Mr. Peter Chapman

This is a three-part Romance story that slowly unwinds. I can barely apply a band-aid, so take zero medical advice from this story. Everyone having sex is at least 18. This is a work of fiction; I made it all up. Check reality at the door and enjoy it for what it is, a fun story. Special thanks to rancher46 and RF-Fast for editing my story and improving it.

*****

Chapter 1 -- Job Hunting

Molly tells Kate, "Kate, wake up; you got a live one."

My head is on my hands as I rest my eyes. I'm bored. I open my eyes and see a nice pair of men's slacks on a thin body. Possibly a bit too thin. This must be a teen. My eyes slowly look up, and the body is in excellent condition. He's no body builder, but he's athletic with broad shoulders. I continue looking up, and he's clean-shaven.

Seeing his eyes, this is a man. Oh my. He is handsome. I want this man. Is he a patient? He isn't leaking blood, doesn't look sick, isn't holding a body part. Oh my, what a rugged face. He reminds me of a classic lumberjack or a magazine model with jet-black hair styled and short. Is he military?

Why is this stranger standing at the front desk of the ER in Ness City, Kansas? This city only has 1,200 residents, and I know most of them. The main highway is far to the north. You don't just end up here.

I smile at this man, "Hello. Welcome to Ness County Hospital. How may I help you?"

The man is nervous, "Um. I'm looking for a job."

Oh wow. Soft-spoken and courteous. He seems surprisingly cautious like I might bite. It's been a quiet day, so I indulge myself. This is the ER front desk, not HR. We would be busy with farm accidents if this were planting or harvesting season. They still happen, but we see a far higher number of injuries at those times of the year because they rush to get seeds in the ground or harvest products for sale. Timing is critical for both tasks.

I ask, "Do you have the qualifications to work in the ER?"

At the time, I didn't think his answer was odd. Yet I would wonder for days later.

He replies to me, "I don't want to work in the ER."

DAMMIT. Why can't I get a good-looking guy down here?

I open my browser, bring up our HR portal, and look for jobs.

I suggest, "There are several nursing positions available. Are you qualified?"

Again, his answer was correct, yet I would later think hard about it.

The man timidly says, "I'm not certified."

That told me he has some medical training.

I ask, "There are two open positions for medical coders. Do you know your CPT codes?"

The shy man actually smiled, "Yes, I know about Current Procedural Terminology codes. I'm rusty, but I can do that job."

I pick up my phone and call Tala, my friend in HR.

Tala answers, "Hi Kate, what's up?"

It's too bad she can't see my smile, "Hi, Tala. Are you still looking for a Level 1 Billing Coder?"

Tala laughs, "Sure! What, did you just grow one for me?"

I giggle, "No, he just popped in down here. Shall I bring him your way?"

Tala laughs, "NO! If you want to deliver him, he must be handsome. I will allow you to stare at him a bit longer. Walking will allow me to perform a test. I'll be right there."

I tell the ruggedly good-looking man, "Tala is from HR. She will be down in a few minutes. You can have a seat over there, please."

He sat exactly where I pointed out without any protest, leaving me with a great view. I wonder what makes this man so timid. No. Not timid, he's sad. Depressed? Maybe. A whole lot is going on with this guy.

Chapter 2 -- HR

Tala's point of view:

Because we serve such a large area, we are a larger hospital than average in western Kansas. The city population is 1200, but farmers, migrant workers, and smaller towns come to us from hours away. We have several specialists that other hospitals don't have, including an exceptional surgeon. It takes several minutes of walking to enter the ER waiting room.

There is one man in the room. He is handsome, athletic, well maintained, and I don't know him. What the hell is he doing in Ness? I don't care; he's mine.

I walk up to the man, stick out my hand, and introduce myself, "Hi. I'm Tala Carter."

The man stands up and towers over me, "Peter Chapman, mam."

I instruct him, "If you follow me, I will take you back to HR, where we can talk privately."

I start walking with what I call a "nurses walk." Every nurse I know walks about twice the average pace as any other person alive. I can now match them. I test nurses by walking fast to see if they can keep up. I take off briskly to see if he can keep up. Being a guy, he won't be able to. I want his eyes glued on my ass.

This man has worked in a hospital before. He keeps up with me with no effort at all. I'm practically sucking air, and to him, it's effortless. Fuck him.

