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Iwalk through my front door in shock and drop my bags down on the floor.
Sam appears around the corner, drying a glass with a dish towel. "You're home early," she says with a confused smile.
After studying me for a moment, her confusion quickly turns to concern. "What's wrong?"
"That bastard," I breathe, instantly breaking down into tears.
"Aunt Vanessa? Is that you?" Addy calls out from the kitchen.
I rush to wipe my eyes, then quickly decide it's safer to rush to the privacy of my bedroom. "I'm sorry. I don't want her to see me like this," I whisper before bolting.
After shutting the door behind me, I give myself a minute to breakdown then work hard to catch my breath. I've barely managed to pull myself together when a light knock comes to the door.
"It's me," Sam says. "Can I come in?"
I get up and unlock the door to let her in, then trudge back over to the bed. We sit side by side on the mattress.
It's quiet for a long time before she finally asks, "What happened?"
"What do you think happened?" I groan, burying my face in my hands. I'm too embarrassed to look her in the eye when I say it. "Ashford. Of course he's trying to screw me over again," I sob. "I should have known better. I should have seen this coming."
"Shhh, calm down. Take deep breaths. Tell me what he did this time. I thought things were going well with him when I showed up and saw him having breakfast with you two yesterday morning."
"I thought so too," I sniffle. "But then he ghosted me in the lab yesterday afternoon and all morning. I finally found him in his office, but he was like a completely different person! He flipped a switch and god…the way he looked at me, the things he said." I shake my head in disbelief of it all.
She rubs my back and gives me space to talk, space to get it all out.
"I don't know what made me think things would be any different this time around," I tell her once I've managed to stop crying for a moment. "He almost destroyed me back in college during one of the worst times of my life. Now we have a real shot at making a difference for patients like Maria, and he's trying to ruin that for me too."
I turn to face Sam, feeling sick to even say the words out loud. "He stormed out of his office. I saw a termination with my name on it sitting on his desk, just waiting for his signature. I should have seen this coming from the moment they put him on my research team after everything he pulled to try and stop me from getting hired."
"Wait. What? He's trying to fire you? Can he even do that?"
"Probably," I huff, flailing my hands in the air. "Bardot is just one big boys club, and of course he's all too willing to play along. I just thought…after everything that's happened over the past few days…I thought things were different. I thought he understood how much my work means to me. He…he promised…But now, he's going to throw me under the bus just to keep outrunning his own stupid fear of commitment."
"He's really trying to get you fired?" she asks, still sounding just as shocked as I feel.
"Not just trying. He's succeeding. The only way he could have gotten that form was if someone on the HR committee or Sturgill himself gave it to him. Whatever reason he gave them for wanting to fire me obviously worked. All he has to do is sign, and poof…I'm gone."
"Do you think it could just be some kind of misunderstanding?"
"No." I shake my head. "I drove around for a while after I left the hospital, and believe me...There's nobody who wants to believe there could be another explanation more than me. If for nothing else than to salvage any ounce of pride or dignity I might have left. Even if there was an explanation, it's not like he's on sharing it with me. He just wants me gone."
I think back to the way he talked to me in his office and the look in his eyes. I've always known him to be a smart ass, but it's never been anything I couldn't handle. This was different. It's like he couldn't run me off fast enough, and he was willing to say or do whatever it took just to get rid of me.
"There's only one way to interpret the way he was acting with that letter on his desk," I continue. "We got close again, and he got scared. But he knows how important my work is to me, and he knows we're on the verge of big things. I never dreamed he would take that away from me over his personal issues."
"Romance with coworkers gets messy," she sighs. "I was hoping you'd luck out, but…"
"But with my history with Ashford, it was obviously the dumbest decision of my life," I finish her thought with a bitter laugh.
"No, that's not true," she argues. "Come on, Vanessa. Go easy on yourself. Obviously it was risky with the past you two have. It was going to be nearly impossible for you to work together and not have all that old stuff come bubbling up to the surface. But Bardot is all you've ever talked about since you graduated college. Of course you weren't going to let him or anything stand in between you and your dream."
"I know you're trying to make me feel better," I sigh, "but that doesn't change things. I'm screwed. I don't know exactly what happens from here, but as soon as Joshua signs that document and turns it in...it's over for me. I'll have to pack everything up and start searching for another job. If that doesn't pan out, Addy and me are homeless with no prospects on the horizon."
"Do you want some of my money? I have plenty saved up. I could give you a little to get you by, and we could figure everything else out later. Besides, you know you two are always welcome to come stay with me if it comes down to it. Not that I think it will. All the labs in town will be begging to hire you."
"No, I'm not taking your money. I can figure this out on my own."
