Sitting at my desk, I seriously consider my job options. My title of office manager doesn’t make me one. I’m a glorified receptionist at a dental practice of one dentist and two part-time hygienists. Instead of finishing my degree, I went to work to put my cheating-ass husband through school, so my options for a job are limited. I gave up a job a few years back to focus on having a baby. So here I am, trying not to have a meltdown as the two young female hygienists bounce on their toes.

Three days I haven’t seen Joel, if you count Sunday. I’ve come so far and haven’t had a daytime fantasy about him.

“Olivia.”

I glance up and seriously have to blink a few times to make sure I’m not dreaming.

“Joel?”

His eyes rove over me, and I become totally self-conscious. My hair is pulled back in a ponytail. My white button down blouse is so boring and probably screams middle-aged when I’m not there yet.

“Oh, give me a minute.” I hold up a finger.

Clearly, he’s here to meet the girl I told him I’d hook him up with. And I would prefer him not to say it. So I pick up my phone and call to the back. Our last patient before lunch just left.

When she answers, I ask, “Cara, can you come to the front for a second?”

“Sure.” Her reply is bright and cheery, while I feel as though a storm cloud has formed over my head.

She’s a super sweet girl and the right person for Joel. I try and fail to convince myself. But it’s too late to back down now.

“Olivia,” Joel says, but thankfully Cara doesn’t take her time and bounds around the corner.

“Joel, this is Cara. Cara, this is Joel. I know this is weird, but I told Joel I thought you guys should meet.”

Joel glances at me before his attention turns to Cara, whose interest is obvious.

“Like Olivia says, she thinks we should go out. So why not? You have any plans tonight?”

Cara’s grin couldn’t get any wider. She’d be perfect for a teeth whitening commercial right about now. Maybe Orbitz gum. Mentally, I slap myself.

“No, I’m all yours. How about six? I get off at five, and we can meet for dinner.” Her eyes never leave his when she speaks.

They do the phone exchange thing then Joel leaves with a hasty goodbye. Janet comes flying around the corner, having spied the whole thing.

“Seriously, Olivia, that was so cool of you. He’s so hot.” Cara’s nearly bouncing off the wall with excitement.

“He sure is.” Janet gives her a fist bump.

Joel looks like the star of any current movie, so I don’t blame them for drooling. Though I have just eaten lunch, I do well by not hurling. Together they look like they could have stepped off the red carpet, despite her wearing scrubs.

Nice girl as she is, she’s prettier than I am and weighs far less, wearing her younger skin like a runway model. Damn her.

“And it’s hump day.” Janet winks.

Food stirs in my stomach at the thought. Yes, it’s Wednesday, a day commonly called hump day, and not for the reasons Janet means as she eyes Cara conspiratorially. Yay, I say with false cheer in my head. I’ve hooked up my neighbor to spend hump day with someone else. Go, me.

Thankfully, a mother comes in with her son, and it’s back to business. I do my best to not think about Joel and hump day together, but on the inside I want to cry.

Close to the end of the day, I’ve replayed their conversation in my head for the millionth time and don’t hear my boss walk up. Dr. T, as he calls himself, clears his throat in front of my desk shortly before I’m scheduled to leave.

When I glance up, he says, “Olivia, you wouldn’t mind staying late, would you? Dale’s coming by to work on my quarterly taxes. I know it’s not your job, but I have plans with the missus tonight and can’t be late.”

What he’s not saying is, “You’re a loser and have nothing better to do.” I nod. Besides, I don’t, and part of my job is bookkeeping. The good doctor has always been the one to meet with his guy at the tax firm, but I don’t mind.

I lock the door after he leaves and sit at my desk to wait for the old guy to show up. When the knock comes, it’s not a guy in his late sixties; it’s an attractive thirty-something man.

“Can I help you?”

He holds out his hand. “I’m here to go over the books.”

Dr. T’s tax man is an old-school guy who believes in coming to the client instead of the other way around.

“You’re not Dale Burns.” I give him a quizzical look.

He laughs. “I’m not. I’m Dale’s son, Paul.”

My jaw opens. I don’t want to consider what he’s saying. He’s an accountant named Paul. I shake my head. It’s just coincidence. Though I find myself looking at his hand for a ring and find none.

When I meet his eyes, I know I’ve been caught. I step back, and damn if I don’t trip over my own feet. His handsome face hidden behind black framed glasses matches a superhero’s secret identity. He reaches out and scoops me around the waist before I fall.

We stare at each other for longer than an average glance.

“Your name?” He still hangs on like he’s dipping me in a dance.

“Olivia.” It comes out breathy, and he grins.

“Can I take you out?”

And that’s how I end up with a date for the coming Friday night.

Over the course of the evening, I learn Paul is older than I am by two years, and single. He’s divorced, but I’m headed there too. I take it to be positive; at least he’s not opposed to long term relationships.

These are the lies I tell myself on the way home, unable not to wonder how Joel is fairing on his date. Then I think about what Madame Zelda said to me. A child could come between us, an accountant with a name beginning with P. Is Paul my soulmate? Could we have a child together?

I’m eating a salad and a dry piece of baked chicken, trying out the latest diet. My curves are a gift from all the hormones I had to take in an attempt to get knocked up, or so I tell myself. Losing the weight has been a struggle, even with diet and exercise. Sometimes I wonder if the pounds had been Corey’s reason for looking elsewhere.

Unfortunately for me, the television is on mute when I hear noises in the hall. I’d taken a phone call from Amelia and had silenced my background noise to share the news of my date this weekend.

With the remote in my hand, I’m just about to unmute it when a loud giggle can be heard on the other side of my door.

“Joel, you are so funny.” The voice is unmistakable.

I close my eyes and turn the volume up high. I don’t want to hear whatever else Cara has to say. He’s brought her home on hump day. That’s all I really need to know.

The thing that sucks is I can’t be mad at him. He wanted something with me, and I’d turned him down. Furthermore, I’d been the one to set them up. Good for him.

Liar, the invisible devil inside me shouts.