‘I’m a busy man, Dr Saxby,’ he said. ‘I’ve said my piece and I expect you to take note of it. Good day to you.’
Holly watched as he stalked off like a bantam rooster with his feathers in a ruff. She shook her head and turned for the door of the clinic when Major Dixon stopped her.
‘I thought I told you, young lady, that this building is out of bounds. Now, move on. Now!’
She let out her breath in a frustrated stream. ‘Listen, Major, there’s a plot afoot to exterminate you. There are snipers everywhere. You’d better take cover before someone takes a potshot at you.’
‘Snipers?’ He narrowed his eyes at her. ‘Where?’
She pointed in the direction Clinton Jensen had gone. ‘Didn’t you see him? He was looking for trouble. I think he’s up to no good.’
‘Don’t worry, Miss, I’ll take care of him.’ He tottered off over the petunia bed he’d ordered her off—was it only four days ago?
Holly shook her head and entered the clinic. Giving Sally an apologetic glance, she picked up the first file. ‘Mrs Trent?’ she called to the waiting room.
A middle-aged woman followed her to the consulting room and sat down, her excessive weight making her breathless, and the chair groan.
‘What can I do for you, Mrs Trent?’
‘I need some more arthritis pills,’ she said. ‘I’m aching all over.’
‘How long have you been on anti-inflammatory medication?’ Holly asked, casting her eyes downward for a quick scan of the notes.
‘Three years.’
‘Have you thought about losing some weight to take the stress off your joints?’ she asked. ‘Your excess weight is in the morbidly obese range. And that is putting you at risk of deterioration of your joints as well as a host of other diseases such as heart attack, stroke and diabetes.’
‘I’ve tried dieting but it never works long term. I lose a bit, then it creeps back on plus a bit more, no matter what I do. I hardly eat a thing and I’m still overweight.’
‘Have you heard of a procedure called lap-banding?’
‘I’ve read about it but I’m not interested. In any case, I don’t have private insurance so I could never afford it.’
Holly had heard the same excuses time and again. Statistics showed that most people, predominantly women, spent a couple of thousand dollars on weight-loss programmes with little long-term success, but they baulked at a safe surgical option that cost the same but was effective for life.
‘It’s worth thinking about,’ Holly advised and began to print out a brochure for the patient to read.
While she waited for it to print she took Mrs Trent’s blood pressure and jotted down the results in the notes. She handed the brochure over once it came out of the printer.
‘Have a read through this information sheet. If you change your mind I can refer you to an experienced surgeon who does lap-banding. The older surgical options such as stomach stapling and gastric bypass are nowhere near as safe or successful as lap-banding. In the meantime, I’ll renew your script for your antiinflammatory drugs, but I’d like to see you in a week to check your blood pressure again. It’s slightly elevated today. I’d like to make sure it’s gone back to normal.’
‘Thank you,’ Mrs Trent said curtly and got to her feet with an effort. ‘But if you don’t mind, I think I’ll go back to seeing Dr McCarrick from now on.’
‘Oh?’
‘I don’t appreciate being told I’m fat,’ Mrs Trent said. ‘I’ve never been so insulted in my entire life. You should go back to the city where you belong. This town can do without the likes of you, mixing with those murderous Maynards as bold as you please.’
Holly opened her mouth but clamped it shut again in case she was tempted to speak a little too much of her mind. Mrs Trent waddled out in affront and Holly grimaced when she heard the patient proceed to tell the occupants of the waiting room and the receptionist what had transpired with considerable embellishment on her part. She put her head down on her desk and groaned. Only three hundred and sixty-two days to go.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CAMERON found Holly in the kitchenette, still fuming, half an hour later.
‘Let me guess—’ he gave his stubbly chin a scratch ‘—a run-in with Maude Trent, right?’
Holly let out a breath of frustration. ‘What is it with her? She’s morbidly obese, for God’s sake! I wouldn’t be acting responsibly if I didn’t warn her of the health dangers associated with that degree of obesity. She’s a stroke or heart attack waiting to happen.’
