A Better Next

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A Better Next Page 19

by Maren Cooper


  His posture straightened as he thought for a moment or two, then, in a stronger voice, said, “Alice Lang may be able to give you a better understanding of the business than anyone there now. If I call her, she might agree to meet with you. She retired early, and we were all sorry to see her go, except for Floyd. She was one of the few people he didn’t appreciate. I could never understand that.”

  They left Gabe’s at nearly seven p.m. and walked in the growing darkness back to their cars. Larry said little but seemed more at ease. Jess made soothing conversation but wasn’t sure he deserved it at this point.

  She drove home slowly, thinking about Larry’s demeanor during their meeting and how humbled he had seemed while admitting his failings to her. If he believed he had nothing to offer, that could explain how distant he had been during the assessment process. But something still didn’t feel right. She made a mental note to find Dan immediately in the morning. And what exactly was Jim’s role in all of this?

  Chapter 34

  Jess didn’t sleep well that night. She was up later than usual, thinking about her strange meeting with Larry Personne and about what they might find out next about the practice. Now that she had a big project for Midwest Health that she could get excited about, she hoped it wouldn’t be derailed before it even got started. She cringed to think about the possible havoc it would wreak on the physicians in the group if, indeed, the financial irregularities were found to go beyond simple negligence.

  She was just out of the shower when the phone rang. Too early for anything good, she thought, but then her mood shifted 180 degrees when she realized who the caller was. “Beth! What a wonderful morning surprise. How are you?”

  “Pretty good, Mom, but crazy busy. I miss you, though, and so does Tom. We have a proposal for you. Remember how my theater group is going on tour? We’ll be in Chicago next weekend, and Tom would like to fly in for the performance, but only if you come too!”

  They both whooped and then laughed at sounding so much alike. Jess remembered that at one point Beth hadn’t been sure she liked being similar to her mom in looks and manner, but now they both found it amusing.

  “You’re kidding. How and when did you two come up with this scheme? And when’s the performance?” Jess thought back to the trip she and Arthur had taken to Stanford a year earlier, when Beth had mentioned this theater tour and Arthur had dodged the question. She again felt the fool as she remembered his duplicity during that time. She wondered if he knew about this trip. If he did, would he feel left out?

  “Our group’s at the University of Chicago on Saturday night. Tom can get into Chicago easily Saturday morning. This was really his idea. Is it OK with you?”

  “Is it OK with me? Are you kidding? I’m thrilled! I’d love to spend time with you two!”

  “Good.” Beth’s voice dropped, but the pace quickened. “Mom, I’ve got to get to class, so I’ll e-mail you later. And of course Tom’s using the miles you gave us for Christmas, so you should go ahead and make your own flight plans, OK?”

  “What? It’s unbelievable that you kids planned this on your own. I’ll book my flights this morning. Can’t wait to see you!” Jess smiled as she congratulated herself for going after the air miles. What better use than this? Arthur might not feel that way, but she no longer cared.

  “OK, Mom. Gotta go. Love you.” And, in a rush, Beth was gone.

  The buzz from the phone conversation kept Jess smiling all the way to work.

  When she arrived at the office, she found Cindy chatting with another attorney in the hallway. She greeted Jess with a sly smile and followed her toward Jess’s office, where the door was unlocked and the lights were already on. That’s funny, Jess thought, hanging up her coat and heading toward her desk with her second cup of coffee. A floral scent led her to a huge bouquet of flowers on her conference table.

  Cindy joined her, still with her sly smile. “What have we here?”

  “It’s not my birthday, and Beth just called to arrange a weekend trip, so I don’t know why she’d also be sending flowers. But hey, let’s take a look.” Jess unwrapped a beautiful bouquet of tulips, forsythia, and red buds to oohs and aahs from Cindy.

  She located the card: “Looking forward to Saturday night. Jim.” Jess got tingly from her scalp to her toes and knew she must be blushing.

  Cindy looked over her shoulder to read the card and uttered, “Ah—the romance is on. I knew it. Excellent!”

