Chapter 3 #2
We stared at one another for a moment more before I grinned. “Anything else?” Alpha Mate Theobald shook his head. “Very well. Let me walk you out, and Owen can get you rescheduled for your next appointment. He can schedule several out if you’d like.”
“Oh, that would be nice.” We left the exam room, and I followed Alpha Mate Theobald to the front.
“Owen,” I said, getting his attention. “Alpha Mate Theobald would like to schedule the next few appointments in one-month intervals, please.”
“Absolutely.”
I glanced back at the other omega and nodded. “Enjoy your visit with Julian and the grandkids.”
“Oh, I will. I’m always so surprised when they drop in. Of course, I don’t think even they know when they’re going to be here. But I know Nikolai had something going on with Master Ambrosius.”
I was thankful that I was able to keep my thoughts off my face.
It was a trait that I’d spent years perfecting, and one that I was appreciative of.
I was almost certain I knew why, or at least in part, Nikolai was meeting with Master Ambrosius.
But in the end, it wasn’t my business, and I wasn’t going to comment on it.
“I can certainly get you set up for several appointments,” Owen said. “Do you prefer morning or afternoon?”
“Morning is usually better, but my schedule is really pretty open. If you need me to come in during the afternoons, that will work for me.”
“Dr. King has plenty of appointments. And although he’s not yet here, Dr. Kennedy should be here sometime next week. One of them can certainly see you in the mornings.”
I nodded to Alpha Mate Theobald when he smiled at me and left him and Owen to sort out his next several appointments.
I went back to my office to update Alpha Mate Theobald’s file.
That way, if I were to ever leave the council, and if Dr. Kennedy were no longer here, whoever replaced me would know the specifics.
I had just sat at my desk with a fresh cup of tea when my phone rang. Alpha Osmund’s name appeared on the screen, and I immediately swiped it to answer the call.
“Good morning, Alpha Osmund. How may I help you this morning?”
“Hello, Dr. King. There was a bit of a misunderstanding with Dr. Kennedy’s arrival, and he was finally able to get to the area on Wednesday evening.
He’s here, and I was curious if you had time for me to bring him by and introduce him?
I do apologize for the misunderstanding and delay.
I also do not wish to interrupt your schedule if you’re seeing patients this morning. ”
“I’m free, so whenever you would like to bring him by works. I’m having a slower day, and whatever works for the two of you is fine with me.”
“Good. I’ll bring him by in about ten minutes or so. It’s not a far walk from here to the clinic.”
“Sound good, Alpha Osmund,” I said. We ended the call, and I finished up my notes before I went back to the front of the office to let Owen know that we were finally going to get to meet Dr. Kennedy.
I found Owen alone, sitting at his desk with his chin on his hand and elbow on the desk. When he realized I was there, he immediately sat up and looked guilty. “Sorry. I’m not sure what I should be doing.”
I chuckled and leaned against the wall just beside the hallway with my arms crossed. “It ebbs and flows here. Some days, it’s so busy I don’t have time for lunch. Others, I end up putting a sign on the door and just going home. Today is probably going to be such a day.”
“I feel bad about not doing something. About not being busy.”
I shrugged. “There’s not a lot to do on slow days,” I told him. “You’re welcome to head on home and have a long weekend once Alpha Osmund leaves.”
“Alpha Osmund?”
I nodded. “He’s on his way with Dr. Kennedy. There was some sort of misunderstanding or something of that nature that caused him to either be late, or I was told the wrong dates.” I shrugged. “Either way, he’s here, and Alpha Osmund is going to bring him by and introduce us.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful,” Owen said. “It’s actually terrible about the misunderstanding. But I’m glad he’s here finally.”
I was in agreement. I didn’t get a chance to say anything else, though, because the door chimed when it opened.
A stunning blond-haired man entered, followed by Alpha Osmund.
My brow furrowed because I wasn’t expecting to have those thoughts toward my new coworker, and I didn’t see anyone else enter with them, so that told me that it was Dr. Kennedy with Alpha Osmund.
As they walked closer, my body suddenly started to react to someone, and that only confused me even more. Was Dr. Kennedy my One? Surely not.
“Alpha Osmund,” I said. I glanced toward the gorgeous blond who was with him. When I did, he looked as if he had seen a ghost.
“Dr. King. I do apologize for dropping in like this. And for the misunderstanding.”
I managed to pull my gaze away from Dr. Kennedy.
My body was vibrating more intensely than I had anticipated, and although I knew what it meant, I absolutely was not expecting Dr. Kennedy, my new coworker, to be my One.
There was no denying that, though, now that he was standing not two feet from me.
“I see you’re having much the same reaction that a few others have had,” Alpha Osmund said.
I stared at him with a confused expression. “I’m sorry?”
“One of the first things that Rainier said to me was how similar Dr. Kennedy looks like Luc. We were just in his office, and seeing them side by side is indeed a bit of a shock.”
