rotation she chose a medical student to be her personal boy toy.” He glanced at Alexa’s ashen face. “It sounds worse than it was. No one was ever coerced, and there was no benefit, aside from the obvious physical reward and an ego boost. But it looked bad, and if she’d been a man they’d have canned her without a second thought.”
    Cole paused, sinking deeper in his chair. He’d told the wretched story before, many times in fact, but he was uneasy recounting it today. Disclosing the ugly details to Alexa, dreading the disgust he’d see in her face when she heard the particulars … it made him cringe. But as much as he wanted to, he wouldn’t shirk the truth, or worse yet, buff the facts to a glossy sheen.
    “The students were all men in their mid-twenties, at least. It was a badge of honor to be chosen. And a mind-blowing experience. Most of us had only been with high school and college girls. Diana was a woman. All woman. Comfortable with naked bodies, including her own. She knew what she liked, what she needed, and she wasn’t shy about asking or teaching, if necessary. Everyone wanted in on the action.
    “One day, while she was doing her thing, a patient who’d had a massive stroke, came into the emergency room. They paged Diana three times before she responded. Her pager had been buried under a pile of clothing in the corner of her office. The patient died on her way to the operating room.”
    Alexa released the breath she’d been holding. “You were the student with her when it happened?”
    Cole nodded.
    “It must have been awful.”
    “It was awful … The case was investigated, and there was no culpability. Even if Diana had responded immediately, the patient wouldn’t have survived, but it was still hard to take.”
    Alexa could see the pain in his eyes.
    “She wasn’t my patient,” Cole said softly. “I was on another team.”
    His colleagues had reminded him of that repeatedly when it happened—it was the truth, but it had never eased his guilt.
    “Where’s Diana now?”
    “Dead. She committed suicide a few years ago. This is a tough environment for male surgeons, but it’s much tougher for females, and Diana was never the same after the incident. Lawyers examined every aspect of her life under a