After the group disperses to go to their assigned treatments, I finish working with Darius, meet the other therapists on staff (I am the only woman), and sit in on a mini meeting with them all. They are a well-oiled machine and have already decided what players on the roster I will start working with.
Darius is one.
Samuels and Rush are two others.
Miranda returns promptly by lunch to retrieve me to sign a mound of paperwork over a meal of shrimp caesar salad and unsweetened tea.
“So what did you think?” she asks.
“I think I’m going to love it here.”
“That’s good to hear. You seem to fit right in.”
After a few silent chews of our food, Miranda asks me the question I think she’s been dying to ask ever since this morning.
“So you and Rush.”
“Yes?”
“You said you two are like brother and sister?”
I decide it would be best to continue with the underplayed truth Rush started in the training room.
“Well, we’re college friends. Is there something you wanted to know?”
“I’m sorry for asking, it’s just that, he never mentioned you.”
I try not to let her words bother me, but they hurt. I’m pretty sure he slept with this woman on numerous occasions and it’s obvious that she’s no clucker, so why didn’t he tell her about me?
There’s a knock at the door that bails me out before I almost say something stupid.
“Who is it?”
“Bacchetti.”
“His ears must have been burning,” Miranda quips in a very casual way, as if she’s known Rush forever. “Come in, Rush.”
He looks between the two of us, then his eyes finally land on mine.
“Can I talk to you for a minute, Mia?”
“Sure.”
I get up slowly because my knee often aches if I’ve been sitting too long in one position, but then starts to loosen up once I get moving. Rush closes Miranda’s door behind us and walks me toward the elevators, out of earshot.
“What’s up?” I ask, still salty about what Miranda just shared.
“Why aren’t you using your cane?”
“Because I don’t need it today.”
“You almost fell on top of Darius back there.”
“But I didn’t.”
“And you’re in this skirt? Who are you trying to impress?”
“It’s my first day on the job and I wanted to look professional. I’m trying to impress every damn body!”