“Umm…I…” I nodded slowly. “Now that you mention it, I guess I can see the similarities.” I turned my eyes back to Dr. Kennedy. “Luc is a bit taller though, if I remember correctly.”
“Yes. That was certainly an obvious difference when they were together.” Alpha Osmund placed his hand on my One’s shoulder and pulled his gaze away from me. “Dr. Kennedy, this is Dr. King. He’s the other doctor here at the omega clinic. Sorry about the delay in introducing you.”
I stood and held out my hand. “Please, call me Maxwell,” I said.
I really wanted him to call me something else, but I had no idea what was going to happen.
I knew I needed to get the delectable Dr. Camden Kennedy alone, and fast. He looked at my hand before he placed his smaller one in my grasp.
Immediately, there was an almost painful zap at the contact, and if I’d not wrapped my hand around his, I was certain he would have pulled away from the contact.
“It’s nice to finally meet you,” Camden said.
We shook hands, and when Camden tugged on his hand, I reluctantly let go.
“There was a terrible miscommunication with Dr. Kennedy,” Alpha Osmund said.
“He arrived Wednesday evening, and he spent yesterday getting his house unpacked. I probably should have asked if you needed his assistance today or not, but I told him that starting next week on Monday would be soon enough. He could spend the weekend getting to know the area a bit more that way.”
I nodded. “I’d be more than happy to show you around.
” Preferably, directly to my house so we could discuss the obvious elephant in the room.
A throat clearing pulled my mind back to where it needed to be instead of mentally undressing Camden.
I couldn’t help but wonder just how smooth his skin was though.
“Dr. Kennedy,” I said. “This is Owen. He’s the office manager for the clinic. ”
I wanted to throw a magic ball when Camden smiled at Owen but hadn’t yet graced me with such an expression.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Camden said.
“Same,” Owen said. “It’s been a week of new things here. First me and now you.”
Camden looked my way with a confused expression. “Owen’s first day was Monday. My previous two office managers left when they found their mates and ended up having twins. Both decided to stay home and spend time with their families.”
Camden nodded slowly. “Oh.”
“I don’t mean to interrupt,” Alpha Osmund said, “but I promised Dr. Kennedy that I would show him around a bit more.”
The last thing I wanted was for my One to leave and go off with the created fox shifter. I understood he was doing what he was supposed to do, but that didn’t change the fact that I wanted to be the one showing him around Treasure Ridge.
“I can do that,” I offered.
“I wouldn’t want to impose on your day and pull you away from any of your patients,” Alpha Osmund said.
“Oh, we don’t have any more for the day,” Owen said. Bless him.
“It’s all right, Alpha Osmund,” Camden said. “I think that it would be good for me and Dr. King to get to know one another a bit before I start work Monday morning.”
I had several ideas as to how Camden and I could get to know one another all weekend, if I could only get him alone.
“Are you certain?” Alpha Osmund asked. “I do have several things I could get back to at the council.”
“I am,” I said quickly.
“All right. I’ll leave you to it.” Alpha Osmund looked down at Camden. “If you need help getting back to your place, just stop by the council, and I’ll escort you home.”
That absolutely was not going to be an issue because either I would be taking Camden home, or he would be coming home with me.
Either way, my One and I were going to be spending some time together.
I would prefer it if we were both naked, but I wasn’t going to press that issue.
It would be his choice as to when that happened, but my vote was for as soon as we could get somewhere private.
“I appreciate that,” Camden said. “It’s not far and easy enough to get to.”
Alpha Osmund smiled. “Very well, then.” He nodded at Camden. “You have my number. Please don’t hesitate to message me if you should need anything.”
“I’ll be sure to do that,” Camden said. “Thank you for everything, Alpha. My arrival has been most welcoming.” Camden glanced at me before he smiled at Alpha Osmund, who walked back across the clinic and out the door. That was one gone; now to politely get Owen to go home for the weekend.
“Did you need me to show Dr. Kennedy the appointment schedule or anything?”
I shook my head. “No. You honestly can head on home and enjoy a long weekend since we don’t have any other appointments for the day. Once I show Dr. Kennedy around, I’ll put a sign up on the door.”
“Are you sure?”
I nodded. “Absolutely.”
Owen grinned. “I’m not going to say no. My panda would love to roll around in the snow in our backyard, so I’m going to take you up on that,” Owen said as he stood. “It was very nice to meet you, Dr. Kennedy. I can’t wait to work with you.”
“Likewise,” Camden said.
Owen closed his computer program, and after shutting it down, he grinned and then started toward the back. “Have a great weekend. And welcome to the area.”
“Thanks,” Camden said. He glanced up at me. “I have a feeling my weekend is going to be amazing.”
I hid a smile. If I had anything to do with it, both of our weekends were going to be amazing. And next weekend, and the next, and the weeks in between…