the desk. “So… uh… any idea why Caesar left his job so suddenly?”
Brows lifted, Cobb plastered a surprised expression onto his face. “Nah, I never knew him. Josie just knew that I had the skills to take care of the books, so it works for me. I get to spend more time with my girlfriend.” They were quiet for a moment, then Cobb decided to push for a little more information. “You put in the long haul for medical school. Your education must have set you back.”
Mark scrubbed his hand over his face and sighed heavily. “Yeah, I worked every chance I got and took out loans for the rest of it. My family didn’t have any money for medical school, so it was all on me. But working here helps. I get part of my debt paid off by working at this clinic. Not that it’s the only reason I do it, because I really like the clinic and the patients, but, well… I’ll be honest, having the debt forgiveness is a good thing.”
“Did you know Caesar very well?”
Mark’s gaze shifted down and to the side, his fingers digging into the label on the water bottle in his hand. “I saw him around. He wasn’t in here all that often, but I knew who he was.”
“Oh, I thought maybe you were friends.”
“No, no. We barely spoke when we were here. Our paths just really didn’t cross.” Mark stood and tossed a wave. “Well, my break is over. I’d better get back to work.”
Cobb watched Mark walk out of Josie’s office, Mark’s mannerisms moving through his mind. Josh had informed him that the young doctor’s bank account was fairly steady but his student loans occasionally had a large payment go in. Cobb wondered if that was the money that came from working in the clinic or if there was something else. Shooting Josh another note, he told him to dig for more.
Hearing Mario and Charlene talking in the hall, he leaned to the side, looked out the door, and watched as they walked into the workroom. Standing, he followed, and once inside, offered a chin lift as he went to get water out of the refrigerator. Charlene’s eyes flared with interest as they roved over him, something Cobb noted but made sure not to encourage.
She grinned widely and said, “Jorge, you are so much better looking than our last bookkeeper!”
“Well, I never met Caesar.”
She was seated at the table but leaned forward, her tongue rubbing over her lips. “Oh, that’s a compliment.” She winked, then laughed. “Josie is so lucky.”
Laurie walked in and nodded toward everybody, then looked at Charlene. Shaking her head, she said, “Girl, I don’t know how you do it. I saw you come in with that new Coach bag this morning as well as that Gucci jacket you had on. How the hell you dress like that on your salary, I’ll never know.”
Charlene's smile was tight-lipped, but she offered a one-shoulder shrug. “It just comes from dating the right kind of guy. One who’s got money and doesn’t mind showing me how important I am to him.”
Laurie plopped her hands on her hips and shook her head. “Whatever happened to good, kind, smart, hard-working—”
Charlene threw her head back and laughed. “Honey, that’s all fine, but unless he’s got the money to spend, all those other qualities don’t mean anything. My mom knew how to keep her eye out for the next man to take care of her and she lived well.”
Just then, Josie walked in, glanced around the room at the others, and as her gaze landed on Cobb, she smiled widely. Walking directly to him, she grabbed a water bottle as well and leaned against the counter next to him, mimicking his posture.
Laura piped up and asked, “Did you guys do anything special this weekend?”
“We went to the Mescalero Reservation and had dinner.”
“I love their casino!” Charlene blurted, her eyes bright. “Did you win a lot?”
Josie replied, “We didn’t go to the casino, just dinner.”
Cobb watched with interest as Charlene’s smile fell. “I haven’t been there in a while. I need to see if my boyfriend will take me. The last time I went, I did pretty good.”
Mark stuck his head into the workroom and called for Laurie, who hustled out to see a patient.
Mario had been quiet, munching on his sandwich, but looked over at Charlene. “You’d do a lot better for yourself if you got a boyfriend that was serious about putting a