The Queen's Dilemma

Ch. 3: You Again

As Rani rounded the corner to the front of the office, Dr. Crowley  continued introducing people.

"And this is Kenton. He's the head RN for this clinic."

The young black guy behind the counter gave Rani a small smile and wink when Dr. Crowley introduced her.

The clinic was tiny, but well suited for a small town. Two doctors, three nurses and a secretary meant that a majority of illnesses and ailments were handled. Rani, as the manager, would handle the finances side.

Almost immediately, she was treated to a display of Dr. Crowley's calm demeanor.

"Doc! One of my idiots shot himself again—"

The man's voice died suddenly and emitted something that sounded like a croak.

Chief Matt Flores stared at her. The odd expression on his face wanted to make her laugh. She'd never seen something more comical: his mouth was slack, eyes as wide as they could be and an odd tenseness to his entire body.

She could understand his confusion. Were they supposed to be meeting each other like this so often?

Hot damn...

She did have a weakness for guys in uniforms and suits.

Chief Flores wore his police uniform. The cut of the fabric across his chest and legs made her heart rate increase slightly.

Dr. Crowley sighed, snapping Rani from any fantasies she was having of the Chief's arms. "Oh boy, just lead him into room two. Will you be alright, my dear?"

She jumped. Dr. Crowley's calm and caring tone wasn't something she was used to from her stint in the city hospital. Hurriedly, she said, "Yes, thank you sir."

With a nod, he went to room two.

The Chief was still standing next to her.

"Crazy morning?" she asked him.

The confusion on his face melted, replaced with an annoyed stare. "This is the second time this month. If they have any more 'accidents' with guns, I'll be confiscating it from them," he grumbled.

"They're that bad with them?"

"No, more like they're so bored, they horse around too much."

"Hmm."

"So you work here?" he asked.

He looked her in the eye when he spoke, she noticed. It was unnerving. "Yeah, I'm the new manager."

"The new one? From the big city hospital? Crowley's been raving about how he got a high-ranking HR official. He's seriously excited."

She blanched. "I'm—I wasn't a 'high' ranking official or anything like that."

More like a cubicle robot.

He shrugged. "Anyone who can handle that kind of life is an official around here. I'll see you around..."

The odd expression was back. He looked very troubled, as if he couldn't remember something.

"Rani," she prompted.

"Rani. Sorry about that. I'm horrible with names."

"Well, I'm not," she said, grinning. "I'll see you around Chief Matt Flores."

At least he had the decency to look a bit ashamed.

Work was slow. She didn't have much to do, besides going through their past files and getting a good idea of how things flowed around here.