The Time of Her Life

He waved.

She waved back.

God, he was such an idiot. This shortcut needed to be deleted from his repertoire. The walk past the window took forever, but he finally reached the north exit. Entering the code on the keypad with impatient thrusts, he tried to shake off annoyance at his stupidity.

What if Susanna felt rushed because he’d practically shown up in her office? And what had she been sipping in that mug? Had she ventured down to Dietary for some coffee?

Without knocking, Jay shoved open the door to Walter’s office and plunked down in the chair in front of the desk.

“What’s up?” Walter glanced away from the computer screen.

“She drove in from Raleigh this morning. I should have at least offered her coffee.”

“Her, as in Ms. Adams?”

“Know anyone else who drove in from Raleigh today?”

Walter raked a tight gaze over Jay. “I can have Chester set up a card table for you. That can be your new work space.”

“I won’t need it, thank you. I’m not planning on working anymore. Just transitioning.”

Walter arched a white eyebrow. “You think so?”

“That’s the plan.”

“Your mouth to God’s ear, boy. And you might do well to ask for a little assistance from your mother, father and grandmother while you’re at it. God rest their souls.”

Jay should have known Walter would drag in divine intervention. And to his surprise the divine did intervene—when the radio crackled at his waist, saving him from continuing this stupid conversation.

“I’m ready for a tour whenever you are, Jay,” Susanna said through the speaker.

“On my way.” He headed out of Walter’s office without a backward glance.

Susanna had barely opened his former office door before the apology poured out of his mouth.

“That shortcut won’t be a problem. Employees only use that exit to the parking lot on the other side of the building.”

He hoped she didn’t think he was spying on her.

She chuckled good-naturedly. “No worries. Amber mentioned shortcuts this morning.”

He wasn’t sure if that was good or bad, but he did notice she’d covered up that silky blouse with her jacket again.

“Probably a good thing you showed up when you did. It’s too easy to get distracted by that view. You did say you managed to get work done in here, right?”

“You will. When no one’s distracting you.” Like he had.

Glancing at the mug sitting on the shelf beside the watercooler, he said, “I’m glad someone thought to take care of you. I could have offered you a cup of coffee after your drive.”

She waved him off with a graceful motion. “Thanks, Jay, but I take care of me.”

There was something in that statement. Jay had no clue what, but he wondered. “You travel with coffee?”

Her soft laugh swallowed up the air between them. Or maybe it was the fluid display she made as she leaned over to reach inside her laptop case to produce a small foil package. “VIA. Instant Starbucks coffee for people on the go. Your water dispenser provides hot water. You can drink this cold, though, too.”

“It’s your water dispenser now. I’d like to say you can get a decent cup of coffee around here, but I’d be lying. I budget for the good stuff, but when it’s brewed in big quantities... Keep a supply of those on hand.”

She dropped the package back into her case. “Appreciate the heads-up.”

“That’s what I’m here for.”

Her smile flashed wide and bright, and he noticed again how attractive she was. Not what he needed to be noticing.

“Let’s get this show on the road.” He grabbed the door for the lady and motioned her through, forcing himself not to notice how attractive she was from behind, too.

He kept his gaze leveled at the back of her head—where it belonged—not noticing the way her shiny dark hair caught the light, bouncing around her shoulders with her every step.

Excitement must be getting the better of him, because the plans he’d been making for eight months were coming together in the very feminine form of this new administrator.

* * *

SUSANNA’S TOUR BEGAN with the entry code to the secure doors off the front lobby—lockdown, as the wings of patient rooms were known—and hadn’t slowed the whirlwind pace in the hours since. She tried to tamp down her nerves, which hummed at full volume, as she absorbed everything at once.

Gerald had led her to expect a top-notch facility, and The Arbors appeared to be that. At a glance, the staff seemed professional and friendly, residents well-groomed and active.

Jay was a charming host as he directed her through the facility and instructed her on a floor plan that served both utilitarian and aesthetic purposes. Four wings branched off from the lobby and two centrally located elevators.

The elevators were large enough to accommodate wheelchairs, walkers and gurneys, providing the only access to the upper floors besides locked emergency stairs at the end of each wing.

“We’ll assign you codes to get through the outer exits, too,” he said. “They can be handy when traffic backs up.”

“Which happens quite a bit, I imagine.”

He appeared to consider that, tipping his head to one side so that strands of blond hair slipped over his brow. “Actually, not too much unless we call 9-1-1. Then we reserve the south elevator until emergency arrives. The residents don’t do a lot of traveling between floors unless they’re going to the third floor for therapy, so that helps.”

Pausing with his hand poised over the keypad, he glanced at her and added, “I provided Gerald with our policy and procedure manual. Have you had a chance to look at it yet?”

“Cover to cover.”

His smile came fast, a smile that nearly blinded her with approval. “Good.”

This man wanted the arrangement to work as much as she did, Susanna realized. She wasn’t sure how she knew, but she did. And the awareness both surprised and reassured her. With Jay’s assistance, this transition should go smoothly.

She hoped. The first step began with Susanna convincing Jay to go through with acquisition.

But he wanted to be convinced...and that realization made her feel much better. “Reviewing schedules and staffing budgets is different from seeing the result of a well-staffed facility in action,” she said as they exited the elevator.

“It takes adequate staff to provide adequate care. It’s criminal what some facilities get away with.”