He meets her gaze head-on for a good few seconds before looking away. “I’m just looking at options. In case.”
In case what?she wants to ask. Maybe this is because of Oliver. Maybe Jerry can’t get over whatever happened between his sister and Oliver. The idea of Jerry as a protective brother softens her.
“Can I ask ya a favor?” he says.
“A favor? Sure.”
“The bookstore guy called. He wants me to come by later today. I guess he has a question about one of the books. But I can’t go, ’cause I got to drive to New York and pick up the wine for the initiation. Can ya go? And let me know what he wants?”
“Uh, sure. No problem. I’ll stop by on my way home.” She smiles, feeling pleased that Jerry is trusting her with this. “And don’t worry, with your work history—being here at the Knox—I’m sure you could get a job anywhere,” she adds, trying to reassure him.
“Did ya read the confidentiality agreement?” he says, voice flat.
“Oh.” Yes, now she recalls there being some language about never mentioning the Knox for gainful employment elsewhere. She’d skimmed over that section, not realizing its future implications. She, too, would have a work history gap she could not explain. Shit.
“But I guess as a nurse, ya don’t have to worry about that so much.”
“What?” She tenses.
“Ya honestly think they didn’t know that?” Jerry says, working his mouth as if chewing a piece of gum. “That they would just hire anyone and not do a serious background check?”
“I…I don’t know.”
“Yeah, they had me ask around about ya. I had a little chat with your nurse manager, Jan. A little ‘accidental’ run-in at the St. Patrick’s Day parade. I pretended to be a friend of yours.”
Taylor opens and then closes her mouth, pressing her tongue hard against her teeth gap.
“C’mon now, Taylor. Don’t be so naive.” He studies her. “Look, I’m not trying to be mean. But there’s shit going down here. Not everyone can see it, but I do. If you were smart—and ya are, ’cause you’re a nurse—ya should get yourself outta here. Go back to nursing.”
She’s quiet. Her brain is spinning backward, trying to reframe every interaction she’s had at the Knox.Go back to being a nurse.Was Jerry the one who left her that note in her wallet? No—surely he wouldn’t be so open with her now. Also, he clearly has no problems delivering this message to her face.
Does everyone know she’s a nurse? That she’s been lying by omission?
As if reading her mind, Jerry adds, “Don’t worry, the others—Liam, Eduardo—don’t know. That’s for ya to tell them if ya want. None of their business. The Knox is a place where we can reinvent ourselves. I mean, I used to work the grill at Chipotle for $14.25 an hour before I met Eduardo and was brought in.”
“Does Eduardo know you’re thinking about leaving?”
Jerry’s face gets splotchy, a watercolor of pinks. “No. And ya better not tell him. Some people…They can’t see this place for what it is.”
Taylor is still reeling when she heads to Canton’s to grab the champagne for the so-called celebratory drink with her fellow employees, though she’s feeling anything but.
As she bends down to rummage through the cabinet for the cups Liam mentioned, she tries to organize the information she’s just learned: The Knox knew she was a nurse when they hired her. But they didn’t know she wasVivian’snurse, surely.
Okay, Taylor thinks, her shoulders collapsing. She can work with that. So what if she failed to mention her nursing work history during her interview? They were aware, or they became aware, and theystillhired her. They didn’t care. Like Jerry said, the Knox is a place where you can reinvent yourself.
And that’s what she’s done.
Suddenly, she hears someone enter the restaurant.
“Not everyone’s born with a silver spoon in their mouth, Michael. There are some of us who’ve had to work to get where we are. Some of us who actually paid our dues on initiation night.”
“That’s not what I meant, Peter. And I don’t know why you continually bring up the legacy exemption rules.”
It’s Peter.Peter and Michael. What are they doing here? She knows she should stand up and make her presence known, but she doesn’t. Instead, she dips down lower behind the bar, making herself as small as possible.
“Well, all I know is you got pretty damn lucky being born into that family of yours. So what the helldidyou mean, then, about the business plan?” Peter asks.
“I just think we need to proceed with caution here. We don’t know if it’s financially sound—”
