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“Aria has done nothing to warrant losing her job here at the clinic,” Gareth said calmly. “So, my answer is no, and Jay’s answer will also be no.”
“You’ve only hired her because she is Janessa’s friend,” Nora said, so determined to beat a dead horse. “I feel that is a bad precedent to set.”
“I was hired here because I am my parents’ son. Jay was hired because he is my parents’ son. Janessa was hired because she is my parents’ daughter. I think a precedent has already been set. The fact that she’s a friend of the family is a definite point in her favor. Janessa has vouched for her character and ability, so my answer with regards to firing Aria—unless something truly egregious happens—will be no.”
Nora stared at him with narrowed eyes for what felt like forever before she got to her feet and left the room. As Gareth watched her leave, he hoped that was the last conversation they had about Aria. But somehow, he doubted it.
Her attitude toward Aria was ridiculous. It was bordering on obsessive, which was a bit concerning. Not for the first time, he wondered if they had missed something about Nora when they’d interviewed her. None of her references had indicated that she had any kind of issues like they were seeing.
His parents had been present with him and Jay at that interview, and they’d made it clear then that while they would take her input into consideration, the final say for most decisions would come from Gareth and Jay. She’d seemed fine with that. At the time.
The whole issue with hiring a receptionist had taken on a life of its own. It seemed as if she thought that because she’d brought them a couple of recommendations for the position, one of them should have been selected for the job. They’d been fine with her contributing, but aside from Janessa’s determination that her friend would get the job, neither of Nora’s suggestions would have worked out. And they’d told her that.
After a moment’s hesitation, Gareth sat forward and brought up the email program on his computer. Janessa tapped on the door as he typed.
Glancing up, he said, “I’ll be right there. I just need to finish this email.”
He kept the message relatively short as he reached out to yet another former colleague to ask them to put out feelers for a female doctor. Clearly they needed to expand their search, and if it meant reaching out to people he hadn’t talked to in awhile, he was more than happy to do it.
After every discussion with Nora about replacing Aria, the need to replace her increased. And now it was getting even worse because he’d become personally invested in keeping Aria close. He wanted a chance to see if there could be something between them, and if Nora chased her away, that could never happen.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Aria stared at the order form on the computer monitor, making sure she had included everything they needed. Once she was confident it was complete, she printed it off, then took the paper to Jay’s office. The clinic had just closed, so they were all still there.
At the door to Jay’s office, Aria paused for a moment and took a deep breath. She’d had relatively few interactions with the man since starting to work there, so she hoped that this went well.
She knocked on the door frame, waiting until he looked up to say, “Janessa said I needed to run the supply order by you before I submit it.”
Jay nodded. “C’mon in.”
As she approached the desk, she held the paper out, then sat down on the chair opposite him. Jay focused on the order for a minute before looking up and pinning her with his dark gaze.
He laid the paper on the desk in front of him. “How are you finding the job here?”
“Oh. It’s fine. Now that I’m getting the hang of things, I’m feeling more confident.”
“Janessa seems to feel that you’re doing well.”
“I’m glad to hear that. I really didn’t want to disappoint her after she convinced you to let me work here.”
Jay’s smile grew. “Oh, it was more like demanded than convinced.”
Aria shifted in her chair. “Well, I don’t want anyone to regret giving me this opportunity.”
“I really don’t think you need to worry about that,” Jay assured her with a smile. “As long as you do your job, everything will be fine. And from what I’ve seen and heard, you are doing well in learning your responsibilities.”
Aria smiled in relief. She was doing the job to the best of her ability, so it was good to hear from Jay that he thought she was doing fine. Janessa and Gareth had both said that, too. The only person who seemed to have chronic complaints about her was Nora. Apparently, she had either not gone to Gareth or Jay with her complaints, or if she had, they’d ignored her.
It was probably petty of her, but Aria hoped it was the latter.
“So is the order okay?” she asked, gesturing to the paper.
“Yep.” He scribbled something on it, then handed the paper back to her. “When you submit it, make sure that you record the order number on this paper and then file it. Janessa will show you where.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
Jay nodded, then turned his attention back to his computer. Aria took it for the dismissal it was and left his office.
