Page 5 of Golden Goal

I shake my head. “Nope.”

“It’s settled. We’re going for coffee. Meet you downstairs in ten? I have to grab my purse.”

What the heck. She seems nice, and I don’t have any friends here. Or in general, really. Making friends as an adult is hard, so I’ve gotten used to being alone. At my last job, there were a few people, acquaintances really, who I’d chat with in the break room, but that was the extent of it. Probably my fault since I never went to any of their Friday happy hours or karaoke nights. This feels like the perfect opportunity to change that. To make friends. Or at least try to. And it would be nice to at least have someone to get coffee or lunch with.

“Sure, okay,” I tell her.

A few minutes later, I’m stepping off the elevator into the lobby as one of the players comes strolling in holding hands with a woman.

“Hey, Doc,” he greets me.

“Dr. Jansen.” The correction comes out before I can stop myself. Fuck. Oh well.

He blinks a couple of times before continuing, “Right, Dr. Jansen.” He clears his throat. “Perfect timing.”

“Hi.” Shit, what’s his name? I need to make flashcards to learn who is who. “Something I can do for you?”

“Hunter. Hunter Rhodes,” he says pointing to himself.

“Right, sorry, I’m still trying to remember names and faces.”

He waves away my apology. “I want you to meet my wife, Madison. Sweets, this is Dr. Jansen, our new physical therapist.” He gestures to the woman at his side.

“Nice to meet you, Mrs. Rhodes.”

She opens her mouth to respond, but the elevator dings, and Sutton steps out. Her face lights up when she sees the couple in front of me.

“Hey, Mads.” She greets Mrs. Rhodes with a hug, like they’re best friends. And maybe they are. “So you met our new physical therapist.”

Mrs. Rhodes grins at me before addressing Sutton. “I did.” She turns back to me. “And it’s Madison. Or Mads is fine too.”

I nod, although it feels weird to call her by her first name. Her husband could be a patient of mine, and I always address my patients and their spouses, partners, or whoever they come with, formally. Some doctors are more relaxed, but I like the formality; it keeps everything professional and at arm’s length.

“We should plan a girls’ night. Introduce Rebecca to everyone,” Sutton says.

I clear my throat, shoving my hands into the pockets of my scrubs. “That’s really nice of you, but unnecessary.”

I’m not sure who everyone is, but if she’s talking about the players’ wives or girlfriends, it’s probably better if I don’t cross the line and become friends with them. Even though Sutton has. The players, after all, will probably be my patients at some point. In private practice, I’d never make friends with my patients. Be friendly, yes, of course. Hang out with them outside of the office? Nope. Too much of a gray area, ethically.

“Of course it’s necessary. You’re part of the family now,” Sutton says.

I stare at her, unsure of how to answer that. Part of the family? She must mean the Storm family. Dr. Montgomery told me this team was close, but I figured she meant the players and their families.

“We can talk about it another time once you’re settled, Dr. Jansen,” Madison says, giving me a small smile. “We should probably get going if we want to have time for lunch with Dad before the team meeting,” she says, tugging on Rhodes’s hand.

“Right,” he says.

“It was nice to meet you,” I tell her, and I genuinely mean it. It’s nice to be so welcomed by everyone.

We say our goodbyes and go our separate ways. When we step out onto the sidewalk, Sutton pauses and turns to me.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to overstep. But I was serious about you getting to know everyone.”

“I appreciate it.” I blow out a breath. “I’m still trying to get my footing here and figure out the dynamics. It’s more casual than what I’m used to with private practice.”

“Understandable. The difference here is we spend a hell of a lot of time together, so we all consider each other family.”

“Even the players?” I rock back on my heels, glancing around. “I expected there to be a policy of no fraternization between staff and players outside of formal team related things. I was shocked to find no mention of it in the HR paperwork I received. But I kind of assumed it was an unwritten rule.”