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When his phone rang at a little after three, he was pulling on his clothing even as he took messages on what was going on at the hospital. He hadn’t been on call, not his turn, but he took the call anyway. It was a delivery of one of the Johnson families. There were three of them in town with two of them having a baby soon. Daniel was out the door before he could remember that he had plans for the morning. Well, he was going to make it happen even if he had to make a few calls himself. His family came first and he wasn’t going to let them be disappointed if he could help it.
Chapter 6
Chase knew that Daniel was pissed off, but so was he. Since the man was already at the hospital and working, why did he think that he should come in? He had plans today as well and it didn’t involve the hospital where stinky people were and nurses making demands on him. He didn’t even know why he’d answered the phone. But seeing Daniel’s smiling face made him think that it was a social call and not him being called into work.
“You’re on call, Chase, and I’m not. The very fact that they tried to reach you and you didn’t bother answering makes me think that this job might not be for you.” He rolled his eyes, telling Daniel that he liked the money it paid. “You’re not going to be paid at all if you don’t do your job and come to work. You do know that I can have your pay docked for this. And I’m going to make sure that you’re docked for all the other times that you didn’t show up for work. Have you even worked a weekend when you were on call?”
“Yeah, yeah, I know that I’ve been remiss in working when I’m supposed to, but I have to have some downtime, Daniel. But as for today? I have plans with my family. You see, I have this big assed boat that I just got, and I’m going to go out with my family. Plus, my wife and I are having a bit of trouble around here. You understand that, don’t you, buddy?” Daniel said that he didn’t and had plans as well and that he wasn’t his buddy. “But you’re already at the hospital. It would be silly if I were to come in now, don’t you think? I mean, you’re already dressed for the job and everything.”
Linda, his wife, pointed at her wrist and started tapping her foot. He’d never understood why people still did that, pretending like they were showing you a watch when people hadn’t worn watches in a decade or more. He certainly didn’t. Chase remembered someone had commented on that, too, that he needed to have a watch on because he wasn’t to have his phone out all the time. Stupid rules if you asked him.
“Look, you get your ass in here right now, and I won’t have to bring you up before the board. This is the fourth time that you’ve blown off being on call, and the other doctors are getting sick of covering for you. You have thirty minutes, or you’ll be regretting your decision to stay at home.” No he wouldn’t and told Daniel that. “I’ll have you fired, Chase. I’m not kidding right now.”
“You can’t fire me, Daniel, and we both know that. We’re short-staffed as it is. I only came on board with this hospital because of the bonus I’m to get in a few days.” He counted it up and smiled. “Three days, Daniel. I’ll have that five-grand bonus in just three days. You can hang on until then. It’s not going to be all that busy. I can feel it in my bones.”
Chase realized that he was talking to a dead receiver when the sound came through. Calling him an asshole for just hanging up on him, he looked at his pissed-off wife. Standing up, he was thrilled beyond words that he wasn’t going to have to go to work. Delivering babies was something that he never wanted to do, but it came with the job. Christ, he hated holding onto a wiggly squiggly baby and all the nasty shit that came with one.
They were nearly packed up to be gone. Spending the day on the boat they’d just gotten was better any day than staying in a smelly hospital when he pulled out of the garage to load up the beer and coolers that they’d gotten yesterday when the boat arrived. But he couldn’t leave because he’d been blocked in by the police, of all things.
“Officer? What is it I can do for you?” His wife asked him what he’d done now, and after telling her that he’d not done anything that he could be arrested for, she went into the house. Good, he thought, he could tell her anything that he wanted when they left. “Is there something going on that—”
“We’re here to take you to work, Doctor Slate.” He asked if he was joking. “No, sir. Daniel called and said that you were having trouble coming into work, and we told him that we’d help you out. So if you’d like to just get whatever you need to have—”
“You have got to be kidding me. He actually called the police on me because I didn’t come to work today? Like I tried to explain to him, I have plans. He’s already there. It would be stupid if we both had to ruin our days off to—”
“Are you on call or not, Doctor Slate?” He said that he was. Thinking he could get out of this right now, he reached for one of the many beer cans that he’d yet to put into his truck. “You touch that, and I’m going to have to arrest you. Daniel is a good man and has plans, too. He wasn’t even on call today. You are. Now, I’m going to ask you again to step back from the beer that you have there and get into the cruiser with me. I don’t want to have to arrest you. And I’m sure that is nothing you want either.”
