Late Arrivals (Special Delivery Book 4)

by J. A. Armstrong

Brooke smiled half-heartedly. “Maybe it’s exactly what I needed.”

  “Come again?”

  “Well, it certainly cleared any remaining fog from my brain,” Brooke explained. She let a long, frustrated sigh pass her lips, but her bottom lip gently and sighed again. “He needs to go, Rachel.”

  Rachel flopped dejectedly into one of the chairs in front of Brooke’s desk. “Fire him?”

  “He needs to go.”

  “Brooke, I agree that Jason is…”

  “I don’t trust him, Rachel.”

  Rachel rubbed her eyes, and then tilted her head back to gaze at the ceiling. “He’s had excellent results, Brooke. So far, he…”

  “So far isn’t good enough. I don’t trust his judgment, and I don’t trust him,” Brooke said emphatically. “And, I won’t work with a doctor that I can’t entrust a patient with—any patient.”

  Rachel pulled her focus back to Brooke and stared at her silently for a moment. “That sounded oddly like an ultimatum.”

  Brooke nodded. “I don’t believe in ultimatums, Rach. You of all people know that. I also don’t believe in compromising my ethics. I won’t do that.”

  “What are you not telling me?” Rachel asked directly. Brooke clearly did not want to answer. “Brooke, I don’t disagree. I’m not sure anyone in this office would after that display. Janine doesn’t like him either. I can tell. She won’t say it, but she makes no effort to engage him unless it’s necessary. We both know that is not like her. His patients all seem content. I haven’t had any reason to think anyone has a complaint or a concern about the care they have received from him. So, I hear you. I do. I need to know why he is so hell-bent on pushing your buttons all of the time. Because, honestly, Brooke? It feels to me as if that is what is motivating all of this. Anything to piss you off. So? What is it?”

  Brooke remained silent for what seemed to be a long toe before she finally answered. “I’m not sure that is really at issue here.”

  “If it is effecting the way this office runs, and it is… If it is weighing on you? It is an issue,” Rachel replied.

  “Okay,” Brooke began with a sigh and a nod. “Some things were brought to my attention not long after Dr. Bennet started taking on-call shifts,” she said.

  “What kind of things?” Rachel wanted to know.

  “Statements. Conversations. Opinions about me—personally speaking,” Brooke told Rachel.

  “Personally speaking? Brooke, what are you talking about?”

  Brooke hated having this conversation. She had been avoiding it for months, determined to keep what she viewed as a personal issue out of work. Jason Bennet had been making that increasingly difficult as the weeks and months wore on. Brooke had taken what she had hoped was the road in approaching their personal standoff. She sought to address him only in professional terms. It seemed to her that Dr. Jason Bennet preferred the low road when it came to anything concerning Dr. Brooke Campbell.

  “Brooke?” Rachel began to push her best friend. “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “Rach,” Brooke sighed again. “Look,” she paused and gathered her thoughts. “He has some pointed opinions, to say the least about me.”

  “As a doctor?”

  “No, as a mother.”

  “What?” Rachel demanded.

  “Calm down.”

  “Calm down?” Rachel’s voice grew in volume. “Brooke, I mean it—I want to know exactly what happened.”

  “I mean that he doesn’t think people like Tess and I should be raising children. And, I don’t think he particularly enjoys the fact that this office assists in those endeavors.”

  “People like you and Tess?” Rachel shook her head in confusion. “I know I am missing something,” she said. Brooke raised her brow. “Oh, come on, Brooke. You are not telling me he has an issue with you and Tess being a couple?”

  “That’s exactly what I am saying.”

  “He said that?” Rachel asked in disbelief. “Why didn’t you tell me this?”

  “Because, his issue with me is personal.”

  Rachel hopped up from her seat, brushed her hand over her face in frustration, and sucked in a deep breath to calm herself before turning back to Brooke. “No, it is not,” Rachel said. “And, if he has any issues he should have disclosed them during our interviews. We have many patients who…”

  “I agree,” Brooke said. “But, Rach? He would be hard pressed to find a practice that does not treat lesbians. Face it. Why would he tell you that? It’s a reality he has to live with if he wants to be in this profession in 2016.”

