AVERY IS LATE. SHE is so late that she is tempted to take an unscheduled absence and just clock in for tomorrow. Luck is on her side though: her boss’ car isn’t yet parked in the employee lot.
Wasting no time, Avery rushes through the sliding glass doors at the physician’s office and shoves her items into her locker. Melanie, her friend and coworker, appears behind her in the breakroom and props herself against the locker adjacent to her own.
"So, I have a thought, but I want you to hear me out."
Turning to face her, Avery can see that Melanie is doing little to mask the anxiety on her face – crinkles are knitted between her brows and bite marks of worry are on her lips. She does this when she's concerned about her. Melanie knows that a year later, Avery is still struggling to get over her fiancé’s death, as well as trying to make peace with the horrible life she attempts to keep buried in the past.
Forcing a smile, Avery asks her to continue.
"I think you need to move away."
A gasp explodes out of Avery’s mouth at the suggestion.
A year after Declan’s passing, Avery continues to find she is just wandering through life, masking the pain she still feels inside at the loss of her almost-husband. Though there have been a few moments of happiness - a new neighbor that loves to have Avery over for dinner with her two sons – and of course the event that she never saw coming: Max and Melanie's wedding. That one definitely took everyone by surprise. She supposes that in a way, Declan's death illuminated the true meaning of living your life to the fullest, especially for their two friends.
"Hold on, Avery. Don’t get upset. I think it would be good for you. Everything here reminds you of all that you've lost. You need a fresh start."
Taking Avery’s hand in-between her equally small ones, Melanie garners more of her attention.
"Look. My cousin, Nikki, lives in this adorable town in North Carolina. She needs a new roommate since hers just up and left, and I think you two would get along great. She works as a receptionist at a private practice in her town. When I mentioned what you do, she said they were actually hiring a medical assistant for each of the physicians at her practice." Pulling Avery closer, she wraps her in a tight hug. "This is your chance, Avery. You can be someone new where no one knows what you've been through."
Avery takes a moment to consider Melanie’s proposal. The idea isn’t a bad one really; it’s actually something she had been tossing back and forth in her own mind for quite some time.
"You really think I should do it?"
"Max and I don't think you have anything to lose. And I really think you could be happy there. We all want you to be happy, Avery."
Absorbing her words, Avery asks if she can let her know by the end of the day. She wants to make sure she has taken adequate time to decide if this is what she really wants – no, needs to do.
This new idea is so distracting that during her daily workload of patients, Avery is admittedly surprised when she reaches the end of the day without severely harming anyone.
When at last Avery finds Max and Melanie standing by the water dispenser at the end of the shift, she tugs Melanie into her arms before saying, "How soon can I move?"
Chapter One
WALKING THROUGH THE DOORS that open up to the small and cozy waiting area, Logan is greeted by a sultry smile from the receptionist, Nikki. Her come-hither stare sends electric pulses straight to his dick and he knows it won't be long before he’s banging her in the staff bathroom. They've been circling each other for a few months, since the day she started at their practice.
One of the other physicians in their group greets Nikki “good morning,” capturing her attention and Logan scoots along to his office. Glancing down at his schedule, he grunts when he looks at the full day of appointments and the group interviews for some medical assistants. He can deal with the appointments, but he’s not really in the mood to deal with egotistical hopefuls who think that they know more than he does. That's what had happened to the last few interviewees that had come in: not a single member of the practice felt like the “help” these new-comers could offer would actually benefit the practice.
There are a total of five doctors making up this small office in the middle of the tiny town of Carson, North Carolina. After finishing his residency two years ago, Logan joined almost immediately. Much to his relief, Logan is no longer the newbie: Charles came on a year later. The rest of the team is comprised of the three original owners who founded the family medicine practice. The office handles everything from yearly physicals, to sports medicine, to gynecology. Luckily, Logan doesn
’t have to worry about the latter, as that was Charles’ specialty during his residency. Being the closest physicians in a hundred-mile-radius of this rural countryside, they’ve seen a significant increase in patients since the new manufacturing plant opened up eighteen months ago - hence the need for the extra help with triaging patients before a doctor can see them.
