Page 41 of Safe Hands

She waited until the door clicked shut.

That one had been straightforward. Clear problem, clear fix, happy customer. If her entire life could be reduced to tight traps and dodgy rotator cuffs, she’d be unstoppable.

A knock sounded almost immediately, followed by the door opening before she had a chance to answer.

“Busy woman,” Jenna said, leaning against the frame.

Paige hovered behind her, one hand braced against her back. “We didn’t interrupt, did we?”

“No.” Lauren glanced between them. “Just finished.”

Jenna tilted her head towards the corridor. “We saw him come out. You looked very professional.”

Lauren frowned. “I am a professional.”

“I know. That’s what I’m saying.”

Paige stepped inside and lowered herself carefully onto the chair in the corner. “We’ve got good news.”

“Never reassuring when you say it like that.”

“Carly wants another go at the videos.”

Lauren had to do a double take. “She what?”

“Another shoot. Different format. Less… chaos.”

Lauren stared at them both. “You’re joking.”

“Nope.”

“That’s…” Lauren let out a short laugh. “Unexpected.”

“It’s a good thing,” Jenna said, taking over so smoothly that it felt as if they’d rehearsed the handover. “A very good thing.”

“Is it?” Lauren leaned back against the counter. “Because last time was a total car crash. I don’t understand what’s changed. Unless you’ve both just been in there trying to convince her I’m not completely useless, in which case she’ll now think I must be useless if I need to send my mates in to bat for me. Which has, in fact, made the situation a million times worse.”

Paige winced. “We didn’t say it like that.”

“You didn’t have to. I can imagine.”

Jenna shrugged. “We didn’t have to do much convincing. She’d already decided.”

That gave Lauren pause. “She had?”

Paige nodded. “There were bits in the footage that worked. Mostly when you weren’t trying so hard.”

Lauren’s jaw tightened. “I wasn’t trying—”

Jenna raised an eyebrow.

Lauren gave in. “Okay. Maybe a bit.”

“A lot,” Jenna said.

“Fine. A lot.” Lauren snapped the words, then immediately softened. “But I was trying to make it better. More accessible.”

“And what do you call what you do in here?” Paige said, gesturing around the treatment room. “You don’t over-explain. You don’t try to entertain people. You just do the job.”