A Billionaire Dentist for Christmas

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

PRESENT DAY

Veronica Brooks slammed the door of her apartment and hurried down the steps. Early morning mist hung low in the air, and Veronica shivered as her gym shoes hit the cobblestone sidewalk. It was colder than she’d have expected in the third week of November.

She was late. How could she have overslept today of all days? She’d been looking forward to a run near the river all week and was even more desperate for it now after the call she’d just received. Dr. Fuller, her colleague and partner in the dental practice they co-owned, had called to inform her about an impromptu business meeting this morning.

Business meetings were nothing new at their dental practice. The clinic typically held one monthly to review the non-thrilling aspects of running the business, and to plan for the upcoming month—the next one was due in seven days. So why would Dr. Fuller schedule one today? Unless he had urgent information to share that couldn’t wait. His voice had sounded grave on the phone, so Veronica worried it might be unpleasant news. She’d tried to get him to open up about it, but he’d insisted he’d update her at the meeting.

She ran a hand over her hair even as she avoided some of the brown leaves that had fallen overnight from the almost bare trees that stood like sentries along the street. For goodness sake, she didn’t need any bad news this close to Christmas. She’d been looking forward to taking some time off and enjoying all the Christmas activities the orphanage—where she was raised—had planned for the season. But now Veronica feared whatever Dr. Fuller planned to discuss at the meeting would change everything.

She flipped the hood of her sweatshirt over her head as she took off and settled into a quick jog around the neighborhood. Veronica loved the clinic. Dr. Fuller had started the practice thirty years ago on Dexington’s Bakers Street, a busy area where local mom and pop businesses occupied every two buildings or so and a favorite gateway into the suburbs. Fuller Dental was a popular choice for surrounding neighborhoods and had maintained a steady influx of patients over the years.

Veronica had joined the practice right after her pediatric dentistry residency. With her skills complementing Dr. Fuller’s expertise in both general dentistry and orthodontics, they’d been able to handle most of their patients’ dental needs and referred the rest to applicable specialists. Dr. Fuller had eventually offered her a stake in the practice, and Veronica now owned thirty percent of it.

But patient traffic had been declining over the past months. The clinic provided excellent services, but their office sorely needed an upgrade, and all her suggestions to Dr. Fuller on how they might improve the practice had fallen on deaf ears. Though Dr. Fuller was a kind gentleman and a great dentist, he was set in his ways and saw no reason to alter what had worked well for him over the years. But times had changed, and Veronica worried their clinic might become obsolete if they didn’t make adjustments soon. Then her fears began to come true.

First, a large one-stop dental business moved in two streets over and offered dental services at rock-bottom prices. A good number of Veronica’s patients had switched over to them. The new business had folded up a few months later—not surprising given their unsustainable prices—and only through the diligence of Veronica and her dental team in reaching out to their former patients had most returned. But Fuller Dental needed to make changes if it wanted to keep its patients. She’d thought the incident would be a wake-up call to Dr. Fuller, but he’d dismissed her concerns.

Now they were seeing an efflux again to a new competitor that had opened shop the next street over. This time, it seemed the business was here to stay. Though Veronica hadn’t visited the place, she’d heard from some patients and the other business owners on her street how wonderful the new clinic was, their prices on par with what Fuller Dental charged. The owner of the place was said to be an oral and maxillofacial surgeon, a certain Dr. Stone.

She’d felt a jolt of envy at the news. Veronica wished she had the funds to create and run a dental clinic the way she would have liked, but establishing a dental practice was very expensive. She was grateful to Dr. Fuller for offering her a stake in the business—Veronica had been lightyears from owning one. He’d given her a chance to make payments over time, and the experience she’d gained so far in running a dental clinic was invaluable. Even so, she hoped Dr. Fuller’s news didn’t have anything to do with the clinic’s declining business.

Veronica checked her watch and let out a sigh. Her run had been far too short, yet she needed to start heading back if she was going to make it to work on time.

She pulled out the red stress ball she kept in the pocket of her sweatshirt. Veronica’s right hand had taken to aching recently and squeezing the ball on her runs tended to help. She closed her eyes for a second and exhaled. She had to believe everything would work out no matter what Dr. Fuller’s news was.

