Never Too Late (22 page)

“That’s not—”

“Eating leftovers alone at home or—”

“I get the picture.” Jamie shook her head but was smiling.

“Good. It’s a date. I mean—”

“Speaking of which…did you call that attorney?”

“Um, no.”

“The first rule of dating is don’t wait until Thursday to ask for a date on Friday night.” Jamie flipped to another EOB.

“I knew I could count on your expertise.”

“And the second rule is don’t go home with her on the first date.”

“Oh, like you demonstrated on my one other—” Carla gulped when Jamie looked at her, an instant of heat in her eyes before they were all business again. “Don’t start without me.”

It took Carla the whole five-minute drive to the restaurant to calm her heart into not jumping out of her chest. She’d call that woman as soon as she got home. She definitely needed to start dating or she was going to combust. She fanned her blouse away from her breasts.

*

Jamie hopped out of the Highlander, anxious to share the good news with Sheryl. They’d made real progress. Maybe Sheryl’s promotion had come through and they could celebrate.

“Where have you been?” Sheryl’s voice sounded accusing.

“Working,” Jamie said, walking into the bedroom. “I thought you were going to be late.” Sheryl was sitting up in bed, a magazine across her lap. “I finally got the EOBs from one of the insurance companies and I have to compare them to—”

“I needed you,” Sheryl said, icily.

Jamie sat on the edge of the bed. “What’s wrong, babe?” Tears and anger filled Sheryl’s eyes.

“The promotion,” Sheryl choked out, shaking her head.

“What happened?” Jamie took her hands.

“It’s like déjà vu. The president of the PTA called me to complain that his daughter was upset about seeing two boys making out in the hallway. He demanded I put a stop to it. I tried to explain that I couldn’t do anything, and he said I better not forget everything he’d done for me.”

“I don’t understand.”

“He goes to the same church as the superintendent.” Sheryl’s voice had an edge of impatience. “He put in a good word for me last year and made sure the PTA raised enough funds for some of my on-campus projects.”

“You traded favors with a—”

“Don’t look at me like that, Jamie. You have no idea…” Sheryl started to cry.

“You’re right. Shh, it’s okay.” She pulled Sheryl to her and held her.

“I just can’t win, Jamie. If that bitch last year hadn’t put up such a fuss, we would have a precedent I could uphold and everyone would be happy.”

Not the kids, Jamie thought, as she fought the urge to defend Carla. How had she ended up having to keep secrets from Sheryl in order to keep her business from costing Sheryl the promotion she wanted? She was in a no win situation, too.

“I’ve worked so hard.” Sheryl wiped her eyes with her pajama sleeve.

“Sheryl, you can’t please everyone.“

“They’re not everyone.” Sheryl’s eyes went cold. “The superintendent can make my career, and the president of the PTA can make my life miserable.”

“Don’t you want to set a precedent by standing up for what you believe is right?” Jamie hoped deep down inside that Sheryl believed in gay rights.

Sheryl’s face crumpled. “I want that promotion, Jamie. I don’t want to be stuck babysitting rich, bratty teenagers for the rest of my life. For once in my life I want to feel good enough.”

“Shh. You’re good enough with me.”

“I can always count on you.” Sheryl nuzzled her face into Jamie’s neck.

Jamie held Sheryl and rubbed her back as she cried. Her heart broke for Sheryl’s disappointment. Were Sheryl’s compromises any worse than hers? She was the one not telling her partner that her new office manager was the woman Sheryl blamed for her problems. Jamie hugged Sheryl tighter. They’d get through this.

“Lunch is ready,” Carla said, walking into Jamie’s office.

“Just one more.” Jamie didn’t look up from the patient file.

“No one will eat without you, and they’re all drooling over the sushi.” Carla closed the file and lifted the pen from Jamie’s hand.

“That’s blackmail.” Jamie’s eyes followed the hand up the sleeve of the green blouse that made Carla look like a spring day and then up to the smile she knew would be there. She needed that smile. She needed the kindness in her eyes.

“We’ve made it through half those EOBs. I’ll come in tomorrow and work on them.”

“Don’t you have a date tonight?”

“Yes.”

Jamie waggled her eyebrows, amused by the hint of a blush Carla tried to hide as she rearranged the bouquet of roses on her desk. They’d been sitting there this morning along with her cup of coffee and the stack of patient files with the sticky notes. She had help, an office manager who made her job easier, and she wasn’t quite sure what to do with it.