‘True, but there are ways to broach the subject other than hitting her over the head with it.’
She gave him a disparaging glance. ‘I did not hit her over the head with it. I raised the problem with her. I suppose you would have found some way of joking about it. Well, sorry, but I don’t think it’s a laughing matter.’
‘You’re right, it’s nothing to joke about. But you have to understand that as a new doctor in town you have to build up a certain amount of rapport with patients before you hammer them with the truth.’
‘How long has she been your patient?’
‘She was originally Dr Cooper’s patient. I’ve only been seeing her, and not all that regularly, for the last eighteen months.’
‘And has she been in the morbidly obese range all that time?’ she asked.
‘What exactly is your point?’
‘If Mrs Trent had come in to see you about thrush or something and you happened to see a melanoma on her face, would you inform her of it?’
He held her challenging look for a long moment. ‘All right. You win. Point taken.’
‘Obesity is a huge problem that keeps getting swept under the carpet by patients and doctors. Once a person gets to the morbidly obese range, you know it’s virtually impossible to exercise enough to lose the weight, no matter how strict the diet. You realise the current obesity trend in Australia—we’re going to have a massive overload on the health system because of all the associated disorders. So why don’t you do something about it like any other disease you diagnose?’
‘You’re preaching to the converted, Holly,’ he said. ‘I’m well aware of the risks of being overweight. But, to be fair, Maude Trent is a very lonely woman whose husband left her for a woman half her age and a quarter of her weight. She struggles with depression and I thought it best to broach the subject with tact once we’d established a good doctor-patient relationship. Besides, this is not one of your fancy Northern Sydney suburbs with average incomes running to six figures and everyone in private health insurance. The likes of Maude Trent don’t have enough money to put food on the table let alone pay for surgical procedures not covered in the public health system.’
‘I beg to differ on whether she has enough money to put food on the table given the current size of her,’ Holly shot back without thinking.
Cameron’s expression tightened as he looked down at her. ‘That’s a rather insensitive comment to make, don’t you think? And what about her hypothyroidism? Did you happen to read through her notes and see that?’
Holly felt her cheeks storm with colour but pride wouldn’t allow her to acknowledge her too hasty and totally unprofessional judgement. ‘I haven’t had time to read through the whole file yet.’
‘Then you should make time before you run off at the mouth. If one of the receptionists heard you, or another patient, it would be all over town within minutes. You’d have no choice but to pack your bags and leave—no one would book in to see you again. Grow up, Holly. Leave your bitchy little comments to silly little schoolgirls and get on with the job you’re supposed to be doing—taking care of the whole patient, looking at their whole picture.’
Holly felt herself seething at his tersely delivered put-down. She knew he was right but she hated being dressed down in such a way. It reminded her too much of her father—always insisting on winning every argument, making her feel stupid and incompetent in the process.
‘You have no right t
o speak to me that way,’ she bit out.
‘I have every right to ensure you follow the professional code of this practice, which happens to include not insulting patients, to their faces or behind their backs. I’ve already had a phone call from Clinton Jensen a short time ago. He said you were unspeakably rude to him in the car park in full hearing of passers-by. You’ll have to get your attitude sorted out or I’ll have to recommend the Regional Health Board rethink their decision to hire you.’
She glared at him in outrage. ‘You wouldn’t dare!’
His eyes glittered as they held hers challengingly. ‘Just watch me, sweetheart.’ He put his used coffee cup down on the nearest surface with a clunk and brushed past her, clipping the door shut behind him.
Holly clenched her fists by her sides in an effort to control her rage. She knew he would do it. And with that sort of black mark on her CV it would have an effect on every job she ever applied for in the future. Besides, she could hardly pack up and leave now. She’d rented out her apartment for the whole year to a friend of a friend from medical school, and staying with either of her parents and their current partner was totally out of the question.