Something heavy crashed into Veronica. Her eyes flew open, and her arms flailed in an effort to find support. But there was nothing to grab onto, and she landed on her backside on the cobblestone.

Ouch! Veronica hoped her tailbone was not broken. What just…?

Her eyes widened in shock as a large slobbering tongue began to lick her face. The most beautiful dog she had ever seen, with a silver-grey coat and warm blue eyes, was lapping up her face like she was the most delicious ice cream he’d ever tasted. She couldn’t help the laughter that bubbled up from her throat. Veronica had always wanted a dog, but she hadn’t expected to become a treat for one.

“King, get off her!” a deep masculine voice commanded.

King? For goodness sake, who named their dog King?

The dog whined but obeyed, and then the dog owner came into view.

Well, well, well. If the dog was King, what would she call the owner that looked so delectable she could just stare at him all day? The beautiful—yes, beautiful instead of handsome—man standing in front of her looked at her with concern oozing from his warm brown eyes. Tall with his hair cut longer at the top and tapered on the sides, he wore a short well-groomed beard that finished off his polished masculine look.

The real-life Adonis extended a hand to her. “I’m so sorry about the dog. Let me help you up.”

Her eyes couldn’t help glancing at his ring finger. No ring. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t married—types like him never stayed long on the single market.

Veronica accepted his hand but almost let go from the immediate electric sparks that shot through her arm at their touch.

Hello! What was that? This man was supposed to be a total stranger. She had no business feeling this way with him.

“Are you okay?” he asked, oblivious to the thoughts that were running through her mind.

Her eyes darted to his lips as he spoke, and she almost melted. Veronica had never seen such kissable lips on a guy before. Gosh, he was really beautiful. And those black gym clothes? They fit his olive frame like a glove.

Cool your jets, honey, she scolded herself. Since when did you start swooning over guys? But there was nothing wrong with appreciating God’s own creation, another part of her reasoned. It wasn’t like she planned on marrying him here and now.

Veronica had learned the hard way that luck was not on her side when it came to dating or marriage. The two men she’d dated had both dumped her during different Christmas seasons. The first fellow had met his childhood crush during a Christmas carol service and had promptly gotten engaged that same night without breaking up first with Veronica. Veronica had heard about it later from some acquaintances.

The second guy had even proposed. But when he’d introduced her to his mom during Christmas dinner, she’d treated Veronica like scum because she’d grown up an orphan, information Veronica had never hidden. He’d called it quits the same day via text. Maybe being abandoned as a baby on the steps of St. Andrews orphanage during Christmastime had jinxed her for life.

Since staying in bed and crying into her pillow was not Veronica’s idea of how to spend Christmas, she’d chosen to fly solo ever since, even though she held out hope each year that her jinx might be broken. Yet she wasn’t sure her heart could risk it.

But her body seemed to disagree. Veronica felt her face flush with warmth and was glad for once that it wasn’t usually obvious to most people. “I’m fine,” she managed to say.

She allowed him to pull her to her feet and then brushed away the dirt on her backside. Still, the front of her outfit was dirt-stained courtesy of slobbering King, who looked like a sweetheart with his big round eyes and large ears. He had Veronica’s red stress ball in his mouth, and she had a feeling she’d never be able to get it back. She tested her wrists and ankles—everything seemed to be in working order.

Her digital watch beeped. Veronica glanced at the time. Shoot! She was running late.

She had to leave, both to protect her heart and not be late for her meeting. However, a small part of her wished she could just stay and get to know more about this man who was having such a magnetic effect on her.

She bent and patted King who had sat on his haunches. Veronica was surprised to see King make eye contact in return. “See you later, King.”

She straightened and turned to the man. “I have to go,” she said and took off at a brisk pace without waiting for his response.

“Wait!” the man called out.

Veronica ignored him and broke into a run instead. She needed to put as much distance as possible between them before her resolve weakened. It was time to forget the man and focus on her upcoming meeting with Dr. Fuller.

But a part of her wondered if she’d made a mistake by leaving him behind.