Chapter 27 #2
She nodded. “Of course.”
He smiled. “Thank you for your largesse. We certainly look forward to welcoming you back to the fold. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”
She nodded again, holding herself upright, but as soon as he disappeared around the corner, seemed to crumble.
“Whoa.” Kyle caught her, helped her to sit, kept an arm around her. “Okay, you gotta help a man out and tell me everything. What on earth went down?”
She shook her head for a moment, then tears spilled.
“Aww, Gen.” He shifted and wrapped his arms around her. She needed comfort. And this was a comforting hug, that was all.
But soon he couldn’t help but notice the scent of her hair, the softness of her skin, the wetness of her tears that soon soaked his shirt. He hugged her tighter, wishing he could impart some of his strength to her. Then, when he felt her stiffen, instantly released her.
A glance up showed that Jerrold had also left, but it would likely only be a matter of time before somebody else appeared. And he wanted to know, needed to know, exactly what had happened.
“Come on. Let’s go eat something. You must be starved.”
“I don’t know if I can eat a bite. I just feel so drained right now.”
“But you won, right? You’re able to work and can progress without a black mark against your name?”
She nodded, her smile finally poking out. “It’s such a miracle, but I don’t want to talk about it here. Find me a quiet place so we can talk uninterrupted.”
“My place?”
She eyed him oddly. “Not there.”
Yeah. Dumb idea. His attraction to her wouldn’t be helped by being alone with her in his home. He needed somewhere private, yet still public. Someplace safe.
“Hey, I’ve got an idea.” Thanks to his recent trip to see one of the house contenders.
Twenty minutes later, they were seated in the Seattle Botanic Gardens Arboretum.
A number of the trees were displaying their Fall foliage, but here, where they sat in the sunshine, was protected from the coolness that carried on the breeze.
At this time of day there were few other visitors, giving them privacy, giving them peace, and the chance to finally talk.
She sipped her green tea, from their pit stop at the nearby café. “How did you find this place?”
“I just happened to be in the neighborhood, and remembered you liked Japanese gardens.”
“I do. So thank you for this.” She held up her tea. “And for this.”
“You’re welcome. Now, at the risk of sounding impatient, are you ready to talk?”
She nodded. “I still can’t believe what happened.”
“Well, I’d like to believe it but I still don’t know what it is, so if you can tell me that’d be awesome.”
She chuckled, turning to face him more fully. “Thank you for being so supportive. I mean it. It was so comforting knowing you were there, and feeling like if the outcome had been different you would’ve come storming in to protect me.”
“Of course I would’ve. I can’t believe I started tearing into your boss like that.” He winced. “I hope I didn’t create a problem.”
She chuckled. “On the contrary, I think you further convinced him that I’m someone who has friends in high places.”
“You mean his comment about me being a celebrity? Please. I’m not.”
“Well, some people beg to differ. Did you know that one of the board members is actually a tech millionaire, who just so happens to be neighbors with one of your hockey buddies?”
“No way. Who?”
“Have you heard of Pemberley Enterprises? They deal with green energy and helping environmental concerns around the planet. Liam Darcy heads it up, and just so happens to live next door to where Mitchell Reilly grew up, just outside Trinity Lakes.”
“No way.”
“Actual way.” She took another sip. “So, I don’t know how this happened, maybe it’s because you asked the guys to pray, but it looks like Mitchell might have said something to Liam, who then pointed out to the rest of the board members that it really wasn’t a good look for the hospital to treat me this way. ”
“Well, yeah, of course. But why?”
“Remember how Marcie encouraged me to drop a few hints on social media? I didn’t want to because it felt petty and problematic to point the finger at the place I want to reemploy me.
But apparently when the coach reached out to the hospital he was pretty persuasive, which is why the hospital allowed my name to be mentioned on social media.
And it ‘just so happens’ that this Liam friend of Mitchell’s also owns a stake in your hockey team. ”
“Whoa, that’s right.” Kyle was pretty sure he’d met the dude at a function once or twice.
