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“You should come up to LA and spend time with me, Daisy, and Henry. We’d love to have you. Maybe this next weekend?”
It would be nice to get away and see them. “Yeah. Let’s plan on it.”
By Wednesday morning,I’d confirmed my mother’s threat wasn’t empty about blackballing me in Orange County. This meant I’d need to search for a job further north in LA. Or perhaps I could pursue my original dream job in San Francisco. I only hoped her reach didn’t extend past the county line.
I enlisted a headhunter to assist me with the job search, but the waiting was tough.
As I surveyed my condo and found nothing to catch my interest, I realized I wasn’t meant to sit idle. I’d taken advantage of the two days off by sleeping in, binging some Netflix, and even reorganizing my closet by color. Maybe I should’ve gone with Addy to visit Vegas instead of staying bored at home. She was excited to start her new adventure, and I was happy for her, but it was time for me to figure out my own.
Especially since my idle mind kept wandering back to how much fun I’d had Saturday night with Lucas. Was it possible to miss a stranger? It was stupid to go there. I reasoned it wasn’t him I missed so much as the woman I’d been when I was with him.
As I was about to settle on frozen waffles from the toaster for my breakfast, my cell phone rang with an unknown number.
“Hello.”
“Hi. Dr. Brooke Morrison?” the unfamiliar voice questioned.
“Yes, this is she.”
“My name is Dr. Phillip Marshall. I own a clinic here in Hollywood called First Care Physicians Group.”
I was thrilled my headhunter had come through so quickly. “Hello, Dr. Marshall.”
“I’m calling because we have an immediate opening for an OBGYN in a unique role here at the practice.”
He went on to describe the model of his practice with some of the doctors doing house calls, and I found myself intrigued. But the most compelling detail was when he mentioned the position was temporary. “Our obstetrician went out early on bed rest leaving us with a gap of six weeks until her scheduled temp was due to start.”
“You only need someone for six weeks?”
“Yes, I recognize it’s both short notice and for a short period of time, but I have a number of contacts in the area and would be happy to assist you in finding a longer-term opening if you were to take this assignment.”
LA would be out of reach of my mother’s network, and six weeks would accomplish two goals. Keep me busy and eliminate the need to explain any gap in my employment. “I’m interested.”
“Terrific. When can you come in for an interview?”
I was driving up to see Caleb, Daisy, and the baby for the weekend. “I could be up in LA tomorrow if that works for you.”
“It does. Tomorrow morning at ten o’clock okay?”
“Perfect.” Maybe things were looking up.
On Thursday morning, I drove up to LA for my interview, thankful traffic was decent.
The office, located off the Sunset strip, was modern and clean, and the receptionist, Ramona, warm and welcoming. All good things until I met Dr. Phillip Marshall, the owner of the clinic and head physician. He was a dour man whose pinched face and sparse hair seemed to typify his personality. However, one bright side of having worked for my mother for the last couple years was my ability for handling almost anyone. Even a grumpy old man.
Despite his gruff demeanor, I was interested in the job. Especially the idea of doing in-home care. I’d only ever worked in a hospital or clinic, so the idea of doing house calls was intriguing.
“What do you think?” he asked after I’d apparently passed all of the standard questions.
“I’m interested in the position.”
He blew out a breath of relief. “Terrific news. Any questions for me?”
“How does the timing of appointments work when it comes to house calls?” While in the office, you could never predict how long an appointment might take, and you often ran behind. I could only imagine what factoring in traffic did to the mix.
“Dr. Brennan can tell you more about how it works. To be honest, I wasn’t a huge fan of in-home care in the beginning, but we’ve definitely picked up a number of celebrities and sports stars, which has me warming to the idea.”
It was such an LA thing to say, but I imagined the option of a house call was convenient for many people. “I look forward to hearing more about it.”
