“I still think that would have worked, and not necessarily made anyone feel worse about anything, but yes.” Zoe raised her eyebrows. “What do you think?”
“I think…” Nathan slipped off his glasses to give himself a moment. Once they were spotless (which they already had been), he put them back on and met Zoe’s eyes. “I think it can work. It’s a good way to show the beauty of Islingburn and the importance of my work without introducing too much scandal or sacrificing patient care. I’ll be the main character, and we won’t create any drama.”
“Exactly.” Zoe beamed. “Or notmuchdrama, at least. But if we’re doing it this way, I need you toreallywork with me. No more weird expressions and stiff postures and sending me away when you get frustrated.”
“I’ll try. And if I tell you not to film something, you have to listen.”
“I will. But if I really need a good shot and the patient is okay with it, I might ask you to do something more than once, and you can’t be a stick-in-the-mud about it.”
“Deal.” Nathan held out his hand across the table, and Zoe took it. Her hand was small and soft in his, the complete opposite of her larger-than-life, often tough personality.
“Deal,” Zoe agreed. “Plus, we can work in a lot of the things we brainstormed, like interviewing people and documenting the difficulties of a small-town practice like this…”
She looked like she was on the verge of drawing out the entire show arc on a paper napkin, so Nathan caught her eye.
“I like the idea. I really do. But I also think we should take a little time away from work.”
Zoe’s eyes narrowed, but she sat back with a sigh. “Maybe you’re right. How about we talk about the show for one more hour, then I promise I’ll back off until Monday?”
“Sounds good to me.”
They traded more ideas back and forth, and soon the shape of the pitch started to come together. Zoe made a list of possible episodes and of shots she wanted to get, and Nathan laid out a few guidelines about what he wasn’t willing to film, like very upset or sick patients. Between ideas, they finished their food and a second coffee each.
By the time the hour was up, Nathan felt much better about their collaboration. It no longer felt like he’d been backed into a corner or like he’d be forced to sacrifice his principles for fame. Instead, it felt like a true collaboration between him and Zoe. Everything could fall apart on Monday, of course, but for now, he was happy with their progress.
“Time’s up,” he said.
“All right.” Zoe closed the cover on her tablet and put it back in her bag. “I feel good about this.”
“Me too.”
“And I won’t bother you anymore.” Zoe reached for the check, which the waiter had left on their table a few minutes ago, and made a move to get up and go to the counter. “I’m sure you have lots of weekend plans.”
“What areyourplans?” Nathan asked, and Zoe paused halfway out of the booth.
“I’ll just hole up at the B&B and get to work on all this,” she said.
“No way.” Nathan shook his head. “I can’t let you do that. Let’s do something fun this weekend.”
“Fun?” Zoe’s brows furrowed as though she were unfamiliar with the word.
“Fun,” Nathan repeated. “Let me show you around Islingburn. Come on. Next week, you can bury yourself in work.”
Zoe hesitated. Then she shrugged, her pink lips curving into a smile.
“Okay, okay. Why not? Show me what Islingburn has to offer.”
“Excellent.” Nathan grinned. “And I’m paying for breakfast, by the way.”
“No way.”
“Yes. It’s the least I can do after making your life difficult all week.” He made a stiff robot facial expression and added, in a robot voice, “Cannot smile for pictures. Protocol not available.”
Zoe laughed. “You have some good impressions. And fine, you can get the check this time. But when you come to New York for the pitch, it’s on me.”
Nathan hadn’t realized he’d have to travel to New York, though he should have. Instead of feeling apprehensive, though, he found that he was looking forward to spending more time with Zoe and seeing what she loved so much about the city.
For now, though, he was focused on convincing her that Islingburn was also a pretty great city (okay, town). It was important to him that she liked Islingburn. And it was important to him that she liked him, too.