“What are you arresting me for? I mean, he doesn’t have that much pull that he can have the police here to take me in. Does he know that if you take me in, I’m still not going to be working today anyway? I bet he never thought that far ahead, has he?” Chase reached for the beer, not thinking about the threat that had just been told to him.
Getting the tab pulled on the can, he had it to his lips, ready for his second swallow, when he was suddenly on his stomach lying across the hood of his truck. No easy feat either since the sucker was a good three feet from the ground. When his arms were jerked behind him, he asked what the fuck was going on. It wasn’t until he heard the racking of a rifle that he turned to look at his wife.
“Now honey, there is no need for you to be pointing that thing at the nice officer.” She told him to shut the fuck up. “It’s just a small misunderstanding right now, and I’m going to have it all cleared up in no time.”
“You fucking bastard. You told me that today was our day and that you were off. Fuck, Chase, do you ever tell the truth anymore? Oh, and your fuck buddy or whatever you call your girlfriend, she’s is on the phone.” He didn’t think that this day could get any worse than it was right now. “I want him out of here, officer. If it helps, he’s been drinking since seven-thirty this morning and hasn’t stopped. I believe it’s against the law to be drinking on the job.”
“Yes, ma’am, it is.” After being read his rights, Chase asked if he went to work could he just call this a misunderstanding. “You’re drinking. I doubt that you’re drunk, being how you have been drinking all your life, but I’m going to test you. It’s against the law for you to be drinking on your job. I’m betting that you lose your doctoring license for this. Yes, I do.”
No amount of begging got him out of the situation that he was in. Chase even begged to talk to Daniel, telling them that it was just a misunderstanding and that he’d make sure that Daniel understood that. As he was tossed, Christ, they didn’t even try to keep him from banging his head on the car frame. He was told to shut up and enjoy the ride. Like that was going to happen.
When he was processed and put into a cell, he decided that he needed to talk to Daniel. The man was a sap, sure, but he’d see that it was just a misunderstanding and have him drop the charges. He didn’t know how that was going to work, but it was worth it. He decided to use his one call to contact the man and see what he could do for him. It was worth a shot, and he was willing to bet that the dumbass would fall for it. He had gone to work when he wasn’t on call.
He didn’t answer. Christ, the man was really starting to piss him off. Trying to get him to the phone was proving to be more difficult than it had been to convince the salesman at the boat dealership that he made two hundred grand a year. Chase wondered if there was going to be an end to this fuckery that was plaguing him right now.
Leaving a message seemed beneath him, but he had to try. “Hey, Daniel, buddy. I’m in a bit of trouble here and was wondering if you’d come down here and talk to these officers about how you and I had a deal or something? I’ll leave the details up to you, you’re a smart guy and all.” He nearly gagged, thinking about how much he was buttering the guy up right then. “Anyway, I need your help with this. I don’t want to be in jail. Hey. You can use my boat anytime you want to. You know, so long as I’m not using it. And never on weekends. Also, you’ll have to put your own g—”
Being cut off pissed him off more, and he slammed the phone down. He was so pissed right now that he wanted to break something. Before he could get the chance to toss the phone across the room, he thought that if Daniel didn’t come through, he should call himself a lawyer. Just as he was looking up one on his phone, it was jerked out of his hand and put into a bag.
“What the fuck are you doing? I have to find me a lawyer.” The man, a guy with a flak vest on, told him that he’d made his call. “No. No, you have that all wrong. He didn’t answer. I left a message, so that doesn’t count as a call.”
“Did you say you left a message?” Chase told him that he had, as Daniel must have been busy or something. “Counts as a call. Come on, Mr. Slate. It’s time for you to go to processing. You need to empty your pockets. I’ll have your phone but with the rest of your things.”
“It’s Doctor, not Mister. I’d appreciate it if you would address me as such. I worked hard for that title, and I want you to use it.”
He’d not worked all that hard for anything in his life and being a doctor had been easy when he’d cheated on everything that the school had tossed at him. Even going so far as to hire someone to take his boards. Life was just too easy for him at times, and damned Daniel was fucking things up for him.
Taken back to his cell, he was pissed off again when they told him that he’d missed breakfast and that he’d have to wait for lunch. Since it was almost nine in the morning and the fact that he’d skipped breakfast in favor of having a couple of beers, he knew that he was going to be starving if he didn’t get something soon. What he wouldn’t have given for just a couple of beers right now.
~*~
