Chapter 17 Right Decision
RIGHT DECISION
“Ihave to say, I’m impressed with your experience and range of departments.”
“Thank you,” Saylor said. She was at her first interview on Monday morning.
“What made you want to come to California? It’s not part of the NLC, which obviously explains you changing jobs so much.”
She didn’t want to say she followed a guy here. That would sound stupid and irresponsible.
Already people saw she had a new job every six to twelve months and it could be a turn off, which was why she made sure it was the first thing on her cover letter or application that she was a traveling nurse.
“I’ve been moving so much and decided I’d like a place to land.”
“So you aren’t thinking of leaving in a year?”
This guy was a hard sell. She knew it. But they were short staffed like most hospitals in the area.
“It’s not the plan,” she said. Best way to be honest. She didn’t know what a month would bring.
Maybe she and Rowan wouldn’t get along.
But she didn’t believe that.
Friday night, she’d been exhausted when she’d arrived, but he’d been so considerate and sweet.
Had dinner there, did everything she asked to show her around. He didn’t even make a move toward sex. She would have welcomed it, but once she lay down, her eyes shut and she was out until he brought her a coffee on Saturday morning in bed.
She’d spent all day putting her clothes and possessions away and trying not to disturb his belongings.
He noticed it and told her to cut it out. She could move anything she wanted, he didn’t care.
He was so accommodating in the mountain cabin, but she thought it was because she was a guest.
Was he like that normally or was she still considered a guest?
Ugh! How do you know that?
“That’s good. This position is third shift. There is a five thousand dollar signing bonus.”
She hadn’t known that. “Wow,” she said. The bonus was nice, the pay was too when it was listed and then the differential for the third shift.
Not her preferred shift. She always opted for second if she had a choice so she still felt as if she wasn’t sleeping the whole day away.
Though with working nights, she could sleep when Rowan was working, and she’d be working when he was sleeping.
“The schedule changes every month. It’s made in advance. It’s not the same days each week, so some weeks you’re working weekends, others you’ve got one day off on the weekend.”
“Not two days in a row?” she asked. It was rare for that. Every hospital did things differently.
“No. With your experience, you’ll either go into the ER or on one of the ICU floors. I’ll have to find out where the greatest need is. It’s possible you might be a floater for a period of time. Moving where it’s needed.”
Not the best thing to do, but she could.
“When are you going to decide?” she asked.
Michael, who was interviewing her, smiled. “I already have. There is no reason not to offer you the job.”
Saylor hadn’t expected that. Not when she wanted to go to her interview this afternoon.
She’d be honest. “I have another interview this afternoon that I’d like to attend. It’d be fair to hear them out and not cancel.”
His smile dropped. “Of course. We have a lot of other applicants.”
Now he was yanking her chain. If he did, he wouldn’t have offered her the job on the spot.
“I’ll let you know in the morning. I just arrived in town on Friday and am getting settled and trying to figure out what works the best in terms of location and schedules.”
“Understand completely,” Michael said and stood up.
Interview over. She put her hand out and shook his, then left and returned to her SUV. She didn’t need four-wheel drive now if she stayed in California.
Which she had to get out of her head.
She’d been here two full days.
Were they great days? Yes!
For no other reason than her time with Rowan.
It felt as if they’d never left the cabin on the mountains with the exception of the ocean over the snow.
She had to admit, she was loving the beach and the warmer weather.
Since she grew up in Arizona, the summer heat wouldn’t bother her. The winters did more and they would be a thing of the past. If everything worked out.
She had two hours to kill. This was only ten minutes from Rowan’s. She could go home, but then the next interview was twenty minutes away in the other direction. So thirty from where she was.
Maybe she could check out where some things were and hope she didn’t get stuck in traffic.
She pulled her phone out, looked for what was close to where her next interview was and headed in that direction.
Ninety minutes later, she was walking out of a home goods store.
One thing she never did was buy decorations for her temporary lodging.
This time, she bought a colorful throw blanket to put on the sectional and a tall glass vase in blues and greens that you couldn’t see inside of to stick her treatments in and have them close by.
She drove a few minutes to her next interview. An urgent care center. She hadn’t worked at one before but was thrilled when she got the call.
She was twenty minutes early, but walked in anyway. Better to be prompt.
When she was called in five minutes early, she stood up and made her way down the hall and into an office.
“Hi, I’m Nicole Ackman.”
“Saylor Beach.” She shook hands and sat when motioned.
“I have to tell you, I was all but drooling over your resume when we got it. Your experience would fit in well here. We aren’t as busy as an ER, but it can happen.”