Reaching for his white coat where it had been draped along the back of his chair, Logan winces at the pain in the overtired muscles along his upper arms and chest. He may have overdone it at the gym with his friend Austin. After his horrible encounter with Rachel during his residency, Logan has really become a gym rat. If he’s not at work (or fucking), he’s at the gym working out. Unfortunately, these distractions do little to keep the painful memories from rushing forth like water from behind a broken dam. Even now, four years later, a brief recollection can leave him frozen in his chair.
Logan shakes his head to clear away thoughts of Rachel, wincing as he pulls on his jacket. He takes a seat in the chair, flipping through the patient charts that are placed before him as he prepares for his scheduled appointments. As he scans the last file, Nikki knocks gently on his open door. Leaning against the frame, the blonde hair twisted over her shoulder adds the finishing touch to her preppy look of a white polo shirt and tight khakis.
"Hey, handsome," she says huskily, quickly running her tongue against her lips.
Knowing he needs to remain professional - the other doctors are sitting in the offices just next door, after all - Logan replies simply, "Hey, Nikki. What's up?"
"I was just wondering if you or anyone else has chosen your MA yet?"
"No, not yet. I'm hopeful, though, after seeing some of the resumes that I've reviewed for the candidates who are interviewing in the next few days."
"Do you think it would be possible to squeeze in one more interview at the end of the week?"
"Um, I don't know, Nikki. Have you checked with everyone else?"
"Yeah, Charles is the only one with an appointment scheduled after hours. He says he trusts y'alls judgment. My cousin Melanie asked me about the opening."
"Is she the one interested? If I remember, she was actually pretty competent and it would be nice to have someone who doesn’t question me at every turn."
"I don't know actually. She didn’t say if it was for herself or Max."
"Well, I guess go ahead and schedule it. I'll make sure we're all happy with our choices."
"Ok, thanks,” she murmurs with a coy smile, sauntering further into the room. “So...what are you doing later?"
"I'm meeting Austin for drinks at Horizons. Why? Are you interested in something?"
Her eyes skim down to his chest, drinking him in for a moment before looking back into his eyes and replying, "Yeah, something. Maybe I'll see you there."
Winking at her, Logan adds, "Looking forward to it," as she walks sultrily away, hips swaying, and back into the hall.
Sitting in their small conference room at the end of the day, Logan shuts his eyes as he leans back in his chair and waits for the others to arrive for their interviews. The next candidate is the one Logan is hoping to snag. Judging from her resume, she seems like she'd be an incredible help. As a woman in her mid-sixties, she moved here to be closer to her grandchildren. With thirty-five years of experience in the medical field and having worked singularly for private family medicine practices, he is cautiously optimistic. It doesn’t hurt that her references rocked as well.
The two candidates he interviewed last week had spent the entire time ogling him.
I mean, really? Who makes come-fuck-me eyes to their potential boss? he wonders.
That's why he’s glad that three of the four interviews will be with hopefuls who are older or male. The exception, of course, will be for Melanie or Max. Luckily, they're not only married but Melanie is also Nikki’s cousin, so he doesn’t think there will be a problem.
As the other doctors make their way into the room, Logan throws a look at Nikki as she ushers in their interviewee. He winks at her as she exits, hoping she got the message that he’s definitely interested in her showing up at Horizons later; it’s all he has thought about during his full day of appointments.
Mary Bell introduces herself to the group, full of confidence, and spends the next hour answering all of the physicians’ questions with competence, while also asking a few great ones herself. Logan really likes her; she is the type of person he always wished his mom would have been. Mary possesses that intangible ability to make a person feel at ease when she is around, and Logan knows her calming presence speaks of a great bedside manner that will make her an invaluable asset.
Once she has left the room with promises of follow-up calls, Logan immediately stands and shouts that he wants her. Dr. Fields, his mentor and one of the original owners, laughs and complains jokingly.