Chapter 4
ZOE
“One Panang curry with shrimp and jasmine rice, and one pad kee mao,” the waiter said, setting the steaming plates on the table.
“Thanks,” Zoe replied. She lifted her chopsticks and surveyed her curry with enthusiasm. She loved this restaurant.
“Thanks,” her closest friend, Katherine, echoed as she drew her plate of saucy rice noodles closer. The waiter nodded and left them alone to eat. Katherine tucked a strand of her short brown hair behind her ear and met Zoe’s eyes.
“Okay, I’ve totally been monopolizing the conversation,” she said.
Zoe chuckled. “No, not at all.” In truth, they had spent the last half an hour while getting settled and eating their appetizers talking about Katherine’s students at the local magnet school where she taught third grade and about her sister’s new baby.
But Zoe didn’t mind at all. She loved these bi-weekly catchups and found Katherine’s stories very entertaining.
“You’re too nice,” Katherine said, grinning and expertly picking up a piece of bell pepper with her chopsticks. “But now it’s your turn. How’s the search for new clients going?”
Zoe moaned and pretended to hit her head against the table.
“That good, huh?” Katherine asked with a sympathetic smile.
“That good,” Zoe repeated. “Why are you bringing up work?”
“Well, I was going to ask about your love life, but I figured that wouldn’t be any better.”
Zoe pretended to hit her head against the table again.
She was single, as she had been for most of the last few years.
It wasn’t that she hadn’t tried. She had.
Every now and then, she’d go on a blind date or have drinks with an acquaintance, but the guys always turned out to be manipulative, self-centered jerks.
Of the most recent three dates she’d been on, one had been married (though he’d tried to lie about it), one had spent the whole date talking about his fantasy football league, and one had spent the evening lecturing Zoe on PR, even though she was a PR professional and he worked at a bank.
“So, back to the search for clients,” Katherine said, twirling her chopsticks in a please continue gesture.
“Well, I had that meeting with Gapcha,” Zoe said. “It went terribly. My old boss got to him, too, but even if she hadn’t, I wouldn’t have wanted to work with him.”
“Sorry.” Katherine made a face. “Your old boss sucks.”
“That’s putting it mildly,” Zoe replied. “I just need one break, you know? If I can get one good, solid client, someone I can actually work with, I just know that things will start looking up. The best would be an up-and-comer who Carla Vassallo can’t get her claws into.”
“I’m sure you’ll find someone soon,” Katherine said.
“I hope so, but the problem is, I don’t know how much longer I can keep looking.
” Zoe trailed her chopsticks through her curry before pinching a piece of shrimp.
“The ugly truth is that I think I have about a month left before I have to give up. I’ve gone through a lot of my savings, and eventually I’ll need an income again.
” She’d crunched the numbers the night before, and it wasn’t looking good.
“I’m so sorry,” Katherine said.
“It’s fine.” Zoe shrugged, even though it wasn’t.
“You know, one of my students is famous around the school for doing the best armpit farts, if that helps.” Katherine winked. “She’s definitely an up-and-comer.”
Zoe managed a laugh at her friend’s joke, and Katherine grinned.
“I appreciate your help, and definitely keep your eyes open, but I get the feeling that a nine-year-old doing armpit farts won’t be my big break.”
“Suit yourself.”
“Let’s talk about something else now,” Zoe suggested. “I’m getting sad.”
“No, come on, don’t be sad. You’re going to get your big break, I’m sure.”
“Yeah, but my career is falling apart, my love life is in shambles, and my landlord just increased the rent on my apartment.”
“Sure, sure, but your hair looks great.”
Zoe laughed again and smoothed a hand over her blond hair, which was pulled back in a neat bun. “It really does, doesn’t it?”
“Definitely.” The two friends smiled at each other, then Zoe asked about Katherine’s upcoming trip to visit her new niece, and the conversation moved on.
Once they’d finished eating, Zoe excused herself to use the restroom.
While she was there, she smoothed her hair again and tried to smile.
