“Here’s your coffee.”
Zoe looked up to see Claire set a porcelain mug on the table in front of her.
“Thanks,” she said.
“And since you’re new in town, I also brought you a mini donut on the house.” Beaming, Claire set a small plate with a large powdered-sugar-dusted donut beside the coffee.
“Thanks,” Zoe repeated. She felt off-kilter, unsure how to react to people who were so friendly. “How do you know I’m new in town?”
“Everyone mostly knows everyone around here,” Claire said with a shrug. “Enjoy your coffee and just call me over if you need anything.”
Zoe nodded. Her skin crawled at the thought of a town where everyone knew everyone. She liked her anonymity in New York. It was nice to always be able to disappear into a crowd. Islingburn was just too small, with its few shops and even fewer restaurants. It was hard to imagine why anyone would want to live here.
Zoe spent the next few hours fixing up her presentation. Not wanting to get kicked out, she ordered a few more drinks as she went, but Claire didn’t seem annoyed that she was hanging around so long. Eventually, it was time to return to Nathan’s clinic, so she headed back down the street. There was a different smell in the air now, a little like rain, and the sky was slowly turning to dusk when Zoe entered the clinic. The receptionist, Maya, was packing up to go home, and she gave Zoe a bright smile.
“Welcome back. Doc will be out in a second.”
“Thanks.” Zoe took a seat in one of the chairs to wait.
“Hey, by the way, do you have any tips on going viral?” Maya’s eyes were shining as she hoisted her purse onto her shoulder and came over to Zoe, who hid a smile.
“Do you want to be famous?”
“Oh, yeah. Totally.” The young, red-haired receptionist nodded enthusiastically.
“Well, my biggest tip is to focus on finding stories,” Zoe said. “Think about how to present something in your life, orsomething you’ve noticed, as an interesting and engaging story. Don’t worry about going viral at first — just think about how you can make people laugh or think or cry.”
“That makes sense.” Maya smiled. “Thanks. And hey, don’t let Nathan fool you. He’s a big softie, but he’s tough, too.”
“Noted. Thanks.”
Maya left, and Zoe was alone in the waiting room. She looked around at the soft chairs, the play corner with toys, the end tables with magazines, and the station that offered free water and tea to waiting patients. Without any patients, the room felt strangely empty. She was about to pick up one of the magazines when the door to the offices opened and Nathan came out. He’d taken off his white lab coat.
“Come on back,” he said.
“Now I feel like a patient,” Zoe joked. Nathan gave her a quick smile and led her down the hallway to his office. There was a large desk with a computer and a swivel chair where he sat, gesturing for her to take the chair beside it. Zoe did so.
“Thank you for meeting with me,” she began. “I’ve put together a quick pitch about how I might be able to help you and your clinic — do you mind if I use my laptop?”
“Sure,” Nathan said, though he sounded tired more than enthusiastic. Zoe got out the laptop and opened the presentation she’d spent the last day and a half tirelessly working on.
“You’re at a big moment right now, both personally and in your career,” Zoe began. “Your viral video currently has almost three million views and a lot of positive engagement. Your engagement rate is almost four percent, which I realize soundslike a low number, but it’s actually great — good engagement rates are considered to be between one and three percent for this kind of material. Right now, people want to know more about you.
“What you need to do, what I can help you do, is act quickly. The social media attention span is very short. We need to capitalize on your momentum and grow your name quickly. We need to answer the question, ‘Who is the Hottest Doctor Alive?’ while it’s still being asked.” Zoe clicked to the next slide. “I propose a simple strategy to grow your presence while keeping true to your brand?—”
“I’m sorry.” Nathan slipped his glasses off and began polishing them on the hem of his shirt. “But I have to stop you right there.”
Zoe’s heart sank. This was her worst fear. Even though she’d gone the extra mile, even though she’d actually flown out to Vermont, somehow, Carla Vassallo had gotten to him beforeshecould. He was about to tell her that he wasn’t interested in working with her, that he’d already signed on with someone else. Probably with Carla herself.
“What is it?” Zoe asked.
“I just… I don’t want any of this.” Nathan gestured at the computer, but Zoe got the feeling he was talking about more than just her pitch. “I want things to go back to normal. I don’t want to capitalize on my momentum or build my brand or anything like that. I just want to run my practice and help my patients.”
Relief flooded Zoe. If Nathan’s hesitation was just about being famous, well, she could work with that. She was used to hard sells.
“I understand.” She shut the computer and put it to the side. “No more pitch, all right? I understand that you don’t want to become famous.”
“Really?” Nathan seemed surprised. “I thought you’d push me more on this. It’s your job to make people famous, right?”
