Kendra laughed. “Oh my god, that’s wonderful. Was there a dance too?”
“There might have been jazz hands,” he answered with a grin.
“Oh, goodness. I don’t wish scared and difficult patients on you, but I hope I get to see that one day.”
Inside, Miguel was bursting with excitement. That sounded like she wanted to hire him. But he stayed as cool and professional as possible. “If there are ever any kids who need a little encouragement to brush their teeth, I’d be happy to put on an encore performance.”
Kendra closed the folder on his resume, the smile still on her face. “Everything looks perfect so far. Can you hang around for a little longer?”
Miguel nodded. “Of course.”
“Great. I’m going to go and get Dr. Nguyen.”
She left the room, and Miguel let himself do the smallest of happy dances. If she was going to get her boss, that definitely meant she was interested in hiring him. He liked the atmosphere here, and he could see himself working in this office.
After about five minutes, the door opened and the dentist came in. He had short black hair that was slightly longer in front, falling to the sides in a natural part. He looked like a dentist with his crisp white lab coat over a striped button-down and gray slacks. Miguel rose from his seat to shake his hand.
“Thank you for coming in today.” Dr. Nguyen waved his hand for Miguel to sit again. “I’m waiting for the anesthesia to take effect before I start a root canal, so please excuse me if I get straight to the point. Kendra speaks very highly of you. She hasn’t been this excited about any of the other candidates that have come in. If you’re hired on, you’ll mostly be working with Dr. Coker. He’s overseas right now, and he’s entrusted me to hire his assistant since he wants to hit the ground running as soon as he’s stateside again. I reviewed your resume this morning, and based on Kendra’s recommendation, I think you’re our guy. I’ll call him and give him all your information and my impression of you. If he approves, I’d like to offer you the position.”
Miguel’s eyes widened in surprise. He hadn’t expected things to go that fast. “Oh, wow. Thank you.”
“The only catch is, you wouldn’t start for three weeks. Will that be a problem?”
Miguel thought quickly. That meant three weeks longer before he had an income, but a bird in hand…
“That’s fine. If Dr. Coker approves, I’d love to accept the position.”
“Excellent.” Dr. Nguyen stood and held his hand again. “I don’t think I’m being premature in welcoming you to Frostview Avenue Dental,” he said with a friendly smile.
Miguel rose and accepted the handshake. “I’m excited to join your team.”
***
When Hector arrived home that night, Miguel was waiting at the door for him. He had a huge smile on his face, a question bursting forth before Hector got a foot over the apartment’s threshold.
“Guess what?”
Hector waited until he was all the way inside and closed the door before he answered. “I’m the worst at guessing. What happened?”
“I got a job!” Miguel jumped forward and threw his arms around Hector’s neck in a tight hug. Hector slid an arm around his waist to steady him and return the embrace.
“Felicidades, Miguel. That’s awesome.”
“Thank you so much for all your help. It would have been a lot harder for me without it.” Miguel pulled back, still grinning with happiness. “And I will pay you back for everything, I promise.”
Hector reached out to ruffle Miguel’s hair. “Worry about that after you get yourself financially stable.”
Miguel bounced on his toes, practically wiggling with excitement. “Okay. I bet it won’t take me long.”
“I have faith in you, so I know it won’t.” Hector’s stomach growled before he could say anything else. He rubbed a hand across his stomach as Miguel laughed. “Sorry about that. Had to dump my lunch when we got a call out. What’s for dinner?”
“Oh, crap!” Miguel stopped wiggling, his hands flying up to cover his face. “I was so busy getting all the information down from my new co-worker when she called to officially tell me that Dr. Coker wanted to hire me, and then calling my mom to tell her that I didn’t even start cooking.”
“No worries. We’ll get pizza to celebrate. You can tell me all the details while we wait for it to get here.” He took his debit card from his wallet and passed it over to Miguel. “Order a large while I get changed. Pepperoni on my half and whatever you want on yours. If there’s nothing to drink in the fridge, get a two-liter of Coke too.”
Hector left Miguel to it and went into his bedroom. He secured his weapon first then changed into a pair of gray sweats and an HPD T-shirt. He could hear Miguel placing their order, his voice still bright with excitement. Hector was happy for him. Miguel had worked hard trying to find a job and he’d earned the position. He was also proud of the way he refused to let what happened with Santos keep him down. When Hector went back out into the living room, Miguel was just getting off the phone.
“Pizza should be here in forty-five minutes.”