Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
Wynter
How is that even possible?
Okay, to be fair, there are four emails from Harley, sending me links to things she thinks I might want to buy.
There are probably twenty that fall into the junk mail category.
Two from Ross with calendar updates.
And one from my boss—she wants to see me today when I get a chance.
I sigh.
Now what?
There are still about 700 emails to sort through, though I’m sure some can easily be deleted, and it’s going to take hours.
I also have no idea what my boss wants. I put in a lot of hours last week so leaving early on Friday shouldn’t have been a big deal.
Of course, I also called in sick last Monday and didn’t lie about where I was going on the weekend.
Shit.
I grab my phone, stick it in the pocket of my blazer, and walk down the hall to Dr. Stacy Kincaid’s office.
She’s one of the managing partners, as well as a practicing physician, so she can be imposing.
When I interviewed with her, I liked that about her.
Now that I’ve been seeing her at work firsthand every day, it’s less impressive and more of a headache.
She doesn’t look up when I knock on her open door. “Come in, Wynter.”
“I got your message,” I say, unsure whether I should sit down or not.
“Shut the door.” Her tone is cool and my stomach knots.
Am I about to get fired?
I close the door and figure I might as well sit down.
“What’s going on?”
“Where were you this past weekend?”
I squint slightly. “I told you I was going to see my brother-in-law’s band.”
“You did.” She finally looks up and takes off her reading glasses. “What you failed to tell me was that your brother-in-law is a member of Onyx Knight.”
I frown. “I didn’t think that detail mattered.”
She lets out an exasperated sigh, like I’m some kind of moron. “Wynter. There are pictures all over the internet of you and…someone in the band.” She says that last part like it’s distasteful.
“Ross isn’t in the band—he’s their tour manager. We’ve been friends a long time and it’s been turning into something else lately.”
Her gaze is intent, and she seems to be studying me carefully. “You can’t live your life between two worlds.”
“Because I left early on a Friday after working until after eight for three nights?” I ask incredulously.
“No.” She sighs, much more delicately this time.
“Look, you’re smart, professional, and well-liked.
The issue is that I can already see the pull to be somewhere else.
To work late on Thursday so you can leave early on Friday.
And believe it or not, I understand. I really do.
If the situations were reversed, and I was at a rock concert, but my doctor boyfriend was doing an extraordinary surgery, I’d be thinking of ways to leave early too.
I know, it’s a terrible example, but you get my point. ”
“I do,” I say slowly. “But I’m not sure what you’re trying to say.”
“You have to choose, Wynter. You can’t do this job, at the level of excellence and perfectionism we demand, if your heart and one foot are out the door.”
Holy fuck.
She’s going to fire me.
And I honestly wasn’t expecting it.
“I didn’t realize they were,” I say simply. “Ross and I are new, despite years of friendship. I have no plans to leave.” Well, okay, maybe part of a plan.
“But you don’t want to stay.”
It’s weird when someone else knows you better than you know yourself.
“I can make this easy on you,” she continues.
“You haven’t been here long enough to qualify for a severance package, but if I fire you, you can get unemployment and I’ll still write you a recommendation if you need it.
You’ve also already paid your medical premium for the month, so you’ll be covered through month-end.
The choice is yours, but I think we both know you aren’t happy here.
Why torture yourself, Wynter? Life is too short for that. ”
All I can do is stare.
I didn’t expect her to be this insightful.
I’m not happy here.
In fact, I hate this job.
I loved being a nurse, seeing patients, helping people, but managing people in a medical setting? It’s been awful. And now I can leave with what appears to be no hard feelings. And some unemployment benefits, even if they’re short-term.
I’m employable. Hell, I could go back to my old job at the hospital.
The timing isn’t great but this might be the kick in the ass I needed.
“I don’t like to fail,” I admit after a moment.
She smiles and this time it’s genuine. “Most of us don’t.
But this isn’t failure, per se. It’s okay to discover things about yourself, to grow and learn.
What you like, what you don’t like. You loved being an E.R.
nurse, if I recall, but the stress was getting to you.
It seems as if you don’t love being an office manager. So maybe something in between.”
“In between?”
She shrugs. “Travel nurse. Being a nurse part-time somewhere. I don’t know what will fulfill you at this stage of your life, but I do know it’s not here, at this job. And I need someone to be fully present.”
“I’m sorry.” The apology is quiet but sincere.
Because I am.
Because I don’t like to fail at anything.
Because I genuinely believed this would be the change I needed.
“Maybe this is your time to fall in love. Start a family.” Her voice is gentle. “It’s okay to want those things.”
“I feel like I already did that. With my nephew. His father passed away and my sister needed me. I spent a lot of time focused on River.”
“And now it’s time to focus on yourself.
” She puts her glasses back on. “Take the rest of today. Think about what you want. Let me know your decision. It doesn’t have to be a big formal thing.
If you want me to fire you, so you can get those unemployment benefits, just let me know verbally and I’ll take care of it. ”
With that, she goes back to whatever she was doing on her computer.
I’m dismissed.
“Um, thanks,” I whisper as I get up.
Then I practically run down the hall back to my office.
The first thing I do is call Ross.
“Hey, beautiful.”
I blurt out the whole story without even asking if he has time to talk.
“Wow,” he says when I finally take a breath.
“That was intense. But it doesn’t sound like a bad thing.
You could be here with us by Thursday. Take a day to do the unemployment stuff and then take off.
You can apply to jobs remotely, or whatever you have to do to keep getting those checks for a while.
And we have until the end of the month to figure out health insurance. ”
“Why do you make it sound so easy?” I ask in confusion.
He chuckles. “Because it is. Tell her you want her to fire you. Clean out your desk. Go home and start packing.”
My heart stutters in my chest.
I want to.
I want to work but I want to be with him more.
I can always find a job but getting to be with Ross at this early stage of our relationship—that’s not an opportunity I’ll get again.
“Okay,” I say softly.
“Okay?” He almost sounds surprised. “Yeah?”
“I think so,” I say cautiously. “I mean, are you sure you want me out there with you?”
“Positive. Don’t give it another thought.”
I chuckle. “How could I not? I’m about to turn my whole life upside down.”
“You and me both, baby. But we’ll have each other to figure out what’s next.”
That’s a loaded statement because he has a big decision to make too.
But doing it together sounds a lot less scary than trying to do it alone.
“I’m going to tell her now,” I say quietly.
“Then I’ll see you in a few days. Let me know your timetable, and we can book your flight tonight.”
Holy shit.
I’m really going to essentially quit my job and run off on tour.
Something I’ve wanted to do my entire life.
I can’t decide if I’m excited or terrified but there’s no time for that.
I have to talk to Dr. Kincaid, clear out my desk and office, call Harley, and figure out how to get unemployment benefits.
I’ll think about everything else later.