Josie shrugged, looking just as confused as she felt. “Maybe there’s another remodel job and they need our help. It’s the only thing I can come up with.”
“Maybe,” Sophia repeated as they walked inside.
“Yo, ladies,” August welcomed on a yawn. He looked right comfy behind Agnes’s desk with his feet propped on the corner and his hands laced behind his head.
Lincoln looked too big for the guest chair in front of the desk. He reached out and pulled Opal onto his lap. She giggled as he wrapped his arms around her.
Sophia would probably have offered an aww over the romantic gesture if she were in a better mood. Instead, she stayed tight-lipped and stood by the wall.
Wes stepped inside with a file tucked underneath his arm and a friendly smile gracing his face. In a tailored charcoal suit and navy tie, the man was what her aunt Matilda would call a GQ cover model. He caught Sophia staring. His lips briefly kicked up on one side before he moved his attention to Lincoln and Opal. “Shall I?” he spoke in that smooth baritone.
“Please.” Lincoln beamed, and that was saying something for the normally brooding man.
“It’s truly an honor that you’ve appointed me to be Baby Cole’s pediatrician. I look forward to meeting him or her early next year.” Wes slid those warm hazel eyes around the room, watching his words sink in.
Sophia gasped, Josie burst into tears, and Opal giggled.
August knocked a tissue box off the desk as his feet hit the floor with a heavy thud. He let out a rumbly whoop before jumping clear over the desk to slap Lincoln on the shoulder and kiss Opal’s cheek.
Sophia rolled her eyes, thinking August Bradford was just too cute for his own good.
“We’re two months along,” Opal supplied as Lincoln caressed her flat tummy.
Wes shook Lincoln’s hand and then Opal’s before leaving the group of friends to celebrate.
As the shock wore off, pure joy replaced it, sending happy tears flooding Sophia’s eyes. “This is awesome! Best news ever! I’m finally going to be an aunt!” She wrapped her arms around Josie, and the two of them squealed like schoolgirls, jumping up and down. After they concluded their happy dance, the women offered congratulatory hugs to Opal and Lincoln.
The celebration stretched out as the couple shared the due date and other details. They’d told their family the prior weekend at a cookout but wanted to share the news with the three friends in a private manner.
Sophia was already planning the baby shower when Agnes stepped inside the office and cleared her throat. “Sophia, may I have a word with you?”
“Umm . . .” Sophia cut Opal a look, knowing the redhead would sneak in some meddling somehow. “Yes, ma’am.”
Everyone exited, but not before bestowing a gamut of silent messages. Josie gave her a sympathetic smile and halfhearted shrug, Opal gave her a spirited wink and thumbs-up, and Lincoln gave her a pointed look that said she better do whatever it was that she was about to be asked to do and not screw it up. August simply offered her a supportive fist bump. Sophia bumped her tiny fist to his paint-stained one while glaring at the other three, who seemed to be in on Opal’s meddling.
Once the door was closed, Agnes took the seat beside Sophia and cut to the chase. “Honey, I need to retire. And from what Opal has shared with me in confidence, you need a job.” She held her hand up to halt the words about to spew from Sophia. “Now hear me out. This job comes with reasonable hours, benefits, and an impressive salary. It’s exactly what a single mom such as yourself needs. I can’t leave Wes without properly filling my position. Not just any ole body will do. I need you.”
Sophia knew there was no choice but to get a job now that Ty up and ruined things. The severance package would maybe keep her afloat two more months at best. But as she glanced around Agnes’s quaint office, she just wasn’t sure this was the best choice for her.
“Wes . . . and I . . . we don’t get along.” Her thumb swept underneath her ring finger as she contemplated the offer.
Agnes chuckled. “Honey, do you think Doc and I have always gotten along while working these past forty years together?” She leaned closer and whispered, “I even got into a little tiff just last week with Wes. He thought his way was better than mine, but we had ourselves a come-to-Jesus meeting and he was seeing it my way by the end of it.” The older lady winked with a good bit of spunk.
Sophia remained serious. “I really do need a job.”
“Then it’s settled.” Agnes glanced at her watch. “We have time to speak with him before the doors open.”
Fifteen minutes later, Sophia and Agnes sat opposite Wes in his office. His fingers steepled in front of him, he listened in silence until the office manager concluded her spiel on why Sophia’s PR background and MBA made her more than qualified for the position.
Wes looked from Agnes to Sophia and then back to Agnes. “No.”
Both women were jolted.
Sophia’s face heated at record speed as the sting of his rejection hit her eyes and nose.
“Why on earth are you saying no?” Agnes clucked her tongue, looking like she was ready to grab him by the ear and place his nose in the corner until he gave the correct answer.
Sniffing back the tears, Sophia wondered just how many more blows she could take before giving up completely. She wanted to beg him to give her a break, to overlook the mess of a woman she’d been lately. To assure Wes that the woman he’d met wasn’t her, but she could barely breathe, let alone speak. Another clue she wasn’t her normal self.
“Ms. Prescott caused a scene and disrespected me in front of several patients. She’s also gone on social media to discredit me as a doctor. From what I’ve gathered, she has a substantial following, and you know as well as I do, Agnes, we’ve received more than a handful of phone calls about it. I’ve never been questioned more about my credibility as a doctor in my entire career as I have since arriving here.”
Sophia cringed, wondering how he even knew about the social media incident and how it had gotten so blown out of proportion. “I only endorsed another pediatrician when a new mother on Facebook asked for recommendations. Your name was never mentioned.” Mortified, she watched as he responded by shaking his head.
“I just don’t believe Carolina Pediatrics is the right place for you, Ms. Prescott. Best of luck finding employment elsewhere.” Wes gave Sophia a curt nod before moving his attention to his computer screen, effectively dismissing her.
Agnes sucked her teeth and cast him a withering look. “I have a good mind to walk out on your prickly behind. Wait until Doc gets wind of this.” She waggled a finger at him as she led Sophia out of the office.
Humiliation and indignation followed Sophia out like one of those thunderclouds that follow crestfallen cartoon characters. She loaded up in the back of Opal’s van and glared out the window.
“When do you start?” Opal asked as she drove out of the parking lot.
“I don’t.”
Josie turned in the passenger seat and gaped at her in disbelief. “Why not?”
“Because Dr. Stuck-Up refused to hire me.”
“That’s absolutely ridiculous. What was his reason?” Opal asked, flipping the turn signal on.
“When I brought Collin in that first week, he claims I caused a scene, and he somehow got wind of the twisted version of that Facebook post.” Sophia groaned and swiped her hands down her face. “Sounds like the town gossips have added a good bit to it, and so I really don’t blame him for not wanting to work with me.”