Page 3 of Sunshine and the Vamp

I didn’t even have a chance to scream.

Chapter Two

Benji - 12 Hours Earlier

Iloved my job. It was hard work, intense, soul shaking at times but the most rewarding thing I could ever hope to do.

That was until today.

Until this moment.

“I don’t understand,” I said as I stared blankly at the Board.

“We’ve received some allegations that we can’t overlook,” Professor Beech said, her salt and pepper hair piled on top of her head in a mass of artful curls.

“Allegations? What kind of allegations?” My stomach turned sour. I hadn’t done anything, other than… “That asshole. This is Kingsly’s doing, isn’t it?”

That slimy, creepy, egotistical prick.

“We can’t share the name of the person who made the allegation of sexual harassment,” Ms Raymon said, her beady little eyes narrowed. She’d never liked me, and I bet, between her and Kingsly, they’d cooked this whole thing up to get rid of me.

Professor Beech took a deep breath. She was the head of the Board, and I thought she would have had my back. “I’m sorry, Dr Barrett, but we are going to have to terminate your residency with us.”

My blood ran cold. “What? You can’t be serious?”

I looked at all the faces on the board, people I’d seen passing in the corridors of the hospital for the last few years and not one of them held eye contact with me.

“This is ridiculous. There is no way that any kind of allegation, sexual or otherwise, was made against me. This whole thing is bullshit.”

Ms Raymon stood, her plump frame shaking with anger. “May I remind you, that—”

“No,” I cut in. “If you’re going to terminate me without even giving me the chance of an explanation, then shame on you. I am a damn good doctor, and I thought I had earned the respect of my fellow peers and the Board. This has all the markings of Dr Kingsly’s hand, and I know he’s a brilliant surgeon. I know he’s been blessed with a skill that has saved countless lives and brought serious revenue into this hospital, but do you know what that doesn’t excuse? Wandering hands. Sexual propositions. Making anyone beneath him feel beholden to him and belittling them. I’ve seen it, hell, I bet you’ve all seen it, too.”

A blush rose to Professor Beech’s face, and she sat up straighter. I fuckingknewit. “Benjamin—”

“He asked me to suck his dick, and do you know what I said? I said no. And here I am, stood in front of you like you’re the jury, judge and fucking executioner.”

“You don’t have any proof of those allegations,” Ms Raymon said, her skin paling slightly. “No one does.”

I snorted. “And I bet you’ve ensured that. I guess money really is the answer to everything here. Well, you can take your residency and shove it up your goddamn assholes.”

I ripped my pass off my scrubs and threw it down on the table. Then I turned on my heel and left.

***

“They fired you?” Maya said.

“Yep,” I said as I packed my shit into a box I had scrounged from the canteen.

Maya paced the locker room, her amber eyes burning bright with indignation. “Those fucking bastards.”

I shrugged. “It’s done, and there’s nothing I can do to change it. I can’t go up against the Almighty Dr Elliot Kingsly. I’ll be fine.”

“But what are you going to do? You’ve got your last year to complete, and who the fuck knows if Elliot can blacklist your name for other hospitals.”

Tears burned the back of my eyes, and I blinked rapidly to dispel them. I wanted to scream, in frustration, with rage, at the fucking impotence of my situation. What was I going to do now? What if Maya was right and I couldn’t get a position at any other hospital? Was I going to have to move cities? This place was my home. I’d grown up here, set down all my roots here. The thought of leaving Misthaven filled me with dread.

“I’ll go back and reason with them. Surely, they will give me a fair hearing.”

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