“He told you to hide his test results from me?” I asked.

“He said corporate succession planning called for restricted medical access,” Dr.

Vance said, looking down at his desk blotter.

“I told him full transparency was standard practice during active cycles, but he claimed legal privilege.”

He drew a yellow carbon receipt from inside a gray binder and laid it on the metal counter between us.

“This is the administrative receipt for the locked master files,” Dr.

Vance said, turning his face away as he nudged the paper across the counter with one finger.