Page 73 of The Night Shift
‘Listen,’ he said, his voice striking a reasonable tone as if he were negotiating with a child. ‘It’s easy. Either I go to the medical director and the postgraduate dean– tell them what I saw a few nights ago: you and Jovic in a compromising position. See how they feel about your professional misconduct and the effect it might have on both your careers. Or we fool around a bit, enjoy ourselves. And I take active steps to improve your career, introduce you to the right people, surgical fast-track?’ He bent to kiss her again, clearly feeling he’d made her an offer she couldn’t refuse.
Looking back, Violet was never sure whether it was the fact that Barney had dragged Gus into it, the way he’d implied he’d take Gus’s career down as well as hers, that made her do what she did. Or whether it was simply that he’d so obviously crossed the line by refusing to hear her when she said no. But regardless of the trigger she found herself switching from fear to anger within the space of a second. How dare he behave like this?
‘The trouble is, Barney,’ she said, ducking her head out of his way. ‘I’d be hopeless as a surgeon.’ She smiled as sweetly as she could. ‘I’ve got no eye-hand coordination. Sometimes I don’t even know what my hands are doing– almost like they’re completely out of my control. Whoops!’ And she put both palms on his chest and pushed him as hard as she could. He staggered backwards, clattering into the work surface and falling to the floor.
‘Like I said…’ She wiped her palms down her sides with a look of distaste. ‘Terribly clumsy. So maybe don’t make me that offer again. And I’d think twice about making that offer to anybody else in future, to be honest.’ She strode from the kitchen on wobbly legs and crashed straight into Gus.
Gus
Gus had been hoping to bump into Violet. He’d been worried about her since Mr Zeller’s cardiac arrest and hadn’t seen her leave the ward, Cindy had suggested she’d probably gone off to lick her wounds in private. ‘Doesn’t like an audience, that one,’ she said wisely.
So he’d half expected to see her in the mess, knowing it would be quiet at this time of night. What he hadn’t expected was that she would barrel into him with the force of a tear-stained freight train.
‘Violet? Ouch– are you alright?’
She stumbled as she glanced off him, balanced herself on the wall and carried on walking as if nothing had happened. ‘Enough,’ she shouted over her shoulder. ‘I’ve had enough. You can all just go screw yourselves for all I care.’
He raised his eyebrows and pushed open the kitchen door to see Barney Snell scrambling to his feet, hair a mess, nostrils flaring, cheeks flushed and blotchy. It didn’t take Gus long to put two and two together.
‘What did you do to her?’ he snarled.
Barney had managed to reach a vertical position and was trying to compose himself.
‘Nothing that you haven’t been doing,mate,’ he sneered, rubbing his elbow. ‘Don’t come the handsome prince rescuing the fair maiden to me, it’s only last night you were banging her before going back to your girlfriend– classy. And you’ve got the balls to suggest that that I’m the chauvinist! You’ve got no moral high ground here.’
‘She didn’t look like she was exactly a willing participant in whatever was going on. Looked pretty upset to me.’
Barney laughed nastily. ‘Yeah, you tell yourself that,’ he said. ‘Maybe she just likes it a bit rougher than you thought. She’s been coming on to me all night. I could barely keep her off me just now.’
‘I find that pretty hard to believe,’ said Gus. He was fuming. He knew Violet. She’d never go for a posh thug like Snell, surely?
‘Why would you care anyway?’ Barney sounded genuinely curious for a moment. ‘You were clearly using her– bit of distraction from the impending marriage, I get it. And she was just using you for sex– she said as much to me just now. Don’t make out it was all some big romance. It’s like I said in theatre the other night when you got all pompous about women’s rights– she’s just another girl who’s prepared to sleep with anyone to get what she wants. You’re well rid of her.’
