Page 18 of Secret Seduction
“Fuck. Well, give it to me straight.”
“Your patient, Shaelynn Parker.” I put my hands in my pocket, waiting for him to be more than pissed off at me.
“Yeah, something happen I should be made aware of?”
“Nothing medically. I haven’t looked at her chart since we started seeing one another. This happened after I released her from the hospital. It seems she’s in tight with the ladies of our friend group. Don’t know if Lennie told you or not.” He arches a brow. I shrug. At least he’s not pissed.
“Damn, when you boys fall, you fall hard, and you fall fast.” Gallo shakes his head, a chuckle leaving him.
“You’re not wrong. Which, just to let you know, you’ve been missed. Hopefully now that things are getting better, we’ll see you there.” I stand up, realizing the time. Patients will more than likely be stacked in rooms within the next few minutes.
“Barring nothing else happens. Back to Shaelynn Parker. Have you seen her pathology report yet?” Gallo asks, switching into doctor mode. My hackles rise, worry sets in the pit of my gut, and now I’m worried he’ll be delivering news to her she might not like and hearing it alone.
“Nope. She hasn’t either. You let me know if she needs someone, and I’ll be there or make the call to the girls. Shae’s your patient from here on out. If you’re out and there’s a reason she needs to be seen, we’ll use one of the doctors on rotation in the hospital. That also leads me to the next part of business we should discuss.” I go to finish my sentence, but Gallo beats me to it.
“We need a third, and soon. I’ll work on the logistics this week. You take some time off when you need to.” He takes adeep breath. “As for Shaelynn, she’ll be good. Ready to get to work?”
Fuck, I feel like I’ve aged ten plus years while waiting for him to settle the nerves building inside of me. Shae brought it a up a couple of times, only stating she wondered when she’d get the results. I’d listen to her, not offer up any sort of advice, even when I could have told her to check online. But I hate when my own patients do that and get the wrong information.
“Yeah, let’s get this show on the road. The sooner we start, the sooner our day will be over,” I state.
“Happy for you, in case I didn’t say that earlier about Shaelynn.” Gallo opens the door to my office.
“Thanks. Seems like everyone is settling down. I didn’t think it’d happen to me, wasn’t even on my radar. She’s it for me, though. When you’re done with Shae’s appointment, will you show her to my office? We’re going to grab some lunch today.” He moves through the door first. I follow suit, grabbing my white coat off the hook. I still need to do a couple of things before seeing patients, like head to the charging dock to pick up my tablet, stop to grab another cup of coffee, and say my hellos to the staff. We try not to be pretentious assholes. The downside of walking around the front is, sometimes patients are in the waiting area, and they try to start up a conversation with you. Then there are the drug reps. While they help, and we can give out free samples, it also means having to talk to them when I could be seeing my patients. A double-edged sword. The reps do a lot, give more, and while I know it’s a tax write-off for their company to host lunches and dinner, it’s still a time suck.
“Will do. Maybe this will get you in and out of rooms with patients faster. Something worth getting home for.” Gallo isn’t wrong, and since he tosses me a look over his shoulder, he doesn’t see Marissa or her counterpart, Nadine, walking together while I name-dropped Shae and he followed it up.
Fuck me. I swear to Christ if this bitch starts some shit in our office, not even her last name will save her from the wrath I’ll send her way. Her father may be on the board at the hospital, but I’ve got more money than he does. I’ve also got a brotherhood that has no problem stepping in to take care of a problem.
“Good morning.” I nod my head at the duo. Realization hits Gallo, but he’s got a poker face much like me.
“Morning, ladies, are the rooms ready?” he asks with professionalism. Those two are going to be a problem. We’ve talked about it before. It was harmless then, but the gleam in Nadine’s eyes and the sickly-sweet smile Marissa has on her face sets alarm bells off.
“Good morning, Doctor Camden, Doctor Gallo,” Marissa lays it on thick.
“Good morning. The rooms are ready and Doctor Camden, you have a no-show, no-call,” another nurse, Susan, who’s stepped into Lennie’s role with an ease I didn’t expect, says, interrupting the conversation.
“If you’ll excuse me.” I move to the side. “Susan, will you show me the schedule?” It’s a shit thing to do, leaving Gallo with the vipers. He’ll pay me back in some way, and I’ll be more than ready.
12
SHAE
“Shaelynn Parker,” my name is called in the waiting room. I’m surrounded by women of all ages from the youthful to the elderly. It seems we’re all here for different reasons. My thoughts have officially gone haywire with the news I’ll be receiving today.
I stand up, wishing Lennie were here, but since that’s near to impossible given her state of pregnancy and her protective husband, that’s unlikely to happen. Luke even mentioned he’d be surprised to see her back at work, but I think he’ll be in for a shock. She’s independent to a fault, and while I know she’ll love and dote on her babies every waking moment, she’s hinted at working part-time at the very least.
“Hi,” I say to whom I know is a medical assistant. The badge clipped to her scrub top should state her name, but it’s flipped over and only shows the clinic name.
“Come this way, please.” Her words come off abrasive,and while I’d usually be annoyed, it is still early in the day. Maybe she hasn’t had her coffee or something. I know how I am without some type of caffeine.
We head to the scale, where I hear a light snicker coming from behind me. It’s on the tip of my tongue to say something, but I think better of it when another assistant walks past her. She then has me sit down, takes my blood pressure, heart rate, and temperature. Through it all, she stays quiet, and I’m still unable to see her badge to put her face with a name.
“Your blood pressure is a little higher than it should be. Are you worried about your results?” What an odd fucking thing to say out loud in the open area where I’ve never once had to discuss anything like this. It’s also very peculiar, considering the last time I was here, these things weren’t done in a small alcove, and Lennie definitely didn’t say anything until we were in a room.
“What’s your name?” I ask instead, choosing not to speak on what she has to say. I’m beginning to think this person either has a chip on her shoulder and takes it out on the world or she doesn’t particularly care for me.
“Oh, I’m Marissa.” Interestingly enough, she fixes her badge without me asking or looking at where it’s attached.
