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“Sure.”
“You said you loved your job, so why do you have a recruiter?”
“Well, that’s a long story,” Grace said.
“Good, because I’d like to hear it. And I love the Salade Lyonnaise too.”
By the time lunch was over, I offered Grace the VP position. Luckily, she accepted it.
Leo missed our flight to Covington Falls, but I used the time to revise the expansion timeline to accommodate Grace’s exit from current job. Her only condition for joining the team meant our new office would be leaderless for sixty days. Not ideal, but something he could live with.
Monitoring the weather forecast while in Vegas, I stepped out of the jet in a pair of rugged snow boots instead of shiny black oxfords. The late December sun was already setting. While Leo and I had outgrown our childhood hometown, I never tired of gazing at the big sky over Covington Falls turning purple, red, and orange before transforming into starry nights.
A mile away from the newly constructed Valentine family lodge, Leo finally called. I updated him on the situation with Grace.
“What if I don’t think she’s a good fit?”
“She’s exactly who we’ve been looking for. Trust me, Leo, you would’ve agreed. Try to be there next time.”
“Fine,” Leo grumbled.
The chauffeured SUV rolled to a stop in front of the massive front door of the lodge. With the VP position filled, I was looking forward to spending a few days over the holidays with Leo and our parents. “What should I tell Mom and Dad when they ask me where you are?”
Still annoyed with me, Leo huffed. “I’ll be there in time for the ceremony and for Christmas dinner.”
“That reminds me. We’re having dinner at theirs. Dad insisted.”
He sighed. “Can you believe they won’t leave that old place? I built the lodge for all of us, but mostly for them.”
“I told you it was too big.”
Leo chuckled. “Yes, you did. I’ll see you in a couple of days. Enjoy the snow,” he said and then hung up.
A twinge of envy resurfaced. Leowashaving the time of his life in Vegas. “If only you could be that spontaneous,” I whispered. “You might even get laid before the New Year.”
Zoey
“EarthtoDoctorZoeyMarshall!”
Lydia’s voice snapped me back to the room and the paperwork scattered over my desk. I gulped a mouthful of my lukewarm coffee then set the cup down on the only spot that didn’t have a patient’s chart or a past due bill covering it. “Sorry. I must have zoned out. What’s up?”
“Just a couple of cats, little Naomi’s guinea pig, and the Gordons’ new puppy.”
I smiled. “Is that all? I thought you said everyone in town would be flooding the office before we close for Christmas.”
My assistant shrugged her narrow shoulders. “Consider it an early Christmas present. Also, don’t jinx it. My flight to Cabo hasn’t been canceled and I’m taking all of this as a good sign I’ll actually get to enjoy a vacation this year.”
I glanced out the window. It had snowed two days ago. A mini blizzard, for a native Californian like me, but to everyone else in Covington Falls, it was just another Sunday. More of the white stuff was expected by the end of the week, guaranteeing a very white Christmas. Turning the mug between my fingers, I read the words painted in black on the glazed white ceramic, “I Was Made To Save Pets”, and I wondered again whether I’d made the wrong decision to give up everything I had back in Los Angeles.
“Look at the state of your desk,” Lydia said as she sat and plucked up one of the late notices. After scanning it, she raised her head. “Are we in trouble?”
I couldn’t lie to Lydia. Besides being my only employee at the clinic, she was the first friend I made when I moved to Covington Falls. Lydia gave me that mug last Christmas as a welcome to the neighborhood gift. It’s hard to believe it’s been a year since I bought the only veterinarian clinic in town, but the dwindling health of my finances provided a good reminder.
I scooped a chunk of my hair behind my ear and said, “I think if we can make it through the winter season, we’ll be okay. Business will pick up again by spring. Like it did last May. With a lot less costs next year, the accountant is projecting we’ll see a profit.”
I might’ve been too optimistic about some of the financial projections I made back in California. I certainly was when I spent thousands on renovating the aging clinic. With all the competing construction in town, labor costs and materials skyrocketed unexpectedly.
The final expenses for the repairs and upgrades to the clinic had doubled once it was completed. Way out of the original budget, but I had already signed the contract. I couldn’t back out and risk everyone in town thinking that I cheated hard working carpenters and plumbers out of money they were owed. So instead I scrapped my plans to upgrade the technology and tapped into my meager retirement savings to pay for the overage. Now, I had a beautiful new facility, complete with tons of paper that needed filing, an antiquated medical records system, and dashed hopes of modernizing the clinic.
