elaborating on her responses or providing any additional information. The lawyer in Matt actually seemed pleased about that.
“Were there any other occasions when Dr. Reed did not answer his phone?”
“Not prior to that night.”
“Did you have any reason to believe that Dr. Reed was purposely ignoring his calls?”
Here it goes, time to get personal. She took a deep breath and straightened away from the chair, sitting upright and focusing her eyes directly on Matt’s.
“After trying to contact Dr. Reed for twenty minutes, I concluded that he was probably unaware that the attempts being made to contact him were for patient care and subsequently asked the switchboard to reach him.”
“Was his primary contact number for patient care his cell phone?”
“Yes.”
“Then why would he not answer it in his role as second call?”
“That is a question for Dr. Reed. I cannot speak to why he would or would not do something.”
“You were always too smart for your own good, Kate.” He reached down and pulled his sweater off, leaving the dress shirt behind. Then he unbuttoned the cuffs and rolled the sleeves up, exposing his muscled forearms. He leaned on them and stared at her across the table. “I have a copy of Dr. Reed’s phone records from that night, as does the plaintiff’s attorney. They show several calls from your cell phone to Dr. Reed’s, all lasting less than a minute.”
“As I stated, I tried to call Dr. Reed for twenty minutes before relinquishing the responsibility to the switchboard.”
“The calls from you start at eight-thirty p.m., well before your interaction with Mr. Weber.”
“Yes.” She wasn’t going to give more detail. She had no intention of describing to Matt, Tate’s proposal and the reasons behind her rejection.
“If Dr. Reed had not answered your earlier calls, do you think it was appropriate to spend twenty minutes using the same form of contact that had been ineffective up until that point?” He wasn’t enjoying this, she could tell, and that was at least something.
“I was using the form of communication listed by the hospital as Dr. Reed’s first contact. When that failed I appropriately moved on to the switchboard as second contact and focused on Mr. Weber, pending Dr. Reed’s contact and arrival.”
“Your attempts to contact Dr. Reed earlier in the evening, were they related to patient care?”
“No.”
“You have a personal relationship with Dr. Reed?” It was more of a statement than a question. She knew where this was going.
“Yes.”
“What is your relationship with Dr. Reed?” He was agitated now. He ran his fingers through his hair. It was going to be a mutually uncomfortable conversation.
“We have worked together for several years and are friends.” Honest, she was being honest.
“Do you have a romantic relationship with Dr. Reed?”
“No.”
“What was your relationship with Dr. Reed the night of Mr. Weber’s death?”
“I was the chief resident and Dr. Reed was the staff surgeon.”
“What was the nature of your personal relationship with Dr. Reed the night of Mr. Weber’s death?” Matt asked pointedly, his entire attention fixed on Kate.
“We had been dating for one and a half years.”
“Was there anything about your personal relationship that night that would have led Dr. Reed to not answer your calls?”
“Once again that is a question for Dr. Reed. I cannot speak to why he would or would not do something.”
“Did you and Dr. Reed end your romantic involvement that night?” His jaw was clenched and she could see the muscle tense as it extended towards his temple. She hadn’t seen Matt angry a lot when they had first known one another, but she recognized it now.
“Yes.”
“Kate,” he sighed, and ran his fingers through his hair again, “you are answering like you are talking to the enemy, which I’m not. If this ever gets to court then, yes, this is the exact way you are to testify, but tonight, with me, you need to open up. I need to know what happened if I’m going to help you.”
“Are you sure that’s the only reason you want to know?” It was direct and she didn’t back down with her question or when she held his eyes. What she’d had with Matt in the past had been a lie and she damn sure wasn’t going to continue to let anything but the truth be between them now. He didn’t answer.
“It’s not the only reason.” She looked up as he started his response and saw heat in his eyes. They were locked on hers and she felt her whole body flush and pulse in response. What had seemed like a good idea, to call Matt out, now seemed an obvious, horrible mistake. The detached tone of their earlier conversation had left and everything personal was flooding in. She didn’t know how to respond, couldn’t respond, as her lips parted and she struggled to breathe in and out.
“Kate, are you sure you’re ready to hear more? Are you ready to ask me about the things you want to know?” He was being gentle in his voice, the same soft whisper that had once been in her ear, the same careful handling when she was clearly in over her head.
“Why now, Matt? What’s changed?”
“Everything, and nothing, Kate. I’m not the same man you knew, just as you aren’t the same woman, but what’s between us hasn’t gone away and never will.” He reached out and covered her hand with his. It felt warm, and strong, and all-encompassing.
“There wasn’t anything between us.” She pulled her hand from under his and tucked both hands under her legs, away from the temptation to touch him. She couldn’t let herself get drawn back into the belief that their love was mutual.
“How can you say that, Kate? How can you speak to how I felt about us?” He was lawyering her now, using her own argument about not speaking for someone else against her. It left her cold and brought out the clear, precise, objective words and voice she used as a surgeon.
“Because you told me. You looked me in the eye the morning after we made love and you said, ‘Katie, I’m sorry. I don’t love you.’ Then you proved it by walking out and not coming back, not answering my calls, my e-mails, my letters, and running from the sight of me. That’s how I know how you felt about us.” The ache in her throat was intensifying but she was not going to cry, despite the burning feeling that was pooling behind her eyes.
“I lied to you.”
Her eyes flew to his.
“Why? Why would you do that? Was I that disappointing? That bad in bed that it was worth throwing everything else that was good about us away?” Gone now was her composure and with it her pride, and out came the most painful thought
