Page 4 of Heartbeat Harmony (Hearts in Hawthorne #2)

He breathed a sigh of relief. Peter Richards was the name of the man who was supposed to interview him. Eli had already done a phone interview, as well as one on Zoom. This third interview was for the finalists for the position.

“Thank you,” he said, following her inside.

“You’ll be in a conference room,” she told him as they walked through a large, empty room, an employee shelving books on the far side. “Can I get you some water? Coffee?”

“No, thanks. I’d probably knock it over onto Dr. Richards’ notes and be out of the running before the race even started.”

She laughed, and he wondered at the change in him. He was never funny. He never volunteered information, especially that he could be a real klutz if medicine wasn’t involved.

What was Hawthorne doing to him?

“It’s right in here. Have a seat. Dr. Richards must have stepped out for a moment.”

“Thank you.”

She left, and Eli took the chair opposite one where a laptop was, along with a pad and pen. He saw a few lines scrawled on the pad and looked away, not wanting to invade his interviewer’s privacy.

“Ah, good. You’re here. Peter Richards. VP of HR for Hogan Health.”

The doctor who entered offered his hand and shook Eli’s briskly before taking a seat. He opened the laptop and typed for a minute, obviously setting up for the interview. Eli swallowed, his mouth dry, wishing now he had taken Meg Sutherland up on the offer of water.

“Okay, we can get started.”

Eli felt himself sitting up a little straighter. He wanted this job. He could taste it.

“You’ve done very well in your previous two interviews, Dr. Carson. Tell me about yourself.”

He hadn’t expected such a casual question, which was actually a loaded one. How far back should he go? How detailed should he get? He decided to swing for the fences. Go big—or go home.

“I don’t have the background most medical doctors do. Yes, I graduated from Rice University and did my medical training at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. Both, as you know, are exceptional places of learning. It was my path to them that varies from others.”

He paused, taking a calming breath, and told his story.

“I grew up in foster care. No known father. An addicted mother who lost custody of her two sons. My brother and I went into the system when I was five and he was three. We never saw one another again.”

He let that sit for a minute, seeing he had the VP’s attention now and that this was no run of the mill interview where accolades and degrees would be trotted out.

“Even at five, I was considered too old to adopt by most couples. That meant living in a series of foster care homes. They are every bit as terrible as books and movies say they are, filled with violence and a pecking order among the children who live there. While I did live with one family for two years who proved to be exceptional caregivers and had a heart for children, I found most foster parents took in kids for the extra money. They paid very little attention to those in their care, and they turned a blind eye for what went on behind closed doors.”

Dr. Richards straightened his tie. “You come from a seriously disadvantaged background, Dr. Carson.”

“Yes. I wanted to escape it and make something of myself. Help others—because no one at any of those houses ever helped me. Fortunately, I had several wonderful teachers who recognized my potential. They are the ones who deserve all the credit for challenging me. Encouraging me. Making me the physician I am today.”

Eli went on, elaborating on how he had skipped two grades in elementary school one year and jumped another a year later.

“I graduated high school at fourteen and college at seventeen. I completed med school by the time I was twenty. I was one of the few who finished my education with no debt. Because of my high IQ and perfect SAT score, one of my teachers hooked me up with a foundation which funds the education of disadvantaged students. Between the foundation’s help and the scholarships I earned, I had no loans to pay back. ”

He met Dr. Richards’ eyes. “I feel I’m in a unique position, able to understand people on a different level than most of my peers.

I’m only thirty-four and have seven years in the ER under my belt, two as an ER physician and five more as its head.

I work at the largest ER in Houston, and I’ve seen everything from gunshot wounds to Ebola.

I know how to manage budgets. Staff. Patients.

I’m detail-oriented, yet I can make quick, life-saving decisions in a split second.

“I’m up for the challenge of opening a new hospital, Dr. Richards.

I’ve studied other hospitals Hogan Health has opened in its system over the past five years.

Hogan Health is the fastest-growing healthcare provider in the South and Southwest. I think I’d be a perfect fit for a Hogan Health facility.

I’ve also spent a little time in Hawthorne, getting to know it.

I had a wonderful conversation just this morning with the owner of Dizzy’s Diner.

