Jay glanced over briefly, his expression straightforward but sincere. “Hey,” he said, voice softening. “There are no strings attached, remember? If you hate it, you can walk away at any time. No hard feelings.”
“Thanks,” I said quietly, staring down at the lid of my coffee. “That… actually helps.”
He nodded. “Good. But also remember that if you decide to leave me after all, I’ll have to reschedule all my patients until I can find a temp, and that will suck.”
I laughed, the sound bubbling up before I could stop it. “Wow. So dentist of you.”
“Just keeping it real,” he said, his smile confirming his teasing.
A few minutes later, we pulled up to the office building by the lake, and looked exactly the same as the last time Isaw it. Only this time, it was a little more intimidating because I knew it wouldn’t be empty inside.
Jay got out, and I followed after him.
“Good morning, Dr. Jay,” a woman at the front desk greeted us. She had short black hair and bright red lipstick on.
“Good morning, Shelby,” Jay replied.
Sitting next to Shelby was a younger man, closer to my age, with neatly styled blonde hair and spectacles.
“Shelby, Devin, this is Hope. She’s our newest hygienist.”
“Nice to meet you, dear,” Shelby said with a kind smile. The bright red lipstick made her smile pop. I had a feeling that if I needed Ibuprofen or a tampon, she’d be the first one I’d ask.
Devin gave a polite nod, but he seemed much quieter and more introverted than his front-desk companion. “Nice to meet you.”
“I’ll have Shelby show you how to clock in sometime today, and we’ll make sure to get all your hours logged. She’ll also have some more paperwork for you later to fill out for taxes and things,” Jay said, leading me to the back.
We passed the X-ray machine and the sterilization area, then came around a bend into a small room that appeared to be the break room, complete with a kitchen and storage lockers. There was a couch on one wall and a table with a small TV. Down the hall, there was another door that looked like it could be Jay’s office.
“Good morning,” Jay greeted someone, and my head snapped back around. In my anxious observation of the facility, I’d completely missed the other two people in the room with us.
A blonde girl with perfect curls and a smoky eye Icould only ever dream of achieving was the first to respond. “Morning, Dr. Jay!” She glanced over at me, her “M” necklace glittering perfectly in the little V of her scrubs. “And who’s this?”
“This is Hope, our new hygienist,” Jay said. “She’ll be working three days a week. Hope, meet Macey and Tyler.”
My eyes shifted to a guy about my age standing by the coffee maker. He had short, dirty-blonde hair and brown eyes, and a kind, relaxed smile that I couldn’t help but immediately notice.
“Jenn and Erica are also assistants you’ll be working with, but they don’t typically work Tuesdays,” Jay explained.
“We’re glad you’re here,” Tyler commented, setting his mug down. “We thought we’d have to rearrange the schedule again today.”
“I’m glad I could help. It’s nice to meet you both,” I said, trying to sound normal and not appear like the anxious ball of energy I really was.
Jay gave me a wink and started toward his office. “I have a few charts to look at before we start, but Macey can go over everything with you before the first patient shows up.”
“Shall we?” Macey asked, already starting for the door.
I hurried to put my things in an empty locker, then followed after her. We walked by Jay’s office door just as it closed, and I felt a little panicked that he was leaving me. It was going to take me a second to adjust to Macey’s sunshine-and-sparkles energy. In my experience, all the assistants I’d worked with weren’t very bubbly; most just did a lot of passive-aggressive sighing.
All my instincts told me I couldn’t trust these people.
“Okay, so here we have—masks, glasses, chair covers,gauze, polish, and, of course, floss.” Macey held up the roll. “Use it wisely.”
I managed a nervous smile. “I’ll try not to abuse the power.”
“That’s the spirit.” Macey grinned, handing me a remote from the counter. “This controls the monitor—charts, X-rays, the insurance codes. It’s not too complicated, I’m sure you’ll figure it out in no time.”
I laughed nervously.
