Hush (4 page)

There was a knock at my office door.  “Come on in,” I called.

“Doctor, how are you this morning?”  Dr. Frank Sladek asked, stepping into my office.  His aged face was bright as usual.  Small square, rimless frames perched on the bridge of his nose and he brought with him the scent of timeless cologne and leather.

“I’m wonderful, Dr. Sladek.  How are you?”  I asked, turning my attention away from my computer to give the tenured doctor his due diligence.

Dr. Sladek approached my desk and took a seat in one of the patient chairs before me with a hefty sigh.  His eyes scoped the desolate office space.  “You need more color in here, Olivia.  Got to put a woman’s touch on these walls.” He winked.

“I know,” I sighed, looking around.  “I don’t spend too much time in here so I don’t even notice how drab it is when I am in here.”

“Well, I think the girls packed away some older prints and photos in the storage closet that we used to have hanging up in the lobby and the rooms.  I’ll see if one of them can dig them out for you.  Maybe there’s something in there you’d like to use.   That’ll save you some shopping time.”

“That’d be great.  Thank you.”

Dr. Sladek didn’t often seek me out like this so early in the day.  I waited patiently for him to work up to his point, which came easier than I thought it would.  “How are things going with you?  I haven’t overloaded you with patients, have I?”

I shook my head.  “No, not at all.  I’m loving all the work.  It’s a perfect pace I’ve been set up with.”

Dr. Sladek smiled, revealing his perfectly straight and white teeth.  They may have looked like dentures, but I was sure that man, despite pushing 70 years old, still had each and every one of his own teeth.  “I’m glad to hear that.  What I wanted to talk to you about this morning was something I’ve been thinking about for the past couple of weeks, but couldn’t really make a decision one way or another.  I thought I’d present it to you and see what you have to say about it.”

“Alright.”  I nodded.

“Even though I’ve been filtering my patients between you and Dr. Morton, I feel like there is still more that needs to be done, especially given the fact that you’re so fresh out of school.  I’m not questioning your abilities, mind you.  You can understand how my experience gives me an extra perspective.  I remember my first couple of years within a private practice and I had a mentor the entire time.  You’re going to lose me in a matter of months and I’d hate to see you get overwhelmed or overloaded.  So, I’ve been thinking about hiring on another oncologist to have on staff.  We’ve gotten so many new patients just in the last year that we’re anticipating the steady flow to continue, especially with Dr. Paulson transferring to Vegas.  A lot of her patients are now moving over here.”

I nodded to show him I was listening though I knew my eyes were glazed over thinking through Dr. Sladek’s idea in my mind.  It really didn’t matter what I thought because ultimately the decision was up to him.  I figured he came to me with this in hopes of hearing what he wanted to hear, not necessarily looking for my opinion.  I could tell he was leaning, skirting around one answer over another.  He paused, waiting for a reaction.  “And I’m guessing you’d interview and hire all before your retirement?”

Sladek nodded.  “That would be ideal.  I was lucky when I hired you.  Our relationship outside of the practice was enough of an interview for me.  I’m not really looking forward to going through countless résumés and interviews,” he groaned, rolling his eyes behind his spectacles.  “I’ll probably end up hiring out for that process.  The last thing I need before retiring is a heart attack from stress.  I should have probably gotten this started last year, but I couldn’t have anticipated all the changes we’ve gone through just in the last few months.”

“Well, I think it’s a good idea,” I said, taking his brief pause to step in.  “Not only will it help with patients, like you said, but without you around, it’d be nice to have another professional to get a second opinion from.”

Dr. Sladek nodded.  “Those were my thoughts exactly.”

“So when will you start?  How do you even go about that?” I asked.

A pruned hand rubbed the balding top of his head.   “I’ll probably reach out to a few of my colleagues, see if they have any recommendations for the positions before I take this news to the presses,” Dr. Sladek smirked.  “If I can find someone based on a recommendation without having to put out a damned want-ad, life will be simple.  You know, these days they use the Facebook and those websites to search for people and put out ads.  It’s insane.  I can’t keep up with it all.  I’m getting worn out just thinking about it.”

I nodded with a faint smile, not really knowing what else to say.  “Are you feeling okay?  You don’t look as bright and cheery as usual,” Dr. Sladek pointed out.

