“I’d need paid sick leave and vacation days.”
“All right,” he nodded without hesitation.
My eyes narrowed. “And I want to wear any color of scrubs I want.” I tacked that on out of spite. At my father’s clinic, colored scrubs had been forbidden.
His smile widened, slow and boyish this time. “You drive a hard bargain,Amapolita,but—fine. Wear all the bubblegum pink you want.”
“I need it in writing,” I blurted. “All of it. In a real contract. With, you know, signatures and stuff.”
Jay’s smile softened. “I’ll draft it right now.”
He stood and left for another room next to the kitchen that appeared to be an office. The soft click of the door closing left me alone with the fire crackling and my racing thoughts.
I groaned, burying my face in my hands. Just because Jay was a friendly neighbor didn’t mean he’d be a good boss.
“Ugh,” I muttered, and the only one able to hear me was Luna. The pup opened her eyes briefly, then closed them again. “Maybe this time will be different?” I whispered to myself.
Those words were going to backfire on me, and I knew it. But wasn’t that what life was all about? Giving things second chances? Making mistakes again and again?Wouldn’t it just make me irrevocably human if it all came crashing down? There was something beautiful about taking a chance, even if it ruined me. I wanted to believe in things like that. That’s why I’d come to Big Bear in the first place.
I reached for my phone, tempted to text Emily for advice, but then an unread message popped up on my screen.
MOM: Mason told us you’re in Big Bear. Please come home. Your father and I are worried about you. Applications for dental school are due soon, and we don’t want you to miss out on this opportunity.
No missed calls. Just a text.
Was she serious?
She didn’t even have the decency to call. To check in on me. I’d basically run away, and all I get is atext.Also, the fact that my mom was doing my father’s dirty work was even more aggravating.
A fire burned in my chest. It all but made my decision for me. I wasn’t going back home to work at the clinic or apply to dental school. I had to prove they couldn’t control me anymore.
The office door opened, and Jay came out with several sheets of paper. He sat next to me and passed the freshly printed paperwork, still warm from the printer.
“Here’s the new employee packet I typically give all my employees. I’ve included all the stipulations you mentioned.”
I flipped through the pages. Sure enough, everything was there: sixty dollars an hour, two weeks of sick leave,two weeks of paid vacation at any point in the year, even a sentence in italics mentioning the colored scrubs.
I found the dotted lines and took the pen from his fingertips. Next to the empty signature line was his full name, already signed.
“Dr. Jay Alarcón,” I read aloud.
“Everyone at the clinic just calls me Dr. Jay,” he said simply.
I looked back at his signature, then at him. “Okay… Dr. Jay.”
I signed the papers on the coffee table. The scratch of the pen was the only sound besides the crackle of the hearth.
“No hesitation?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
I shrugged, passing the papers back. “I figure at this point, I’ve got nothing to lose.”
My mom’s text flashed in my mind.
Thanks, Mom, I thought, pressing the pen into Jay’s hand.Thanks for reminding me that I’m definitely not coming home.
CHAPTER 13
HOPE: I forgot one thing on the contract.
