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Nora turned her attention to Aria, scowling at her. “Why are you sitting there listening to a personal conversation?”
Gareth wanted to step in, but he also wanted to make sure that Aria could stand up for herself when he or Janessa weren’t around. When she shot him a slightly panicked look, he gave her a small nod that he hoped would encourage her to respond to Nora.
“Well,” Aria began. “I was sitting at my desk when you came up here to have this conversation with Gareth. Perhaps if you didn’t want me to hear it, you should have waited to talk to him in his office.”
The ironic thing was that he was sure that Nora had, in fact, wanted Aria to hear it. She’d probably assumed that Gareth would agree to have dinner with her, especially if she framed it as amedical discussion. Clearly, she hadn’t been pleased with Aria hearing Gareth decline her invitation.
“You need to be more respectful.”
“I’m not being disrespectful,” Aria said softly. “You asked me a question, and I gave you an answer, along with a suggestion on how to make sure I don’t hear any future personal conversations you have with people in the clinic. Believe me, I have no interest in your personal life.”
It surprised Gareth when, instead of snapping at Aria, Nora spun around and walked away from them.
“You never need to be afraid to stand up for yourself,” he said. “We all know that Nora can have her difficult moments, and we’ve had to learn to just calmly respond to her. Usually, it doesn’t escalate too much.”
“I don’t want to upset her.”
“I appreciate that, but we don’t believe in running a place where one person can make another feel bad or attacked. Let me, Janessa, or Jay know if things are occurring with Nora when we’re not around to witness them.”
Aria’s gaze dropped for a moment before she looked back up at him. “Okay.”
Gareth felt a little sick at the thought that there had been events happening, even though he’d suspected that already. She might not have said anything specific, but her reaction told him all he needed to know.
“Talk to Janessa,” he said, pointing a finger at her. “If you don’t feel comfortable with Jay or I, at least talk to her.”
“I will.”
“Good.” Gareth smiled. “Now go have a nice evening. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
She smiled back at him. “Yep. See you tomorrow.”
At his house a few hours later, Gareth shared the situation with the small group of men who’d gathered for their time of Bible study and prayer.
“This isn’t the first time you’ve dealt with Nora’s attitude,” Jackson said, being serious for once. “But you hadn’t mentioned anything specific about it for a couple of months.”
“Aria’s presence has stirred it all up again.” Gareth leaned back in his chair, legs stretched out and crossed at his ankles. He pressed his chin to his chest, staring at the floor. “And though Aria hasn’t said anything to me, I know it’s making her uneasy to be around Nora. The woman isn’t hiding her dislike for Aria, and she keeps trying to trip her up by demanding Aria do things that Janessa hasn’t trained her to do yet.”
“That’s not good,” one of the other men there said with a frown. “Janessa is putting up with this?”
“Not if she catches it happening. But Nora’s not dumb. She knows better than to tangle with Janessa.”
“Does that mean that Aria isn’t telling Janessa what’s happening?” Wade asked.
“I’m not sure,” Gareth confessed. “I haven’t asked Janessa, but I suppose I should. Just so she’s aware, in case Aria hasn’t said anything to her.”
“It’s likely that Aria feels dispensable, especially if she’s still in training,” another man pointed out. “I know that’s how I’d feel. Nora has a lot more clout being a doctor in the clinic.”
“But that’s the thing. She really doesn’t. Nora’s an employee too. And she was on thin ice even before Aria arrived. If Janessa had her way, Nora would have packed her bags a long time ago.”
Jackson laughed. “Janessa is a firecracker. I hope you give her the privilege of firing Nora if it comes to that, since Nora has managed to make her life miserable, too.”
Gareth would happily give Janessa that job, except that he doubted that Nora would leave if that directive came fromjust a nurse, as she liked to refer to Janessa. But in their clinic, there was no room for “just a” anybody. Everyone had an important role to play and without each of them, the clinic would function below par. When they hadn’t had a receptionist, things had definitely limped along with Janessa trying to do two jobs.
“I’d sure appreciate your prayers that we can resolve this situation,” Gareth said. “The most important thing we need right now is another qualified female doctor. Mom would probably fill in if we really needed her to, but I don’t think that’s her preference since she and Dad are gearing up to leave for Haiti.”
The men took time right then to pray about the situation, leaving Gareth confident that it would work out in God’s time and in His way.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
