11. Luke
LUKE
“ G ood to have you back, Gallo,” I tell my partner when he walks into my office, one that’s finally clean, making it my first priority before Shae comes in for her check-up with him.
She’s officially not my patient and hasn’t since I released her.
Officially removing myself from her chart this morning without checking on Shae’s lab results or ask her about them, yeah, that was damn hard.
Sunday night, we both ended up passing out, me for a couple of hours, Shae for even longer.
The dinging of the alarm alert going off that someone was requesting to enter through the service entrance woke me, reminding me that I’d placed an order for groceries.
Once all the bags were placed on the massive kitchen island, I gave the delivery driver a massive tip for the more-than-normal-sized order.
The good news is the fridge and pantry are restocked, which came in handy when Shae joined me in the living room.
She looked so goddamn beautiful my chest hurt.
I had my arm over the side of the couch, my other propped on the arm rest, and she climbed in right beside me, her head in the crook of my neck.
My woman is a cuddler. She likes to be held, the closer the better.
When my stomach started growling, right on cue with it getting later in the evening, I knew I’d have to get up from the couch and make us something to eat.
Shae helped chop the vegetables, and I sautéed the chicken and what she diced up, boiled the noodles, and we had a stir fry of sorts.
We ate on the couch, her tucked in next to me while a movie played, and when it got later in the night, neither of us said a word.
I simply held my hand out, she took it, and we went back to bed.
The next morning, I dropped her off at her apartment, kissed her until the last minute, and came to work.
She was nervous the entire time, waiting on the results she’ll receive.
I did everything I could to keep her mind off it, and still, Shae worried her bottom lip, nearly chewing the skin raw.
I kept in constant contact and was about to call in sick myself if it weren’t for Gallo being out of the office already.
We stopped at her apartment last night. This time, she packed a small bag, and we stayed at my place again.
I did similar this morning by dropping her off, telling Shae I’d see her after her appointment, and we’d grab a quick bite to eat.
It was on the tip of my tongue to ask if she wanted me in the exam room today.
I didn’t, and now my gut is swirling with regret.
“Glad to be here. You won’t believe this.
The medicine they gave my father to combat his congestive heart failure, it seems he and my mom got the medicines all mixed up, doubling on doses one day, not taking anything the next.
It wasn’t until I sat down with them to look at the prescriptions that I put two and two together.
” Jesus, he can’t catch a break. I get it; multiple pills twice a day can get confusing, especially if they’re switching up combinations as much as they have the past few months.
“Damn, no wonder he’s been in and out of the hospital as much as he has. Everything okay now?” I ask, not for selfish reasons but out of pure genuine concern.
“Seems to be. This is day four, and everything has been good as of this morning. I only hope this week, I can actually be at work without the world coming to an end.” I wince with the news I’m about to deliver.
“Well, about that.” I prop myself on the side of my desk.
“If it’s bad news, I don’t want it. I already owe you a damn arm and a leg for covering my ass for as long as you have.
” Gallo looks like death has warmed over, as if he’s been dragged through hell and back.
Maybe I shouldn’t tell him jack shit about Shae and me.
Except, I’m not keeping this a fucking secret.
She’s too good for that, and I’ve already fought myself over the idea of not going after her long enough.
Even if it's not been week or date specific, it’s easy to get lost in the woman who’s Shaelyn Parker.
“Could be, depending on how you look at it.” Gallo walks into my office, closing the door behind him and staying near it. Probably a good idea with the couple of gossip mongers who work here.
“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 a deep 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.