I'm opening the door to HR in no time, and we use conference room #1. We only have one conference room.

On the desk is a standard job application. While I'm checking out his application, he fills out a simple one-page test about CPT codes. He doesn't list any advanced education, certifications, or training. He only lists grade school, high school, and the University of Kansas Pre-med.

One look, and I know he aced the test. Surgery is the hardest to bill; I want to test him.

I ask Peter, "What codes might be typical for a heart attack?"

Peter asks, "You need to be more specific. Are you talking a blah, blah, blah, or a blah, blah?"

I have no idea what he just said.

I think my reply is killer, "How about the first one?"

He smiles at me, "It had more words?" I look sick and nod yes.

He smiles for the first time and then spends two minutes explaining the difference and the standard codes used. I have no idea if he's right or wrong.

My reply amuses him, "With no experience, no credentials, and no specialty education, the best I can offer is $30,000 a year."

Peter says with a charming smile, "I'll take it."

I look at the calendar, "It's Wednesday. Can you start Monday?" He nods his head yes. "For the next few hours, I will do an orientation with you, allow you to take your online compliance training classes, and in between, I'll take you to the cafeteria for lunch. It's not bad. They have a real chef and use culinary students for cooking. It's not always good, but there are various interesting meals.

"Monday morning at 8:30 AM, I want you here. We will finalize a few papers and review your background report and drug test results. If all is well, I will take you up to billing, where they will teach you the software we use.

+++++

At lunch, Peter deflects all personal questions. I don't learn anything about the man. The background report shows that he changed his last name. After holding my breath, there is nothing criminal in his past. He's squeaky clean. Thank you for small miracles. Now, how do I make him mine?

+++++

Camilla Sander's point of view:

Monday morning, 9:00 AM.

Tala knocks on my open door, "Hi Camilla; I have Mr. Peter Chapman here."

I'm married, but I want to know this man much better. He's going to be a problem. He's good-looking enough; he will screw all the single women and cause me lots of drama I don't want. I need a coder. I have no choice.

I get up, wave him in, and shake his hand with a warm smile, "Welcome to Ness County Hospital."

I had expected him to turn on the charm and hit on me. He stays silent. Oh crap, he's damaged. Someone broke his heart. I can work with that.

I take his hand, lead him to a chair in front of my desk, and dismiss a reluctant Tala. I understand; she wants him.

I ask Peter, "Can you explain your experience as a billing coder?"

Peter timidly answers, "My dad was a surgeon, my mom's family practice, and I went to pre-med at KU. I know the codes."

I know my CPT codes like the back of my hand. I spew off ten increasingly obscure procedures. He instantly knew the surgery and family practice codes; the rest took a fraction of a second. I'd bet anything he has a photographic memory. His knowledge of medicine is impressive.

I get up, "I'm taking you to your cubicle. I'll train you to use Epic and how to do the billing."

As we were walking to his desk, Peter added, "I'm familiar with Epic. I can look up notes with ease if they follow standard procedures."

He's practiced medicine before. He ran away from something. I can feel it in my heart.

I pull up a second chair. I have him log on, change his password, load Epic, and take him to the billing section. This part he didn't know well. He's smart and caught on quickly. What was impressive was how well he understood the charts and tests and knew which test results went with the procedure. He amazed me when he could read through the notes to see what codes to use. He KNOWS the terminology.

We often call a nurse or the doctor to get notes translated into codes. That makes the process far more time-consuming than it should be and frustrates the doctors. I love Peter already.

+++++

Three weeks later...

There is a knock on my door. I look up, and Peter is standing there. Damn, that man is handsome, yet nobody can break down his barriers. Nobody knows anything about him. Even the internet is a dead end.

Peter looks sick; that worries me. I wave him in and then sit. He has a folder in the hand of a patient discharged last week. Yes, we're that far behind. It used to be a month, but our productivity is through the roof, with everyone using Peter as a resource.

I use a soothing voice, "Calm down, Peter. What has you so distressed this morning?"

Peter takes a deep voice, "Sorry. How do you tell a doctor they missed something?"

What the hell. What a prick. What makes him think he knows better than a doctor? Time to set him right.

Using my authoritative voice, "Peter, look. You're a billing coder, and he's a doctor. I really don't ...."

The bastard cuts me off, "Look at patient E336587. Ten days ago, on the third. She had open-heart surgery. It's typical to do an EKG afterward. Look at it."

