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“Hi, Jason,” a receptionist called to him. “Dr. Jill’s office called. They have a new medical assistant to add to the website.”
He nodded and tucked his balled fists behind his back. “Email me their information, and I’ll get it updated,” he said as he moved onto the next receptionist.
“Everything okay?” he asked as Michelle stared at the screen in tears.
“No. This computer has given me problems all day.”
He bit his lip and stayed a few feet behind her. “Want me to have a look?” Although he was no computer expert, he could help out in a pinch.
She glanced back at him. “Sure.”
When he moved toward her chair, she made no motion to leave. He cleared his throat and took a calming breath. “Why don’t you take a break, and I’ll see if I can solve the problem.”
“Really?” Her face brightened. “I can do that.”
She practically skipped through the back door that led to the break room. When he was sure she was finally gone, he heaved a sigh of relief and settled into her seat.
Twenty minutes later, he pushed the rolling chair back from the desk and nearly collided into Michelle. “I’m sorry about that,” he said, his heart racing. He moved the chair in front of him and pinned himself against the nearest wall while he got his bearings. “E-everything’s ready to go. It looks like one of the servers was down.”
“Ah, okay.” The receptionist smiled sweetly. “Thanks, Jason.”
He nodded and moved the chair back into place before finishing the last of his rounds in record time. And with no further incidents.
By the time he made it back to his office, it was quitting time, and he had to stop himself from running for the staircase. When he reached the stairwell door, he saw a sign taped to it.
Closed for maintenance.
A sinking feeling started in his gut, and his steps grew heavy as he headed back down the hall toward the other stairwell. He passed the elevator just as the doors opened. An empty elevator. He didn’t question it and hurried in to close the door.
He smiled as he stepped into the blessedly human-free space and pressed the main-floor button. He felt like cheering, but restrained himself. On the third level down, the doors opened and he peered out into a nearly empty hallway. With a sigh, he stepped back and waited. Just as the doors started to move, a hand reached out and stopped them from closing.
Jason frowned and stepped back as several people stepped into his line of sight.
“Hold that elevator,” someone called.
Jason backed up against the rear railing, but people just kept coming. Where had they been ten seconds ago? Balling his fists at his sides, he looked down at the ground and closed his eyes, mentally preparing himself for the thirty-odd seconds it would take to travel three floors, assuming the elevator didn’t stop on any floors between.
An arm bumped into him, and then the tip of a wheelchair hit his knee. He cringed as the space decreased and his knees brushed against the man’s.
“Sorry about that,” the older gentleman in the chair said. “Did I get you?”
He opened his eyes. Only three people had gotten on, one in a wheelchair that took up the space on one side and a couple crammed into the corner with him.
He glanced down and looked into the kindest brown eyes. There was no way Jason could explain his difficulties in a few seconds, so he just shook his head. “Headache.” He touched his head to emphasize his ailment. It wasn’t a total lie. A budding ache in his head was starting.
The older gentleman stared at him with sympathetic eyes. “Sorry to hear that, son. Feel better.”
“Thank you,” he said quickly.
The couple chatted about treatment options for their grandfather, and Jason and the older man stayed silent, quietly accepting their fates.
Once the doors opened to the main floor, he allowed everyone to leave and then took two deep breaths before he exited and maneuvered around a small group waiting to climb aboard. Twenty more steps, and he would be free of the crowd of people waiting in the main lobby. The first year he was hired at the office, he’d worked on the first floor, and it had been a nightmare. During the day, it was nearly impossible not to bump into someone in passing.
When he finally made it outside, the air suffocated him as much as any crowded building. He’d thought of moving many times—away from the Nashville humidity and its bustling crowds—but when it came down to it, he loved routine more than he loved the idea of picking up his life and charting unfamiliar waters.
Jason speed-walked to the furthest parking lot. It was great exercise, something he didn’t get enough of in the office, and it assured him there would be little to no accidental bumpings.
Finally, in the safe confines of his car, a Jetta with too much engine and not enough room in the back, he shut the door and inhaled deeply. The day’s trapped heat washed over his entire body, comforting him. After a few minutes, he started the car and headed home. Just as careful as he was at passing people on the streets, Jason steered his car onto side streets and lonely alleys all the way home.