  “What made him tell you?”

  “He didn’t. He started popping off at the hospital I suspect to people he thought would be receptive to his grumbling. I let it go the first couple of times anyone mentioned it,” Brooke said. “Then Dr. Gates pulled me aside to express his concern over something he heard Dr. Bennet saying in the lounge to a resident.”

  “Which was?”

  “That he could not understand a beautiful woman like me wanting children with another woman. I guess the resident had some colorful response that Gates didn’t feel comfortable listening to. Bennet’s reaction was to make the point that given the chance, he was sure he could change my mind.”

  Rachel’s mouth fell open.

  “So, Gates made his presence known. I just couldn’t let that lie, Rach. So, I confronted him the next day. I let him know that his conversations and his behavior were not only disrespectful to Tess and to me, but they were unprofessional and had no place in this office, the hospital or in any circumstance that he was representing either.”

  “And?”

  “He smirked and shrugged it off. Told me hospitals were rumor mills.”

  “And?”

  “I agreed. And then I told him that I expected him to act professionally every moment he represented this office and that his sole concern was the welfare of his patients’ health—any patient. That was it. I left it at that.”

  Rachel covered her face and shook her head. To be certain, some people shared Jason Bennet’s feelings. Rachel had encountered them, and had more than once found herself subjected to conversations that challenged her patience. Brooke had experienced that in deeply personal ways. As friends, the pair had talked many times about Brooke’s. Brooke always confided in Rachel.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” Rachel asked feeling somehow responsible for not knowing. “Brooke… I would have…”

  “You would have made a personal decision that required a professional framework. No. As long as his personal feelings were not impacting any patient’s care, it would have been out of line for me to say anything.”

  “I love you, Brooke, but I think you have blinders on this time,” Rachel said.

  “What?”

  Rachel sighed heavily. She understood Brooke. And, to Brooke this was a challenge that required her to separate her personal life and beliefs from her professional world. That sounded great in theory. It often was not realistic. She had no doubt that Brooke had just honestly recounted the entire interaction with Jason Bennet. Brooke, Rachel was sure, believed she had laid the issue to rest and moved on. It explained the personal distance that Brooke kept from Bennet. But, Rachel had not seen any evidence that Brooke’s personal dislike of the man tainted her professional opinion.

  “Maybe you can separate yourself. Not everyone can. You know that. Forget his need to challenge you,” Rachel said. “What happens when he has to treat someone whose life he disagrees with?”

  “I haven’t seen any evidence that…”

  “No? Maybe not yet,” Rachel agreed. “I thought you were being funny about Jason not having anything to do with your pregnancy,” Rachel said. Brooke groaned. “You don’t trust him. Not joking. You don’t trust him because you know he has issues with you—personally. Brooke…”

  Brooke closed her eyes. “Rach, there will always be people like Bennet in the world, even in my professional circle. He’s not the first.”
<
br />   “He’s the first in this office,” Rachel said. “It has obviously had an impact on his judgment with you. How far do you think he will take that?” Rachel asked. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.”

  “It happens, Rachel. It has happened more times that you would believe if I told you. Maybe not in this office, but it happens. I can’t run to you every time someone expresses an issue with who I am.”

  Rachel sighed. On one hand, she understood Brooke’s position. In this case, understanding how Brooke felt did not change Rachel’s inclination to disagree with how Brooke handled the situation. Rachel drove the business decisions of the practice. Brooke, in most cases, was the doctor everyone sought for her medical opinion. That had always served them well.

  “We cannot keep things from each other,” Rachel said definitively. “You need to trust that I can make a rational decision, Brooke. I can’t make the best decision about personnel—we can’t make that unless we both have all of the facts. That includes a personal issue.”

  Brooke scratched her brow. “Maybe so. Look, Rach… Bennet is a capable doctor…”

  “I agree.”

  “And, he has made a contribution to this office.”