“As I was saying, I’m expecting my other angel to come through with EOBs next week.”

“You don’t have to come in.” Jamie shoved herself out of her chair. There was a new crack in the leather arm. It really was time to get a new one.

“Penni made me promise I’d boot you out the door on time for practice. You know, Jamie…”

“I know where you’re headed, and I can’t, Carla.”

“Change is hard.” Carla crossed her arms. “We could start with every other Saturday.”

“I’ll think about it.” Jamie knocked over her father’s picture as she set the file back on the stack. The wood frame looked its age. He’d worked six days a week for almost forty years and made it look easy. “We do what we have to for our patients,” he’d always say. She followed Carla down the hall, enjoying the faint whiff of her perfume. Maybe she could get Sheryl to go back to the perfume she liked.

Jamie’s staff gave a standing ovation when she stepped into the break room. She took a bow and slid into the chair next to Marci. “Chopsticks ready,” she said, lifting hers in the air. “Set, go.” Six pairs of chopsticks dove for the sushi at once. Conversation circled around the table punctuated by groans when too much wasabi hit someone. The camaraderie that used to be in her office was back, and she had Carla to thank.

“Oh, my gosh, look at the time.” Marci gathered plates, and they all pitched in to help while Carla made a fresh pot of coffee. Teamwork.

“Thank you for the extra patients,” Sara said. “I’m glad you aren’t giving up your lunch any more.”

“Team effort.” Jamie squeezed her shoulder. “You’ve got more muscle.”

“I’m training for a fitness competition.” Sara raised her arms in a mock bodybuilder pose.

Jamie mimicked the motion. “I used to be pretty buff, too.”

Everyone looked toward the sound of glass banging against the sink. “Not broken,” Carla said, holding up the glass, a funny look on her face.

“Carla was going to run with me this weekend, but now that she’s out of commission maybe you’d run with me like we used to.”

“What’s this about being replaced?” Carla asked, joining the conversation.

“Well, if Jamie gives you the go-ahead, why don’t we all go?”

“What’s safer than running with two chiropractors?” Carla looked from Sara to Jamie.

Jamie hesitated. Was it a good idea to do things with Carla outside the office? Sheryl often did things without Jamie, and she did have her weekly brunch. “Sunday?”

“Great,” Carla said, rubbing her hands together.

*

Carla studied Jamie from the doorway of her office. She looked tired, but the dark circles under her eyes weren’t as pronounced as they had been, and who wouldn’t be tired with the kind of hours she worked? She’d been in a good mood all day, and Carla wanted to take advantage of it to press her newest plan for the office. “I can’t stand it any more.” Jamie looked up from her desk. “I don’t want to insult you, but your clinic could use a face-lift.”

“Don’t scare me like that.” Jamie patted her chest.

“What did you think I was going to say?”

“That you don’t like working here.”

“Sorry, you’re stuck with me. But this office—”

“You’re just trying to bury your empty-nest woes.”

Carla rubbed the back of one of the chairs, her enthusiasm slumping. Maybe she was trying too hard to make a difference. “You’re right. Bad idea.”

“You know what, it’s a great idea,” Jamie said. “I’m embarrassed to say it looks pretty much the way it did the day we opened it.”

“We could start with your office and have the whole clinic redone by the end of the year. I’m sure the embezzlement will be resolved by then, in your favor, of course. You could begin the year on a whole new note.”

“I’m all yours…I mean.” Jamie cleared her throat. “You can do whatever you want. And yes, please start in here. In fact, start with this chair.” Jamie stepped behind it and shook it with mock viciousness. “I hate it. It doesn’t fit me, and I feel about five years old in it.”

“Well, we can’t have Dr. Hammond feeling five years old, now can we?” Carla used her best Southern accent. Jamie’s eyes darkened and her pulse responded. Penni wasn’t kidding about Jamie and Southern accents. She was thrilled to have the awkwardness gone, but the absence of barriers and the new…well, friendliness, between them was encouraging Carla’s unrealistic fantasy to be more than friends.

The chair creaked when Jamie sat back down. “Could you find me something…I don’t know…comfortable and not dark brown?”

