Chapter 23
Twenty-three
Liz
Dinner with Trinity and Theo makes me feel better. By the time I leave, I have a plan that tomorrow I’m going to talk to Hudson and let him know what’s going on. I can do this.
As I walk in my front door, my phone buzzes. I need to talk to Alaric, and I’m hopeful it’s him. I’m ready to do that as well.
But it’s an email meeting request from Hudson.
Tomorrow morning at seven.
Friday morning, seven a.m., long before anyone is in the office.
My breath leaves my body. Hudson never schedules meetings at seven. Never.
I swallow hard as panic surges through me.
And then I text Alaric. It’s way overdue.
Me: Jeannine has been spreading rumors about us, and I think Hudson is going to fire me in the morning. Also, Misty is sabotaging me.
He calls within seconds.
I answer. “Hey.”
“What happened?” His voice is tense, protective. It brings emotion to my throat immediately.
I flop down on the couch and tell him everything. The gossip. The looks in the hall. The spreadsheet nightmare. Greyson’s reaction. The surprise meeting tomorrow morning that feels like an execution.
He listens without interrupting, then says quietly, “Liz. I’m sorry.”
“I should have told Hudson we used to date,” I whisper. “I should have been honest.”
“No, Liz.” His voice is firm. “People don’t tell their bosses every detail of their personal lives. You didn’t hide anything that mattered. You did nothing wrong.”
“It doesn’t feel that way.”
“Do you want me to talk to him?”
“No.” I shake my head, even though he can’t see it. “The fix has to come from me.”
He exhales. “I hate that you’re going through this.”
My eyes sting. “I’ll be okay.”
He doesn’t call me a liar. “I’m here if you need anything. Even if it’s just to hear someone breathe.”
“Thank you.”
“Do you want me to come over? I can bring you your favorite dessert—McDonald’s apple pie and a Diet Coke.”
That makes me smile. “No thank you. But I’m really grateful you offered.”
“I can just come over and hold you.”
I shake my head, grinning now. “That will only complicate this.”
“I’m here for you. I know our return from Hawaii hasn’t been what we’d hoped, but I want us to get back to where we were before I left Vancouver.”
“I don’t know right now,” I tell him with a deep sigh. “I’m not sure how that’s possible. But I’ve got to get this figured out, or I’ll be the one leaving this time.”
“I’m here for you,” he says again, and I hear the break in his voice.
“Thank you,” I whisper. “Goodnight.”
I hang up before I say anything stupid.
I run a bath, hoping the lavender in my bath salts will calm me, but my mind continues to race. I sit until the water is cold and my fingers are raisins.
If I bring up Misty’s behavior now, will it look like I’m making excuses? Nobody believes the girl under investigation when she suddenly starts pointing at someone else.
I drag myself out of the bath and get into bed, but sleep doesn’t come. Every rumor, every look, every imagined consequence keeps replaying. I twist the blankets. Turn over. Sit up. Lie down again. Nothing helps.
When dawn comes, my heartbeat is still a jittery, uneven thud. My eyes are puffy with dark circles. Still, I move forward to face the day. I smooth my clothes, pull my hair back, and leave quietly.
The hospital is bustling when I arrive, with the graveyard and morning shifts converging. I don’t look at anyone. I go straight to the elevator and take it to my floor.
Hudson’s office feels too bright when I walk in.
He gestures to the chair. “Thank you for coming early.”
I nod and sit, hands clasped in my lap.
“Your work has been excellent,” he begins. “You’ve made an impact in a very short time.” His mouth tightens. “However, I have concerns regarding your ethics.”
My stomach drops so fast it’s like the floor disappears. An ethics violation ruins careers. Not just here. Everywhere.
“I didn’t expect you to sleep with Dr. Dempsey in order to ensure he completed his CMEs,” he continues.
I stare at him. “That’s not what happened.”
He asks about the shared room. I explain that they didn’t have a reservation for me and the entire island was full.
“Misty told me you didn’t need a room.”
I almost choke. “I never said that.”
“Liz, why did you do this?”
“I didn’t ask her to cancel the room. As far as I knew, she’d transferred your reservation over to me.
I would have stayed somewhere else if I could.
They had a Comicon on the island, and everything was booked solid.
I couldn’t find any other place to stay.
Dr. Dempsey offered to share his room. I didn’t know what else to do. ”
He sighs. “I need to talk to some people. I have to protect the hospital, Liz. I need clarity before I make any decisions. For now, I’m asking you to take the week off. Paid.”
I stand somehow. “I understand. Thank you.”
I leave without showing my panic and walk home before driving straight to Trinity’s.
It’s not even eight o’clock, and Trinity’s in the lobby like she’s been waiting.
