Towering over everybody else in this room wasn’t going to help anything either.
Opening his eyes again, Rafael inclined his head in acquiescence that something clearly needed to be dealt with and he moved to lower his body into the empty seat beside Abbie.
He took a sideways glance at her, still concerned by how pale she looked, but Abbie was staring down at her hands. He wanted her to look at him so that he could send her a silent message that everything would be all right. He would deal with whatever it was that had prompted their summons into this office.
There was a beat of silence in the room and then Ethan cleared his throat.
‘We asked you both to come in this afternoon,’ he said into the silence, ‘because an issue has been brought to our attention that we thought needed urgent resolution. A complaint has been made—’
‘Che cosa?’ Rafael’s gaze jerked to meet Ethan’s. ‘What are you talking about?’
‘It’s not a complaint, exactly.’ Leo flicked an unreadable glance at his brother. ‘I would phrase it more as an expression of disappointment that a client feels strongly enough about to bring it to our attention.’
‘I have no idea what you’re talking about,’ Rafael snapped. ‘Is someone unhappy with my work? And why is Abbie here?’ The speed of his speech was increasing. So was the volume. ‘Nobody could have complained about her work because she hasn’t even been in the country for three months.’ Rafael shook his head in frustration and tried to calm down again. ‘Or is that what this “disappointment” is about? The fact that we have had to deal with a family crisis that has disrupted our ability to work?’
Again the brothers exchanged a meaningful glance.
‘You could say that,’ Leo said. ‘Sort of.’
‘Spit it out, man,’ Rafael growled. ‘I’m hoping to have enough time after my work to visit my daughter before she’s asleep for the night.’
‘Of course.’ Leo turned to smile at Abbie. ‘And can I just say again how wonderful it is to have you and Ella back? Especially when you’ve come back with such a great result.’
‘Thanks, Leo.’ Abbie’s nod was stiff. She caught Rafael’s gaze briefly then and he could see that she was just as mystified as he was by the reason for this meeting.
Ethan took his cue from Leo’s nod. He looked directly at Rafael, who had the strange impression that a game of ‘good cop, bad cop’ was going on here. And Ethan had been designated ‘bad cop.’
‘I believe you saw the MacDonald family at your outpatient clinic this morning? With their seven-month-old son, Angus, who’s now ready for admission for repair of his bilateral cleft lip and palate?’
‘That is correct.’ Rafael frowned. What on earth had the MacDonalds found to complain about? ‘They seemed perfectly happy to know how well the stretching and reshaping of the tissues has been with the taping and use of the retainer. He’s a good candidate for a single initial surgery to repair the defects in both his lip and palate.’
‘He’ll still need further surgery for cosmetic improvements, though.’ It was Abbie who spoke.
It was Abbie who’d first seen Angus back when the newborn had been brought down from Scotland by his distressed parents. She’d immediately called Rafael to share the consultation and reassure them that they would be able to achieve an almost perfect result for their son.
He nodded. ‘You can deal with that further down the track. And I’ll do the gum repair later. When Angus is around seven years old.’
Ethan had listened to the exchange and was shaking his head. Rafael glared at him. ‘The MacDonalds were delighted to know that their son can be admitted for the surgery as early as the end of the week. What is the problem here?’
‘The MacDonalds came to the Hunter Clinic for a private consultation within weeks of Angus being born,’ Ethan said. ‘Do you know why they chose us out of all the places they could have taken their baby for surgery after they’d decided they didn’t want to go on a National Health waiting list?’
‘We treat a lot of these types of cases,’ Rafael responded. ‘Our reputation is very good.’
‘No.’ It was Leo who was shaking his head this time. ‘Our reputation for dealing with this particular birth defect is the best. And you know why?’
Rafael met his gaze squarely. ‘My background in craniofacial surgery for paediatric oncology patients gave me a very good training that has easily transferred to birth defects.’ He shrugged, still puzzled. ‘I’m good at what I do.’
Repair of this kind of deformity that was so distressing to parents wasn’t just about the reshaping of bones and tissues, though, was it? How good the final result was was largely dependent on the skill of the plastic surgeon involved in the finer, external work.
‘And Abbie’s very good at what she does,’ he added. ‘The best, in fact.’
‘Exactly.’ Leo and Ethan exchanged a satisfied glance this time. ‘And therein lies our issue.’
Rafael raised an eyebrow.
‘You saw the MacDonalds this morning.’
‘Yes. You know this already.’
‘But Abbie didn’t see them. We understand that the case had been on her list, with a note to share the consultation with you. But you...ah...rearranged the lists this morning.’
‘Only so that Abbie wasn’t overwhelmed with work on her first day back.’
‘You also told the MacDonalds that you would be performing the whole surgery. Alone. That Abbie would not be available to work with you on the case.’
‘Ah...’ Rafael could feel Abbie’s stare. She wasn’t happy. But it had been her choice to let him shift the case onto his list this morning. Women! Dio... The way their minds worked was an unfathomable mystery sometimes.
‘The MacDonalds came to the Hunter Clinic because of the reputation that both of you have in dealing with a case like theirs. The emphasis here is on both of you. They’d heard about the Hunter Clinic’s “dream team.” Now they’re feeling...cheated.’
‘Look...’ Leo sounded uncomfortable. ‘We’re well aware of your personal issues but whatever problems you have need to be put aside in working hours for the benefit of the clinic, not to mention the benefit of our clients.’
‘There’s a waiting list of elective cases like this,’ Ethan added swiftly. ‘And an even longer list of potential charity cases. This is an incredibly common birth defect.’
‘We can’t support this separation at a professional level,’ Leo put in. ‘You have to be able to work together.’
‘We were working together,’ Abbie said. ‘This morning. And, yes, Rafe did take the MacDonald case off my list but I had the choice. I could have kept it.’
‘You’re missing the point,’ said Ethan. ‘It’s not a case of who gets who. Even a few minutes ago you were both talking about future surgery that Angus would need like it was some kind of “pass the parcel” game. That might be all very well with elective cases but what’s going to happen with an acute case? An emergency? Are you two going to be squabbling in a corner because you’re not professional enough to work on the same case? In the same theatre? Together?’
‘No.’ Abbie’s voice sounded strangled.
‘Of course not.’ Rafael was insulted. ‘That suggestion is ridicolo...’
‘You were a tight team,’ Leo said quietly. ‘The best. We want that back.’
‘Everybody