Page 7 of Fierce-Jax

He hesitated before he said, “Sure. If it’s not too much to ask.”

She smiled. “It’s not,” she said. “And won’t even be added to your bill.”

“Good to know,” he said. She was pretty sure there was humor in his voice, but she couldn’t see his face.

She grabbed the lotion on the counter, put a little on her glove to rub in and then spread it over more of his skin.

“You can drop your shirt now,” she said. “I’m going to get a scraping of the rash to send out, but I’ll also prescribe you a steroid ointment for your hand. I’m almost positive it’s contact dermatitis and this will take care of it.”

“How long does it take?” he asked. “I’m getting a little tired of not shaking someone’s hand, especially when I’ve got interviews set up.”

“Oh,” she said. “Are you changing jobs?”

Hmmm, how did that come out of her mouth? She didn’t normally get that deep with her patients.

She noticed he was an Executive Director of a not-for-profit in the area. She’d seen billboards and even TV commercials for it.

He was too young in her mind to have that job and so much responsibility.

“No,” he said. “I’ve got a new program starting soon and have to start interviewing for the Program Director and then they can interview for their staff.”

“I know something about delegating,” she said. “Or I try to, but it doesn’t always work.”

She grabbed her blade and scratched off some of his skin and rash on his hand. A few different spots, then sealed up the specimens and set them down.

She went back to her computer to print out the labels to grab when Jax left.

“No,” he said. “It doesn’t, but I have enough good staff. I’ve got a bit of a reputation when it comes to hiring.”

She looked up from her computer. “How is that? I could use all the help I can getting staffing filled.”

“I steal people,” he said, grinning. “In a nice friendly professional way of course.”

“Steal?” she asked. “Oh, to answer your question, you should see results with the cream within a few days. If you don’t, then we’ll try something else. I’m betting this will clear it up.”

“That’s good,” he said. “As for stealing, I’ve got a lot of contacts in the community. Word of mouth is always great, but if I know someone from another agency, I’m not afraid to approach them and see if they are interested.”

“That’s kind of brilliant,” she said, angling her head. “If you know them and how they work, it’s much better than a stranger.”

“I normally know enough or have heard enough. It’s not a guarantee by any means. That’s the hard part.”

“I can see where someone might think you were offering it,” she said. “Since I’m looking for another PA or at minimum a nurse here, I should do the same.”

Though it was hard to steal someone for her practice if she wanted them to have experience in her field unless she went to another dermatologist for no reason at all.

Not something doctors normally did.

“It’s a delicate process,” he said, smiling. “I’ve mastered the elevator pitch so that it’s done and my card in their hand before they know what hit them. Gives them time to think it over and not ask me a ton of questions right there either.”

What a handsome man he was. Much more relaxed too now that he was talking about his job.

She couldn’t remember the last time she looked at a patient and thought that.

Not smart on her part, but at least it told her she wasn’t dead inside anymore.

The way she’d felt for years.

Anything and everything took precedence in her life over a relationship, even dating.