Even though things felt like they were falling apart, she was lucky to have a friend like Katherine, and she wasn’t going to let herself ruin lunch by being a sad sack.
When she got back to the table, Katherine had her phone out and was looking at something.
“What’s up?” Zoe slid back into her chair.
“Well, I was just scrolling on Insta, and I think I might have found something for you.”
“Is it a nine-year-old doing armpit farts?”
“Not exactly.”
Katherine turned the phone around so Zoe could see.
The video showed a man in a white lab coat around Zoe’s age.
He had thick glasses that magnified his soft blue eyes, which were the color of the sky at noon.
His chocolate-brown hair was artfully tousled and he had the kind of strong jawline that made ladies’ knees weak.
He was leaning forward to talk to a young boy of about seven, cracking jokes about cows until the boy’s nerves gave way to laughter.
The caption read, “Hottest Doctor Alive,” and the video had more than two and a half million views. Zoe whistled.
“I mean, it’s a great video, but I’m not sure it’ll help me. I’m sure this guy has a team already.”
“That’s the thing.” Katherine spun the phone back. “I looked through the comments, and, apparently, the doctor doesn’t even have a social media account. He might not even know he’s famous.”
Zoe’s mind began to race a mile a minute.
This was perfect. Here was a guy in desperate need of a PR professional.
He was going viral, and he didn’t even have a social media account.
Obviously, she was going to need to do more digging, but this could be just what she needed.
If she could find this guy and convince him that she could help, well…
He was exactly the kind of up-and-comer she needed, the kind so blind to the world of PR that he wouldn’t know about Zoe’s history with Carla Vassallo.
Her thoughts still flying, Zoe let out a low whistle. “Katherine, I think you’ve done it.”
“Really?” Katherine beamed.
“Really. But I’m afraid I have to run. PR people are going to be all over this guy, and I need to get there first. Is he in New York?”
“No, it looks like he’s somewhere in rural Vermont according to a few of the comments.”
“Then it looks like I’m off to Vermont.” Zoe grinned and got to her feet. “Will you send me that video?”
“Of course. Let me know how it goes.”
At the counter, Zoe paid for both their lunches, thanked the waiter, then hurried out onto the street.
She would have splurged on a cab if she’d thought it would be faster, but her lifetime of experience taught her that the New York subway was always quicker.
She raced down into the station, tapped her MetroCard, and saw a message from Katherine as she was getting on the train.
Zoe watched the video again, her lower lip tucked between her teeth and one foot tapping against the floor.
The video had been posted a day and a half ago and was still getting new views.
She scrolled through the comments, then did her own search to make sure the “Hottest Doctor Alive” really didn’t have a social media account.
He didn’t.
By the time she was home, she’d found the contact information of his practice in a small town called Islingburn, Vermont.
Zoe could have called or sent an email, but the video had gone up a day and a half ago.
Others would already have tried that. No, if she was going to stand out from the other PR professionals trying to land the doctor as a client, she needed to do something different.
The moment she stepped through the door of her apartment, she grabbed her laptop and got to work.
A quick Google search told her that it was a short flight or a long drive to Islingburn, but Zoe didn’t have a car, so it had to be the flight.
She booked one for early the next morning, wincing at the steep price, but this was going to be worth it.
It had to be. This doctor was going to be her big break, whether he wanted to be or not.
The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent putting together a pitch.
Zoe stayed awake late into the night, making sure everything was perfect.
She had statistics. She had a roll-out plan for how to boost the doctor’s social media presence.
She had an idea for a reality TV show that would feature him as the handsome, heroic doctor embroiled in small-town drama.
There had to be drama, of course.
By the time she went to bed, Zoe was feeling optimistic, if a bit sleep-deprived.
Early the next morning, she took a bus out to the airport.
When she landed in Burlington a few hours later, she rented a car for the last stretch.
In just a few hours, she was going to meet the “Hottest Doctor Alive,” and she was going to convince him to become her client.
She could do this. She had to. It was the only way to keep her career afloat.