Chapter 7
I yawned into my hand as tears filled my eyes.
It made no sense how tired I was. I couldn’t believe Nash had kept me on the phone until after two in the morning.
I smiled as I thought about what we had talked about.
To know he was a Harry Potter fan like me, we had to make a date out of it.
I hadn’t voiced that to him, so maybe I could surprise him and plan the date myself.
He couldn’t be the only one planning things.
After work, I’d see if I could put something together for us.
With a smile, I moved to the computer to see how many animals I’d be seeing for the day. Hopefully, I didn’t have a lot to do today. Since the altercation that happened between Patrick and me, we stayed clear of each other, which was for the best.
“Kenzlee, in my office, please,” I heard from behind me.
From the sound of Rebecca’s voice, I tensed up. This wasn’t good if I was called to my boss’s office.
Patrick walked in, heading to her office as well.
By Rebecca calling both of us into her office, I knew she had heard about what had happened yesterday.
With my heart throbbing furiously in my chest, I made the short walk to her office.
Since I was the last one to enter, I closed the door behind me and stayed by it.
I folded my arms across my chest and stared at my boss while she removed her glasses.
Rebecca shot daggers first at Patrick and then at me. I swallowed hard and unfolded my arms.
“Do one of y’all want to tell me what happened yesterday?
From what I gathered, both of you were loud, shouting at each other.
How did this come about in my place of business?
And let’s not forget we had patients to see.
You could have caused a lot of commotion with your loudness.
Did you think of any of that at all? What do you have to say for yourselves? ”
I had a lot to say for myself. “Patrick started all of this by the way he came at me. He falsely accused me of something I didn’t do.
I’ve never touched anything that had nothing to do with me.
Then he yelled in my face as if he were right.
If Kaye hadn’t pulled me back, I was about to slap him.
” I decided to come clean about that too.
Rebecca’s eyes widened before she turned her attention to Patrick for him to explain. He stared dumbfounded at her and shifted from one foot to the other.
“I found the files I couldn’t find after what happened between Kenzlee and me,” he admitted.
I shook my head. He did all of that for nothing, and now, both of us were in the hot seat. He should’ve asked questions first. Instead, he flew off at the mouth.
“It doesn’t matter if you found them or not. Both of you are on suspension for what you did.”
I gasped as my mouth dropped. “What? I did nothing but defend myself. If I hadn’t, what would have happened?” I scowled as I folded my arms across my chest. Patrick should be the one getting in trouble, not me since all of this was his fault.
If I didn’t like my job, I’d be jumping for joy, but I loved what I did. Every day, I woke up ready to work. As much as I wanted to shed a tear, I didn’t. It had been a while since I’d cried, and I wouldn’t today. I couldn’t believe this happened though.
“Even if you were just defending yourself, you know better. You can’t have arguments in my work environment.
It’s not professional, and it won’t be tolerated.
Take it how you want. Both of you can return to work next week.
Have a good rest of your week.” With that, Rebecca dismissed us, putting on her glasses and booting up her laptop.
With a shake of my head, I snatched the door open and exited the office. After what just happened, I needed a glass of wine. How in the hell did my day start like this? I had the rest of the week off. It was only Tuesday.
Now, I had to find something to do with my time while I was off.
I hated that Kaye was off today. When she found out what happened, I knew she’d be calling me.
After I got my stuff from the lounge, I headed out of the clinic.
Who was going to get my patients while I was gone? That was my main concern.
After I went to the grocery store, I was finally home for the day.
I had nothing planned, but I wanted Nashton to chill with me.
Hopefully, he had no plans, and I could set up a date night for us.
I hoped he wasn’t busy and could come over when I called him.
Why did I feel like I wanted to celebrate my suspension even when I felt down?
I had the rest of the week plus the weekend to do house chores, update Pinks’ Instagram account, and do as much coloring as I wanted.
I couldn’t say I’d be bored, but I would miss the patients I saw on a daily basis.
My cell phone rang in the middle of putting away the groceries.
I had bought some things to make a seafood boil.
