But Claire’s here for a reason.And while the reason probably was, actually, just to watch her lose the fight Claire had started, there would need to be a more solid one for Gayle to justify having this kind of conversation in front of a third party. Claire was the source.
Claire was the fucking puppet master.
Lynnette curled both hands into fists at her sides and held her head steady, letting the anger show on her face. “Ihavenever, and Iwouldnever, do something so reprehensible.”
“Are you calling our patient a liar?” Gayle challenged.
“No.”Yes.But she imagined he’d been bribed or baited in some way, and deserved less of her anger than the real culprit. Because hewasfrail, and ailing, and that made him malleable. So, she pointed firmly to the side, index finger crudely extended toward Claire’s smug face, without turning her head to look at the bitch. “I’m callinghera liar.”
Gayle’s lips thinned. She was unimpressed and unsurprised.
“Get your nasty finger out of my face before I catch whatever you’ve caught in those bar fights of yours,” Claire snapped.
Lynnette turned her head in Claire’s direction without lowering her arm. “The silence is either mutual or nil. Pick one.” She held Claire’s seething glare for a second, then rolled her focus forward and let her arm drop to her side. “Did Claire offer any sort of proof to those atrocious claims besides hearsay?”
Gayle laid her arms on the armrests of her chair and raised her chin. “Here at Klamath Community Hospital, we take the word of our patients very seriously. That patient has never given us reason to believe him dishonest before. To the contrary,youwere already on thin ice, Garver.”
Are you fucking kidding me?
“Go finish closing out Blackburn, his paperwork should be ready by now. Then come back to my office to pick up your final check. Do not look in on any other patients, under any circumstance.”
Lynnette’s eyes flew wide. “You can’t fire me on word-of-mouth.”
Gayle’s brows narrowed. “I listened to your side of the story first,” she countered. “You offered no evidence to defend yourself.”
“Evidence?” Lynnette exclaimed. “How the hell am I supposed to prove something didn’t happen? The point is proving somethingdid!”
“It’s decided,” Gayle snapped. “Finish out the soldier’s paperwork, then straight back here. You don’t need even the clipboard for that.” The spark in her eyes made it clear the decision had been made before Lynnette had ever stepped into the office.
Lynnette’s hands curled again into fists and she turned her own glare back to Claire and that damn smug smirk on her over-glossed lips. “This is slander,” she said, so angry her voice was nearly a growl, “and I will not drop it.”
“Wow, bitter much?” Claire returned, her eyes widening in a mockingly shocked expression. “I don’t know how you ever got a license at all. Come after me and I might have to challenge you for that next.”
“Out, Garver,” Gayle said firmly.
Lynnette let her glare linger on Claire for another second before spinning on her heel and striding from the room. Only ingrained manners kept her from slamming the door.
Her heart raced wildly as she made her way down to see if Lance’s discharge papers were ready. As if she needed one more nail in the coffin of her day.I suppose I was losing him today, regardless.The thought was supposed to help, but it only added to the agitation.
Fired. Over a bullshit accusation. What the hell did Claire even hate her for? Was it because Lynnette had corrected her terminology in the breakroom on Monday? Or was this all because Lynnette had interrupted Claire’s irresponsible flirting and the literal damage it had caused? That would make a tad more sense, but the bitch had already been being catty to her. It wasn’t like Lynnette was even expected to be a permanent addition to their unit, so jealousy didn’t seem likely.
She blew out a heavy breath and forcibly unclenched her hands. It didn’t matter why Claire hated her. The bitch had played her hand at the perfect time, and Gayle, who was apparently pro-Bishop, had latched onto the opportunity to rid the hospital of Lynnette altogether. Gayle had the authority to do that.
That didn’t mean Lynnette wasn’t within her rights to sue the shit out of them. Just as soon as she could find and afford a decent lawyer.
She dropped her forehead to Amy’s desk with a sigh that was far too honest.
“Well, that doesn’t seem good,” Amy said, speaking more quietly than usual. Most likely because her afternoon coworker had arrived.
Lynnette forced herself up to her elbows. “Is Lance’s paperwork ready?”
Amy blinked for a second, then muttered to herself and twisted in her chair. She shuffled around, hopped up, and grabbed a couple sheets from the archaic printer against the far wall. Four printouts, it looked like. Amy sorted them all into order, added a paperclip, and handed them over. “Here you go.” She paused. “You okay?”
Lynnette couldn’t bring herself to smile. “Not even close. You have employee information in those computers, right?” When Amy nodded with an almost apprehensive expression, she added, “Look up my number and shoot me a text or something if you want to keep in touch. Totally your call. Thanks for everything.” She hauled her lips up into a semblance of a smile, then, because it was the least Amy deserved, especially if they never spoke again. Then she turned and started toward Lance’s room.
Every step made the weight in her stomach grow heavier.
He was being released, anyway. This would have been goodbye no matter what.
