Saturday Sampler - more Live. Love, Repeat

Mercedes struggled with her thoughts, of worrying about why she was here and what she’d done wrong. Her angst rose to a fevered pitch before Whippy entered his office. Had he heard her use the nickname for him that his entire staff used? Would she lose her job over it?

He smiled in greeting and thanked her for meeting with him. The meeting continued in a non-descript manner until Whippy got down to business.

"Actually, I invited you in here because I have a new case that I believe you may be uniquely qualified for. I don't usually offer jobs like this to new employees. A call to Dr. Anderson at his clinic this morning assures me you are a hard worker and dedicated. In truth he mentioned that you have a tendency to get too involved." Whippy smiled as if he approved of the very work ethic Dr. Anderson censured. "It may require long hours and quite frankly, I'm stepping out on a limb here. I'm looking at this case from a rather unorthodox view. Are you interested?"

She managed to nod, still fearing for her job.

"I'm building something unique here and hope you will become a part of it. My colleagues frown on my operating procedures but I plan to prove my methods to them. Happily their individual penchants to send me their difficult cases are exactly what I have been looking for--and continue to--hope for. They have also recommended the new graduates they refuse to hire due to the graduates' obvious zest for looking at things in new ways, such as you.”

Mercedes felt a wry smile tug at her lips. Cedric, being the only man of color in the office made a name for himself with his constant flirting, going so far as to tell the girls who refused to flirt back that their choice was purely racial. It wasn’t, and he knew it, but it gave him added ammunition to embarrass his co-workers. Of course, he took care to not press it too far or in front of clients.

"You will work at the patient's home and you, not one of the men, will be in charge. Don't let them run you. Mr. Palmer will need very personalized care." Dr. Whipple dropped his chin and opened his eyes wide, watching her reaction. "Mr. Palmer is the kind of man that measures his self-worth by his personal appearance. I'll not have him sinking further into depression due to muscle atrophy. It's your job to keep what he has retained up to this point. Massage therapy as well as physical therapy are going to be your responsibility every day, seven days a week. Do you understand?"

Mercedes nodded. She had taken the massage classes on a whim and almost neglected to include them on her resume. Now she had to admit her impetuous desire to try something new might prove valuable.

"Take the time to review all the notes you've kept from your classes as well as my journals." Dr. Whipple pulled several thin, hardbound journals from his bookshelves and handed them to her. "I don't mind telling you that, to a certain extent, both of our future careers are at stake here. I'm counting on you."