“I’ll have to look it over some more and speak with my financial advisor,” I lied. It was the same pitiful excuse I gave the week before.
“Understood,” Dr. Pierce said with a wave of her hand. “We’re looking at a few different investors. But we’ve noticed your dedication to our patients since you started working here. We’d love for the investor to be you instead of some corporate investor whose only motive is profit gain.”
I sighed, knowing the feeling. Corporations often made healthcare possible, but it didn’t always make providing quality care to patients easy.
“I’ll see what I can do.”
The phone on Dr. Pierce’s desk rang. By the sound of the ring, I could tell it was Reese calling from the receptionist area.
“Hey, Reese?” She paused. “Shoot.” She glanced up at the clock on the wall. “I have to run over to the hospital to check on a patient, then I have another late appointment over at the other office.” She paused. “I hate to send them away.”
I gave her a curious look. “What’s going on?”
She covered the lower half of the phone. “There’s a walk-in, and I don’t have time to see them.”
“I can take care of them,” I said.
“Are you sure?” she asked with a dip in her eyebrows. “I know you’re supposed to leave soon, and you have some paperwork to get to.”
I waved her off. “Not a problem. I don’t have to pick Aiden up from school today. I have some time.”
I started for the front of the office. With any hope, this patient’s issue wasn’t anything serious. I could handle it quickly and get back to completing my paperwork before leaving for the day.
“Let’s see what we have,” I said as I took the patient chart from Reese’s desk. I scanned the form the patient had completed.
The female patient noted that she was experiencing abdominal pains. I scanned a little lower, and my heart rate sped up when I noticed the patient wrote that she was approximately twenty weeks pregnant.
“Okay, Miss…” I paused to look up the patient’s name.
“Wallace. Tricia Wallace,” a female voice said.
The familiar voice knocked the wind out of me. Looking up from the chart, I came face to face with Ace’s ex, or whatever she had been to him.
“Please, follow me,” I said as I went around the front desk and pushed open the door that led to the examination rooms. The last thing I needed was to disclose my real feelings in front of Reese.
I gripped the chart in my hand firmly and stood by the door to allow Tricia inside. She breezed past me. I thought I saw a ghost of a grin on her face, but she turned her head too quickly, almost smacking me in the face with her hair.
A queasy feeling developed in my stomach. I shook my head. I was at work, and this woman claimed she was pregnant and in need of assistance.
“Should I sit here?” she asked, her voice sounding innocent as she pointed toward the long chair with stirrups at the end.
“Yes.” I shut the door. “So, um, what brings you in today?”
“Isn’t it right there?” She directed her nose at the chart in my hand.
I gave her a tight smile. “I’d rather have you explain to me what brought you into Brightside today.”
“I’ve had some stomach pain.”
I visually assessed her demeanor. She was sitting up straight, looking me in the eye, and yeah, there was a smirk at play on her lips. She didn’t come across as if she were in pain, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t.
I needed to put my feelings aside.
I sat up on the stool. “And you’re twenty weeks pregnant?” It hurt to push those words out.
“Yes,” she answered with a flip of her hair. “We’re excited for this baby.” She cupped her stomach with one hand.
“I would imagine so.” I tried to sound cheery. When I questioned her more about her symptoms and whether or not she had tried to make an appointment with her OB-GYN, she cut me off.