I know how eager this community is to have a care facility operating here. ”

Eli paused, clearing his throat. “I want to help the residents of Hawthorne by providing them with cutting-edge, quality, affordable healthcare.”

He fell silent, worried that he had said too much, and his answer had been too radical.

The medical community, for all its talk of bells and whistles and innovation, was still conservative in many of its approaches, and that included those hired in positions such as the one he hoped to obtain today.

Dr. Richards studied him for a long moment, then he seemed to come to some decision.

“Give me a moment.”

He fiddled with the laptop again, typing rapidly, and then took a moment to smooth his hair.

“Good morning, Herbert.”

“Peter. How are the interviews going this morning? You’re in Hawthorne, right?”

The physician smiled. “Yes, sir. I’d like you to meet Dr. Eli Carson.”

Richards spun the laptop around, and Eli saw a familiar man in his mid-fifties, with gold-framed glasses and a fatherly smile.

“Ah, Dr. Carson. Herbert Hogan here.”

Eli tried to relax and smiled. “I recognize you from your commercials and billboards, Mr. Hogan. You—and Hogan Health—seem to be everywhere.”

“We try, Dr. Carson. Hogan Health has been growing by leaps and bounds. Not too fast, though. We have the big picture in mind. We’re trying to move into communities now in Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas, ones which are smaller and need a local healthcare facility.”

“The citizens of Hawthorne are tired of driving for thirty minutes or longer to reach a hospital or see a healthcare specialist,” he replied. “I think locating one of your hospitals here will be a popular choice.”

“Only if we do it right, Dr. Carson,” Herbert Hogan said, smiling. “We need professionals who are organized. Efficient. Caring. That means from the medical director to the janitor.” Pausing, the CEO then asked, “Do you believe you’re a good fit for Hogan Health?”

“Absolutely,” Eli replied without hesitation.

“Then I would like to offer you a two-year contract as medical director. Peter will give you the specifics. Salary. Benefits. Responsibilities. You’ll be in charge of hiring the staff and overseeing the last bit of construction. How soon can you come onboard?”

“I can put in my two-week notice when we get off this call,” he said, tempering his enthusiasm. “I think I can talk the head of my hospital into letting me leave in a week, however.”

“Do whatever it takes, but I want you in Hawthorne as soon as possible,” Hogan said. “Let me see Peter now.”

Eli turned the laptop’s screen so that it faced Dr. Richards.

“Go over the works, Peter. The particulars in the contract. The signing bonus. Let Dr. Carson know that a company car and house are included in the package. Good work.”

“Thank you, Herbert.”

Richards tapped a few keys, ending the call, and closed the laptop.

He reached for a briefcase, extracting several different documents, and took his time going over each with Eli.

His head began to spin, seeing what his salary would be, as well as all the duties he would be assuming.

It was frightening and thrilling at the same time.

When Richards finished, he asked, “Any more questions?”

“None. Where do I sign?”

Eli placed his signature several different places, with Richards assuring him that he would receive copies of everything.

“I think we should go over and see the facility now. It’s really coming together.”

“When will it open?” he asked.

“We’re aiming for June first. That gives us three months.”

They left the library, with Meg giving him a wave. When Richards stepped in front of Eli, he turned around and gave her a thumbs up to indicate he’d gotten the job. She returned it, beaming at him.

He rode with Richards, who asked that Eli call him Peter. They reached the construction site in a little over ten minutes and parked.

“The outside is completely finished,” Peter told him. “The inside is being worked on now, from painting to flooring to electricity, heating, and air. Once that’s all completed, equipment will be arriving. You’ll be supervising all that, as well as interviewing for numerous positions.”

They saw every inch of the facility, and Eli was impressed by the thought which had gone into each decision. They ended the tour at what would be his new office.

“You’ll get to pick out your own furnishings. A perk of the job. I’ll ask the construction manager for them to finish up in here so that you’ll have a place to work out of when you return to Hawthorne.”

Peter offered Eli his hand. “Glad to have you as a part of the Hogan Health team.”

He took it. “Glad to be a part of the system.”

When he reached his rental, he began the drive to Dallas-Fort Worth airport, where he had a six o’clock flight back to Houston. As the plane took off and he looked out the window, a calm settled over him.

Eli had a new job. It would be a fresh, new chapter in his life. The best one yet.

Because he had found a place where he felt he finally belonged.