by Jeff Shelby
That didn’t mean that Anne was back in her role, though. After talking to Bryce and after he'd admitted to lying to Anne about her suspension, they reached the conclusion that his accusations warranted an investigation so she was placed on administrative leave until they could determine if there was any truth to his claims.
Regardless, though, Bryce was gone.
“Is there anything else you’d like to tell me before we conclude?” Paula asked.
I shook my head.
“Nothing at all?” She raised an eyebrow. “Now is the time, you know. If there are any other issues that are concerning you or you want to bring to corporate’s attention, this is the time to do it.”
I was about to shake my head, but stopped.
I hadn’t said a negative word about Anne during my conversation with Paula.
No mention of how she treated me. No mention of how difficult she made it for me to do my job.
I’d focused on the questions Paula had asked and nothing more.
I chewed on the inside of my cheek. Was keeping quiet really in my best interests? If I told this woman everything I’d experienced under Anne’s employ, it might end up being the nail in the coffin for her. She was already being investigated for her alleged treatment of Bryce. If I added my story, it might serve as evidence to corroborate his claims.
“Sunny?”
I blinked. “Do you think I could have a minute to think?
Paula smiled. “Of course. Take as much time as you need.”
I got to my feet. “I’d actually like to go grab a cup of coffee.”
“By all means.”
“Would you like one, too?”
She shook her head.
“I’ll be right back,” I told her.
I forced myself to take slow, measured steps out of the office. But as soon as I cleared the doorway I hustled toward the dining room.
Denise was there, swapping out old coffee ground for fresh ones, and she looked up as soon as I walked in. She looked like she could barely contain herself.
“Sunny!” she exclaimed. “I've been waiting on you to get out of there.”
“Why?”
“I have something to tell you,” she said. “I am...an idiot.”
“No, you're not,” I said.
“No, I really am,” she said. “The sleeping pills? You remember?”
“Of course I remember.”
“I didn't actually give them to her!” she said excitedly. “I was going through my pills, doing my inventory. And I realized my sleeping pills were exactly right. But do you know what wasn't?”
“Uh, no.”
“My allergy pills!” she said. “They are both little blue pills. When I'd gone to get the sleepers, I must've grabbed the allergy ones instead.” She pursed her lips. “So even though I tried to do something dumb, I ended up not doing it.”
I couldn't help but laugh. “Well, that's good to know.”
“I just didn't want there to be any doubt,” she said. “I've never been so relieved to be so dumb.”
“You're not dumb.”
“I'll second that,” Aidan said, entering the dining room, cupping a mug of coffee in his hands.
I smiled.
“Anyway. You already done?” Denise asked. “With that interview?”
“Almost.”
“What? You taking a break?” She raised her eyebrows. “That tough, huh?” A shudder ran through her. “I am not looking forward to meeting with that woman.”
“Paula is fine,” I told her. “She’s actually really nice.”
“Then why do you need a break?” Denise asked.
Leave it to her to get right to the point of things.
“I was thinking about something,” I said. “Something I want to run past you guys.”
Aidan sipped his coffee. “What’s that?”
I drew in a breath. I had no idea how they would react to what I was about to suggest.
“So your interviews are later today, right?”
They both nodded.
“Paula has been pretty straightforward with her questions,” I said. “But she’s also made it clear that if there’s anything else I want to tell her about my job here, about Anne, et cetera, that now is the time to do it.”
I immediately sensed what they were thinking. Because if they were anything like me, they were cataloging every transgression Anne had ever committed.
Aidan cleared his throat. “What did you tell her?”
“Nothing.”
Denise’s eyes widened. Even Aidan looked surprised.
“Nothing?” Denise asked.
I shook my head.
Her disapproval was obvious. “Why not?”
“Because I think I know how we can use this to our advantage,” I said.
“This is when I know you’re crazy,” Denise murmured.
“Hear me out,” I said. “Think about it. If we let her know that we had the opportunity to rat her out on all of the horrible things she’s done, but didn’t, she’ll realize that we did her a favor, right?”
Denise scowled. “A favor she doesn’t deserve.”
“Maybe not,” I admitted. “But doing that will give us something we can all benefit from.”
Aidan was nodding. He knew exactly where I was going with this.
Denise still didn’t see it. “What are you talking about?”
“We’ll have leverage,” I said.
“Leverage?”
I nodded. “If she knows we saved her butt, she’ll owe us.” I looked at Aidan. “You’ll get your hours, no matter how crazy your schedule looks next semester.”
I turned to Denise. “And you’ll be able to keep your dining room the way it is. No buffet to mess up the residents’ diets or your hours.”
Denise let out a low whistle.
