My phone buzzed as I picked it up. “Hey, Stephanie, what’s up?”
“Tyler wants you to come to his office.”
I closed my eyes and shook my head. Tyler was the owner of Southlake Physical Therapy and if you did your job, he left you alone. I could only imagine why he was calling me in. The last time it was to work on a patient no one else could handle. He was cranky, mean, and never wanted to do what you asked him to do. Unfortunately, Tyler felt like I was the right person for the job. It took three months to finally break the guy’s mold. It took tough love and me telling him to piss off a time or two. I had a strange feeling I was about to be tested again.
“I’ll be right there.”
I pushed my chair back and stood as I pulled a deep cleansing breath through my nose and blew it out through my mouth. Elizabeth had decided I needed to do yoga with her. After telling her what happened with Malcolm, she declared a no-guy zone for six months and I agreed to it. I was getting my inner-nun on.
Knocking lightly on Tyler’s door, I heard him say to come in. When the door opened, I smiled and walked in, taking a seat in one of the chairs facing his large oak desk.
He had multiple awards on the wall behind him as well as pictures of his family.
He looked at me intently for a few moments before saying, “Paislie, you know you’ve become one of my top physical therapists.”
I moved about nervously in my seat. I was never one to take compliments well.
“Thank you, Tyler.”
“You’ve been a huge part of the growing of this practice. But I need to know how far you’ll go to help it grow even more.”
A sick feeling moved over me as I raised my eyebrow at him.
“Are you willing to travel for a job?”
My body relaxed and I almost sighed with relief. I shrugged and said, “By travel, what do you mean? Like drive somewhere each day?”
“No, I mean travel to a client’s house and pretty much live-in with them during their recovery. They are willing to double your salary, take care of your room and board and pay your current monthly rent in return for PT four times a week.”
My eyes widened in shock. “Wow. That seems pretty excessive to have a physical therapist at their beck and call.
Tyler nodded. “I admit, it was a shock to me at first and he offered a rather hefty bonus for taking you away from the practice, but this client is not hurting for money.”
“Clearly,” I mumbled. “I mean . . . well, I have my cat. What would I do with her?”
“Take her.”
This time my mouth fell open. “W-what?”
“They were very specific on this. If you had any pets, you were free to bring them.”
I furrowed my eyebrows and gave Tyler a dazed look before laughing. “Wait. Is this some kind of joke?”
He slowly shook his head. “No. I’m being one-hundred-percent serious. The client has had two other physical therapists and fired them both.”
Oh great. Another asshole is exactly what I need in my life right now. The last thing I wanted to deal with was a guy with a big ego and even bigger pocketbook. Those were the kind who usually thought they owned you.
My father had shown up on my doorstep two weeks after seeing my picture in the paper with Malcolm. He figured I had landed a rich boyfriend and was seeing what he could get out of me. The minute he found out I was no longer in contact with Malcolm, he took off again. Never mind the fact I agreed to have lunch with him and he never showed up.
Someday I’ll learn.
I brought my fingers up to my temples as I chuckled and said, “Okay, so let me get this straight.” Dropping my hands back down, I looked directly at my boss. “I have to travel to this person and live with them?”
“Yes, here in Texas.”
I shook my head in a very confused manner. “And they’re willing to pay twice my salary plus room and board, plus pay my current apartment’s rent, and I can bring my cat?”
“Yep.”