Ideas formed as Carla surveyed the room. She could scout new furniture and then take Jamie shopping for the final approval. Personal time with her. “New chair. First on my list.” Carla walked to the desk and ran her palm over the scratched surface. “And a new desk.”

“This was my father’s desk.” Jamie placed her fingers on the edge.

“If you don’t want to replace it—”

“I do,” Jamie said. “I’ve never liked it, either.”

“What was he like?” Carla sat across from Jamie. She was curious. Several patients had spoken about Jamie’s father like he was a legend. She was nervous about her date tonight and grateful for the excuse to have a few minutes with Jamie.

“Great with patients—gregarious and charming. Ex-navy. Very active in chiropractic organizations—president of the local and state associations several times. Smart—graduated at the top of his class. Excellent adjuster. He taught me a lot.” Jamie’s description sounded more like a résumé than a daughter’s recollection of her father.

“If you think I work long hours…” Jamie smiled when Carla nodded vigorously. “We didn’t always see eye to eye, but I have tremendous respect for him. He was devoted to my mother and dedicated to his patients.

“When did he die?”

“About six months after the clinic opened. Pancreatic cancer.” Jamie looked at the pictures on the desk. “It was so hard to watch him dwindle to a shadow of who he’d been.” She seemed far away for a minute. “Thank God for Mary. When he couldn’t work anymore she took care of him. With my mom gone and the demands of the clinic…I don’t know what I’d have done without her.”

“What was she like?” Carla had also heard comments about Mary.

Jamie steepled her fingers under her chin and looked at her father’s picture. “Officious is the word that always comes to mind. I wouldn’t say she was warm, but she was efficient and loyal to my father. She’d been running his office since before I was born. In fact, she decorated the clinic.”

“And where does Marjorie come into the picture?” She knew Marjorie was Mary’s daughter but she wanted to understand the history Jamie was dealing with.

“She’d worked in the office off and on.” Jamie’s voice was tight. “After my father died, Mary brought her in full time. She retired about a year later, and there was never any question that Marjorie would take over.”

“What was she like?”

“Cranky. Like nothing I did for her was ever good enough. My father and Mary were a seamless team. I thought I’d have that with Marjorie.” Jamie made no attempt to hide the bitterness in her voice.

“How did you discover the embezzlement?” Carla had gotten some of the story from Betty, but she wanted Jamie’s version.

Jamie’s hands closed into fists before she answered. “I didn’t. I discovered the insurance fraud. By accident.”

“It might help if I knew the whole story.”

Anger and guilt settled on Jamie’s face, and she didn’t say anything for a while. “I was going through the mail because Marjorie called in sick. There was a notice from Blue Cross that payment on my claims was being suspended pending their investigation. It was a second notice and I was furious, but I assumed it was just a case of wanting more documentation. The next day I got a notice from United Healthcare. It was a final notice threatening legal action against me for fraud. That’s when I knew I had a problem.” Jamie looked up. “It was a nightmare,” she said, her voice collapsing to a whisper.

“I’ve found a lot of files where pages were ripped out—treatment notes and I think EOBs. Looks like she knew the jig was up and was trying to cover her trail. How did you figure out she’d been embezzling?”

“I didn’t.” Jamie clenched her jaw. “My accountant got a notice from the IRS. Income on my return didn’t match what the insurance companies reported paying me.”

“She was doctoring the 1099s.” The woman’s boldness bothered Carla.

Jamie nodded.

“I wish I’d been running your office,” Carla said, before she could stop herself.

Jamie was silent, her expression guarded. “You should get going. You don’t want to be late for a first date.” Jamie stood and shooed Carla out of the office.

“Any last words of advice?” Carla asked as they walked to her car. “That blouse looks great on you, by the way.” The red silk gave Jamie a softer look than her usual starched Oxford shirts.

“Lots of compliments is always a good idea.” Jamie laid her hand on Carla’s arm as she reached for the car door. “And remember, it’s about having fun.”

Carla’s pulse quickened. “I remember.” Jamie nodded, and her eyes said she remembered, too. “Enjoy your dinner and tell Penni hi for me.”

Carla hadn’t gone a block before angry tears filled her eyes. Why couldn’t she have the woman she wanted? By the time she got home it took a glass of wine and a stern lecture to herself not to call and cancel. The phone rang and she smiled. Of course he’d call.