“And if they decide not to let her come back, then we don't have to worry at all,” I said. “If they replace her, we all start fresh.”
Aidan was still looking at me. “What about you? What do you get?”
I smiled. “I’ll get the job I want.”
Denise’s brow furrowed. “What job? You’re not leaving, are you?”
I thought about what Anne had offered me.
The job in Jacksonville.
It would be a fresh start, a chance to create an activity program from scratch…and with a director who would probably be a heck of a lot easier to work with than Anne. Those would be huge gains for me. A big win.
But I knew there would be things I would lose if I made the jump.
And the two most important things were standing right in front of me.
I straightened. “I’m not leaving,” I said firmly.
The relief was visible on Denise’s face.
And Aidan’s.
My heart fluttered in response.
“I’m going to do this job,” I added. “But I’m going to do it my way.”
Denise cackled. “Now there’s the Sunny I knew was inside of you!” She thumped my back.
She walked the used grounds into the kitchen, leaving Aidan and me alone.
“So.” He’d finished his coffee and was now leaning up against the serving counter. He thrust his hands in his pockets. “This is really the job you want?”
I thought for a moment. “For now. Yeah.”
He eyed me. “But what about later on?”
“When's later on?”
“You tell me.”
I really wasn't sure, but I knew that with the right set of circumstances, the job at Oasis Ridge was the one I wanted right then.
“Whenever it happens,” I answered.
He smiled. “Okay.” He paused. “Just let me know when that is, alright?”
I nodded. “I will.”
“And let me know when we can finally get dinner,” he said. “I don't want that to be later on.”
My heart did that fluttery thing again. “Let me go finish with Paula and we'll make a plan,” I told him. “And not
for later on.”
He smiled at me. “Deal.”
I walked back to the office to meet Paula, feeling better than I'd felt in quite a long time about everyone and everything at Oasis Ridge. It was all turning out okay. Lots of bumps in the road, but it was starting to smooth itself out.
I sat down across from Paula.
She smiled at me. “Okay. All your thinking done?”
I nodded. “All done. And I don't have anything else to tell you.”
She eyed me. “You sure?”
I nodded. “I'm sure.”
And I was. I certainly could've regaled her with stories about all of the mistreatment I'd had at Anne's hands, but I was choosing to let it go. I wasn't going to be a doormat for her anymore, no matter the situation. In a lot of ways, I owed Anne because she'd forced me to stand up for myself. Whatever they already had on Anne, I was good with whatever decision they made about her return.
“Okay then,” Paula said. “I'll note that and we'll move ahead with our investigation. I'm assuming it may last several weeks, just so that we can be thorough and give all of the parties involved a chance to say whatever they'd like to say to us.”
I nodded. “Sounds fair.”
“So, in the meantime, we'll need to make some decisions about Oasis to continue running the way our residents expect,” Paula said. “And I'd like your help with that.”
“My help?”
She nodded. “Yes. How would you feel about serving as the interim director for the community?”
I wasn't sure I'd heard her correctly. “Excuse me?”
“The community will need a director during Anne's time away from the position,” Paula explained. “I've spoken to several of the other employees here already and your name has come up repeatedly as the person that people look to for guidance when things here get...challenging.” She smiled at me. “So I'm asking if you'd be willing to serve as the interim director for Oasis Ridge. You would, of course, be compensated accordingly and have access to any resources you might need. Though, I get the sense you have a pretty good handle on this place.”
I looked away from her for a moment. It was the last thing I'd been expecting to hear. I assumed they'd have another director cover or send someone else from corporate to run the community until it was all settled.
Now, she was asking me to do it.
I thought of all the times Anne had belittled me or my ideas.
I thought of how most of the time I'd disagreed with her, but hadn't fought her in the way I should have.
I thought of my friends at Oasis, especially Aidan and Denise.
I thought of the residents.
Paula was right.
I did have a handle on the place.
And Anne wasn't there to tell me otherwise.
“Sunny?” Paula asked. “What do you say?”
I turned back to Paula and smiled at her. “I say I would love to.”
THE END
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Table of Contents
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR
FIVE
SIX
SEVEN
EIGHT
NINE
TEN
ELEVEN
TWELVE
THIRTEEN
FOURTEEN
FIFTEEN
SIXTEEN
SEVENTEEN
EIGHTEEN
NINETEEN
TWENTY
TWENTY ONE
TWENTY TWO
TWENTY THREE
TWENTY FOUR
TWENTY FIVE
TWENTY SIX
TWENTY SEVEN
TWENTY EIGHT
TWENTY NINE
THIRTY
THIRTY ONE
THIRTY TWO
THIRTY THREE
THIRTY FOUR
THIRTY FIVE
THIRTY SIX