Her shoulders slumped in resignation. It looked like another chunk of humble pie had to be eaten and every single mouthful was going to choke her, she was sure.
When Holly went back out to reception Sally informed her that she had no other patients for the day.
‘Are you sure?’ She peered over the receptionist’s shoulder to look at the appointment book.
Sally sat back in her chair with her arms folded across her ample chest. ‘Three cancelled and the other four have switched to see Dr McCarrick.’
Holly chewed her bottom lip as Sally turned to speak to a tall middle-aged man who’d just come in.
‘Hello, Mr Cooper.’ Sally gave him a friendly smile. ‘I didn’t know you were coming to town this week. Have you been to visit your father?’
Holly pricked up her ears at the mention of the name Cooper.
‘Yes,’ the man answered. ‘And I’m extremely annoyed about a visit he had today from the new doctor in town.’
Holly wished she could sink through the carpet and disappear beneath the floorboards.
‘Well, you’re in luck,’ Sally said, glancing at Holly. ‘Here she is right now.’
Holly stepped from behind the reception desk and offered her hand. ‘Hello, Mr Cooper. I’m Dr Holly Saxby.’
The man ignored her hand and bit out through clenched teeth, ‘I’d like a word with you. In private.’
Holly had never actively wished for an acute emergency before, but judging by the look of fury in Dr Cooper’s son’s eyes, surely a code blue would be preferable to facing such rage.
‘Come through to my office,’ she said, a little annoyed with herself for sounding so intimidated.
He didn’t bother to sit down when she offered him a chair in her room. Instead he glowered down at her, his face almost puce. ‘I would like to know what you think gives you the right to upset my father the way you did this morning. I received a call from the nursing home earlier today to inform me that you had upset him by asking him questions you had no business asking.’
‘I’m sorry, Mr Cooper, but as your father once treated a patient of mine I thought it appropriate to ask his advice.’
‘His advice?’ he blustered. ‘It sounds to me you made suggestions of malpractice. I am a lawyer, and there would be grounds for legal proceedings.’
Holly felt her stomach cave in with panic. God, what had she done? This was only day four—so far she’d wrecked her knee and nearly drowned, Cameron was threatening to have her contract revoked, the mayor and Maude Trent were intent on ruining her credibility, and now Dr Cooper’s son was threatening a legal suit against her. Could it get any worse?
‘I’m very sorry that I upset your father, Mr Cooper,’ she said meekly. ‘I did not know how intimately involved with…the murder case he’d been. As you know, I’m only new in town. I haven’t had time to take stock of everything. I was just trying to sort out an inconsistency in a patient’s history, that’s all. I really didn’t mean to imply anything untoward about your father. He is greatly respected in this town and I hope you will accept my apology for causing any hurt to him, or to you.’
She held her breath but after a lengthy pause she heard Mr Cooper release a sigh.
‘Thank you for your apology,’ he said. ‘My father is very frail and not expected to live much longer. I hate the thought of anyone upsetting him at this delicate stage of his life. I want his last days to be as peaceful as possible.’
‘I understand…’ She captured her bottom lip momentarily.
He held out his hand. ‘I’m Geoffrey, by the way.’
She tentatively shook his hand. ‘I really am very sorry, Mr…I mean Geoffrey.’
‘I’m not really going to sue you,’ he said, smiling for the first time.
Holly did her best to hide her relief but she couldn’ t quite help a tiny wry smile. ‘My father is a barrister so it would’ve been rather embarrassing for me if you had.’
‘Is he really?’ His brows rose slightly. ‘What firm?’
‘Saxby Sentinelle and Smithton.’
‘Impressive.’
‘Yes, well, he certainly seems to think so.’
He gave a short chuckle of laughter but Holly couldn’t help feeling it was a little forced—nothing like the deep amused rumble of Cameron’s that had sent her stomach into a tailspin so often.
