The Private Practice

Wine & Dine

The cool autumn breeze swept through the city of Wilkes-Barre as the sun began to rise. It was the last Friday of September and half the city was still talking about last week's big game. For Lauren, it was just another busy day at work.

After pulling into the parking lot 10 minutes before opening, she continued her pre-work ritual like usual. Lauren enjoyed the silence in her car while sipping on her latte while perusing on social media. The football game was all over Facebook. The local college team had won and the star of the show was none other than her sister's boyfriend, Jake. The recruiters of the Philadelphia Eagles took great interest in him and immediately drafted him to their team. Given such short notice, Jake quickly packed up some of his belongings and left Wilkes-Barre.

Lauren's sister Erika stayed behind for a few days to help pack the rest of their things. They found a house 15 minutes away from the stadium where he would be playing. She kept texting Lauren how excited she was that Jake was now a professional athlete and how much money he would be making. Although Lauren was genuinely happy for her sister, she was also getting slightly jealous with the endless text messages, bragging about the wonderful life they're about to have.

8am came and Lauren went inside to start another day's work. Patients were lined out the door as she began with her appointments. Throughout the morning, Lauren remained busy until noon when she was scheduled for her 30 minute lunch break. She walked to her car to finish the leftovers she made last night as she then pulled out her phone to kill some time.

About 10 minutes before she had to clock back in, Lauren received a notification on her phone. Swiping at her screen, she noticed that it was an email from a university just a few hours away. Tapping on the email, she began reading the message:

" To Miss Lauren Pierce,

It was a pleasure meeting you last week. I am writing to inform you of a new career opportunity that has just opened up at my university. Your medical and work experience would be a great fit for this role. If you are curious to know more about this position, I would love to discuss this matter with you over dinner. I will be in Wilkes-Barre tonight and tomorrow if you are interested.

Sincerely,

Coach Roderick "

Lauren's lips slightly parted as she read who had sent her the email. Her mind immediately brought her back to last week when he and Jake had their way with her. She accidentally began to daydream about how overwhelming it was taking on two giant men at once. She never felt so full in her life and just now finally recovered from it. As content as she was working at the clinic, Lauren couldn't help but ponder the idea of possibly finding something better.

She stared at the email for the next few minutes. "Why not, it's just an interview with free food involved." She said to herself, "I mean...what's the worst that could happen?"

Lauren then hit the reply button and began typing. "You have my curiosity. I am free tonight after 5pm if that works for you. Just let me know when and where."

After hitting send, she got out of her car and began heading inside to clock back in. A few minutes later, Lauren was sifting through some documents until her phone alerted her of another notification. Pulling out her phone, she tapped on the screen to see that Roderick responded to her email.

"7pm tonight at the Bank + Vine. I look forward to seeing you then."

Lauren felt a little nervous but soothed herself before she started her next appointment. The rest of her work day kept her busy right until a few minutes before 5pm. Once the last patient left, Lauren began tidying up and eventually clocked out. She got in her car and drove home to shower and prepare for her interview.