  “I agree,” Rachel said.

  “But, I can’t work with him any longer,” Brooke said. “You are right; I don’t trust him. And, I don’t know whether his motivation is simply to challenge me every chance he gets or if he actually believes that his approach is best.”

  “I’m not sure that matters,” Rachel said. “There is a process, Brooke. You know that as well as I do. I have to bring in legal.”

  Brooke nodded. “Rachel, whatever you are thinking…”

  Rachel smiled sadly. “I need to speak with Abby and Steven. I know where Jeremy stands.”

  Brooke ears prickled at the statement. Dr. Jeremy Moore was a close friend. She was curious what Rachel meant.

  “Different issues,” Rachel said. “While you were out, he had some observations to share about Dr. Bennet.”

  “What kind of observations?” Brooke wondered.

  “Later,” Rachel said. “I had planned to talk to you about them tomorrow. I wish you would have told me, Brooke,” Rachel repeated. She saw Brooke begin to speak and stopped her. “I get why you didn’t. But, Brooke? Anything that affects you here? That matters. Anything that could effect our dynamic? That matters too—to all of us. You need to trust me that I can make the distinction between…”

  “You sound like Tess.”

  Rachel smiled. “I like your wife.”

  Brooke laughed. “Me too.”

  “You should listen to her advice more often,” Rachel suggested.

  Brooke rolled her eyes. Ain’t that the truth.

  Rachel put her hand on the doorknob and offered Brooke one final thought. “I know… I know that you don’t think I understand sometimes. I probably don’t,” Rachel confessed. “And, you’re right; I will always want to defend my best friend. I can’t help that,” Rachel admitted. “But, you are more than that here,” she said. “You’re my anchor in this office, Brooke—not because you are my best friend, because you are the finest doctor I know. I trust you completely. I need that same trust from you.” Brooke’s only response was a silent nod. “I’ll see you later,” Rachel said as she left.

  Brooke waited for the door to close and let her head fall gently onto her desk. I hate this. She retrieved her cell phone from her pocket and called the one person she knew would understand. “Hey,” she greeted her wife.

  “Uh oh,” Tess replied, detecting the dejectedness in Brooke’s voice. “Are you feeling okay?”

  “I was until the staff meeting,” Brooke replied.

  “Oh no,” Tess said. “Can you make it through the day?”

  Brooke chuckled. Tess had naturally assumed that Brooke was dealing with a bout of nausea. That isn’t exactly inaccurate. “Were you still planning on stopping by for lunch?” Brooke asked.

  “I was… Do you need something…”

  “Yeah—you,” Brooke laughed.

  Tess was caught off guard. “Brooke?”

  “Long story,” Brooke said. “Actually, I was hoping maybe we could skip lunch.”

  “Not up to eating?” Tess guessed.

  “Not really, but not for the reason you are thinking,” Brooke replied. “Things are a little tense here. I have a feeling that might get worse shortly.”

  “Do I even want to guess?” Tess asked.

  “Rachel knows about Bennet.”

  “Maybe that’s for the best,” Tess replied.

  “I know. Why doesn’t that make me feel any better?”

  “Brooke, this is not your fault. Sooner or later, you were going to have to tell Rach.”

  “I know,” Brooke said. “Right now, I’d like to just quit.”

  “But, you won’t,” Tess said. “That’s not you. And, that’s not what you really want.”

  “No, but it’d be easier.”

  Tess laughed lightly. “Not what you expected your first day back, huh?”

  “Not really.”

  “I’m sorry, love.”

  “Where are you?” Brooke changed the subject.

  “Running some errands.”

  “Uh huh. What kind of errands?”

  “Quit being so nosy,” Tess teased.

  “You making lasagna?” Brooke asked, shifting moods.

  “Oh, you are feeling better,” Tess chuckled.

  “I am now,” Brooke replied sincerely.

  “It’ll work out,” Tess said. “Trust Rachel.”

  “I do. I just hate causing issues.”