Gus always tried to see the best in people and to avoid conflict wherever possible. He really tried. He’d had years of practice with Amelia, tamping down his frustrations and grievances to keep the peace. And he’d put up with smarmy wankers like Barney Snell for what seemed like an eternity. He didn’t want people to think he was a troublemaker. But suddenly he just couldn’t do it anymore. There were limits and Barney had crossed all of them, clattering through the barriers honking his horn like Toad of bloody Toad Hall.
‘If you’ve assaulted her, I’m going to report you,’ he said now, his fingers curling and flexing by his sides. ‘And I’m going to let your boss know exactly what kind of misogynist scum he’s offered a job to.’
‘Mr Davies?’ sneered Barney, referring to his lead consultant. ‘He wouldn’t give a shit about some misjudged fumble. Don’t trouble yourself, Jovic. You’ll come off worse in the end if you make a fuss. And you know it. I could make life pretty difficult for you around here.’
‘I don’t care,’ said Gus. And he realised he meant it. He couldn’t work like this anymore, appeasing characters like Barney Snell, turning a blind eye to shoddy behaviour and bullying. Even if it ended badly for him, even if he was labelled a sanctimonious whistle-blower, it didn’t matter. Now was the time to show some moral fibre– to do the right thing as opposed to taking the path of least resistance. As Violet had said only hours ago, he couldn’t keep everyone happy. Sometimes you just have to pick a side and hope it’s the right one.
‘She won’t talk to you about it,’ said Barney rubbing his elbow from where he’d fallen. ‘You’re not exactly flavour of the month from what I could gather. And anyway, she won’t report this– there’s nothing to report.’
‘That’s as maybe,’ said Gus, jabbing a finger in Barney’s direction. ‘But I’m watching you from now on,Snell. And if I think that you’ve so much as laid a finger on a junior colleague without their consent I will haul your arse up to human resources before you can say gross impropriety and harassment.’
Barney laughed but Gus was gratified to hear that it sounded strained, his expression uneasy.
‘Don’t you come acting the hard man schoolteacher with me, Jovic,’ he hissed. ‘You’ve made a big mistake putting yourself on the line for that little prick-tease. She doesn’t need a hero fighting her battles for her and then pissing off back home to the missus– she can look after herself.’
He stepped forward, bringing his face to within inches of Gus’s. There was a challenge in his eyes but Gus held his ground, staring him down until he turned to leave.
‘I’d let it go,mate,’ Barney said, trying unsuccessfully to force a casual tone. ‘That girl doesn’t need you.’ He pulled the door open, wincing slightly. ‘She doesn’t need anyone.’
* * *
Gus sat for ten minutes in the mess staring blankly at the television, completely oblivious to the programming. It didn’t help that he was so exhausted. Rational thought was always more difficult after a particularly stressful shift– and this one had certainly been stressful. Confronting Barney had been the icing on the cake and, strangely for one who avoided conflict, the chance to put that arrogant bastard in his place had left him feeling curiously exhilarated. It wasn’t often he witnessed fear in the faces of people he dealt with, it certainly wasn’t an emotion he ever sought to provoke, but there was no coward like an entitled prick who’d been exposed, and Barney had definitely been rattled by the thought of Gus reporting him. Good. It was almost as satisfying as punching him in the face would have been (almost, but not quite).
Still, he didn’t congratulate himself too much because some of what Barney had said rang true. Violet didn’t need her honour defending, and even if she did, Gus wasn’t in a position to do it. If anything, he’d been just as guilty of taking advantage as Barney had, only in a more subtle, unintentional way. She didn’t need him and she obviously hadn’t trusted him at all. She hadn’t told him about the complaints at work, even though they’d talked extensively about her career and her perceived shortcomings. He thought he’d managed to break down some of her barriers, thaw through the ice, but it was all an illusion. It was clear that she hadn’t seen her relationship with him as anything lasting– she probably thought him shallow and fickle, as well as untrustworthy. He’d only confirmed this by dithering and dissembling about how he felt regarding Amelia’s return.