“Hudson’s questioning my ethics,” I say, voice shaking.
She pulls me inside. “No. Absolutely not.”
She holds up sheets of data, flips through them, and swears. “I looked these over again. These aren’t mistakes. These are meant to hurt you.”
My throat aches. “What if this ends my contract? How do I explain this hole in my résumé? What if coming here was a mistake?”
She takes my hands. “You did nothing wrong. I’m going to Hudson. Today.”
A tear escapes. She hugs me tight.
“You can’t stop me,” she says, fiercely. “This is terrible. You didn’t have anywhere else to stay on Kauai. And what’s worse, it’s a problem someone intentionally created.”
I nod. I know I can’t stop her, and I don’t want to. Hope flickers. Trinity’s the reason I have this job. Hopefully, she can be the reason the truth comes out and I keep it.
She cups my face, searching my eyes like she’s trying to read the whole story. Then she hooks her arm through mine, and she and Theo lead me to the elevator.
“You’re not going through this alone,” she adds.
I nod, but it still feels like I’m standing on the edge of a cliff, wind pushing at my back.
Upstairs, I sit on her couch because my legs feel shaky. She finds something for Theo to entertain himself with and sits beside me, her leg pressed against mine.
“Tell me again,” she says softly. “Start from the beginning.”
So I do—the numbers for the board slides being off, the hotel room debacle, the flight issue, the spreadsheet and Greyson’s frown. Misty’s numbers—wrong on purpose, enough to make me look incompetent or malicious.
Saying it out loud feels like peeling off skin.
Trinity’s jaw tightens, eyes sparking. “That woman.” She shakes the spreadsheet. “She should be ashamed.”
“I don’t think she is.”
“She wanted the job,” Trinity says. “She wanted it badly. But this? This is something else.”
“I know.” My voice wavers. “And now, it looks like I’m the problem.”
“You’re not the problem.”
“I might as well be if Hudson believes her.”
Trinity squeezes my hand. “It’s going to be fine.”
I let out a humorless laugh. “You can’t promise that.”
“No, but I can promise I’m going to talk to him. I know him. I work with him. He listens. And he trusts me. He just needs all the facts.”
My throat tightens. “I don’t want you pulled into this.”
“I already am,” she says softly. “You’re my best friend. Anyone who picks a fight with you gets me too.” She stands abruptly. “I’m going today.”
“It doesn’t change the fact that I slept with Alaric while I was making sure he got his CMEs.” I shake my head.
“I know. But we fix what we can.” She disappears down the hall, shoulders squared.
I sink deeper into the couch and rest my head against the back.
Theo wanders over, hands me his teddy bear, and climbs into my lap. His small weight cracks something in my heart.
“Can you stay here with Theo?” Trinity asks when she returns. “Or I can run him up to Paradise Hill and leave him with Vicky and Trace.” She walks back out, fastening an earring, then stops. “I think he wants you to stay.”
“Do you want to hang out with me today?” I ask him.
“I’ll stay with Theo.”
She grabs her bag and keys. “I’ll text you as soon as I know anything.”
“Okay.”
She hugs us both. “Don’t go anywhere.”
“We’ll be here.”
When she leaves, the silence settles. I stare at the elevator long after the doors close.
The quiet descends, but instead of calming me, it makes the noise in my head louder. The fridge hums faintly, and Theo hops down. After a minute, I can hear him talking to his trains as he plays.
I go over everything again, replaying conversations, details, and the subtle looks I didn’t want to notice at the time. I’ve spent my entire career trying to be good. Steady. To make things better. I’ve never been reckless or jeopardized anyone’s trust.
After a little while, Theo falls asleep, and I lay him in his bed.
Time moves slowly.
I go to the kitchen and run cold water over my wrists. The shock makes me feel more energized. I drink a glass of water slowly until my shaking eases.
Sitting, pacing, breathing—nothing helps. My mind loops until it exhausts itself.
After nearly an hour, I move to the window and stare at the bridge over Black Bear Lake. Cars pass. A woman walks her dog along the waterfront. A jogger runs by.
Everything looks normal out there. Completely normal.
How can everything look normal when my entire life feels like it’s hanging by a thread?
I sit again, curling into the couch cushions, letting myself feel the weight of it—the fear, the humiliation, the betrayal.
I think about the job I left behind. The risks I took. The hope I carried when I moved to Paradise.
I press my palms over my eyes and breathe.
My phone sits on the table. I pull it toward me. No messages from Trinity, Mark, Hudson, or Alaric.
I scroll through old texts with Alaric. Years ago. Hawaii. Last night. Every message holds a piece of something unfinished. Something dangerous.
How did everything get so messy so fast? How did I walk back into the fire with him? And why do I still want to reach for him now?