“And when the team put out that bulletin about how I helped you and then how I helped your coach, well, that apparently is exactly the kind of publicity that the hospital wants to be associated with. And Liam reminded them of that.”
“I knew I liked the man. Was he there today? I don’t recall seeing him.”
“He sent his representative. Apparently Liam is in Africa on a water provision project.”
“That’d be awesome to do one day, don’t you think?”
She nodded. “I’ve wondered about working overseas.”
She had? Hmm. Maybe that thought earlier about missions wasn’t a completely dumb idea. “So what happened next?”
“So Liam Darcy’s representative was very persuasive, as was Jerrold, who reminded the board that because they didn’t use the HCQIA peer protections as mandated that a suspension was unjustified, and I was entitled to back pay for lost earnings.
Dr. Rialto and Dr. Singh were both adamant that I come off my probation immediately, and be given senior resident status, which is awesome. ”
“That is awesome. Wow.”
She nodded. “I think their arguments, and the testimonies of the others I’ve worked with in the ED, showed everyone that the allegations really had no truth, and were based on personal vindictiveness.”
“Well of course they weren’t based on truth. It was like a witch hunt.”
She nodded. “I felt the same way. It seems this whole debacle started because a staff member made a complaint, and didn’t think I was a team player, and needed to be taught a lesson.”
His jaw sagged, and he fought the temptation to swear. “Are you serious?”
“Sad, isn’t it? But anyway, the investigation discovered that this person was making false allegations in other instances as well.
It dragged out even longer because CPS was involved.
Seems like there was about half a dozen legal teams to unravel the truth, so it’s no wonder it took so long.
Then Jerrold discovered the board member’s connections to the accuser, which came out when the board member tried to pressure others too.
He mentioned this to Liam and that person was exposed, and the rest of the hospital board were ultimately convinced that these accusations against me were baseless, and recommended to the committee that the accusations should be dismissed. ”
“I can’t believe you’re taking this so well.”
“I’m just so tired I don’t think I have much emotion left. And really, people can be such… people, can’t they? I mean, we all mess up, and maybe I could’ve been a little bit nicer—”
He opened his mouth to protest—
“—but I think it was always Dr. Visek’s issue, rather than mine, so I’m not gonna take that on board.” Her smile twisted. “Besides, from all I’ve learned recently, apparently Christians are meant to forgive. So it looks like I’m going to have to do that.”
“Yeah, but don’t do that straightaway,” he teased.
She chuckled but shook her head. “I need to do it straightaway because I don’t want this to live in my heart any longer. It’s lived there long enough.”
“Wow. Can I say that I think you are very mature?”
“Apparently.”
He smiled. “Well, I’m impressed. And amazed. And so happy for you. And relieved. I was praying for you every minute, it seemed.”
She nodded. “It may sound weird, but I could actually feel that. It was like each time someone would argue, I’d start to get worried and then just feel this lightening in my spirit. I’m sure somebody was praying for me in those moments.”
“You’ve had a lot of people praying for you. Ryan messaged me while you were in there. Obviously the Northwest Ice crew have been praying also.”
“I need to find your Mitchell friend and say thank you.”
“I think we might need to have a party to celebrate. Actually, we have a team event at Christmas that we could go to.”
Her gaze slid to his. “But those things are for couples, aren’t they? And we’re not.”
His heart hurt. Oh how he longed to give her the answer she obviously wanted to hear.
After studying him for what felt like half a lifetime, her gaze fell, and she looked at the view. Lake Washington glimmered in the sunshine. Or was that Union Bay? He didn’t know, the circuitous paths that had led them here throwing off his sense of direction.
“You know, we might not be a couple, but I can take a plus-one who’s a friend. And you’re my friend. You’re my oldest friend. My dearest friend. And if you’re not doing anything else then, I’d still like you to come.”
Her lips pressed together, and he could tell his words had disappointed her. She took another sip, placed the cup on the wooden bench between them. “I’ll think about it.”
And he would too. Because it seemed like it would take forever until God released him to finally say what was in his heart.
I love you.