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“I think he runs circles around all of us.”
“He does.” A slight dent formed between her dark brown eyes as she slowed to appraise me. “How are you adjusting? Do you need help with anything?”
I’d been working here as a medical assistant for two months, getting patients to their rooms and checking their vitals, making sure Dr. Reynolds had whatever he needed. Plus, I organized files and basically did anything else that needed to be done.
I’d never imagined it would be a position I’d take, but I found that I loved it. Making a small difference in patients’ days. I was still shocked that I’d managed to get the license. That I’d been brave enough to enroll.
To take the name Charleigh Lowe.
I’d been terrified of being discovered, but I knew it was the first step in carving out a path for myself. I’d had to be something more than just a girl on her knees.
“Well, I think I’m doing a decent job?” I couldn’t help phrasing it like a question.
She let go of a soft laugh. “I don’t think I’ve seen things run so smoothly in the six years I’ve been here, so from my vantage, I think you’re doing great. But that wasn’t what I was asking.”
She quirked a brow, prodding me further.
I laughed a small laugh with a subtle shake of my head, my ponytail swishing over my shoulders. I forced any shyness away as I gave her what she was asking for. “All right, then, I think I’m doing awesome and am a huge asset to the team.”
“Exactly what I want to hear,” she said with a grin, back to typing away. “Just know you can come to me for anything. We’re a family here, and we want to make sure every one of our employees knows it.”
“I do. Thank you.”
“Any time. Now get out of here before you get sucked into some task that can wait until tomorrow.”
“All right, I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Have a nice evening.”
I ducked out of the office and into the breakroom behind it, and I went to the little cubicle that was mine, grabbed my purse, and slung it over my shoulder.
Dr. Reynolds was shuffling down the hall when I stepped out.
“Oh, there she is. How was the day today, Charleigh?”
“It was really good.”
He gave me a genuine smile. “That’s great to hear. You keep up the good work. My patients have never been so comfortable when I come through the door, and that has everything to do with you.”
He patted my shoulder in the fatherly way he always did. The man was always kind and sincere, and I gave him a smile of gratitude as I said, “Thank you. I really love working with them.”
“I know you do. You have a good night.”
He dipped his head, and I continued down the long hallway, passing by the examination rooms before I was pushing out the front. The lobby was empty, and the blinds had already been drawn. I pushed out one side of the swinging-glass doors and into the late afternoon light.
The sun remained high though it was sinking toward the west, the temperature still warm, and I followed the pathway down to the sidewalk that ran along 9thstreet. I’d rented a little apartment about three blocks away so I’d be able to walk to and from work.
I tilted my face toward the warm rays, inhaling a deep, cleansing breath, before I blew out the little bit of tension that always followed me through work.
The thing was, though, the second I did, it always ushered in the loneliness. It was the deep, dark kind. The kind that was always waiting for you in the silence. The kind that festered in the vacant well that was hollowed out within me.
Swallowing around the lump it lifted in my throat, I did my best to shove it back down as I headed in the direction of my apartment.
I wore my favorite light pink scrubs and a white, long-sleeved tee underneath it to keep my healing tattoo from chafing.
In an instant, the violent, beautiful edges of his face flashed behind my eyes.
Unstoppable.