  Tess smiled on the other end of the phone. Sometimes Brooke’s propensity for taking on responsibility for everyone and everything frustrated Tess. It was an inclination that she had learned was innately part of who Brooke was. Tess had grown to suspect that the tension Brooke had sensed in her home as a child was the root cause of Brooke’s need to make everything somehow her responsibility. And, Tess understood that Brooke had a desire to fix things. Fixing other people’s issues was much more complicated than fixing something you had caused. That often led to Brooke taking on more than she needed to both emotionally and physically.

  “I love you, Brooke,” Tess said.

  “I’m glad. Not what I expected you to say.’

  Tess sighed. There were many things she wanted to say. She didn’t feel a phone call was the place to say them. “Maybe sometimes that’s the only thing you need to know,” she said. “You going to be okay?”

  “Yeah, I will.”

  “You sure you don’t want me to…”

  “It’s not that I don’t want you to come. I just… You know what…”

  “I get it,” Tess said. “Call me if you need to, okay? Do you want me to get Dani instead of…”

  “No,” Brooke replied quickly.

  Tess laughed. “I get it; she’s your escape. I’ll see you at home later.”

  “You will. Tess?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Thanks.”

  “What I am here for,” Tess said.

  “Yeah. I love you.”

  “I know,” Tess replied coyly. “Go be a doctor.”

  “Yes, dear,” Brooke teased.

  “Goodbye, Brooke,” Tess laughed as she hung up the phone. Well, maybe your dad’s surprise visit is just what the doctor ordered.

  CHAPTER NINE

  “Dr. Campbell?” Janine looked up from her desk in astonishment. She’d met Brooke’s father at Brooke and Tess’s wedding. She’d never seen him visit the office.

  “Janine, right?” Brad Campbell greeted the woman.

  Janine nodded. “Do you have an appointment?” Janine teased.

  “Not today,” Brad Campbell replied good-naturedly. “I don’t suppose the doctor is in?” he joked.

  “Finishing with her last patient of the day,” Janine told him. “Would you like to wait in her office?”

  “Janine,” a voice roused Jani
ne’s attention from behind the desk. Janine spun in her chair; her mouth instinctively flew open when she came face to face with Brooke.

  Brooke raised her eyebrows at her friend. “Please don’t tell me you’ve finally seen the ghost of Elvis.”

  Janine pursed her lips and folded her arms across her chest. Brooke and Rachel loved to tease her about her infatuation with Elvis Presley.

  “Well?” Brooke asked. Janine made her response in the form of a smirk and a finger point to the reception window. Brooke edged forward to peek through and was met with a small wave from her father. She looked confused for a moment, and then turned her attention back to Janine as if she needed convincing he was real. Janine shrugged, and Brooke looked back at her father.

  “Bad time?” Brad asked.

  “Dad?”

  “That’s what your birth certificate says—I think. Your mother filled it out, though.”

  Brooke was not confident that she would ever get used to her father’s newly found sense of humor. As it seemed to be with many things that concerned her parents, Brooke often wondered if his dry, quick wit had always been present, and she had somehow failed to notice it.

  “Clever, Dad,” Brooke finally made a comment. “Unless I missed something pretty major, I’m not guessing you are here for an appointment.”

  “Do I need one to visit?” he asked Brooke. Brooke’s strained smile unnerved him. “If this is a bad time… Tess had mentioned she thought your last appointment was at two. I just thought maybe we…”

  “Dad!” Brooke laughed. Tess says I ramble? “It’s fine, Dad,” Brooke said, opening the door to the corridor. “I just didn’t expect to see you. I thought you were picking up D.?”

  “I was. Tess and I swapped duties. She thought I could come with you to Dani’s lesson.”

  Brooke nodded and silently led her father toward her office. Brad watched Brooke as she moved. She seemed a bit sluggish to him, and not in the same way that she had been the previous week when she had been feeling ill. Brooke’s stride was slower than normal, and her shoulders were not squared as they normally were. He followed her dutifully. Finding his mind preoccupied with Brooke, he stopped paying attention to her movement and nearly ran into her back when she stopped outside her office door to open it.