I look it up, and everything looks good. There are a lot of EKGs here. Which one is after the surgery? I don't see one. I look up at Peter questioningly.

He answers my unasked question, "Look under Pulmonary."

I reply, "But this is Cardiology?" He nods his head yes. I see the EKG. It looks normal to me, but hell, I'm no doctor.

Peter answers my thoughts again, "If he had seen that EKG, she would be back in the OR immediately."

I reply, "Peter, this looks normal."

Incredibly, he says the following words without being smug, "Are you qualified to make that decision? Look at the audit; he never opened this lab result. She's a ticking timebomb and an insurance catastrophe. Don't tie my name to this; just run it through channels; a life is in danger."

He then turns around and walks out, leaving the ticking timebomb in my lap. Typically, I would avoid the doctor and go to his boss. However, it's one and the same in a hospital this small. Wouldn't you know it, he's a prick. If you doubt me, ask anyone. Something about surgeons, they know they're better than everyone else. They're also always willing to tell you.

I want to go through HR or administrative channels, but I don't want this delayed if Peter is right. I call him directly and no answer. I call Jinny, the OR scheduler, and sure enough, the prick is in surgery. I explain my position, I don't want him to know, but he needs to know. Bless her heart, Jinny will take credit, and Peter nor I will be found out.

The next day I find out that Brian went berserk and trashed his office. The woman was called and is having surgery today.

I call Tala and set up a meeting with HR.

3:00, and I and Tala walk into the conference room. Beth Calhoun, the head of nursing, is already there. Word gets out quickly.

Beth is annoyed with me, "Why do I care about a biller?"

Oh, this is going to be so much fun. I'm doing her a huge favor, and she's giving me shit. She will be reminded of this day for years.

Smugly, I ask Beth, "What do you know about the incident in Dr. Ray Smith's office yesterday and the unscheduled emergency surgery this morning?"

Beth's attitude has changed completely, "Everyone knows he's an asshole. Gifted surgeon for this part of the country but a true asshole as a person. What does that have to do with Peter?"

She was going to say more. I see the understanding hit her like a punch to the face.

Beth's question is funny to me, "Peter?"

I start my semi-prepared speech, "Three weeks ago, a man steps literally out of thin air, asking for a job. I hire him, and he's fantastic. He's quiet and reserved but very intelligent. I believe he ran away from something.

"As a coder, he was immediately the best I ever had. He flies through EPIC and understands all the notes AND test results. He's practically a doctor or was trained to be one. I would bet anything that he can pass the RN exam."

Beth's expression is remarkable, "Woah. You know so little about him. We are desperate for nurses."

I give my wicked smile, "He's a great biller. I think he can help the hospital for more than a biller."

Tala adds, "I know two undocumented facts, his father was a surgeon and his mother a Family Practice doctor. I can walk like a nurse, and he easily kept up with me. He's spent time in a hospital."

Beth is all smiles, "Get him up here for a test, or does he need to go to Kansas City?"

Tala answers, "No, we can do the tests here now. It's remote through KU. They're great at helping the underserved areas in the state. They want more nurses to get qualified as there is a huge shortage. We also do the yearly updates."

Beth says, "ASAP, I really need bodies. I don't care what his scores are; if he passes, I want him."

Chapter 3 -- Promoted

Tala's point of view:

Tuesday, 4:00 PM. Peter is near tears, in my doorway. My heart is breaking. I rocket from my chair and rush him for a hug. Oh my, this is amazing.

While still hugging him, "It's ok. This is all good."

He wipes the tears from his eyes, and I have him sit in a chair in front of my desk while I sit in the adjoining chair.

I look him in the eyes, "Only three people know about yesterday, and none of us are talking. Your secret is safe with us."

I can see him take a deep breath and relax.

With an amused expression on my face I say, "So. Why are you here? Good question, right?" He nods his head, yes. "Camilla thinks very highly of you. Your approval rating is off the charts. Everyone likes you. Camilla realized yesterday that you have far more potential. Now don't get me wrong, she loves you, and you are guaranteed a job with her for life. However, I'm helping to run a hospital here. There is a massive nursing shortage. We are almost critically understaffed.

"You have shown on multiple occasions that you have the medical knowledge. There are comprehensive tests that, if passed, can make you a nurse or registered nurse. We think you are capable and would help us more in that critical role. Are you interested? I won't force you, but you would make a huge difference.

