Hailey woke to her alarm at 6:30 in the morning. She got up and proceeded to put on some workout clothes for her daily run, slipping on her shoes and grabbing her keys on her way out. Her morning run always helps her clear her mind and focus on the day ahead, it also helps her forget the nightmares that plague her sleep the night before.
She circles around her neighborhood before finally returning to her apartment around 7am. She grabs a towel and heads for the bathroom, where she strips and gets into the shower. She always makes sure to wash off the sweat and dirt she collects from her run.
She continues her daily routine, brushing her teeth, putting on her work clothes, making breakfast, with a healthy dose of coffee to go and assembling all of her files in her bag before she heads out the door.
As she's driving to her office, she hits quite a few read lights, but she's not concerned. Hailey always prepares for Chicago traffic; she's used to it now.
Once she finally arrives at her office building, she runs into one of her colleagues.
"Good morning, Hailey. How are you doing today?"
"I'm doing well, Michael. It's Friday, that always helps brighten the mood with the clients."
"Very true indeed, well I'll let you get on with your day then. It was lovely to see you."
"And you as well, Michael."
Hailey had met Michael on her first day working at Woodside Psychological Services. He was a kind man in his mid-fifties, with graying hair and a warm smile, he instantly made Hailey feel at ease, which made sense since that was in his job description. He was one of the senior psychologists at their establishment and sort of took Hailey under his wing at the beginning, but that was almost four years ago, and Hailey has grown a lot since then.
At first, Hailey had been mostly dealing with teenagers and helping guide them through their problems and find solutions and strategies to cope with their situations. But after being asked by a parent to help their child that had gotten into dealing drugs for a gang. Hailey had been exposed to the psychology and behavior of criminals and became extremely interested in understanding their actions and rehabilitating them. This led to her occasionally offering her services to the police department, often to help them in locating their suspects or understanding how they think to better work their case.
Hailey reflected on this as she sat down to her computer, and saw that she had an email from a detective in Homicide that might need her help in a few days. She quickly replied asking what they needed and when they would like her to come in.
With that email sent, she continued to checking her emails, looking over the files of the few clients she was seeing that day, a few teenagers and a couple appointments for criminal rehabilitation. Those session were mostly mandated by a court, for the offender, but Hailey truly tries to help them sort out how they're feeling, how they can use strategies to help themselves and generally make a plan for their next steps, concerning jobs and housing and healthy habits to develop.
Her day progressed as it normally would, she met with her clients, took a break for lunch midday and then continued with her appointments and ending her day around six when she usually left work.
Since it was Friday, Hailey decided she was allowed to go out and have a bit of fun considering her long week with a lot of emotions running high for her teenagers considering final exams were fast approaching.
She drove to the bar she had been to a couple weeks ago when that guy had come on too strong and all she wanted was to have a drink.
She got out of her car and made her way to the bar, taking a seat at one of its stools.
"Hey there, what can I get for you?"
Looking up she noticed that it was the bartender she had briefly chatted with after that creep wouldn't take no for an answer. He seemed nice, really nice. The kind of person who cared deeply and protected those he loved; she could tell be the soft yet determined nature of his eyes.
"Hi, can I get a beer please?"
"Absolutely. You're the one who told off Bad Brad a few weeks ago, I knew I recognized you!"
"Yeah, I guess that was me. It's Jay, right?"
"Yeah, and you're Hailey, I remember, I told that story to the other woman who was working with me that night and she absolutely loved it! Says she's been waiting for someone to put him in his place since our boss doesn't like when she tells guys off. I personally have no problem with it."
He said with a wink, while grabbing her beer and placing it in front of her.
"Well, it's good to know my actions were welcomed."
"So, are you just getting off work?"
"Yep, I finished up and felt the need for a beer that wasn't in my own home. Apparently, the only places I frequent now are my apartment and my job, according to my friends."
"I'm pretty sure at some point we're all guilty of working too much, I know I am."
"Yeah, I bet this bar gets pretty busy, considering you're right in the middle of four office buildings and statistically people with desk job are more likely to go out after a day spent sitting staring at a screen."
"Are you one of those people with a desk job?"
"Is that you subtly trying to ask me what I do for a living?"
"In so many words, yes"
"Ah, I see. Well, I work as a psychologist, mostly to teens and sometimes delinquents in one of the many office buildings around here."
"That's pretty cool. What do you do with the criminals?"
"I don't usually call them criminals to start with, but usually it's court mandated rehabilitation. I try to give them tools and strategies that will help them in society, like getting a job, a house, or just helping them not to turn to a life of crime."
"That's great, it's good to know there are people out there who are helping offenders after they've been incarcerated."
"You say that as if you're familiar with the system. Were you in law enforcement or the justice system before you became a bartender?"
"No... Why do you ask?"
"Well the terms you used indicate someone familiar with that world, and you display yourself with the confidence of someone who's done more than bartending for his adult life. I'm guessing police force or justice system."
"Wow, I guess I forgot I was talking to a psychologist, what are you, a profiler or something?"
"I mean, not technically, but I do occasionally help consult on some cases for the police department."
"You do. That's really cool Hailey. I was wondering if you were interested in getting a bite to eat with me, I finish at eight if you wouldn't mind waiting another fifteen minutes?"
"If we get some of those amazing burgers at Joe's place down the street, then you've got a deal."
"Sounds good to me."