Maybe I’d make that tonight if Nash were available to come over.
I stopped putting away the groceries and moved toward my phone.
I picked it up from the kitchen table and looked to see who was calling. With a smile, I answered the phone.
“Hey, Nash.” I leaned against the table and folded my arms lazily.
“Wassup, beautiful. What are you up to?”
“Ehh, nothing. I’m putting away groceries I bought for the rest of the week. What about you?” I removed the phone from my ear and placed it on speaker, heading back to the kitchen island where the remaining grocery bags were.
“Surprisingly, I’m not doing anything, which is not like me. But I have a question for you.”
Oh, hell... I wondered what it was. “Okay, what is it?”
“You’d usually be on your lunch break at this hour. Never have you ever gone home on your breaks from work. Why are you home?”
I froze and eyed the clock on the stove. It was around one in the afternoon, and I was home. On the inside, I smiled since Nash paid attention to me and what I had going on during the day. I liked him a little more for the way he cared for me.
“Uhhh...”
“Ain’t no uh. Just tell me why you’re not at work.”
“I got suspended for what happened yesterday between my co-worker and me.”
I heard Nash mumble damn under his breath. “I told you to let me beat his ass. Then you would have a reason to get suspended that would be worth it.”
I shook my head. “I probably would’ve lost my job, but that’s why I’m home early.” Now I could ask if he wants to chill with me for the day.
“That boss of yours is wrong. I bet she wouldn’t like it if someone yelled in her face.”
“I said the same thing, but what the hell was I to do? I told you I love my job. I can’t afford to walk away now.”
The thing was I didn’t want to find a new job either, especially when I enjoyed working at the job I was at now. Maybe I could talk to my boss and let her know how wrong she was. She heard what happened, and she still suspended me too, which wasn’t right.
Nash scoffed. “I’ll help you look for a new job.”
“You’re so sweet, Nash. Thanks so much, but let me think on it.”
“Word. I’ll let you do that. Just know if we ever see that co-worker of yours out and about, I’m fucking him up. It won’t have anything to do with your job. It’ll just be me beating his ass for talking to you the way he did. Deal?”
I threw my head back and laughed. “I see you’re not trying to let that go.”
“Hell no. Now that he got you suspended from your job, he needs one.”
The only thing I could do was shake my head at him.
“What do you say?”
I sighed deeply, knowing he won’t let it go. “Fine. You can beat his ass.”
“Good. Now, let me pray I see him out and about. All you have to do is point him out.”
We shared a laugh.
I grinned. “You’re going straight to hell for that one.”
Nash laughed harder. “Man, I’m bullshitting. But I do hope I see him out and about.”
“I bet so. You’re too much, but thanks for having my back. It’s appreciated.”
“Nah, no need to thank me. What happened was wrong and knowing that you’re getting in trouble for it doesn’t sit well with me. Something’s gotta change.”
We fell silent for a moment. I sighed and glanced at the groceries that still needed to be put away. I had to get off this phone to do that. Nash and I never ran out of things to talk about.
“Do you have any plans this evening?” I asked.
“Nah. I’ll be home looking up some land for a new gym spot. Why? Wassup?”
“I wondered if you wanted to chill with me. If you want, I can help you find some land.”
“Word, and I can help you find a new job.”
Nash was dead set on my finding a new job. I loved that he had my best interests in mind.
“Okay, fine. We can do that too.”
“Okay. What time do you want me to come over?”
“Hmm. Let’s say around six.”
“I’ll be there, beautiful. Make sure you take a nap too. Since you’re off for the rest of the week, you won’t be going to bed early tonight.”
I threw my head back and laughed loudly. “Get off my phone now.”
Nashton laughed too as we ended the call.
I could easily see myself falling in love with him.
We were still getting to know each other, but this man was down to help me in any way he could.
I loved how he was loyal to me even when he didn’t fully know me.
Since I’d met him, he had been generous and friendly, but most importantly, he’d shown that he was loyal.
After I put the groceries away, I changed out of my work clothes and laid down for a nap.