  Just then, Dan entered the room. “Good morning, ladies. Jess, you wanted to see me right away. Is this OK? Wow, beautiful flowers!”

  “Aren’t they?” Cindy quickly took the card from Jess and placed it under the vase. “Morning, Dan. I was just leaving. I’ll check back with you later, Jess.” She turned to give her friend one last glimpse of that same sly smile.

  Jess kept the warm glow to herself and recovered quickly. “Dan, hey, thanks for making time. I wanted to give you a heads-up about the Goodmoor practice assessment. Do you need more coffee?” Dan shook his head.

  They settled at her desk. “You know we aren’t very far along with this,” she said, “but I’m getting a bad feeling about the audit findings. I could be off base, but I don’t think we want any surprises here, so let me tell you what we’re finding and what it may mean. You remember Joyce, our billing expert?” Jess swiveled her chair so she could get a glimpse of her flowers.

  “You mean Joyce, the human miracle who knows how to sniff out inconsistencies?”

  “That’s the Joyce I mean, yes. Her team has completed their internal audit, and while they worked on individual pieces, she pulled it together and reported on it to Cindy and me yesterday. Lots of issues. I’ll stop short of calling it overbilling right now, but I can tell you that all three of us were concerned enough to keep it close. We’ll have just Cindy and Joyce do the next review, testing for patterns, staff involved, et cetera.”

  “OK, good.” Dan’s body language remained relaxed, but his brow had tightened a bit as he slowly considered this information. “What about the docs? What do they know?”

  “Well, I had an odd meeting with Larry Personne last night. He says he doesn’t have a clue about anything on the business side. Floyd, the business manager, took care of all that. Unfortunately, that manager was killed in a car accident several months ago, and Larry admitted that he’s been, in his own words, ‘treading water until this deal gets done.’”

  “Hmm,” Dan mused. “You and I have certainly seen our share of overtaxed doctors wanting to dump the business to go to a staff job somewhere. Is it more than that, do you think?”

  “It could be. He seems desperate, and I want to find out more about why.” Jess thought of the physicians in that practice who were victims of this incompetence. Was Larry Personne really just a pawn himself? Her cell phone rang. She took it from her bag, silenced it, and put it on the desk within easy reach.

  “So, anyway, we’re going to go deeper to see what we can find. I did at least get Larry to give me the name of someone who’s now retired but who may have some history on the billing side. There’s just no bench strength in that practice with this Floyd fellow gone. It’s a shame.”

  “OK, sounds like a plan.” Dan stood up and exhaled. “Well, I guess this is why we do these exhaustive assessments. We clearly want to know what’s going on before we represent anything to either client about any potential arrangement.” He stood. “Where did this Goodmoor referral come from again?”

  Jess’s heart stopped, but she didn’t miss a beat. “From their consulting surgeon at the university hospital, now Midwest Health.” She registered a quick nod from Dan, and no questions, thank God.

  Opening the door to leave, he said, “I assume Cindy’s in this loop so she can advise on the legal aspects if we get in deeper, right? Is she doing well?”

  Jess smiled warmly and nodded. “She’s on top of it, and totally up for doing it right. Cindy’s a talented woman. Up for partner soon, I hope?” she teased lightly.

 
She walked him out and slipped over to her conference table. She had intended to play with the angle of the vase of flowers so she could see them from her desk, but somehow that didn’t seem right now.

  It was Jess’s regular night for a massage and a pedicure. Her friends had talked her into this indulgence during the months leading up to the divorce, and she had kept the monthly routine as a treat for herself. On the drive to the spa, she reflected on how her troubled night had given way to a surprisingly good day: a wonderful trip conjured up by her children, and flowers from Jim. That was very sweet, but now she had to let him know she couldn’t have dinner on Saturday night.

  During her massage, she briefly considered the Goodmoor business and Jim. She wished she could rule him out of any involvement there. Then she let her mind wander a bit to what he had in mind for Saturday night. A little longer wait would make it all the more interesting. She smiled. They had time.

