it all. “A meddling grandmother, huh? I never would’ve guessed. She doesn’t sound all that grandmotherly.”
“Well, that’s Eddy. Do we have a deal?”
Damn straight, we did. “Yep.” I was good at my job and I knew by the middle of the week he’d be asking me to stay, so I wasn’t worried. “Eddy said you take your coffee with two creams and two sugars, is that right?” He nodded and I turned towards the small break room in the back. “I’ll grab you a cup while you get settled. Then we can talk about whatever is on your mind.”
He stared at me like he couldn’t quite figure me out, nodding slowly as if distracted, before he turned and disappeared around the corner into his office.
I hurried to make sure the coffee was hot, grabbing a pastry because sugar and carbs made everyone a little easier to deal with—especially busy doctors prone to crankiness.
Scott
Closing the office door behind me so I could fume in peace, I took several deep breaths after that frustrating encounter with that… that frustrating woman. Stevie, what the hell kind of name was that for a woman, anyway? Especially a professional woman—even though she hardly looked professional, in jeans that hugged her ass and thighs like a lover and a ring in her nose. No, Eddy had gone too far with her meddling this time. Interfering in my love life was one thing, but my business was where I drew the line.
I hung up the blazer I brought because it was ingrained into me to dress professionally, even though my patients all had four legs and didn’t give a damn what I wore. Dropping my beat-up brown leather bag on the floor beside my desk, I lowered myself into the chair and let out a sigh. It was too early for a headache, but already, I felt one coming on. So much for showing up early to get a jump start on the day.
But on top of my desk was Stevie’s resume. No, not Stevie—Stephanie. Stephanie Ann Mattis from Gary, Indiana. She was a long way from home, but she had an impressive work history that made me wonder why she’d taken this job in the middle of nowhere.
“Why?” It was the only question I had. If Stevie looked a little different, I might have thought it was Eddy’s attempt at matchmaking, but she wasn’t my type at all. She was too short, too curvy, and had way too much sass. If it wasn’t about romance, then Eddy must be worried about me—and that was the last thing I wanted. An assistant was the last thing I wanted.
A knock sounded on the door a second before it opened and Stevie strode in, her strides quick and capable. “Here’s your coffee.” She offered the oversized mug with a smile and earned extra points for not making a joke about the ‘Stay Pawsitive’ printed on the front of the mug. I watched as she rounded the desk and took the chair across from me. “Did you want to start with the filing system?”
She wasn’t in charge here. I was. “I had an assistant once, Stephanie.”
“The name is Stevie,” she corrected. It was the only thing she said but her gaze remained steady on mine, waiting for me to continue.
“Her name was Tori and I relied on her, as one grows to do, and she did a damn good job. One day, she came in to tell me her boyfriend had proposed and they were moving to Canada together so he could have a real shot at the rodeo. In Canada, when they were already in Texas.” Even thinking about it pissed me off all over again. “I went through a few temps who ran the gamut of just plain incompetent to husband-hunting. I gave up, and for the past eighteen months, I’ve been doing it all.”
She nodded like she understood and I wondered if this would be easier than I thought. “I get that, I really do. The problem is that you haven’t been doing it all that well.”
“Excuse me?” Didn’t she understand that I was the one in the position of authority here?
Stevie stood and set down her notebook so she was free to pace in front of my office. I didn’t like it, but it gave me time to observe her. She was a tiny little thing, and she looked younger than the twenty-six her resume suggested she was. Maybe it was her massive black ponytail or