It was clear he didn't; he just let his arrogance speak. I tried calling Olivia, but she wouldn't answer. Texts were left delivered and not read. I didn't know anyone to reach out to. I considered contacting Will and Sarah, but there was a high chance that they didn't know her.
I was left in the dark. The second day, things weren't easy either.
“Did you hear that the boss sacked Olivia?”
“But she was good at her job. What could she have possibly done to get her fired?”
“I heard she resigned, maybe she felt underpaid?”
“She had a lot of jobs at once so maybe she really was underpaid.”
Just two days and everyone already had rumors going around explaining what happened. Jane wasn't talking to me, clearly upset. I wanted to find out if she was in contact with Olivia. But if it wasn't related to work, Jane wouldn't talk to me.
I considered going to Chicago to find her. If she was no longer in Richmond, then she was in Chicago considering Kate had left with her. I decided to go to Chicago, just as soon as I had sorted things out.
The following day…
I was in the children's ward supervising their checkups.
“Dr. Hills, is Olivia ever coming back?” one of the children asked.
“I'm not sure, maybe she might,” I replied.
Trust me, kid, I wish I knew the answer to that question.
“So what are we going to do now?” he asked. “She promised to read us a new book.”
“I could ask one of the nurses to read it for you,” I suggested, but their eyes told me they didn't like the idea.
“I keep trying to think of something,” I assured them.
“I've got your new book right here,” a familiar voice announced.
“Aunt Olivia!” the children chorused.
I turned to find her wearing scrubs. She had her hair up in a ponytail and her lips shined with gloss. Olivia was back.
“Welcome back,” I said. I got to my feet and walked past her. “My office, in ten minutes.”
“I'll be there,” she promised.
I left the ward and made my way to my office.
“I didn't know you did miss her this much,” Jane remarked. “Look at you beaming with smiles.”
She wasn't lying. I was grinning the moment I stepped out of the children's ward.
“And what of it?” I tried to sound superior, but the smile on my face wasn't helping my case.
“We all missed her too,” she smiled, “but don't mess it up this time okay?”
“You seem to have forgotten that I am your boss.” I frowned.
“Sorry about that boss,” she apologized but didn't look like she meant it. “Thank you for bringing her back.”
I didn't.
*****