Medical Center. Skybridge Between the Two Buildings.
The Chief of Surgery stopped in his tracks, turned to Adam, and sighed. "Adam, cut Mark some slack, will you?"
"Oh, Chief, you've heard already?" Adam grinned.
"There are no secrets in this hospital," the Chief said, shaking his head. "If I didn't know about something this juicy, I'd be failing at my job."
"Chief, you know me," Adam said, spreading his hands. "I'm all about giving people face."
"I know, I know," the Chief nodded quickly. "I've got the full story. It started with Mark—he blew up over Meredith's mistake and dragged you into it too."
"We've never exactly been fans of each other," Adam said with a laugh. "I thought we'd never cross paths again, but then you brought him in, Chief. I get it—he's a money-maker. Business is business.
So even when he riled up the nurses enough to form the 'Anti-Sloan Nurse League,' I didn't make a fuss at work. As long as he didn't screw up professionally, I let it slide."
"Exactly," the Chief agreed. "Adam, you're the most generous and professional guy around. No one could've handled it better."
"But my generosity and professionalism don't seem to earn his respect," Adam said, his smile turning sly. "Feels like he's still got a thing for picking on me."
"He does respect you," the Chief jumped in to smooth things over. "I swear—"
He stopped mid-sentence under Adam's gaze, then gave up and went with the truth. "Okay, fine. Maybe not respect, but he's definitely scared of you! You don't know this, but because of that one little comment you made, he stayed up all night prepping for whatever you might throw at him in the seminar."
"That's great, isn't it?" Adam chuckled. "That's the whole point of the seminar—learn from mistakes, level up our skills."
"…"
The Chief froze, then gave a wry smile. "Adam, you know what I mean. I've never seen a resident as gifted or as capable as you.
If you wanted to, I've got zero doubt you could nitpick anyone from angles we'd never even dream of.
But that's not what the seminar's about. It's for learning lessons, not tearing people apart just because you can.
What you're capable of? Ninety-nine percent of doctors couldn't pull that off.
And Mark—he's a big-name attending. He brings in tons of cash and prestige for the hospital. That benefits everyone.
If you go all out and publicly smack him down just to vent, it'll crush him mentally. He won't be able to handle it.
He'll probably leave. And that'd be a huge loss for the hospital…"
"Easy fix," Adam cut in. "We can just remind him that plastic surgeons only have two good places to go. Even if he bolts to L.A., I'll make a point to 'visit' him often.
Might as well save himself the trouble and stick around. A little psychological shadow's no big deal, right?
If he's got issues, he can get help. Everything's treatable!"
"…"
The Chief's mouth twitched.
You little genius, you.
If you play it like that, it's not just a shadow—it's a full-on endless nightmare!
"I think Dr. Sloan should apologize for his lousy attitude earlier," the Chief said, suddenly all serious. "What do you think, Adam?"
"Sounds good to me," Adam replied, glancing at the Chief before nodding thoughtfully.
Mark hadn't done anything that bad—just some trash talk. A quick slap on the wrist, an apology, and it's done. Especially since the Chief was stepping in like this—no need to drag it out.
Adam was always the bigger person, generous and forgiving. Giving others face was the same as giving himself face.
Of course, that hinged on Mark's apology being sincere.
The Chief let out a relieved breath and led Adam onward to his office.
"Adam, wait out here for a sec," the Chief said with a helpless little smile.
"Sure thing," Adam agreed.
Gotta chat with the other party first, right? He got it.
The Chief pushed the door open and stepped inside, closing it behind him.
Through the brief gap as the door swung shut, Adam locked eyes with Mark Sloan, who was sitting inside.
Adam flashed a smile. Mark's face? Not so happy. 😬
A few minutes later, the door opened again.
"Adam, come on in," the Chief called, waving him over.
"Both of you, take a seat," the Chief said, playing peacemaker. "We're all colleagues here. If something's up, we can talk it out. No need to turn every little spat into hospital-wide drama. That's not cool."
Neither Adam nor Mark said a word.
Ahem.
The Chief cleared his throat, glancing at Mark with a nudge. "Mark, didn't you have something to say to Adam?"
Adam turned to Mark too, leaning back casually, ready to hear that heartfelt apology.
"My surgery was flawless," Mark said, his face a mix of frustration and defiance. "The patient's death? Act of God. I don't believe you can actually find anything to criticize."
"Wanna hash it out at the seminar then?" Adam raised an eyebrow.
"No need for that," the Chief cut in, sounding exhausted. "Let's settle it now. Adam, can you share your thoughts? I'd love to learn something myself."
"You're too kind, Chief," Adam said with a grin. Seeing Mark refuse to back down, he figured he'd give the Chief some face. "I've just got some rough ideas. You're the top surgeon here—feel free to guide me…"
And with that, Adam launched into his take on one of Mark Sloan's patient deaths.
Hmm…
Not the latest one from this month, though—he went back a few months.
His angle was so fresh, his reasoning so airtight, that Mark's face went pale.
If Adam had hit him with this back at those earlier seminars, Mark would've been left gaping like a fish.
If he could do that back then, there was no way Mark could brush off this upcoming seminar as just talk.
And then there was what the Chief had hinted at earlier…
"Sor—ry," Mark forced out, the words practically choking him.
Damn it!
How could there be a genius this good? A first-year resident, crossing specialties, schooling him—the East Coast's top plastic surgery attending—on professional grounds!
If he didn't apologize, he'd lose everything at the seminar. And even if he left the medical center afterward, thinking he could dodge Adam? Fat chance.
If Adam wanted to mess with him, no matter where Mark went, he'd live under the shadow of Adam showing up, "humbly asking" questions in front of everyone.
A big-shot attending constantly getting called out and embarrassed? That's not a big shot anymore.
Especially in plastic surgery. Patients chasing perfection want the best—the world's number one. A few rounds of Adam's "visits," and Mark wouldn't just be out of a job—he'd fall off the pedestal entirely.
The gap between a top-tier attending and a regular plastic surgeon? Night and day.
Was Adam just bluffing? Not the type to hold a grudge?
Mark judged by his own standards.
No way.
Why else would Adam come up with something this brutal? Nobody's that bored.
Once he realized Adam had the skills and the ruthlessness, Mark's fight was gone.
Like the Chief had told him: "Adam's destined to be a legend—probably a legend among legends. Do you really want to go down in medical history as the laughable villain in his story?"
Fine.
He gave in.
Adam wasn't so bad, really. He could've humiliated Mark ages ago if he'd wanted to. This whole thing only kicked off because Mark stirred the pot first.
Thinking it over, he felt better. His apology even started to sound genuine.
(Chapter End)