Oh no.That didn’t sound good.Lord, be with her.
“Should I—?”He gestured to inside but Jerrold shook his head.
“It won’t be much longer now.”
Jerrold’s phone buzzed with a steady stream of notifications that suggested he’d missed quite a few calls during the meeting.Kyle left him to deal with them, then walked to the end of the hallway where a large window looked down to the concrete below.
Lord, be with her.Help her.And me.Guide us into all You have for us.
Should he admit that he was actively house-hunting?Maybe that would be something that would help her deal with the disappointment if today’s decision didn’t go as expected.He’d seen a few contenders online, even walked through one he liked, especially given its proximity to his training facilities and other important priorities.But no.He really didn’t want to distract her with things that weren’t entirely necessary.And talking about house-hunting kind of gave room for her to speculate that this relationship was at a point that he really wasn’t sure God was saying yes to yet.
He sighed, fogging up the glass, then heard a door shut behind him.
He turned.“Gen?”He was by her side in ten quick strides.“How did it go?Have you been reinstated?”He glanced at the man standing beside her.“You really should have, you know.She’s such a fantastic asset to this hospital that you’d be crazy to let her go.”
The man studied him a moment then lowered his chin a half inch.“This situation has been unfortunately prolonged, and I deeply regret the circumstances that led us here.”
Oh no.He glanced at Gen, who remained staring at the floor.
“So I must say that I agree with you.Which is why we have concluded that Dr.Rivas is absolved of all wrongdoing, and have issued her an official apology.”
Kyle grabbed Gen’s upper arms.“Really?”
She nodded, her smile escaping.“Really.”
“Oh, praise God!”He hugged her, swinging her around, nearly knocking over her boss or whoever he was on the way.“Uh, sorry, sir.I didn’t mean to get you then.I’m just so pleased, and it’s been such a stupidly long wait to get this result.”
“Yes, well, I’ll admit that was not well-handled on our end.It appears there were certain parties placing pressure on committee and board members, and when we discovered this, well, it threw a very different perspective on the case.Needless to say, the allegations against Dr.Rivas have proved to be erroneous.”
“Erroneous, huh?”
“I’m sure she will fill you in on all the details, Mr.Tinker.”
Kyle’s eyes widened.“You know me?”
“Of course.Anytime we have a celebrity enter our premises, I make it my business to know.And it just so happens that I have season tickets at the Kraken games and might’ve seen your name mentioned a time or two.”He turned to Gen, held out his hand.“Dr.Rivas, I hope you know how deeply we regret this situation, and I trust that you will in time find it in your heart to forgive those who were unprofessional in their conduct with you.”
Whoa.What had happened?
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,neededto 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.”
