Chapter 5
The next morning at the office, Zoe couldn’t stop thinking about her night with Gavin or the fact that she’d agreed to a second date with His Annoyingness. Why had she agreed when she’d finally satisfied her curiosity about what a night out with him would be like? Oh right. Because he made her laugh, made her burn, and replaced her sad memories with bright, happy ones.
Who knew that the man who could bench press two-fifty, flex his ass to impress, and thought himself hilarious could also be sensitive enough to care about whatsheliked, going so far as to arrange a gardening date?
She hadn’t enjoyed herself with a man so much in ages. Maybe years. They hadn’t done more than talk about flowering plants and vegetables, and kiss and hug, with no hands in any inappropriate places. She’d learned little about him though, other than that he was one of four siblings and that his parents had a small garden tended by his father at their house in Fremont. That and the fact he lived with Landon in a suburban home that didn’t lend itself to much greenery. And that was just fine with him.
Though he’d protested he had no idea what to do with plants, he’d been careful about not killing them. His large hands had been gentle when patting the few transplanted bulbs she’d overseen.
The magic of the night had gotten to her. A little too much maybe, because she’d made plans for a second date, enjoyed kisses that had ended way too quickly, and wanted another shot at the gorgeous and addicting Gavin Donnigan.
Her friend Cleo stuck her head in the office door. “Hey, woman. FYI, Swanson has a bug up his ass about the latest version of BymaHealth. Ginny made the mistake of picking up line 2. He wants you.” Ginny, another of Zoe’s trainers, loved dealing with Swanson, but he wasn’t interested in a date with the young woman, to her dismay.
Now that Zoe was firmly grounded, thanks to Cleo and the tenacious Mark Swanson, Gavin fled her mind. “Right.”
“Oh, and another thing. Ginny said Bill stopped by. He had to head out to resolve an issue at one of the clinics, so he’ll need to make up his evaluation. In other words, he won’t be here for your meeting in”—Cleo checked her phone for the time—“ten minutes. Also, I suggested to Tina that she see you Monday, after our new director’s committee meeting. Because you’re busy now.”
“Wait. What Monday meeting?”
“All the department heads need to start standardizing work flows. You’ll be there too…seven a.m. sharp.” As operations coordinator for SMP Medical Group, Cleo handled the logistics for everything. When it came to scheduling, her word was final.
“Seriously? Tina at any time is frightening. But on a Monday morning?”
Cleo grinned. “Drink lots of coffee and deal.”
“Right. So why am I busy now, exactly?”
“Because you have a meeting withme. I want to know why you’re daydreaming when you should be creating the training plan for our new immediate care clinic, which opens in… That’s right! Three months!”
Zoe groaned. “Don’t remind me.”
Cleo smirked. “Yet I see you in here daydreaming about something far more important than work. Hmm. What could it be? I know. It’s that studly self-defense coach at your gym, right? I want details about your date. Stat! Well, after Swanson’s done lighting your tail on fire.”
“Thanks so much.”
“Anytime. I’ll be right back.” Cleo left the office bubbly and no doubt thrilled not to have to deal with Mr. Scary.
Where was Bill’s sick kid now, when Zoe needed to cover for the guy far away from the office?
Dreading the call blinking at her on hold, she picked it up and forced herself to think positive thoughts. “Hello, this is Zoe speaking.”
A deep voice answered. “Jesus H.…Lana, not now.” A woman’s voice rose in the background.
Zoe blinked. “Jesus H. Lana? Is this some new religion I’m not aware of? I thought that usually ended in Christ.”
She heard him snap at someone and considered herself lucky not to be on the receiving end. Despite his brusqueness, she liked Swanson. He was their top clinic manager. Wickedly smart, shockingly handsome, autocratic, and a total hard-ass who didn’t mess around when it came to his job.
He growled, “Look, Ms. York. Today isnotthe day to screw with me. I’m covering for one of our other managers because his head is so far up his nineteen-year-old girlfriend’s ass he can’t see for the rainbows and unicorns she still watches on Nickelodeon.” Zoe totally knew who he was talking about. Unfortunately, the manager, Dan Garrison, had friends in high places, retaining his job at the expense of others. “Then there are our medical assistants who”—he raised his voice—“apparently think it’s okay to go on strike because I forgot to bring the replacement for the damn hazelnut coffee creamer!” He muttered a few more choice words under his breath while Zoe winced, feeling for him. The MAs working with Swanson didn’t mess around. Especially not when it came to their caffeine habit.
“So, uh, Mr. Swanson, what can I do for you?” She pulled out her trustyproblemsnotebook. Sometimes old school worked best when she’d have to be on the move later. She had a feeling she’d need to do a face-to-face with IT to get this handled. Ugh squared.
Lana’s diatribe in the background faded, so Swanson must have moved away from her before he said, “I need some remedial training for our two newest hires, because they’ve been fucking up the intakes.”
Swanson must have been seriously stressed for him to be swearing so much.
“Okay. I’ll talk to Lana to book their training time.” Zoe mentally selected her best trainer for the assignment. Lana was a top-notch MA who coordinated for all the medical assistants in Swanson’s clinic. She knew her stuff…and her coffee creamer, apparently. Zoe had to fight not to laugh.
“Good.Youtalk to Her Highness about scheduling.” He sighed. “We’ve also had complaints of laptops crashing when our people try to put in notes under the new patient template. Can you fix that ASAP? Oh, and the medication refills are slow. We’re getting a lot of pissed-off patient complaints from the pharmacy. And the patient demographics button sometimes has to be tapped three times before the data screen comes up. What’s that about?”