 “Oh, I didn’t sleep well last night.  I don’t know what it was.  I think I need to flip my mattress,” I rambled quickly.  The truth was I couldn’t sleep well because of last night’s events bouncing around aimlessly in my head all night.

Dr. Sladek nodded. “It’s amazing how much that can help, isn’t it.  I sleep like a baby the night mine gets rotated.  I’m sure that’s the cure.”  He smiled.  “Well, I better get to work.  I think the doors are probably open by now.”

He stood from the chair when Carla appeared in the doorway.  “Doctors, you each have your first patients here,” she said.

“Right on time,” Dr. Sladek cackled as he headed for the door, following Carla out.

My days, as they have been since starting at the practice, were ten-plus hours of a big blur.  Everything moved so fast.  Before I knew it, the sun was setting on beautiful Huntington Beach and I was still elbow deep in work.  I was just wrapping up some last minute paperwork when a face appeared around the corner from the nurse’s station where I was currently sitting.

“Dr. Reinbeck, sorry to bother you,” Amanda poked her head in.  “There’s someone here to see you.  He doesn’t have an appointment, but he insisted you’d see him.”

I frowned a little.  “Who is it?”

“Mr. Tate.”

I sucked in a deep breath.  I had only recalled last night’s events one time today and that was right when I woke up.  “Thank you.  He’s right.  I will see him.  Could you please let him know I’ll be out in a moment?”

Amanda smiled and agreed before disappearing around the corner.   A minute later, I stepped out into the lobby of the clinic to find the dashing Mr. Tate waiting for me with a wide smile.  “So we meet again,” he started.  Callem was donning yet another tailored suit.  I’m sure his closet was filled with suits just like this one.

“Callem.  Nice to see you.  I feel silly,” I confessed.  “I should be the one seeking you out, thanking you for last night, and yet, here you are.”

Callem shook his head.  “Well I wanted to stop by earlier, but I figured you were busy.  Looks like you still are.  Hope I didn’t disturb you.”

“No, it’s fine.  I was just going over some patient files.  Just wanted to make sure I didn’t go to the police?”  The words echoed in my head and they sounded more brash and uncalled for than I had intended.  I tried to laugh it off like some kind of inside joke between the two of us.

Callem’s smirked weakly.  “No, I wanted to make sure you were okay.  I got a little worried about you last night after I left.  You didn’t seem shaken up.  I just didn’t know if you were playing it cool for me or if maybe you were freaked out about what had happened.  I called this morning to make sure you were in the office and not at home.”

I wondered what he would have done if I hadn’t been in the office this morning.  Would he have come by my house to check on me?  “Oh, I didn’t mean to make you worry.  That’s awfully thoughtful of you though, to be so concerned.  Not that I’ve really thought about it, but I can only imagine what would have happened to me last night if you hadn’t been there.  I’m embarrassed for putting myself in that situation.  I don’t do things like that.  Normally, I don’t really do much of anything.  When he asked, well when you asked for him, I thought to myself, why not?  And look where it got me.”

“Well, I hope he didn’t put a terrible taste in your mouth.  I can assure you not all musicians are like him.  I’ve been doing this for a long time and I’ve never had to deal with anything like that.  I can guarantee you, it’s the last time.  I sent him back his money and left his ass at Staples Center.  I’ll never work with him again.”

I nodded.  We held gazes for a long moment in the awkward, funky silence, one I was all too familiar with. 

“Well, I don’t want to keep you from your work.  I’m glad you’re feeling better,” Callem said, standing up from the chair.  He made his way to the front doors before turning.  “Do you have plans for dinner?”  My mind raced for something to say.  I looked at him, my jaw suspended in mid-excuse.  “I don’t mean to impose, but it’s getting late and I’m guessing you’ve been here all day.  Just thought, if you’re heading out, we could get something to eat before heading home.”

I made a mental note to close my gaping mouth.  “No, yeah, that’s a good idea, that sounds good,” I fumbled over my words.  “I just have one stipulation.”

“Alright.”

“My treat.”

Callem sighed, shaking his head with a smile.  “Just this one time.  Call it what you will, but I don’t usually let women pay for my dinner.  For you, I’ll make an exception.”