"Because it's so hard to get nurses, we offer an apartment at half rate across the street. The hospital owns the building; it's all nurses. OK, let me say it this way, you would be the only male nurse there, and they have a swimming pool. What! Not even a smile?"

Peter finally smiles. Thank God he's not gay.

As he's not asking questions, I continue, "Their awesome, furnished, two-bedroom apartments. Appliances and washer/dryer units are included. You need sheets and kitchen stuff. It's a sweet deal."

For the first time, he smiles, "OK, lunch time tomorrow."

I grin, "Eat lunch. It's a four-hour series of tests. I let Camile know. We have a testing room; come see me. I will be in the room to verify you're not cheating."

He opens a tiny bit for the first time, "I don't know. Having a pretty woman staring at me for four hours might wear me down."

FINALLY!

I try to look vulnerable, "If you pass, I'll buy dinner. This time, it won't be the cafeteria. You're free to go. I'll see you at 1:00 PM tomorrow."

Before he walks out, he looks at me, smiles, then says, "I'll be done in two hours, will probably get a perfect score, then I'm driving and will meet you at the front entrance circle shortly after 5:00 PM. It will take a few minutes to get my car."

With that, he turns and leaves. Fascinating. I called Beth and gave her the details.

+++++

Wednesday, 1:00 PM. Peter is already here, and we just started the test. I have seen all kinds of cheats. He has no glasses, short sleeve shirt, and no pen, note paper, notes, nothing but a smile on his face. As soon as the test starts, I hear him clicking the mouse much faster than the average test taker. He knows his shit. Nobody gets 100%. There are some trick questions. #27, #53, and #167 always mess people up. It's good to keep them humble.

It's usually a long, tedious four hours. Many don't finish the test because they're slow and cautious. They only need 70%; accuracy is better than speed. It's not said, but unanswered questions don't count against people. They have too many questions to cause pressure. That's part of the test, responding to pressure. You can be the most brilliant nurse in the world, but if you can't handle some stress, you're worthless.

I'm going to have fun with him. I'm watching my watch closely. At 3:00, I will ask him why he's not done yet. I'm doing the countdown in my head, 3, 2, 1, and ... I look up.

Fuck me. Peter has turned his chair and is looking at me. I look at my screen, a perfect score. Who the fuck is this guy?

Peter stands up and says, "I'll get my car at 5:00."

I follow him out as he leaves. I'm watching his ass as he walks down the hallway. Beth sneaks up behind me. I nearly jump out of my skin when she taps my shoulder. We both slip into my office and take a seat.

I look at Beth until she says, "Well?"

My answer is with a smile, "He called it. At two hours, he was watching me when I looked up. Worse, he had a perfect score. Be careful of him. He might be a Brain Dump RN."

Beth looks at me like I'm an alien.

After taking a test, people sell a question and the answer to companies. They then let people study those for money. They learn how to pass the test, but they can't do the job because they don't have the full training. Camilla thinks he has a photographic memory. He knew even seldom-used codes.

Beth smiles at me, "Can he breathe? I'll train him from there if needed. We really are that short-handed."

I sigh, "OK. Starting tomorrow, he's all yours. I'm taking him out to dinner tonight. I'll tell him where he can get some scrubs for tomorrow."

Beth offers, "I could help you out tonight ... if you don't mind."

I openly laugh at her, "Oh no. I finally got him to smile and tease me. This is my shot. I think he's coming out of his shell. Be careful with him. Don't push too hard."

+++++

A few minutes after 5:00, I stand by the circle drive at the hospital entrance. This is a busy circle with visitors coming and going and patients going home. It's funny; almost every vehicle is a pickup truck. Most are older, and the majority are American.

I see a cool-looking large Mercedes Benz pull up. Peter jumps out and opens the door for me. Wow, it's cool in here already. What a nice man to get the door for me. I give him directions to a town west of here where my neighbor's family owns a good restaurant. In this part of Kansas, it is a bit of distance between towns. It's mostly farm country or rocks. There aren't many people and even fewer towns.

Nice car. No noise, vibrations, or bouncing. It's impressive that I thought we were doing thirty at seventy-five MPH.

I broach the silence, "Working as a nurse; they wear scrubs. The hospital has a service to clean them. They can get you a set and put your name on them. You just need to add your employee number to the collar."