Stitch

one another. The problem was that her brother Ace was not only Stitch's teammate, but his team leader.  From what she had heard, there was an unwritten rule that teammates don't date other teammates' family members. In her opinion, it was a so-called asinine rule.
Thanksgiving was just a few days away, and Mia was spending it in Virginia Beach. She had already hinted to Stitch that there was something she wanted to talk to him about. She’d had enough and wanted to come clean with her feelings about him. Hopefully, he was on the same page and hadn't led her on. That would be humiliating as everyone could see there was chemistry between them. Well, maybe not her brother, but together perhaps they would convince Ace to accept it.
Mia flipped off the last light switch sending the main waiting room into darkness except for the one light that stayed on all the time. As she walked toward the side door that the employees used, she heard a noise from across the room that caught her attention. With her hand on the door, she looked across the dimly lit room and waited to see if she heard it again. Suddenly, something slammed into the main entrance. Mia jumped and felt an uptick in her heartbeat. She pulled her cell phone from her purse and dialed 911 but didn't hit the call button. Slowly she approached the main door. She was halfway across the room when the handle on the door started to jiggle as if someone was trying to break-in. Seconds later, the lock disengaged, and she froze. She was stuck and had a decision to make. She had three options; stand where she was and confront the intruder, run to the other exit and call the police in the safety of her car, or hide in the closest room available. She chose option two and took off running toward the door. Suddenly, all of the lights turned on, and brightness temporarily blinded her, causing her to trip over a row of chairs. She screamed as she hit the floor.
"Mia!"
Her body shook as she looked up from the floor in the direction of the deep familiar voice and saw Dr. Walters hurrying over to her. A gush of air was expelled from her body. She tried to calm her racing heart as Dr. Walters knelt next to her and rubbed her arm.
"Jesus, Mia. I'm so sorry. I thought everyone would’ve been gone by now. Let me help you." He helped her to stand. She was so shaken she didn't think her legs would hold her up. Once she was on her feet, she looked up at him. His eyes held hers, showing signs of remorse. "Are you okay?" He asked, appearing very concerned.
She nodded her head before she found her voice. "I’ll be fine." She took another deep breath. "You scared the life out of me. I thought someone was trying to break-in."
He smiled. "That damn door gets stuck all the time. Why are you still here? It’s way after closing time," He asked. She wanted to laugh at his ridiculous question.
Before she could answer, a whimper pulled her eyes away from his and toward the door. That was when she realized they weren't alone, and she met the gaze of a gentleman holding a carrier—his eyes were fixed on her. She looked back at Elijah, and he must have anticipated her question because he gestured toward the stranger.
"Mia, I'd like to introduce to you a friend and business associate of mine, Demitri Barros."
Demitri walked over and set the carrier down. Mia turned toward him and looked up to meet his eyes. He was tall, black hair with a sliver of gray at his temples. But what drew her in were his dark blue eyes. He was a good-looking guy, probably in the same age range as Dr. Walters. The casual light blue pantsuit with the white dress shirt's top two buttons undone, added to his appeal.  He could easily be a model on one of the ad marquees in Times Square.
"It’s is nice to meet you,” she said, holding her hand out.
Demitri took hold of her hand. “The pleasure is all mine, Mia. Elijah has had nothing but high praises for you and your work here at the clinic.”
She smiled, then took a knee to look inside the carrier. “Who are these little guys?” She asked, as there must have been around ten puppies stuffed in the medium-sized carrier.
“Demitri found them in the alley behind his office.”
Mia stood up. “Someone just left them in the alley?” She was angry, and it seemed as if it was becoming a trend of dumping puppies here in the city.  Same thing which happened to the Dachshunds they were holding.
“I’m afraid so,” Elijah answered.
“This is what—the third or fourth litter of puppies that have come through here in just the last three weeks? What are you going to do with them?”
“I’d like to examine each one and make sure they’re healthy enough to send to the rescue organization across town.”
“Are you just dropping them off tonight?” She questioned, hoping that wasn’t the case because, with strays, you never knew if they were carrying any diseases.
“I’d feel more comfortable looking over them before housing them in the kennel with the other animals.” She smiled, getting the answer she was looking for.
“I can help you. That is if you’d like the help.  I mean, two sets of hands are better than one. It would make the process quicker.”
Elijah glanced over at Demitri, and Demitri nodded his head, which Mia found odd.
Elijah smiled.  “As long we aren’t keeping you from anything, then yes, I’ll accept the offer. With two of us, we should be able to knock it out pretty quickly.”
She nodded and set her purse and bag on the reception desk, and followed Elijah.
“Let’s use exam room six since it has more space,” Elijah said as he led the three of them down the hall with