“Good.  Alright, well, can you give me just five minutes to wrap this up and I’ll meet you outside?”

Callem nodded.  “No problem.  Take your time.”  He slipped out of the office.

Only a few minutes later, just as I promised, I strolled up to a black Mercedes that seemed to gleam even in the murky street lights.  Callem was out of the car at the sight of me, walking around to the other side to open the door for me.  “You didn’t have to do that,” I smiled.  “Thank you.”

“Force of habit,” Callem said before shutting the door and walking back around to the driver’s side.  “So where to?”

“Have you heard of Seaside Café?”

Callem nodded, pulling the gear shift into reverse.  “I have.”

I nodded.  “Have you ever been to Seaside?”

“Once, but it was quite a while ago.  I probably couldn’t tell you what I had to eat.”

“Oh, we eat there once a month probably, the girls at the office and I,” I explained.  “It’s fairly inexpensive and they deliver.  We order it for lunch.  They have a panko-crusted tilapia that is to die for.  Everything is so fresh.  This is a beautiful car,” I said.  I was rambling.  I ramble when I’m nervous.  Why was I nervous?

“Thank you.  I had a Range for a while, but it’s too much for me.  I’m more of a car guy than an SUV guy.”

“Yeah, a lot of guys drive those big cars to intimidate.  I don’t think you need to worry about that.”

Callem looked over at me.  “You think I’m intimidating?”

“Yes.  Yes I do.  You’ve never intimidated me, but when you were scolding Damien last night, I was scared for him.  In your line of work though, I’m sure having a quality like that comes naturally; effortlessly.  It works for you.  By the way, I hope you didn’t lose any clients because of what you did last night.  Now that I’ve seen what he’s really like, I can see Damien bad mouthing you and your business.”

“I’m not worried about it.  Anyone who’s close enough to Damien to take his word on my services, whatever he has to say about them, isn’t anyone I want to work for anyway.  I know you’d probably like to see him get in trouble for what he did last night.  I can’t thank you enough for saving my neck.”

I shook my head.  “That’s a little backward, don’t you think?  You don’t need to thank me.  You did the noblest thing of the night.”

When we arrived at the restaurant, Callem hurried around to my door to open it for me as well as the door to the restaurant.  We were seated at a table next to the large windows peering out to the Pacific.  The moonlight reflected on the rolling waters and if you listened closely enough, you could hear the song of the ocean humming through the windows.

“So how long have you been doing what you do?”  I asked Callem after our server took our orders.

“Well, my father started the business so I’ve had my part in it since I was a teen,” Callem explained.  “After high school, I joined the Army and was away for about seven years.”

“Are you still in the Army?”

Callem shook his head.  “No, I got an honorable discharge for medical reasons.  I was doing a 10 mile ruck march and when I got back to the barracks, I took my boots off and my feet swelled up.  I was immobile for about a month.  It took the army doctors that long to diagnose me with reflexive sympathetic dystrophy.”

I nodded.  “RSD.  That’s a fairly rare disease which could have accounted for the lengthy diagnosis.”

“That’s what they told me, too,” Callem continued.  “So I came home and started working for my dad.  He died almost eight years ago now.  I took over operations with his passing.  Since taking over, I’ve really expanded the company.  A lot of the men I have working for me are former military or cops.  I have a few guys who fought MMA professionally and a few were personal security guards at one time.  We’re in four different states right now and looking to grow.”

“Were you a pilot in the Army?  I guess I don’t even know.  Does the Army have pilots?”

“No.  I actually got my pilot’s license before I got my driver’s license.  Since my father had the planes and jets, I grew up around them and I’ve always wanted to fly so I learned young.  He taught me.  I was actually an Army Ranger.”

“Oh okay.  Don’t you have to take a number of extra courses and training for that?”

“Yeah.  There’s a program in Fort Benning, GA that I went to.  It’s pretty elite, the Rangers are to the Army as the SEALS are to the Navy.  I was only a Ranger for about two years before I got hurt.  What about you?”

I shrugged.  “The most interesting facts of my life you heard last night on the car ride to Staples.”

“I’m sure that’s not true.  You’re probably one of the youngest doctors in the state, maybe in the country, right?  That’s pretty interesting.  How old are you anyway?”