“I…” Nathan sighed as his annoyance faded. “I just want to do my job, too.”
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
“That’s the next patient,” Nathan said.
“Do you really want me to leave?” She lifted those brown eyes to his.
“You can stay.” He did want her to leave, but when she was showing a little of the real person beneath her hard exterior, it was hard to say that.
The next patient was Olivia. Nathan’s heart sank when he saw her, once again wearing a tight dress and a full face of makeup.
“Olivia.” He stepped back to let her in. “I didn’t expect to see you again so soon.” He shut the door behind her.
“I know.” Olivia looked up at him. “But I need your help.”
“I thought I was clear,” Nathan told her, as gently as he could. “I can’t date you.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Nathan saw Zoe lift her camera, and once again, his heart sank. Olivia was the closest thing to real drama in the clinic. Of course Zoe would be all over this. He shot her a look that hopefully would tell her that this wasn’t acceptable to film.
“No, I know that.” Tears gathered in her eyes. “I’ve just been going through a difficult time lately.”
“Come on, sit down. We can talk.” He gestured to the chair beside his desk then turned to Zoe. “No filming, okay?”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
Zoe lowered her camera, but Nathan could tell that she was annoyed. He was annoyed, too. A moment ago, it had seemed like they’d connected, at least a little, but now she was back to trying to create drama. Nathan couldn’t let her. He had to put the needs of his patient first.
Maybe it just wasn’t possible for him and Zoe to see eye to eye. Maybe, no matter how important it was, she would always just see his patients as a way to add drama to the pitch. He still couldn’t believe she’d suggested that he fake a relationship with Maya, who he thought of more as a younger sister than anything else.
Zoe had promised to make sure the show was interesting. Nathan had thought she’d meant using music or piecing a narrative together, not fabricating moments and faking intrigue.
Maybe they really shouldn’t work together.
As Nathan talked to Olivia about how she was feeling and what she could do, he internally resolved to give Zoe until the end ofthe day. Then, in the evening, they’d talk, and he’d tell her that they couldn’t work together. He was just never going to be the kind of sensational doctor she wanted.
Nathan glanced over at Zoe, who had her camera by her side and was watching him and Zoe with her bottom lip tucked between her teeth. Her expression was unreadable. Then Nathan returned his attention to his patient.
CHAPTER 10
ZOE
Zoe’s frustration had been building all day.
For a moment, it had seemed like Nathan was going to let her do her job, but as the afternoon wore on, it became more and more clear that wasn’t happening. He didn’t stop her from filming again, and he even tried a little bit to pose for her pictures, but the quality of the content was still very low. The pictures and videos mostly showed a stiff-looking Nathan with an odd facial expression taking blood pressure or sitting by his computer while he gave consultations. All of that was about as interesting to the average viewer as watching paint dry.
If Zoe could have had an overall narrative, about a small-town doctor juggling his love life with his professional life or tracking down the root of medical mysteries, for instance, she could have probably pieced these shots together with a voiceover and pulled something off. But as long as Nathan refused to do anythinginteresting,the project was doomed. Her career was doomed.
“Have a nice day and just come back if you have any other concerns.” Nathan smiled at the patient, a young man whose name Zoe hadn’t caught.
“Thanks, Doc.” The man shook Nathan’s hand and left.
“That was the last one, right?” Zoe asked Nathan.
“Yes.”
“Great.” The word was a little too sharp. Zoe turned and started packing up her camera and equipment. When she turned back, she saw that Nathan was packing, too — he was putting gauze strips and a syringe into a black medical bag that looked like it had come from a bad 1950s movie.
