The clinic interview

This chapter will be a major branch point for Laura.

Laura did her best to look presentable before going to the clinic. Letta and a new, pregnant, receptionist by the name of Yevette, who looked ready to pop, sat behind the counter. They greeted her with a wave.

"Hello, dear. Welcome back. The doctor is in. I'd take you back there, but getting off this **** contraption might make me go into labor," Letta joked with a friendly smile.

"I just go through the door?" Laura asked with a frown at the passcode door the nurses used to take patients to the back.

"I'll buzz you through. Third door on the left. That's Dr. Tony's office.

Laura felt nervous as she walked down the sterile hallway. The third door on the left was open. In a clean, spacious office that might have been an examination room at one point, sat a large oak desk. A tall, dark-skinned man dressed in scrubs rose with a brilliant smile. "Ms. Laura, I presume?" he greeted.

Powerfully built, the cultured man stretched out his hand. "Yes, thank you for seeing me Dr. Tony," she greeted.

"Mack said you might be good people and needed a job. I won't lie to you, I only need a temporary receptionist and I can only pay so much, however, you can get as many hours as you need. If you don't mind driving, sometimes I need someone to help load and transport some of my equipment to make house calls. I... don't need to explain to you what I mean, correct?" Dr. Tony asked, his dark eyes suddenly serious.

"No, I understand. I'll take whatever I can get. What would my responsibilities be?" she asked.

"For the most part, data entry until Letta can show you how to enter people into our system and send off to the insurance companies for each patient."

"That seems easy," she allowed.

"Just above minimum wage. I pay what the job entails. You won't work with the patients, for any reason. All sorts of legal reasons, but you can clean up sometimes in the rooms. If you save me money by cleaning the rooms and wiping things down, then you get the money I'd be spending to get the job done anyway."

"That... is better than I could hope for," she admitted.

"I try to help where I can, but I never hand out something for free. My mother didn't raise a fool."

Laura smiled. "I understand that. When do you cut the checks?" she asked.

"Cash, always cash, and on Mondays of each week. Pay is the accumulation of whatever you did the previous week. Now, I have a good idea of what kind of woman you are. I have a few serious questions that I want your complete honesty on. There is a reason I'm going to ask these, so please think through your answers, understand?" Dr. Tony asked.

"I understand," Laura said, somewhat apprehensively. She knew things might have been too good to be true.

"I'm going to come right out and ask. Do you owe any money to any... unsavory people?" he asked, his eyes boring into hers.

"No, I have some debt, but it's mostly credit card debt I'm working through."

He nodded. "Thank you. Do you have a problem with prostitutes, whores, or anyone who sells their bodies for money?" he continued, his hands folded on the desk.

"No. I... understand why it might be necessary."

The doctor's eyebrows furrowed. "You don't have to answer this one, but have you... well, hooked before?" he asked gently.

"When my son was younger. I needed money quickly." She wasn't going to go into detail, but she had a feeling the truth might put her in a more favorable light, as absurd as it would be in a normal interview.

"Then you understand what some of these men, women, and trans patients have gone through or are going through."

"I have some idea," Laura agreed.

"Thank you for being honest. I'll tell you what. How about a 90 day trial, it's about what I do for everyone, to see if this works out for you. I won't lie. You're going to see and hear things that are morally gray. This clinic keeps the patients at the forefront of our thoughts and focus. They might tell you something but I need you to bring it to me before you go to the authorities. I'm operating a clean business, but not everyone in the area is the same way. If we poke around into something that might come back and hurt the clinic or our patients then that needs to be taken into consideration."

Laura blinked and bit her lip. That was asking a lot. Could she keep her mouth shut to keep her job? That was what Dr. Tony was asking of her.