the idea of seeing him on a regular basis.
“You just moved in a few days ago. You can’t have a boyfriend that quickly.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “And what makes you think I don’t have a boyfriend?”
“No boyfriend would ever let someone like me help you move in and he certainly wouldn’t let you watch movies alone with me.”
I wondered if he knew how completely messed up that sounded on so many levels.
He leaned in, close to my ear. I could feel his breath on my neck and my knees nearly gave out. Then he whispered, “I hope I get to see you again tomorrow, Alexandria.”
Before I could catch my breath, he was out the door.
THREE
Close Reach
I was eager to get back to work the next morning. When I entered the main building, Lily gave me a huge smile. “Glad to see we didn’t scare you off yesterday.”
“I don’t scare off very easily,” I said and smiled. As nerve-racking as it was to start a new job, the place and the people I had met so far made me feel comfortable. And I had to admit, I was excited to see Daniel again. Maybe it was good that he was not the type I usually went for. I had a new job, in a new city, in a new part of the country. Maybe I needed a new type of guy as well.
“That’s definitely a requirement to work here,” she said. “Have you met the twins yet?”
I shook my head.
Lily chuckled. “Maybe today. You’ll love them.” Her strange emphasis on the word ‘love’ made me wonder if she was being facetious. “Enjoy your day!”
“You, too,” I said as I headed down the hall way toward my office.
When Tom stopped by to check in on me at the end of the previous day, he mentioned that he wouldn’t start assigning me clients right away. He wanted me to get a chance to get familiar with the place, the processes and procedures and the rest of the staff.
I was one of four Master’s level therapists in the outpatient services. I knew there were others in the inpatient services as well as the day programs. Most of the other clinical staff members had undergraduate degrees. I was hoping to get a chance to at least meet the three other therapists, with whom I would be working most closely. It didn’t take long for that wish to come true.
Two women poked their heads into my office. “Busy?” asked one of them as they both entered.
The women looked to be in their early thirties. They had nearly identical facial features but that’s where any similarity between them ended. One of them was dressed in all black with black boots and had spiky dyed black hair. The other had extremely long light brown hair and was dressed in a flowing hippie-style skirt and blouse, and was wearing Birkenstocks. I assumed they were the twins that Lily had referred to.
The one in all black held out a hand, “Hey, I’m Trinity,” she said.
I shook her hand. “I’m Lexie.”
Then the other twin extended her hand, “And I’m Serenity.”
I shook Serenity’s hand. It was weird how much their unique outward appearances matched their names.
“We’re really glad you’re here,” Serenity said. “Tom had a lot of trouble filling the position.”
“It probably has something to do with the meager pay and long hours,” Trinity quipped. Her twin gave her the stink eye.
“Don’t let my sister give you the wrong impression,” Serenity said. “We love working here.”
“It puts food on the table,” Trinity added.
“We’ve been here eight years,” Serenity said. “I think that says something.”
“Maybe it says Tom is the only person willing to hire twins to work together,” Trinity added.
The way the twins bantered back and forth with each other made me wonder if anyone else ever got a word in when talking with them.
“Have you met Brad yet?” Serenity asked.
Right after that, Trinity asked, “Have you gotten a tour yet?”
They both stared at me. I assumed that was my cue to finally speak. “No and no,” I answered.
“Great then,” Serenity said.
“Let’s go,” Trinity added.
The first stop on our tour was Brad’s office, which was a few doors down the hall from mine. His door was closed but that didn’t deter Trinity one bit. She barged right in.
“Hey, Brad,” she said as the three of us entered his work space.
He looked up at us through dark framed glasses. I got the distinct feeling he didn’t like to be disturbed,