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That was likely why they’d showed up on Aria’s first day. They’d let him, Jay, and Janessa figure out whether or not to hire her, but they’d want to get to know her, too.
Treating patients in the clinic had been Gareth’s goal for as long as he could remember, so being there now was the realization of that dream. After surviving on caffeine and prayer during his residency, he was so glad to be working in the clinic. He enjoyed the more relaxed pace, plus the ongoing relationships with his patients.
The only thorn in his side was Jay’s constant harping about the budget. Even though he really did understand that Jay was only trying to make sure the clinic succeeded, it got a little wearisome after awhile because they weren’t so close to the edge financially that they needed to pinch pennies quite so tightly. He just hoped that Aria realized that he and Jay didn’t really dislike each other.
Aria seemed to converse easily with his parents, and Gareth liked having the chance to listen to their conversation and get to know her a little better as he ate his lunch. He was curious about Janessa’s friend, already liking the calm air that surrounded her.
“Was it busy today, Gareth?” his dad asked.
“Fairly busy, but none of the appointments really pushed the others back, so we kept on time.”
“I guess Nora’s not in yet,” his mom said.
Gareth shook his head and did his best to not grimace. “She had a personal appointment this morning but should be in soon.”
He wished that they could have gotten away with just him treating patients, but there were those who preferred a woman. Plus, they also helped at the women’s shelter in town, and they required a female doctor. His mom had originally taken care of all that, but with her out of the clinic, they’d needed to hire someone else.
Nora had been the only applicant that had worked out. As a doctor, Gareth had no complaints regarding how she dealt with their patients. His major issue was how she related to him. From the moment she’d started working for them, she’d made it pretty clear she thought the two of them would make a great couple.
The thing was, Gareth had often thought that having a wife who worked as a doctor in the clinic would be great. He’d seen how well his parents had worked together, both at home and in the clinic. However, he hadn’t planned to hire someone to work at the clinic based on whether he thought they could eventually get married.
Gareth hadn’t been interested in Nora the way she was interested in him, and he wasn’t going to date her simply because she was a doctor working in his family’s clinic. That had made Nora unhappy, but she was nothing if not persistent in her belief they belonged together.
Which was why he was quite certain that she was going to be very unhappy with their new receptionist.
“Are you Nora’s nurse on Saturday, Janessa?”
“No. Betsy is working two Saturdays a month to help me out.”
“That was nice of her,” his mom said. “Especially since she’s retired now.”
“Semi-retired, apparently. I think she got a bit bored,” Janessa said with a laugh. “She was the one who approached me about coming back to work for two mornings a month.”
A few minutes later, the back door opened again, and Nora walked into the room. She smiled when she saw them all gathered there. His mom got to her feet and went to the woman.
“Nora, darling,” she said as she hugged Nora. “It’s so good to see you again.”
“How have you been?” Nora asked.
“Very good. How about you?”
“Been keeping busy, but you know I enjoy that.”
“We have a new staff member,” his mom said. “This is Aria, our new receptionist.”
Nora turned to Aria and held out her hand. “Hello, Aria. I’m Doctor Nora Miller.”
Aria got to her feet and shook hands with the other woman. “Nice to meet you.”
If Gareth hadn’t been watching Nora, he would have missed the momentary tightening of her lips before she smiled at Aria.
“I’m sure that Janessa is glad to not have to juggle the front desk and her nursing duties.”
“Oh, I am,” Janessa agreed.
Janessa and Nora clashed a lot, which led to some tense moments in the clinic. If Nora had issues with Aria, her problems with Janessa would only get worse. Gareth could see already that Janessa was protective of her friend and would likely step in if she felt Nora wasn’t treating Aria right.
“Well, we’d better get back to work,” Janessa said, crumpling up the wrapper from her sub.
