Pepper Jack groaned and stood to stretch. He’d been cooped up with Kiernan in my office all day, and he was starting to become antsy. Even though he’d slept through most of the day, he didn’t like being contained to this small space.
“I’m done for the day,” Kiernan said. “I’ll take Pepper Jack on a walk. You can work on paperwork, and try to let Dr. Townsend handle the last patient by himself without you peeking in.”
I pursed my lips. I had planned to peep inside the exam room while Dr. Townsend was alone for the first time today. I’d let him take lead all day while I’d monitored him, but how did I know for sure he was the person I wanted to hire if I didn’t know how he acted when I wasn’t around? I still had some anxiety about trusting someone else with a portion of my practice. I’d worked my ass off to earn the reputation I had and was worried that could crumble if I made the wrong decision.
So far, it didn’t seem like it. Dr. Townsend had been my number one choice after the interviews, though I had two other candidates that I thought could also do well. I’d brought each in for a working interview. While the others were good, Asher had a special knack for this type of work. He was clearly born to do this.
“I won’t peek,” I said. Kiernan stood up, raising his arms above his head in a stretch. His shirt rode up, teasing me with a view of his abs.
He strode around the desk and bent to kiss me. “I’ll be back in a few.”
Kiernan grabbed Pepper Jack’s leash. There was a small park around the corner where they would walk. As long as it wasn’t past houses, Pepper Jack enjoyed walks. He trotted over to Kiernan, wagging his tail frantically. He was picking up each paw and putting it down like he was dancing. I rubbed one of my hands down the side of his body. “Have fun, boys,” I said before stepping to the sinks to wash my hands.
I glanced to my side. Toby was in the server room running monthly maintenance and a manual backup in case the automatic servers failed. I waved at him with a soapy hand. He smiled and lifted his chin before turning back to work, and I rinsed my hands.
I found Dr. Townsend around the corner, outside the patient rooms, reading a chart on the tablet. He was in navy-blue scrubs and had some scruff along his jaw. He was young, but he seemed to fit in well with the clients and with my staff.
“Dr. Townsend,” I said.
“Call me Asher, please,” he said.
“Okay, Asher. How’d you enjoy the day?”
He smiled and leaned against the wall, crossing one foot over the other and bringing the tablet down to his waist, giving me his full attention. “Your practice is great. The clients love you, the staff is excellent. Efficient, hard workers, but also relaxed and easy to talk to. I’d truly love to work here.”
“That’s really wonderful to hear,” I said. I mentally added drafting up a hiring proposal for Asher to my to-do list; I’d do it while he was with the last patient. Most of the staff had already cleared out for the day. There were only a couple of us left, and as soon as the last patient left, I would too. For the first time in a long time, I wasn’t staying after everyone else was gone, and I was leaving work behind at work.
“I thought you could take this last patient by yourself and meet me in my office afterwards to discuss.” Asher was the first working interviewee that I was leaving to their own devices. The others I hadn’t even left alone with one patient; I’d shadowed them all day. That may not seem huge, but for me, it was.
“That would be great. Thank you for trusting me,” he said. He brought up the chart. “It’s Mitzy Evans. Anything I need to know that’s not in the chart?”
I shook my head. “It’s all there, and besides, I want you to get a feel for working without my interpretation or influence. This one is all you, Asher.”
He laughed. “I’m not sure whether I’m excited or nervous, but this is what I’ve been hoping for.”
“Good luck,” I said. “See you soon.”
I strolled back down the hallway toward my office, straightening up some of the workplace areas as I went. I stopped at the kennels housing the pups that were staying with us. Alicia and a couple of other vet techs would trade off nights coming to check on them. I gave each animal a treat before heading to my office to write up a proposal for Asher and get in some paperwork.
I sat in my office chair, opened my computer, and brought up the local comparisons I’d been looking into when considering how much to offer Asher. I typed up the offer and hit print, feeling excited. I was ready to have some more free time. Time to spend with Kiernan, Daphne, and my new group of friends.
Toby knocked on the doorframe. “Yours is the last computer to back up. Are you ready?”
“Sure,” I said. I was about to stand up when I remembered that I wanted to ask about the scheduling features on the software. “I have a quick question though.”
Toby walked into my office and around my desk to see what I was pointing out. I opened my mouth to explain, but I froze as I felt a sharp pinch in the side of my neck. I looked up at Toby. He was smiling.
“Toby?”
He was starting to become blurry and, only a moment later, everything faded.
36 Kiernan
I’d been joking when I’d talked about whisking Caroline away on a beach vacation, but now I couldn’t get it out of my mind. Caroline in a bikini, a getaway
