Page 10 of A Player's Prayer
“Was that before or after I saw you and her leave out of the supply closet?” Tanessa smirked as she stepped from behind Dr. Morrison. “That’s what I was telling her; this isn’t the place to fraternize. She got upset, Ms. Martha, and struck me when I suggested she go home.”
“Dakota, is that true?” Dr. Morrison asked, and the hurt in his tone wasn’t missed. “I didn’t think you were that type of person.”
With folded arms, I tapped my foot as they all looked at me with accusatory eyes. I fought the tears that threatened to fall; I’d give my last dollar before I let them. Taking a small breath, I prepared myself to explain the truth. There was no need to deny the inevitable. I was caught to no fault of my own.
“Those are some pretty strong accusations.” Wild raised his brow as he pulled his phone from his pocket. “Are you sure about that?”
Fear flashed in her eyes as she looked around the room at us all. Taking a chance, I peered over at Wild, who was cool as a cucumber. With his phone to his ear, I took the chance to take him in. Although he has a mouth that needed to be washed out with bar soap, the man was fine. His broad chest couldn’t be missed, even under his Jordan hoodie. His long locks were pulled into a messy bun, but the roots were tamed, each part tidy and clean. He smelled so damn good, and his jewelry glimmered under the bright bar lights above us. I wanted to ask him what he was wearing because it was a mix of fuck me harder and get the fuck away from me, which I assumed described him to the T. I needed to diffuse this situation and get the hell away from him before I ended up back in that supply closet for entirely a different reason.
“Listen…” I stepped toward Martha. “I was wrong for putting my hands on Tanessa, but I won’t apologize. I’ll grab my things and?—”
“I heard we have an issue.” Our eyes widened at the sight of the hospital’s COO stepping into the office, followed by two security guards. Looking around the room, he smiled at the sight of Wild. “Mr. Mills, how are you doing?”
Mills? Mills! As in the founding family of this city? Oh shit!
“I’m good, Chad,” Wild greeted him, shaking his hand. “We seem to have a problem here, and I was hoping you could help us out. One of your staff members…” He gestured toward Tanessa. “Has made some terrible accusations. Not just towards me, but another employee as well.” He pointed in my direction. “Is there any way we can access your security footage?”
Confused, Chad pulled out a tablet and tapped the screen slightly before asking Wild what he needed. After telling him what Tanessa said she’d witnessed, embarrassment flooded me at what they would see because, although Tanessa’s assumptionsabout why I were in that closet was wrong, she was right about me being in the closet with Wild.
Moments of silence went by before the COO spoke again. “Martha, I’m not sure what’s going on here, but this won’t be tolerated.” He handed her the tablet, which she hesitantly accepted. “I want you to press play and continue to watch as it goes from screen to screen.”
With a look of victory on her face, I watched Tanessa as she practically bounced with joy, waiting for Wild and me to be seen coming out of the closet. Walking over toward Martha, she stood on one side of her while Dr. Morrison stood on the other. I was about to put myself out of my misery and leave until Wild placed his hand on my waist, halting me. Snapping my eyes up at him, he gave me a quick head shake, telling me not to move. Reluctantly, I stayed in place, unsure of why I was taking orders from him.
“What the fuck is this?” Tanessa shouted, snatching the iPad from Martha. “I know what I saw!”
Confused, I walked over and watched as the video played, showing me standing outside the supply cabinet before walking away. The screen switched to me doing rounds and attending to multiple patients in the halls and the few rooms we had available. I was perplexed about how this footage ended up time-stamped when it was because I was for sure beating Wild’s ass at the shown time, but I wasn’t going to object. What really shocked me was seeing the video cut to show Tanessa run rampant through the emergency area, cursing at the nurses and patients. We watched as she snatched an elderly woman’s arm and then yelled at a young child to stop crying, causing Martha to gasp.
“I think I’ve seen enough!” Martha eyed a shocked Tanessa. “You and I need to have a conversation, right now.”
“More than that…” Mr. COO chimed in. “The behavior she displayed cannot be tolerated here. She is not what we represent at Grove’s Memorial. Not only that, but she tried to taint the image of one of this community’s most prestigious men. Mr. Mills…” He turned to Wild. “Please accept my sincerest apologies for the mix-up today. I hope you know we greatly appreciate all you and your family have done to keep our doors open for the community on this side of Milly Grove.”
“I’m fine… It’s fine. ” Wild waved him off before pointing toward me. “I’m more concerned about what I witnessed. This woman threatened Nurse Jenkins’ job as well as harassed her rather explicitly in front of the entire floor. I believe an apology needs to take place.”
“It’s okay…” I shook my head. My shift was over, and I was ready to leave. “I want to take the time during my suspension to self-reflect and see if this job is for me. While I love what I do, this position has been nothing but hostile since I arrived. Martha, I will more than likely give you my resignation?—”
“Wait one minute.” Martha held her hand up to stop me. “Who in the hell said anything about a suspension?”
With all eyes on me, I shrugged as I went into my pocket to retrieve the letter Tanessa had given me. Scanning it over, Martha’s face reddened as she dragged her eyes to Tanessa.
“Lying, forgery,andharassment.” The tears on Tanessa’s face flowed as all eyes landed on her. “In my twenty years at this hospital, I’ve never experienced someone as vindictive and unprofessional as you. My office…” Martha pointed toward the door. “Now!”
With nothing to say and a tucked tail, Tanessa dropped her head and walked out the office door. Turning toward Wild and me, Martha gazed at us both sympathetically. “I am so sorry for what has happened here today. I take full responsibility for this, Mr. Mills.”
“It’s all good.” He patted her shoulder. “I’m more concerned about the repercussions Miss Jenkins here will face. She was provoked in her actions.”
“While we don’t tolerate violence in the workplace, I’m sure we can discuss how to move forward.” She gave me a warm smile. “By no means are you suspended, love. Once I handled this, let’s discuss how to maneuver today.”
Rubbing my temples, the headache unfolding caused my vision to blur. I needed to get home and lie down. Too much had transpired in such a short amount of time, and I needed to decompress.
“Martha, if you don’t mind, I still want to take the two weeks off.” She peered back at me with stunned eyes. “I have been worked and treated like a dog since I joined your team. While that may not be any fault of your own, I need a mental reset. Not only that, I need to figure out if this job is for me. I’ll be in touch.”
Bypassing them all, I stepped back into the main hallway. All eyes were on me as I approached the nurses’ station to gather my things. None of the nurses said anything as I left my badge on the counter for Martha to get on her way out.
“Jenkins!” I heard Dr. Morrison call out from behind me. “Hold on a second.”
Sighing heavily, I turned to face him as I made it to the elevator. “Look, it’s been a long day, and I’m exhausted. I’m going to go.”
“I get it. Here…” He slid his hand into the pocket of his lab coat and handed me a card that held his personal cell number. “Call me if you want to talk. Maybe we could do lunch or something. I know today was a lot, but I hope we can keep in touch if you decide not to come back.”
