The provider conference room was empty, all except Jon, who squeaked the desk chair and scrolled through his phone.
The dating app Thomas had set him up on had been buzzing in his pocket so much it’d given him a bloated ego. His doctor title hadn’t deterred any girls yet… though they didn’t know what kind of doctor he was; he’d left that juicy nugget conveniently out of his profile.
He swiped through the potential matches, almost subconsciously eliminating anyone who didn’t look like Cassidy. Maybe he hoped he’d stumble across her profile, they’d match up, and they’d have a good laugh over it and fall into another backseat escapade. He shifted in his chair, blowing out a sigh as he swiped no on another blonde.
Speaking of blondes, Kami, the office manager scurried in, her long hair pulled tightly back into a ponytail. She shuffled through her conference notes, offering a busied smile at Jon before sitting at the head of the table.
“Sorry I’m running late,” she rushed out, bending to slip off her very high heels, as she did in every provider meeting. Jon set his phone down on the tabletop.
“You should be,” he teased. “Look at all of us you’ve kept waiting.”
She let out a breathy laugh as Jon gestured to the empty seats. Doctors were notorious for running late—Jon just hadn’t gotten the memo to that yet.
“O’Neal had a D&C this morning,” she said, “and the midwives are still in their own meeting. They should be here—”
The chaotic noise of the midwives filtered in, Kami’s smile widened, and she pointed over her shoulder. “Any second,” she finished. Debbie, Nat, and Pete all came in, laughing at whatever they’d been talking about. The two women sat on Jon’s left, leaving a seat between him and them while Pete slammed down on Jon’s right.
“How’s it going?” he said with a friendly pat on the back. Pete was twenty years Jon’s senior and one of two male midwives in the state. He was beloved by all his patients, who—if given the opportunity—would boast about his bedside manner, his knowledge, and how they would have a hundred of their kids delivered by him. Jon was lucky to be Pete’s first choice when a c-section was called for.
“Okay,” Kami said, rising to her feet. She started her routine pacing as the meeting began. Pete squeaked his chair along with Jon. “It’ll be a short meeting today, and I’ll catch O’Neal up later this afternoon on everything. First thing first, we still haven’t found the missing money from Blue Cross.” She tapped her finger on what looked like a bunch of bills. “They were marked paid in full, but the numbers aren’t matching up. It may be the new system we’re on, but we have Cassidy and Shellie on it. Hopefully it’ll turn up soon, and we can figure this out, especially for you, Jon.”
“Heaven forbid our doctor doesn’t get paid,” Nat teased. They all chuckled at the dig; even with the missing funds, Jon got a heck of a lot more patients than the midwives. Jon’s gut twisted as his smile died away. He hoped Cassidy wasn’t responsible for it or wasn’t that bad at her job. The picture of her walking out the door with a box full of Marvel toys didn’t sit well with him, no matter how much money was missing from his account.
“I was only saying because he’s new,” Kami said, obviously more concerned than amused by their doctor humor. “It took us long enough to find another doc for the practice.”
Nat made a face at Debbie like she was a five-year-old scolded by her mother, and they both shared a silent laugh at Kami’s expense. Jon quirked a grin at their antics. He liked the practice so far; it was a good group of people. Maybe he should be attempting to hang out with the docs more than focusing on coming off as a real person to the employees.
“That brings me to our second, and last, thing on the agenda—”
“Whoop!” Pete cheered, his loud clap jolting Jon in his seat. “Let’s get this done so we can go home!”
“Or to the hospital,” Jon joked. There’d been too many times he’d gotten home only to be called back while his microwave dinner was still rotating.
Kami dropped her papers back on the table and sat down. “It’s that time of year again…”
The three midwives’ smiles disappeared into oblivion, and they all slammed their heads on the table like it was some ritual Jon wasn’t privy to.
What the…?
“Not it!” called Pete, his voice muffled by the table. Debbie and Nat looked to each other and said the same thing at the same time, then came down to rock, paper, scissors. Jon’s brow furrowed as Debbie came out the winner, and Nat pitched a fit, sulking in her chair like a five-year-old in time out.
“Anyone want to tell me what’s going on?” Jon asked.
Kami shook her head at Nat, then turned her eyes on him. “It’s the annual hospital protocol conference in Olympia. Per our contract, we’re required to send one person from each department in the clinic. One doctor, one midwife, one receptionist, one billing rep, and one nurse.” She lifted a shoulder. “And since O’Neal isn’t here, you’re the lucky doctor who gets to attend.”
Jon tilted his head as a heavy hand fell to his shoulder. The weathered, concerned eyes of his colleague met his. “My condolences,” Pete said, patting him twice.
It couldn’t be that bad, could it? Jon had gone to several conferences before—free food, free hotel stay… Sure, endure a couple of boring classes, but a week off sounded nice.
“When is it?” he asked Kami.
“Next week. Five days, four nights.”
“And my patients?”
“We’ll take over,” Pete said, gesturing to himself and Debbie. “O’Neal will, too. Everyone will be covered, but you’ll want to let the induction patients know. See if they want to reschedule.”
Jon nodded, making the note in his phone. “What hotel are we staying at? Do I need to make reservations in the conference block?”
“That’s all taken care of,” Kami said. “I’ll email you all the details once we figure out who is all going. We’re still waiting to hear from the reception department. Now that we know what doc and midwife are going, please let your nurses know. One of them will need to be the rep for the nurse department.”
That left billing… and since Kami didn’t say they were still waiting on that department, Jon assumed that decision was made already.
The only two he knew in the department were Cassidy and Shellie, and they were both working on the financial crisis. Did that mean she was staying behind?
His heart thumped unevenly as his thumb hovered over the notes in his phone. He prayed his voice would sound composed and indifferent when he spoke.
“So… What billing rep will be joining us?”