Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Oaklee
“Good morning,” I sing as I enter the clinic and head for the nurses’ station.
Allison arrived minutes before me and spins around. “You’re awfully happy. I heard you had an exciting weekend out at the farm,” she suggests, waggling her eyebrows.
“Oh, stop it,” I tell her, slipping my purse into the cabinet for personal belongings. “Nothing happened.”
“Nothing?” she asks, tracking my movements with her eyes.
“Well, nothing but a little kissing.”
She gasps. “I knew it! Tell me everything!”
I shake my head, setting my coffee down on the desk beside the computer I use. “I don’t kiss and tell,” I tease.
“Of course you do!” she proclaims, grabbing her own coffee and spinning her chair to give me her undivided attention. “Spill.”
“Well, he invited me to come out to the fish fry and bonfire at Wyatt’s place.
He knew I had never been on a four-wheeler, so he took me for a little trip around the property.
I had a really good time. Met a lot of people who I’ll recognize moving forward but won’t remember their names,” I tell her with a chuckle. I’ve always been good with faces.
“Then…”
“Then, I had a few drinks around the bonfire. It was a good time, honestly. I’ve never laughed that hard in my life. Cade and his friends are something else.”
She nods. “Their antics are legendary,” she agrees. “Anyone could give you stories for days. Did he sing?”
I feel my cheeks heat up as I remember the sound of his voice. It was pure honey and sex, that’s for sure. “He did.”
“He’s good, isn’t he? I’ve heard him sing before, but usually somewhere when he just belts out a song,” she says with a laugh.
I can totally see it. Cade has that type of personality.
She sips her coffee and asks, “So, are you ready for today?”
Switching gears to talk about work, I start my computer and prepare to log in. “As ready as I can be.”
“I was told the physicians’ schedule is here. Apparently, there are three physicians going to be filling in for Doc. One Monday and Wednesday, another on Thursday and Saturday, and a third for Tuesday and Friday.”
“I nod. “Makes sense. I’m glad it’s a set schedule and we don’t find out who the doc is until they show up,” I say, going through my log in process. When the system is on my screen, I check today’s schedule over. The first appointments should be arriving any minute to truly get our day started.
When our phone buzzes, Allison grabs it first. “Yes?” She listens for a moment and adds, “We’ll be right up.” As soon as she replaces the phone on the receiver, she says, “Fiona would like us to come up front for a moment.”
I nod, grabbing my coffee and following Allison up to the office. Becky is at the front desk, checking in a patient, as we head to Fiona’s desk near the back. “Good morning,” she greets with a pleasant smile.
“Morning,” I reply.
“Okay, I’ll make this quick. Dina is on her way in and will work from here today.
She has finalized the schedule for specialty services that we will begin utilizing here at the clinic.
We’re starting with Podiatry services on Fridays, both morning and afternoon appointments, and also a combination of gastroenterology on Tuesday mornings and orthopedic on Thursday afternoons. ”
“Wow, that’s great,” Allison says.
Fiona nods. “It really is. Dina and I talked, and on those days, Allison will take the specialty services patients, while Oaklee, you’ll handle the regular clinic patients.”
“Understood,” I reply.
“Apparently, they started scheduling appointments last week for these services, and we already have several patients scheduled for this week.”
My eyes widen.
“This week?” Allison asks.
“Yes. The podiatry services have been in the works for a while, while the other two services are fairly new in discussion. However, when they started calling patients who are on a waitlist at other clinics, they found it fairly easy to start filling a schedule.”
“Wow, that’s great. I thought it would take longer to get those started,” Allison adds.
“Honestly, me too, but once the ball started rolling that way, it just all fell into place. The physicians had clinic availability, so working out an updated schedule and whatnot seemed painless.” She pulls out two sheets of paper and hands one to each of us.
“This is the schedule for the rest of the month. It’s also been updated in the system, so you can check there when needed.
But I wanted to show you the physicians who are coming to us until Doc comes back.
Mondays and Wednesdays will be Dr. Rhenna Barnland, Tuesdays and Fridays will be Dr. Lance Williams, and Thursday and Saturday morning will be Dr. Beverly Clawton. ”
A swishing fills my ears as I register her words. I scan the paper, searching for a name and praying I misheard somehow.
But there it is.
Dr. Lance Williams.
And I’ll be his nurse on Tuesdays and Fridays directly.
“Oaklee? Is something wrong?”
I glance up, my eyes wide. “What?”
“You just gasped.”
