"Yeah. That's my only saving grace is that this guy is around the same age as my mom. I don't know what I would do if she was dating someone my age."
A bark of uncomfortable laughter escaped me at the notion of my dad doing exactly that— dating some insipid woman my age, and goosebumps swept down my back. "My mom was married to her second husband longer than she'd even known the first. I'm a little fuzzy on the details, but I think she got married the first time because her own parents made her. They divorced amicably when I was two, and then my mom married her second husband, and they had Laurie when I was almost eleven. He died of heart issues right before I graduated medical school. My sister was devastated. I didn't invest in the guy much, but he was her idol. They definitely had a better relationship than her and my mom."
"I don't know if my mom was going to divorce my dad when he cheated on her the second time, but she was going to cut him out of her will. She died before she could, though, so he got a little of her money and blew through it in a year." Our topics were so personal, but I felt so comfortable sharing with Carl. He'd been through the same thing, almost, just in reverse. Shrugging lightly as I took another bite of my taco, I glanced over as he wiped his mouth to frown at his empty taco boat.
"It's stressing me out like crazy."
My lips twitched in sympathies, and he inhaled a deep breath and ran his hand through his hair to sigh heavily. He was so handsome, and I sucked in my cheeks as I scanned him over the curved edge of my hard shell. He didn't have any tattoos, and he obviously kept himself very well.
"I'm gonna get more tacos. Do you want any more, Mel?"
"Oh, no, I'm good. Thank you, though."Chapter 13Carl"Hey, Mandy." Mandy's blonde head popped up, and a huge smile stretched her lips as relief slumped her shoulders. "Today is going to be a great day. I can feel it."
"You're back! I was terrified I'd get sent back to the ER, Carl. What happened with HR?" Swiveling around as I leaned on the door frame, I waved a hand in dismissal, and Mandy's smile widened even more. "You're in the clear?"
"Yes, and Eva was transferred out to Boston. According to HR, she left on Saturday. I'm guessing they gave her an ultimatum to run away as fast as she could before they dug deeper into my allegations. She transferred, they closed the case and don't have to deal with the fallout." Honestly, I knew that Eva would get off light, but that didn't mean it didn't bother me. If the roles were reversed, I'd be in jail, my credentials gone, my whole life wasted... but because she was a woman, it wasn't as serious to sexually assault someone? I wasn't sure, and I sure as shit wasn't going to dwell on it.
Eva was gone, and I was grateful for that.
"I'm sorry it's like that, but at least she's not here. Plus, Boston isn't like this sleepy town. I bet she's spent so long not being a real pediatrician that she'll get fired for negligence eventually, or she'll be so miserable actually doing her job that she'll quit."
Nodding firmly, I frowned when Mandy's blue eyes narrowed on me quizzically.
"Are you gonna sue her for what she did?"
"I thought about it, but considering how things played out... I just want to forget about her. If I never see Eva again, it'll be too soon. It's good I've been to Boston before because I'm never going back."
Mandy laughed.
I smiled a little as I nodded at her. "I need you to contact Dr. Sahper in Providence for me. Can you send him an email asking for his availability for a referral?"
"Yeah. I'll do that once I'm done digitizing these." She patted her stack of files lightly, and I was grateful Mandy wasn't actually a nurse but a medical coding specialist. She couldn't ask about patients, didn't care, just did her job, and went home with a nice paycheck for a little work. "I'm glad you got out of that unscathed, Carl. I mean, I knew you would, but it's like... you don't deserve that crap."
"Thank you, Mandy. I appreciate the sentiment. Let me know when you get that email out." I left the reception area to head back to my office, and I felt so refreshed. I felt that same elation as I had when I first walked into this space. My computer with my sign in information sat on the desk, right next to a picture of my sister. Flipping on the lights, I sat down in my chair without even taking my jacket off and sighed in utter satisfaction.