  Her body was sore, and she felt as limp as a ragdoll when she got home after the massage and poured a glass of wine.

  Just as she gave herself over to a growing sleepiness, the doorbell rang. Odd, she thought. It was after seven p.m. She turned on the porch light and opened the door to a smiling Jim.

  “I hope I didn’t startle you,” he said, standing there with his hands in his pockets. One look at a slightly flustered Jess, and he added, “I guess I should have called first.”

  Dressed in leggings and a hoodie, her bright red toenails shining, Jess realized her hair must still be a mess after the massage. She regained her poise and smiled slightly. “Hey, you just surprised me. I’m not used to unexpected company after dark. Come in.”

  “I’m sorry. I wanted to talk to you in person, not on the phone, so I took a chance on just dropping by.”

  She gestured toward the living room. “Would you like a glass of wine, or any other kind of drink?”

  “No, thanks. I can’t stay.” He stepped into the entry, looking boyishly sheepish, his hands still in his pockets.

  “The flowers are beautiful. That was sweet of you. How did you know that I love that combination of spring blooms?”

  “Wonderful. I didn’t know, but I do now, and I’ll remember.”

  Jess smiled. “You know, I’m feeling really appreciated right now. I had a good day, and I realize how many good things and people I have in my life right now.”

  “Well, I hope you won’t take me off your list of admirers when I tell you that I have a complication concerning Saturday night.”

  “Oh,” she said. “Really? So do I. What’s your complication?”

  “My daughter, Joanna, called and said she was feeling a little low, thinking of her mom’s first birthday since her death, and wondered if I could fly out to her and spend the weekend. She and Sally were so close. I wish I’d thought of it myself. I need to go.” His brown eyes searched hers for a response.

  Jess could feel her heart open for this parent helping his child through a heartbreaking loss. “Oh, Jim, of course you do. Grieving her mother’s death will take some time, probably a very long time. And you’re a good father to help her with that. It’s absolutely the right thing to do.”

  “I knew you’d understand, but I do feel bad that I won’t see you.” He gently took a loose strand of her hair, put it behind her ear, and reached for her hand. Jess felt her long-lost libido kick in as the soft touch of his fingers sent flutters all the way to her toes.

  “Now, what’s your complication?” Jim asked.

  “This is an odd coincidence. I just heard from Beth this morning that she and Tom will both be in Chicago this weekend for Beth’s theater troupe’s performance, and she asked me to join them. So I was just going to call you to tell you I can’t see you Saturday night.”

  Jess saw such warmth in Jim’s brown eyes that it made her think about how nice it would be to curl up with him right then.

  They laughed, and then, after a pause, he cleared his throat. “Jess, do you think maybe we could schedule a weekend away as a rain check?”

  “I think that sounds lovely.”

  Jim took her other hand and drew her to him, and she melted into his arms.

  Jess hummed softly as she sat in the coffee shop, awaiting her four thirty p.m. meeting with Adam Bright. She used the time to reschedule a few things on her calendar so that she could have a weekend away with Jim. Claire and Diane were merciless in their teasing, and Cindy was trying to pry details out of her every day. The only downside of having these glorious friends was the transparency of her life. Well, she thought, smiling to herself, some things will definitely remain private. Her mind drifted to the romantic weekend Jim was planning for them. Was it too early to sleep with him? She wondered how well Adam knew Jim. She wondered how well she knew Jim.

  When Dr. Bright arrived, she flagged him down. He greeted her with a businesslike handshake as they headed for the line to order. She was curious about him. Medium height, with Harry Potter glasses and a sincere, somewhat boyish demeanor, he looked harmless enough. She wondered what had prompted him to challenge Larry Personne the first night she’d met the group.

  “Thanks for coming to my neighborhood. I have parent duty at five thirty and have to pick up my son at his friend’s house. This works better for me than driving across town during rush hour.”

  “Not a problem. It’s fun to get out of my everyday routine now and again. I take it you live here in Maplewood?” Jess asked.

