Cold As Ice

Chapter 2

"Miss Northington?"

Allie took a shaky inhale as she smiled nervously at the nurse who'd called her name. She rose from her seat, clasping the extra copies of her resume against her chest like armor. A few bored glances from people in the waiting room followed her as she made her way to the open door.

Inside was a handful of nurses, doctors, and administrators in colorful scrubs, pristine white coats, and business-like blazers, respectively. Allie was immediately self-conscious about her choice of interview wear. She'd put on a few pounds since she'd last squeezed into her black pencil skirt, and it hugged her thighs and rode up above her knees every few steps. She tried to surreptitiously tug it back down into place as she exchanged nervous handshakes and half-listened to the introductions as she made her way around the table.

"Please, have a seat, Miss... Awl-brown?" One of the RN's – an older gentleman with kind, brown eyes – raised his brows quizzically as he tried to pronounce Allie's full name.

"It's Albrun. But please, call me Allie," she corrected him patiently. She was used to people mispronouncing her name; it happened in almost every interview and with every new person she met.

"Albrun. That's an old Norse name, if I'm not mistake, meaning 'old magic'?" A gentle voice chimed in from the doorway as a tall man with striking blonde hair and bright amber eyes entered the room.

Allie felt her heart do a somersault in her chest as she made eye contact with him. He was without a doubt one of the most gorgeous men she had ever laid eyes on, not to mention the only person ever to correctly identify her name.

"Yes, that's right," she responded, stumbling over her words slightly as her cheeks reddened. He flashed her a dashing, polite smile as he strode over to an empty seat across from her.

"Miss Northington, this is Dr. Cullen. He's our chief doctor and oversees our emergency department."

"Please, call me Carlisle." Allie was somewhat crestfallen when the new doctor didn't extend his hand for a handshake, but Allie returned his smile with as much confidence as she could muster. From a quick glance around the room, it seemed that Dr. Cullen was the de facto leader of the small hospital. Everyone seemed to automatically defer to him, both verbally and with their body language, and Allie got the impression that he was quite liked by his coworkers. Strangely enough, even though he was distractingly good looking, Allie felt herself relax a bit under his gaze as he glanced over her resume and began to speak.

Dr. Cullen led the conversation, with his coworkers chiming in regularly but obviously in deference to him as the primary interviewer. His questions were straightforward and practical, and Allie immediately appreciated that he didn't seem to be trying to trick her or impress her with his medical prowess. He seemed impressed with Allie's answers, and he listened carefully to everything she said with an intensity that was both unusual and unnerving.  

As the interview began to wind down, Allie heard the questions take a turn away from her skillset and the pleasantries of small talk (where are you from, what brings you to Forks, etc.) to the elephant in the room: her job-hopping history.

"Allie, I can't help but notice that you have an unusually large number of employers in the last few years. Can you help us understand the circumstances?" Mandy, an older RN in bright bubblegum scrubs, asked casually as she skimmed Allie's resume. Allie gulped, and although she was sure the sound was inaudible, she had the distinct impression that Dr. Cullen looked concerned across the table.

"Yes, well, I've had some difficulty, uhm... finding my place, I guess you could say." No matter how many times Allie practiced answering that question, she never found a good response and she winced at the cavalier tone in her voice.

"And why do you think Forks General could be 'your place'?" Mandy continued, keeping her tone light. Allie didn't begrudge Mandy asking the question. She felt more frustrated that she wasn't better prepared. After months of interviewing, she should have been ready with an honest, simple, and self-effacing reply, the kind of answer that would endear her to her hopeful employers. But instead, she was furiously tearing at a hangnail on her left thumb as her fists trembled slightly under the table and her mind raced to find a suitable answer.

"I, uhm... I like the rain." It slipped out of her mouth before Allie could stop it and landed like a ton of bricks on the conference table. Allie cringed internally as her interviewers blankly stared at her for a moment.

Just before Allie felt herself completely collapse into a hole of anxiety, the silence was broken by the delightful sound of laughter. Across the conference table, Dr. Cullen's shoulders shook as he chuckled, smiling at Allie with a look halfway between amusement and surprise. Immediately, the tension in the room vanished, and several others seated around the table also began laughing.

"Well, you've come to the right place then, Miss Northington," Dr. Cullen replied, rising from his seat, signaling the end of the official interview. Allie and the others rose with him, and one by one everyone began wishing her farewell. Allie exchanged a few brief words with the HR representative, who promised that "we'll be in touch soon" as she walked Allie to the door. Selfishly, Allie stole a backwards glance through the hallway before turning the corner. She was happy to see Dr. Cullen standing in the hall outside the conference room, watching her with that same skin-tingling intensity in his amber eyes...