Chapter Four
Adrian
A s I finish up my new employee paperwork, my peripheral vision catches on someone walking into the small office I’ve been set up in. An easy smile spreads across my face when I see Dr. Miller standing in the doorway.
“Hey, didn’t mean to disturb you,” he greets and walks to sit across from me at the small table.
Straightening to look him in the eye, I shrug easily, letting him know I don’t mind. “Hi, Dr. Miller. I’m almost done here.”
He sits across from me and folds his arms over his chest. It’s not in a closed off way, but more of a relaxed stance. “You don’t always have to call me Doctor. Tim will be fine, unless we’re in any professional setting, whether it be the client or the patient.”
I nod and set down my pen, wanting to give him my full attention. “Yes, sir.”
He just smirks and shakes his head at me. “Once you’re done, come find me up front and I’ll give you a tour of the facility.”
“Will do. Should be just a couple more minutes.”
He walks back out, leaving me to finish. When I turn the page, I realize I only have three more questions on the tax form. Quickly filling in my information, I stack the papers and tentatively walk back out to the front.
I’m usually a pretty confident guy, but there’s been this lingering nervousness all day. It was there when I woke up at six a.m., as I was driving to my courses, and stayed with me even through the short workout I was able to squeeze in during my break.
It’s not that I feel unqualified to be a vet assistant, but I know this is a huge professional opportunity. I’m lucky .
Assuming that everything Dr. Miller said is accurate—and I do have a trustworthy feeling about him—he works hard to create a different environment within his business than what may be the standard. And, based on how much he seems to enjoy the opportunity to mentor, I’d guess that’s part of the reason why he’s never taken his facility to the next level and opened a teaching program. He’d lose a lot of the control he currently holds over the finer details of the business. Like offering part-time employees benefits and the amount of time he’d have with patients and staff.
The way he talks about working here, and the close relationships he encourages, makes me think that Tim Miller is in this career for a lot of reasons that don’t involve money.
“All done?” his deep, warm voice asks from the front desk when he sees me standing nearby. He’s talking to who I assume is one of the receptionists. Nodding, I walk up and hand him the paperwork. Before I have a chance to introduce myself, Tim does the honors. “Adrian, this is one of the morning receptionists, Olivia.”
Sticking out my hand, I shake hers and state, “I’m Adrian. Nice to meet you.”
She offers me a warm smile that peeks through the long chestnut brown hair falling along her cheeks. Her voice is deep and rich. Pulling her hand back, she says, “You too.”
“Cool scrubs,” I nod toward her. The Avatar: the Last Airbender design is somewhat subtle—a pattern of the four elements—but it was one of my favorites growing up.
This time, the tug on her lips feels more genuine and pulls across her strong jaw, reaching her brown eyes. “Thank you. There’s this small online store that sells a lot of medical apparel for different fandoms.”
“If it’s the website I’m thinking of, my mom loves that one too.” I think I’ll take after my dad and his solid colors in this case, but the bright colors and patterns are an essential part of my mom’s work attire.
She smiles and turns to Dr. Miller, promising to finish the morning tasks before the evening receptionist, Blake, gets here in thirty minutes.
Not paying too much attention to their conversation, I look around the lobby and take in my new job. It’s a clinical area, much of what you’d expect from a medical waiting room. But there’s a bulletin board on one wall. From here I can see a variety of announcements, photos of animals, and other little tidbits about the community.
“Adrian?” Dr. Miller pulls me out of my thoughts. There’s a patient expression on his face when he tilts his head behind him. “How about a tour?”
Standing at my full height, I nod. “Yeah, sounds great. Olivia, I’ll see you around.”
“Nice to meet you,” she calls after us.
As we make our way to the back, behind the secured double doors, Dr. Miller briefly describes each of the different rooms and anything specific to remember about each one. Mostly things like which operation rooms can administer anesthesia and which can’t, or the kennels for patients who have an extended stay versus the ones here for a short period of time.
I meet a few of the employees along the way, and we stop so he can introduce me to each one. Including Julie, the head vet technician, who has been working with Dr. Miller since the clinic opened almost two decades ago. And Dr. Michael Fisher, the veterinarian who specializes in aquatic animals.
“It felt prophetic, you know?” he jokes easily, his smile is partly hidden under his thick, gray mustache.
Dr. Miller—er, Tim as he’s continued to insist on—just rolls his eyes as if he’s heard the same line a million times.
We continue walking, making our way through what seems to be a big loop. My suspicions are confirmed when we get to a different set of double doors and we come out in the lobby, but on the opposite side of where we started.
“That’s about it. I know it can be overwhelming at first.” That’s to put it nicely. From my research, I knew it was a large facility, even if it’s smaller than other vet hospitals. But it’s set up in a way that makes it much bigger inside than it looks from out here. There are multiple exam rooms when you first walk in, as well as ORs, long-term and short-term kennels, bathing areas, an outdoor space, and even a small hydrotherapy station. “But you’ll get the hang of it. And there’s always people around to ask if you’re looking for something.”
“Okay,” I agree. “I’m sure it’ll be fine after some time…”
I trail off when my gaze moves back to the front desk. We were in the back for close to an hour and a half, so I didn’t expect to see Olivia here anymore.
But I never expected to see a vaguely familiar face.
There’s no recollection of where I know her from. I’d assume classes if Dr. Miller hadn’t mentioned I was the only veterinary student working for him right now.
Her silky raven black hair is loose, falling around her shoulders. She keeps pushing one piece behind her ear as she stands and looks down at the computer. But once again, the same strand falls into her face, and I try—I really try—not to stare at her long, thin neck that’s stretched taut with the phone between her other shoulder and ear.
“Oh good, you can meet my daughter.” My head turns toward Dr. Miller, but he’s already stepping toward the desk.
She’s still on the phone, except when she notices her dad, a smile starts to tug on her full pink lips, bringing attention to the perfect cupid’s bow. The smiling quickly stops when her eyes move to me.
That same mouth falls into a small, shocked O . She looks almost as confused as I feel. The way her eyes slightly widen, and the color that paints her cheeks, makes me wonder if she recognizes me too.
When my eyes move up her face, meeting her gray ones, it clicks.