“Oh,” I reply with an awkward chuckle, clearing my throat. I’m suddenly parched, so I take a quick drink of my iced coffee. “Uhhh…”
“Dr. Williams is her ex,” Allison announces, clearly picking up on my lack of ability to speak all of a sudden.
“Oh, no. I didn’t realize that,” Fiona says, shuffling a few papers. “I can ask Dina if we can do some finagling.”
“No,” I blurt out. Even though I’d rather have a root canal with no numbing medicine, I won’t ask for my new bosses to switch things around.
I refuse to be a high-maintenance employee, even though I really want to.
If they were to ask me to be the RN for specialty services, then great, but I refuse to ask for a change.
Even if I really, really want to.
“It’s fine,” I state with an awkward chuckle. “Really. We parted on decent terms. I can handle working with him for a few hours.”
“Well, it would be more than a few hours,” Fiona says. “I mean, it’s two days a week.”
“I don’t mind switching,” Allison interjects, trying to help.
“I appreciate that, really, but it’s fine. I know Allison is the better fit for specialty services. She’s filled in for some of them at other clinics, so she knows the routine,” I state.
Fiona nods. “That is true, which is why we chose her over you. She’s already cross-trained in their procedures.”
“I’ll be fine, promise,” I say, trying to sound lighter than I feel.
“All right, but if there’s any issues, I want you to tell me ASAP. I mean it.”
I nod a few times and take another drink. “Will do, Fiona.”
Just then, the door opens and Dina walks in. “Morning, all,” she says breezily as she passes through the front office and heads for the corner desk she uses when she works from this office.
“Hi, Dina,” Allison says.
“Hi,” I add, feeling a bit numb still.
“We’re gonna get ready for the first patients,” Allison says, practically dragging me out of the front office area. The moment we get back to the nurses’ station, she asks, “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.”
“I can’t believe Lance is going to be one of the doctors covering for Dr. Houston.”
“Me either,” I mutter, wishing what I heard wasn’t true.
“Well, if he gives you problems, let me know. I’ll gladly switch with you and make his life a living hell,” she vows, making me laugh.
“I don’t think that’s necessary, but I do appreciate the offer.”
“All right, let’s get to work. I’ll take the first patient back to Room 1, and you take room 2.”
“On it,” I tell her, taking the chart she hands over and following her to the front waiting area.
Time to get to work.
* * *
I’ve tried not to think about Lance or the fact I’ll be working with him two days a week, but it’s been increasingly difficult as the day continues. I’m worried I won’t be able to remain professional, when all I’ll want to do is punch him in the junk every time he opens his mouth.
“You okay?” Allison asks as we pass each other in the doorway of the nurses’ station.
“Yeah, of course. Why?”
“Well, you’ve been standing there, glaring at the wall for the last thirty seconds.”
Exhaling, I shake my head. “I’m just…thinking.”
“Yeah, I bet. Maybe a little one-on-one time with a sexy construction worker will help improve your mood later,” she suggests, waggling her eyebrows.
“Stop.”
“No way. I think you should pursue something with him. He’s obviously into you, and a few orgasms does a woman good after a breakup with a shitty boyfriend. Believe me, I know.”
My own eyebrows shoot heavenward. “Know how?”
She shrugs and leans in close. “There was a guy. He wasn’t the best to look at, but he was packing and knew how to use it. He helped me get over Zack in under a month.”
I snort a laugh and shake my head. “You’re bad.”
She shrugs. “A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.
Remember that.” She moves to the hallway, chart tucked under her arm.
“I’m certain Cade would help you forget all about the douche, and since he’s not looking for anything serious, you wouldn’t have to worry about that. Just have some fun, Oaklee.”
I open my mouth to respond when Becky pokes her head around the corner. “Hey, Oaklee. You just received another delivery.”
“Mmhmm, a delivery,” Allison mutters as I pass her, heading toward the front office.
Sitting on the counter is a small plastic bag with a white container inside. I grab the bag, feeling three sets of eyes on me. Without answering the questions they don’t have a chance to ask, I return to my workstation and pull the Styrofoam container out. Written on the top is a note.
Thought you’d appreciate something sweet to get you through your afternoon. ~C
The handwriting is too pretty to be his, which tells me he made another call and placed an order for delivery. When I open the lid, I find a large slice of cheesecake with chocolate slivers and a drizzle of fudge over the top.
“Oh my God, that looks delicious,” Allison says, entering the room behind me.
“Doesn’t it?”
“From the diner. They delivered?”