Page 17 of Recklessly In Love With A Ruthless Savage

I dropped Timberly off at school and headed to work to get my day started. During my ride I was able to get Verizon on the phone and have them change my number and make it private. It was inconvenient but necessary for Timberly’s and my safety. Today was Wednesday, which meant all day meetings and constant talking about problems we had no answers to. I accepted the meeting time with Mr. Sanderson and thenew ombudsman as well since I had to reschedule her first meeting with me and the team. The building was in its normal disorganized chaos when I arrived. Staff was still arguing over assignments and difficult resident coverage even though this should have been handled at the start of the shift.

I headed straight to my office and closed the door to get my head together before I had to put on the mask of leadership. I pulled up all the charts that I needed for the day and new information that had come through the night before. After I had what I needed, I got up and took the documents to the conference room for our morning meeting. The morning was flying by faster than normal, and before I knew it, lunch had come and gone, and I was sitting waiting for the new ombudsman to arrive. Hopefully this one would actually be willing to work with the facility to help meet the residents needs instead of disregarding anything we had to say about resident issues.

We discussed Mr. Hightower's recent grievances as we waited for the new ombudsman. I hadn’t waited long before a tall familiar looking Black woman entered the room with a designer briefcase and Tom Ford stiletto heels. She was definitely the most stylish ombudsman I had ever seen. I just hoped she put that much energy into her job. She wore a silk white blouse and a form-fitting black pencil skirt. She had her hair pulled up into a bun at the top of her head. The style complementing her slender face and long neck. She was tall and elegant like a gazelle, but with a dangerous aura of a hyena. Her cinnamon color reminded me of Timberly’s. She was very pretty but you could tell she had some work done like fillers and maybe a little Botox but who was I to judge? We all took her in as she sat her things down and started introducing herself as she handed out business cards.

“Good afternoon ladies. I'm your new ombudsman, Kennedy Harris.” Everything else she said was lost on me as she continued. Harris, it can’t be. Kyle’s last name was Harris. I tried to hide the terror in my expression as I searched her face for any signs of relation to the monster that haunted my nightmares. There were vague similarities but nothing that would give me solid proof. I would have to get some more information on her to be sure. From what I remember Kyle didn’t have an older sister. This woman had to be at least a few years older than us. I fixed my face and refocused on what she was saying.

“I’ve got a few residents that have active grievances that would like me to stop by and speak with them about their options. Mainly Mr. Hightower. He believes that what is happening to him is neglect and abuse,” she said, picking up a piece of paper and scanned through it before reading off his accusations.

“Mr. Hightower reports that he hasn’t had a shower for three weeks. His food is often cold or he isn’t given the option he ordered. He goes on to say that the wait times for assistance in this building is ridiculous.”

“Did he tell you that he is non-compliant with the majority of safety and facility protocols?" Kim asked her but she ignored her question. This bitch was already working on my nerves. I could see what type of ombudsman she was going to be.

“We have actually addressed each of Mr. Hightower's grievances prior to your arrival. We have all of the documentation from the investigation as well as copies of forms Mr. Hightower signed at the end of the investigation once completed and interventions were initiated. I’m unsure of what other options he had if he was already agreeable to our resolutions to his grievances,” I told her.

“His options are whatever benefits the resident. From what he’s told me, this facility is not meeting his healthcare needs anda fire needs to be lit under you all to get these things rectified,” she said with a condescending tone. “I understand that you are new to your position. Is that correct?”

“Yes, but I’m unsure of what that has to do with Mr. Hightower's issues.”

“Everything. Excuse me for saying this but maybe this isn’t the right job for you. Maybe you would be better suited in a less authoritative position. Some people have it, and some people don’t,” she said with a nasty smirk.

“I’m confused because it sounds like you're trying to insult our director's ability to run this building, " Tyra said with an attitude.

I had to reign this in because Tyra wasn’t wrapped too tight and would pop off if she felt like someone was disrespecting us.”

“Not at all. I’m just saying that from what I’ve heard, things around here could be managed a little better. You know these things rot from the head down.”

I was dumbfounded on how this woman could walk into my facility and talk to me like that. Based on one resident, how could she determine that I couldn’t do my job?

“Well, that’s all the time I have Ms. Harris. I can’t say that it was nice meeting you but I’m sure you feel the same. If there is anything else, please hesitate to call or email the unit manager assigned to that resident. You should have nothing to say to me at this point. You can see yourself out,” I said as I handed her my card.

I gave her one last fuck off look and went back to looking at my computer as she grabbed her things and exited the room with a huff.

“I know that knock kneed bobble head bitch didn’t just try you like that Nova. Who the fuck does she think she is,” Tyra ranted.

“It’s fine, Ty, fuck her.”

“I knew it was something I didn’t like about that hoe the last time she was here, " Kim said. Her vibes were way off.”

“It's okay guys, we just have to make sure we stay on our Ps & Qs and document everything. Our documentation is what proves that we are handling our business. Other than that, keep that bitch out my face please and thank you because she was this close to getting cussed out,” I said as I got up grabbing my computer and started to head out.

“I’ll be in my office if you guys need me. I have to get ready for this meeting with the new owner.”

“Oh, okay. I see you,” Tyra sang.

“What are you talking about Tyra?”

“You know what I’m talking about. I saw you two stealing glances at each other in the meeting and how his eyes flashed and nostrils flared when you called him sir at the meeting. Girl, that man still wants some of you. He clearly didn’t get enough this weekend,” she whispered as she caught up with me.

It didn’t surprise me that Tyra had noticed our interaction. She was noisy as hell and never missed a thing. Too bad for me she could read me like a book, so I didn’t try to deny what she had just said, I just rolled my eyes.

“Whatever, mind your business.”

“Exactly, now make sure you lock your door when he gets into your office. I don’t want to see my boss bent over her desk by my bigger boss, she laughed.

“I can’t stand you,” I said as I exited the room.

I could hear her still laughing as I closed the door. Tyra may be crazy but she was right. I was lusting over my boss, and if her observations were correct, he may be still lusting after me as well. I rounded on all the units, making sure everyone had what they needed to do their jobs before stopping in on a few residents. After my rounds, I headed for my office. Placing my computer and folders down on my desk I opened up mycomputer and pressed play on the training video I needed to watch, while answering a few more emails before texting Ms. Leona to let her know to make sure Timberly did her reading and stuck to her tablet time tonight. Those two were thick as thieves and would frequently disregard some of my rules when it came to snacks and screening time. She meant well and loved my daughter, so I didn’t complain much.

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