AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Janessa opened her mouth, then closed it and sighed. “I hate that this has happened, not just because of the ramifications for the clinic, but because Aria is all alone again.”
“Because of her own actions,” Gareth reminded her, trying to squelch his own concern for her. “If she’d just been honest, we could have worked with her.”
Janessa regarded him for a moment before she said, “Would you have? You and Jay weren’t really on board with hiring her. If I’d told you that she’d been fired for going to work drunk, would you have considered allowing her to work here at the clinic? Even just as a receptionist? I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t have.”
Gareth couldn’t argue that point with her. His need to make sure that the clinic only had the best employees would have meant he’d object strongly to someone with a black mark like that on their employment record. And Jay would likely have felt the same way.
“She probably assumed that too, which was why she hid it from us. I don’t think it’s wrong to assume that she was desperate.”
Gareth frowned, blocking out the attempt by his heart to feel sorry for Aria. He wasn’t going to let that happen. She hadliedto him. She had put his clinic at risk. She’d agreed to a relationship with him, all the while hiding something very significant.
“This is not the time to see things in such black and white terms,” Janessa said. “You need to be more empathetic.”
It wasn’t that Gareth didn’t have empathy. He did, especially when dealing with his patients. He didn’t have as much empathy, though, for people who ended up in bad situations because of their own decisions.
“Your hurt is making you angry.” She picked up her sub, then got to her feet. “My heart is with Aria. If I’d known what was going on, I would have had her come and stay with me, even if we hadn’t offered her a job. You know she’s special. You’re just letting your hurt and anger tell you that she’s not.”
With those words, Janessa left the office, leaving Gareth with the thoughts generated by her parting shots.
It was more than his hurt making him angry. It was also just not understanding how a person could be in a relationship with someone and not be honest about something like what had happened to Aria.
Maybe this would be easier to accept if it didn’t feel like a double whammy. Her dishonesty was impacting him on both a personal and a professional level.
He wasn’t sure how to get over it. As he thought it all over, Gareth felt like he was justified in how he felt. He wasn’t the person who had screwed things up.
The anger was easier to deal with than the hurt and heartbreak, so he chose that. Chose his anger to be where he funneled his emotional energies.
Ignoring his food, he turned his attention to his computer, needing a break from the situation. It wasn’t to be, however, because there was a knock on his door, and he looked up to see Jay coming into his office.
Gareth let out a sigh as he leaned back, watching as Jay settled into the chair Janessa had just vacated.
“So I hear we need a new receptionist,” Jay said, his expression unreadable.
The idea of seeing someone other than Aria sitting at the reception desk was like a stab to his heart, piercing through the thick layer of anger. Shoring up his defenses against the hurt, Gareth said, “Guess so. Were there any other potentials among the applications we received?”
Jay’s brows drew together, and his dark gaze held Gareth’s. “No.”
Gareth sighed. “I suppose you have an opinion about all of this, too.”
Jay crossed his arms over his chest and shrugged. “I can’t say I’m happy to find out that Aria wasn’t honest with us about what had happened with her previous hospital employment.”
“Nora certainly was pleased to share the information with me.”
“Well, of course she was,” Jay said with a snort. “She’s been dying to get rid of Aria.”
“I’m concerned that unless we get a receptionist she doesn’t feel threatened by, we’re going to keep having issues.” Gareth sighed and reached for his pen, clicking the end of it several times. “Although, honestly, I don’t much care about Nora at this point. We just need to find a capable receptionist.”
“Aria definitely was that.”
“Janessa can’t handle it all on her own again,” Gareth said, ignoring Jay’s comment. “So we need to put out an ad.”
“Are you sure that Aria isn’t coming back?”
“You’d give her back the job, knowing what you do?”
“The issue wasn’t her work as a receptionist. We just wouldn’t use her as a nurse.”
“Putting aside everything else,” Gareth said, ignoring the ache in his chest. “Aria’s return would cause huge issues with Nora.”
