Chapter One

"Wakey, wakey!" I heard my friend and my colleague, Grace Cooper's high-pitched voice, making me groan in frustration.

"Seriously? What time is it?" I stretched a bit, pulling my sheets closer to my body.

"It's 8 am and you need to get ready in an hour to meet the Dean of our hospital. It's our first day, Lu." She exclaimed, pulling the sheets off my body to reveal the black cocktail dress that I wore last night to the club with Riley. She was my high school best friend and I loved the fact that we were both back in town after years of being apart from each other. She married her high school sweetheart and they have a six-year-old daughter together. We had so much to catch up and it was just like the old times.

God, I missed her so much.

"Lucy Wilson! Did you party all night again?" she asked with her hands on her hips and I sat up straight on my bed, finally opening my eyes fully to look at her. She was almost my height with perfect blonde hair and brown eyes while I had hazel eyes with chocolate brown hair. We both became friends in medical school back in Russia and got posted to New York for our residency program. Lucky for her, she was sharing an apartment with one of her cousins while I had to get a new one, not that I was complaining. I liked my own personal space. 

"Not so loud! Jeez!" I held my head, already regretting the heavy shots of tequila that I had last night. 

Man, it was one wild night!

"You are reckless, Lucy! All this partying has got to stop and you need to settle down, like for real." She sighed, concern lacing her tone, and walked towards my kitchen while I rolled my eyes.

"I was partying with my friend last night, Grace. Not my usual type of you know..umm.." I dragged myself towards the kitchen and sat down in front of the counter while she was making me some coffee. 

"Your usual type of one-night stands?" she asked with raised eyebrows and my eyes went wide in shock.

Busted!

"Hey! It doesn't always end up like that you know and what's wrong in having one-night stands anyway. The feeling is mutual and there are no strings attached. I say it's a win-win situation." I winked and she shook her head with a small smile. 

"You are crazy, Lu." She handed me a cup of coffee which tasted heavenly.

"And you are a lifesaver. This is so good." I moaned and continued to sip my cup of coffee, ignoring her comments.

"You do remember 'Lonewolf' is from New York, right?" She asked with a smirk on her face.

"Oh shit! The guy from that dating website." I stated in shock and let out a small chuckle.

Small world!

A few months back, she had met this guy online and wanted my help in texting him as she really sucked at it and I have literally been texting on her behalf out of boredom. I couldn't believe that he was actually from New York. I thought he was bluffing or something given the fact that it was an online dating site. 

"Yeah and now he wants to meet me, Lu. I have no idea what to do. I mean, you have been helping me with all the texts and stuff but meeting him in person is going to be a disaster. I don't even know his name." 

"Well, you can always block him if you are uncomfortable. It's not like you guys are already dating." I shrugged casually and she pouted. 

"Umm...I think I'm going to give it a try and meet him and then decide if I want to block him or not." She stated and I nodded in agreement with her.

"Alright, we are gonna be late. I'll be out of the shower in like 10 minutes." I placed the cup on top of the counter and rushed towards my bathroom. After scrubbing myself clean and washing my hair, I came outside and opened my closet. 

What do I wear for my first day?

Ugh!

I always hate this part of my day.

After a lot of confusion and indecisiveness, I wore a white formal shirt and paired it up with some grey slacks. After drying my hair, I pulled it back into a sleek ponytail and wore minimal make-up with a hint of blush on my cheeks. I applied some nude lipstick and smiled at my reflection in the mirror confidently. 

Perfect!

"Alright, I'm ready," I announced as I walked out of my bedroom and flung my purse on my shoulders. She looked up at me from her phone and let out a low whistle.

"Damn, girl! You look hot!" 

"Is it appropriate for my first day?" I asked doubtfully and she gave me a thumbs up. 

"Okay, then. Let's go. We can grab breakfast at the hospital campus or something." I hurried and grabbed my keys to lock the door behind us.

"Umm..did you mention anything about liking seafood to this guy?" she asked and I turned around to find her looking at her phone with a small frown.

"I think I might have, why? What's wrong?" I asked and she let out a soft sigh.

"Well, he wants to meet me at this seafood place called Freddie's fish sticks or something." 

"Damn, he has good taste. I love that place, Grace. The food is amazing over there and I always used to go there as a kid." I added as we kept walking. 

"Well, too bad I don't like seafood." She chuckled and I gave her an apologetic grin.

"Oops, Sorry. Just tell him you don't like seafood then." 

"I don't want him to think I'm weird or crazy already. I'll manage it but I need a favor. Please come with me, Lu." 

"What?!" I asked almost choking on my own saliva.

"Come on, Lu. You know about this guy better than me and I need your help to get through our first meet. Please, please don't say no. I haven't done this before." She whined and I groaned in frustration.

"Ugh! I really don't get why you try so hard, Grace. Relationships are so complicated, trust me." I muttered as we walked out of my building towards my car.

"I tried it the traditional way and almost every relationship of mine ended badly. I just want someone in my life, Lu. I'm tired of being alone." She mumbled sadly and I remained silent, feeling bad for her.

"Well, this guy seems to be good as far as I have spoken with him. Let's hope that he is the one for you." I assured her and started the car.

"And I trust your judgment completely. Wait, does that mean you will come with me?" she asked in an excited tone and I rolled my eyes with a small smile.

"Fine, I'll come. To be honest, I'm also curious to meet this mystery guy and it's probably safe this way you know, in case he turns out to be a pervert or something." 

"Oh, thank god. You are the best." She pumped her fist in the air excitedly and I chuckled at her reaction. I finally pulled over to the hospital and we got out of the car after parking it.

"Are you ready?" she asked, holding my hand and I smiled, looking up at the huge building in front of us.

"Hell yeah! I've been waiting for this moment forever." I squealed, excitedly and let out a huge breath as we walked inside together.

"Let's go get 'em."