  “Yes, we’ve been here for five years now. We chose it for the house, the good schools, and all the wonderful bike paths and parks.”

  Jess nodded, and they retrieved their drinks and returned to the quiet corner where she had been sitting. She started off with a reminder that whatever he told her would remain confidential. His first questions surprised her.

  “How far along are you in the interviews? What have you learned so far? Any early conclusions?”

  “Well, actually, we’ve had some trouble getting many of the doctors scheduled. Of the fifteen we plan to interview, you’re only the fourth, so I don’t have any results or conclusions yet. Do you have any idea why the doctors might be reluctant to talk to us?”

  “Hmm, I’m not surprised,” he said slowly, seeming to weigh his words carefully. He looked her in the eye. “You’ve been around the Missouri health care scene a long time. I did a little research on you.”

  Jess smiled. “I would expect nothing less from you, Dr. Bright. Is there something you’d like to know about my background specifically?” It was so easy to search someone’s profile these days. She was sure he hadn’t had any difficulty finding out about her. Larry Personne had certainly reviewed her résumé. Maybe he had shared it? She took a sip of her drink and let Adam consider his questions.

  “No, you checked out. You’ve got a very impressive track record. I’m glad you’re the one working on this.” He met her eyes again and leaned in a little, as if to share a secret. “So, do you promise I can take you at your word?”

  Jess put her pen down by her notebook. “I promise.”

  He folded his napkin and placed it under his drink, then said, “OK, here goes: I don’t think anyone believes what they say will matter. It hasn’t yet. Personne is totally clueless, and Floyd was an autocratic jerk. We don’t even know how the practice is being managed now. The doctors think that the Midwest Health acquisition is inevitable. Those who are talking to me think of it as an unknown but probably a good thing. But a lot of them are waiting to see what happens before they make any personal decisions.”

  Jess noticed that Adam’s face had flushed. She slowed him down by asking a couple of questions. “Tell me about your own experience with the practice. Did you try to get involved, learn about the business aspects?”

  “Yes, I was a very eager young doctor when I arrived five years ago. I had a dream of making a start as a clinician in a well-respected practice and then eventually helping to shape a new health care system. There’s no way physicians starting out today can ignore the chang
ing health care environment. We’ll either shape it or inherit whatever others shape.” He took a sip of his coffee and checked his watch before continuing.

  “I had the audacity to want to learn from Floyd: how things worked”—he counted off on his fingers as he continued—“how the revenue came in, how the insurance contracts were negotiated, how we hired staff, how we determined where our patients should be hospitalized.” His voice now had an edge. She noticed his shoulders tighten as he added, “I was hungry to learn every aspect.” He rolled his eyes. “What a joke! I was totally shut down.”

  “How exactly were you shut down?”

  “Floyd cut me off at every turn, saying, ‘Your value to the practice is clinical, not administrative.’ He used flattery to tell me that any old guy could manage a practice but that only the best and brightest could take care of patients. He conspired to keep information from me. He ran things so tightly that all of his staff were forewarned not to give me the time of day.” Adam put his hand on his left leg to stop it from jumping.

  “When I appealed to Personne, he backed Floyd up, then got me involved in peer review as a way of using my keen clinical talents in an administrative capacity.” He sneered.

  “How did that go?” Jess could tell that this interview was therapeutic for Adam, and she was all ears.

  “Surprisingly, I enjoyed it.” He loosened up and smiled for the first time. “And I’ve learned a lot about dealing with my fellow clinicians that way. I think I’m pretty good at it. But about two years ago, I was ready to try something new. Personne tried to appeal to my experience in this area to keep me busy and committed to it. And, of course, my colleagues had become reliant on me to do the job. So I more or less gave up on forcing the issue.” He sighed.

  A blast of cold air came in with a loud bunch of kids who were slow to close the door. Jess pulled her sweater tightly around her. “Adam, why do you think Larry Personne and Floyd Ramsey didn’t want you to get more involved?”

 

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