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Nora swung to face Gareth. “You honestly would rather have a woman working here who thought it was okay to go to workdrunk?”
Gareth sighed. “At this point, for me, it’s less about that and more about not wanting to deal with your attitude toward other women. If I so much as look at, let alone talk to a woman, you’re jealous. I’m tired of dealing with that, so yes, I believe letting you go is the right decision.”
“The patientslikeme,” Nora insisted.
“This is true,” Jay said with a nod. “And it’s the only reason we haven’t let you go sooner. However, they also like our mom, so I think we’ll be fine.”
“You’ll regret this,” she assured them.
“If you want a reference that has a hope of getting you a job in the future, you’ll think twice about threatening us. As it stands now, we’ll tell anyone who calls that you were good with the patients, but that you had personality conflicts within the clinic,” his dad said sternly. “If you say anything more regarding the clinic, Aria, or any of us here, I will happily shareallthe details of what has gone on here with anyone who calls for a reference.”
“I would strongly recommend you reflect on this experience and make some changes before you move on to your next place of employment or you’ll be facing this type of dismissal again,” his mom added. “I have a feeling that if your previous references had been more forthcoming, we wouldn’t have hired you.”
When Nora didn’t respond to that, Gareth realized that perhaps they’d been right all along with that assumption. With jerky movements, Nora shoved to her feet and stomped out of the room.
Gareth sighed, wishing that her departure had lessened the tension in his head. Unfortunately, that lingered even as she didn’t.
“Well, that… went,” his mom said. “I’m a little surprised that she persisted as long as she did.”
“It might not be over,” Jay cautioned. “Though I sure hope she’ll just leave Serenity and set up shop somewhere on the other side of the country.”
“I’m going to go make sure Nora is leaving the building,” his dad said as he got to his feet. “I’ll let Janessa know you’ll be ready for patients shortly.”
Gareth wasn’t sure he was actually ready, but he pushed to his feet, anyway. Before leaving the break room, he refreshed his coffee, then headed for his office.
He knew the tension still lingering in his head came from the knowledge that he and Aria were soon going to be in the same building. And while he’d like to believe they could avoid each other, he wasn’t sure that would be possible.
***
Aria stared at the back door of the clinic, knowing she needed to go in sooner rather than later. Janessa had told her that she needed to wait for her call before coming in that day. Aria wasn’t sure why, but she’d stayed at the house until her friend had called and said to come to the clinic.
When Janessa had talked to her about staying and continuing to work at the clinic, her optimism had been infectious. Aria had grabbed onto the hope that her friend offered her, that it was just a matter of time before Gareth would come around. That he’d get over his anger and be willing to give her another chance.
She’d moved back into the house with Charli and Janessa, but unlike last time, she hadn’t unpacked. The suitcase with her clothes sat on the floor with the lid open, and the bags containing her other things remained zipped in the closet.
The closer the time came for her to go to work, the more doubts had crept in. And as she sat there staring at the building, unease made her want to run away again.
Though she’d been praying about the situation, Aria hadn’t felt a lot of peace, and she couldn’t help but wonder if that was because this wasn’t where she was supposed to be.
But she’d promised Janessa she’d at least try.
Pushing open the car door, Aria got out, then tugged the edges of her jacket close. There was a bit of a chill in the air, though it wasn’t nearly as cold as it had been when she’d first arrived in Serenity.
As she reached the door, Aria took a deep breath and blew it out. And though she wanted to see Gareth more than anything, she prayed that for this first day, she wouldn’t. Not for her sake, but for his.
Aria could hear voices as she stepped through the back door, and she quickly made her way to the break room to hang up her jacket. Her heart was pounding as she walked down the hallway to the front. Thankfully, she made it without running into Gareth or Nora.
Where Nora was concerned, Aria figured it was only a matter of time before the woman sought her out. With that fear looming in her future, the unease she felt about being back at the clinic continued to grow.
Janessa was standing at the reception desk and absolutely beamed when she saw Aria. When Aria reached her, Janessa grabbed her into a tight hug.
“She. Is. Gone!!”
“What?” Aria mumbled against her shoulder.
Janessa moved back, holding Aria at arm’s length, her eyes sparkling. “Mom and Dad fired Nora this morning, and she’s gone!”
Aria blinked at her. “She’s gone? For real?”