“I enjoy a fast-paced environment.” It made the time fly by.
“I see you’re new to California but have your temporary license.”
She explained the situation and that she wanted to put roots down. “Now I’m looking for what might be the best fit for a career.”
“I hope it’s here,” Nicole said. “The benefit we have over hospitals is that we are closed at night. Our hours are eight to eight and we get some holidays off. Not all, but the major ones.”
“That’s great,” she said.
“We don’t pay as much for those reasons and some people don’t like that.”
Normally she’d factor that all in and she should, but Rowan had made it clear he would not be taking her money for any living expenses. She could take care of food and decor or activities... maybe.
She wanted to argue, but told herself they’d work it out another day.
“I’ll weigh my options. What’s the schedule like?”
“It’s a set schedule. Three twelve-hour days, then one six-hour day. Four days in a row, then three days off.”
“Really?” That was almost unheard of.
“Yes. That is how we appeal to prospects,” Nicole said.
“This position would be Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, seven thirty to eight, or when the last patient is out, could be thirty minutes later, then Wednesday, seven thirty to two. You’ll get out on time then, as your replacement arrives at one thirty to shift patients over.
You won’t return until Sunday morning again unless we are short staffed or you volunteer for shifts. ”
She was doing the math in her head. She’d be getting OT each week just by coming in before they opened to get ready for the day and then staying late.
The three full days off in a row were great.
“That sounds wonderful.”
They talked for thirty minutes more and she was walking out the door with an offer too. She said the same thing she’d told Michael. She’d let them know in the morning.
When she returned to Rowan’s, the house was empty and completely peaceful.
She grabbed a drink and went to sit on the deck off the living room to look at the beach and call her grandmother.
“Hi, Saylor. How did the interviews go?”
“I got two job offers.”
“That’s fabulous. I didn’t have any doubt. Did you accept one?”
“I will, but I’m weighing the pros and cons.”
“You’ve never had that luxury before, have you?”
“No.” Which might be why this was so hard. In the past, she went wherever she was assigned, as long as she was happy to move to that city.
“Give me your options. You obviously want my opinion.”
She told her grandmother what her choices were. “So ten minutes away in the hospital working third shift.”
“Which you don’t care for.”
“No. There is a five thousand dollar signing bonus and it’s a lot more money, but the schedule is always changing. I’m used to that.”
“But not used to being in a relationship like you are now and worrying about it.”
“Exactly. The other position is a set schedule. Fewer days, but longer ones. I get three days off in a row. Half a day Wednesday, all Thursday, Friday and Saturday.”
“That sounds perfect. Why aren’t you jumping on it?”
“It’s twenty minutes away. Not the end of the world, but with traffic could be worse. At least I’m guessing that. It doesn’t pay as much and no signing bonus.”
“Saylor. Money isn’t everything. I know you’re bothered Rowan isn’t letting you contribute much, but use that time to put money away. Place your relationship first and what you think works for the two of you. Not just you, but him also.”
“I’m not used to talking over my jobs with a guy.”
“You’re not used to living with one either.”
She snorted. “Good point. I’ll talk to him tonight.”
“When would you start?” her grandmother asked. “On either job?”
“The hospital would like me to start right away. The urgent care said if I accepted, they’d like me to come in on Thursday for training and paperwork, then start on Sunday for my first shift.”
Which gave her a few more days to settle and still get her feet under her from the drive.
She’d never traveled so far before in a short time.
She felt as if it was still weighing on her body, her blood sugar struggling to adapt, which in turn made her feel off.
That was the thing with third shift. Changing her sleep patterns also changed her settings in her pump and her body never had time to regulate to it.
One more thing to take into consideration.
“You’ll make the right decision for you,” her grandmother said. “And if it doesn’t work, you find another job. You are constantly changing, so it’s unrealistic to expect you’ll know immediately what will and won’t work.”
She sighed. “I know. I just get sick of Mom telling me all the time I can’t commit and I run when I’m done with things.”
“Don’t you dare listen to your mother. She doesn’t know what she’s talking about. If she paid more attention to what your sister was doing to you or how they dismissed you in favor of Sandy more, then she’d understand what you did was self-preservation mode.”
“Yeah,” she said.
She wanted to fit in more than anything in life. Even in her own family.
It never happened and was best to move on. She had a good relationship with her parents now, but they never understood her either.
Life was calmer that way.
That didn’t mean she couldn’t commit or stick to something. It just meant she was trying to find her place.
But was California with Rowan it?