Page 9 of Doctor Daddy

“You can see people coming and going. You don’t have to keep track of who has left their offices, they are responsible for that. Your job is to help get people coming in the front door up to the right floor. People are always forgetting where their doctor’s office is. Hell, half the time they can’t remember the name of their doctor. That’s where this comes in handy.”

She leaned over me and wiggled the computer mouse. The computer screen woke up from the swirling screensaver. She typed in a password. And then flipped over the mouse. There was a word written on it on a piece of tape.

“That’s the password. IT makes us change it every ninety days. And none of us can remember it when it changes. Plus, there are a few of us who run this desk. Don’t share it with anyone.”

I nodded. It was a well-known secret, but only for those of us who worked the desk.

She clicked on a program, and a database popped up. “It’s easy, if they can’t remember their doctor or the floor, you can search by their last name, and it should return with their appointment information. Of course, this only works if they’ve put the information incorrectly.” She pointed up, indicating the offices on the floors above us.

“Brooke?”

Nerves danced along my spine at the familiar deep voice. I braced myself and turned. Damn, the man was fine. “Doctor Mark.” I flinched, remembering only after I greeted him to just call him Mark.

“So, your new job is here at the welcome desk?”

I nodded. “It is. What are you doing here?”

“My office is upstairs. You knew I practiced here.”

“I guess, I hadn’t really put two and two together,” I admitted.

“It will be good to see your smiling face on a daily basis. I’ll see you later.” He winked and continued toward the elevators.

I watched him stride away. A different kind of shudder shot through my body. I could still remember exactly what his very capable hands felt like.

“You know Dr. Bryant?”

I couldn’t quite read Terry’s tone. Was she surprised or concerned?

“Friend of my parents.” I didn’t think it would be a good idea to tell her exactly how I knew him because I wasn’t sure if she knew that Dr. DeBoise was my dad. Being the kid of the Chief Surgeon might not be readily accepted. Especially since I had gotten this job more from his influence than from my own merits.

“Oh.” She pursed her lips and her eyebrows went up.

“What? Why?” I was curious now.

“It’s just that the doctors here pretty much don’t pay any attention to us, support staff. And well, Dr. Bryant is… um…”

“He’s hot,” I finished for her.

“Exactly,” she said with a giggle.

We spent the rest of my few hours there going over how the phone system worked. I had a real-life case of someone forgetting which doctor they were there for, and I got a chance to use the database to locate their appointment.

“You did great. Tomorrow when you come back, I’ll do a little less, and you can do a little bit more.”

I left work feeling good about the job for the first time since I started. I would get to see Mark. The thought of that had my skin prick with anticipation.

I should have packed a change of clothes for meeting Angela for lunch. I stuck out like a sore thumb when I walked into the burrito shop. I expected someone at any moment to run up to me and demand medical attention. I wasn’t a medical professional, I told people what floor their doctor’s office was, and for some reason, I had to do that in scrubs.

I went through the line and ordered my burrito. I was munching on chips and salsa when Angela finally joined me.

“Oh, don’t you look fancy and professional,” she said as she took a seat.

“They’re the wrong colors. They want me to wear pastels.”

“Ew, pastels? Did you quit on the spot?”

“No, but it was tempting. Especially after the gala. I just don’t look good in pastels.”

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