Page 3 of Phoenix Rising

Becky stormed out of the office and into the briefing room, Ember strolling in casually behind her.

"Good morning, team. Apologies for my tardiness." Becky pushed Kaia Montgomery's feet off of the table. "Manners, Montgomery."

Kaia pulled her feet under her chair properly, "Apologies, Chief."

Ember took a seat beside Montgomery, whispering something into her ear.

Becky leaned against the podium, looking out over her all-female crew. The first of its kind. This is what she had worked so hard for. It was unheard of, an all-female firehouse, but damn if this wasn't the best group of people she’d ever worked with. They all knew they had something to prove, that a woman can be just as strong, if not stronger, than any man.

"Let's get into it." Becky turned on the projector showcasing this month's schedule. "As you can see, we have a wildfire drill next Friday. I expect a pristine report, you hear? Wildfire season is only a fewweeks away, and we can't risk what's going on in California to happen here. And- look at the drama we had last year with wildfires. We donotneed a repeat of what happened to Lux and Zoey. City Hall has their eyes on us. Study your procedures."

Becky clicked through the rest of her briefing, explaining their usual duties for the week before pulling up the new disaster protocol slide.

"Woah, there's a new head of trauma?" Leilani Silva asked, her thick dark plait swung over her shoulder.

"Yes. Dr. Lucinda Everett. She will be joining the disaster protocol team," Becky replied.

"So are we still working with the same protocols or will there be some updates?" Montgomery asked.

Becky cracked her knuckles. "I have a meeting with the city council tomorrow. Your captains will update you with any changes."

The team nodded. Ember stared blankly at the projector.

"Alright, if there are no questions, you are dismissed." Becky collected her laptop and paperwork before striding out of the room.

After the briefing, Becky had another meeting to discuss the department's budget. After thatmeeting, she had to oversee the training of the new recruits. When she finally found a moment of peace to get some work done, Lieutenant Zoey Knight almost busted down her office door with a complaint about a rookie named Patrice Swarze.

"Patrick Swayze?" Becky looked at Zoey Knight over her glasses.

The woman groaned. "No,Swar-zee.She's causing issues within the team."

Becky continued filling out paperwork. "And you went over your captain because...?"

"Carter doesn't take me seriously, Chief—" Becky gently set her pen down, linking her fingers in front of her face. "Lieutenant, does itlooklike I have time to care about your petty squabbles?"

Zoey Knight opened and closed her mouth like a gaping fish. "I-I didn't mean. The captain has just been busy."

Becky ignored her. "There is a chain of command in place for a reason. Report to Carter or Hunter or deal with it yourself. If you ever come into my office with this petty shit again, I'll make you and Patrick Swayze reenact the final scene inDirty Dancingfor the whole squad. Dismissed."

Zoey Knight nodded, her whole body was red as she slipped out of Becky’s office.

Becky leaned her head back against her chair, checking the clock. 4:17 p.m. Shift changes would be happening soon. Becky's neck ached from looking at her desk most of the day.

What was tomorrow? More paperwork? No, a meeting at the city council where she would meether. This bloody Lucinda Everett.

She was already so annoyed and hadn't even met the woman yet. Becky wondered if it was because Dr. Everett was suddenly the talk of the town. It wasn't like Phoenix Ridge was a small place, but the people here loved to act like it was a one-stoplight town.

Becky opened her laptop, typing "Dr. Lucinda Everett London" in the search engine. Her screen was filled with mentions of Dr. Everett. News articles about her accomplishments and hospitals recommending her papers and studies.

A link labeled "Our Team" was highlighted in blue on the St. Thomas Hospital website. Becky clicked it, loading a page with a picture of a pale woman with luscious dark curls and gray eyes.

A sigh blew out of her mouth. Maybe Ember was on to something with the word looker. She scanned Everett's bio.

"Oxford?" she mumbled to herself.

Did England only have one university or was that fuckingimpressive?

A knock rapped from behind her door. Thinking it was Ember or Carter, Becky mumbled "enter" without looking up from her computer.

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