‘I’ll be in town for a couple of days,’ he said into the little silence that had fallen. ‘Let’s put this behind us, then. I would be honoured if you would consider having a drink with me this evening. Perhaps around seven? I’m staying at the hotel as my father’s house was sold a few months ago.’
Holly wanted to refuse, but after Cameron’s dressing down earlier she was feeling the need to restore some remnant of her tattered feminine self-confidence. Geoffrey Cooper wasn’t exactly her type, but now that he was clearly making an effort to alleviate the situation she saw no reason to decline the invitation. Besides, if there were any other repercussions from her visit to his father this might be one way of avoiding them.
‘That would be very nice, thank you,’ she said. ‘I haven’t been to the hotel yet. What is it called?’
‘The Plover’s Rest,’ he said. ‘Shall I meet you there or would you like me to pick you up?’
‘I’ll meet you there,’ she said with a friendly smile.
Holly was already running late for her date when there was a knock at the front door of the cottage. She had lost an hour going back to the Maynards’ place for the patient authority form to be signed by Noel and had only just had time for a quick freshen up.
She muttered a little curse and put her wand of mascara down. She slipped her feet into her heels and, giving her upswept hair a little glance on the way past the mirror in the hall, opened the door.
‘Oh, it’s you.’
‘Nice to see you, too,’ Cameron said. ‘Can I come in?’
She shifted from foot to foot. ‘Actually, I’m in kind of a hurry.’
‘Where are you going?’
She gave him an imperious look. ‘On a date.’
Something intangible shifted behind the wall of Cameron’s chest. He hoped she didn’t see the flicker of it in his eyes when he asked, ‘With whom?’
‘Geoffrey Cooper. He’s asked me out for a drink.’
‘Lucky Geoffrey.’ He rocked back on his heels as his green-blue gaze ran over her slim-fitting outfit and impossibly high heels. ‘But do you think you should be stressing that knee of yours with those heels?’
‘I think I’ll survive one drink at the hotel without stressing it too much,’ she answered.
‘One drink, eh?’ He curled his lip. ‘Is that all he’s asked you out for?’
She placed one hand on her hip and gave him a haughty look. ‘So far.’
‘Batteries finally run out, have t
hey?’ He knew he shouldn’t have said it but it was almost worth it to see the way her cheeks instantly flamed. She was so damned cute he could hardly stand it. Her glossed lips were pouting and her perfume was reaching out to him in intoxicating waves.
‘I wish you would stop referring to that…that…that device,’ she said. ‘It was a ridiculous going-away gift from the girls at the Mosman clinic—a joke. That’s surely something you would understand given your propensity to find humour in every situation.’
‘You take life far too seriously, Holly. But I’m not here to tell you that.’
She let out a sigh of boredom. ‘So why are you here?’
Cameron found it hard not to drag her into his arms and kiss that provocative pout away, but somehow he resisted the impulse. ‘I wanted to check that you were OK. I heard some of your patients cancelled at the last minute.’
‘I hardly see that it’s any concern of yours.’
‘It can be difficult being the new kid on the block and being excluded from all the games.’
‘I’m sure I’ll survive. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I really must get ready for my date.’ She tried to close the door but he put his foot in the way.
‘No, wait,’ he said. ‘There’s one other thing.’
Her hands fell away from the door to fold across her chest. Cameron had to wrench his gaze away from what the action did to her cleavage, but even so his groin gave him a pulsing reminder of how much she affected him. It was totally out of character for him but he couldn’t seem to control his reaction to her every time she was near. It had taken months of longdistance dating with Lenore for him to feel ready to take things to the next stage and yet he’d known Holly barely a couple of days and he wanted her in his arms—for ever.
‘I was wondering…if you’d like to have dinner with me tomorrow night.’ It was the first thing to come into his head and by the reaction on her face it was quite possibly the last thing she’d expected him to say.
She gave him a narrow-eyed look. ‘I thought you were going to have me reported to the Regional Board as incompetent? Is dinner with you some sort of softening up process before you deliver the final blow?’
A Doctor Beyond Compare Page 13