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Ginny was used to spending her work day on her feet, but residency was a completely different league from the bar. The people she saw in the emergency room weren’t always struggling more with their psychological health than her stripper customers had been, but that was frequently the case.
And the atmosphere in the hospital didn’t exactly foster ease and calmness.
She’d been doing the job for a week, and the number of grope attempts was still lower than a single night at her old job, so that was a plus. She also liked seeing the relief spread across people’s faces as they were able to talk to someone, and relaxed.
The ones that were hardest were the people who had so much going on in their heads that a half-hour chat with the hospital therapist only put them further on edge.
She hated turning those people away. She wanted to spend hours letting them unwind. Let them know they were heard. Give them a safe haven for the day, even if they didn’t have that anywhere else.
The woman today, whose boyfriend was manipulating and gaslighting her, wasn’t as withdrawn as some, but Ginny still wanted to find the man and shake some sense into him.
The woman came in thinking she was having a heart attack. Instead, it was a panic attack brought on by one of many arguments with her live-in guy. He wanted to go on a weekend hiking trip with a female colleague—just the two of them.
The girlfriend was jealous, and the boyfriend insisted if she wasn’t so insecure and needy, she wouldn’t have an issue with his friends.
Ginny was still furious with the guy.
As she walked up to her apartment, she was looking forward to a night of putting her sore feet up, and chilling with Mason.
She was surprised to find him with the in-apartment ironing board out, pressing a while button-down.
He looked up and grinned when he saw her. “Hey. How was work?”
“Exhausting.” But coming home to his smile helped push that aside. “Do you have an interview?” She nodded at the shirt.
His expression drooped. He’d been sending out resumes and making phone calls since they arrived, and she saw the lack of response wearing on him. “No. But I talked to a headhunter today who may have the perfect opening. This,” he gestured to the clothes, “is because the wedding is on Friday, and I figured I’d get my suit ready now.”
The bottom fell out of Ginny’s calm. “Oh.” The wedding. With the ex-girlfriend who he didn’t love, he just wanted to know why she didn’t love him.
Of course he was still going. Why did she assume otherwise? Because their fucking was punctuated with playing house? That didn’t make her anymore girl-next-door than when they met.
“You’re going with me, right?” Mason cringed. “Stupid of me, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have assumed. Will you be my date for the wedding?”
And he didn’t even see why Ginny was upset. After all they’d talked about. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Why not?”
Because she’s your ex-girlfriend and I’ve already told you exactly how I feel about this, and you’re acting like it’s no big deal. She wasn’t the woman from the emergency room, because Mason wasn’t her boyfriend. “We’re getting our longer-term schedules at work in the next couple of days. There are rumors I’ll be on graveyards, and I don’t feel comfortable asking for a night off so early in the job.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Good story. Now tell me the real reason.”
“That is the real reason. Maybe have a little more respect for what I do.” The words came out with an edge, and she couldn’t take them back.
“Fine. My apologies.” His scowl matched the cloud growing inside her.
Why couldn’t she just answer his question?
Because she didn’t have a right to be pissed off at him. His life, his decisions, and he wasn’t even being unreasonable.
None of that helped her feel better. Instead, guilt mingled with anger, because she hated the idea of him going, and hated herself for the reaction.
****
WHEN MASON WOKE UP, Ginny was already gone. Her bed showed no signs of being slept in, despite the fact that she headed into her room last night with a soft “I think we should sleep in our own beds.”
He’d told her Trina didn’t matter. Even now, thinking about it, it was true. Sure, he didn’t think through the whole attending the wedding thing. It was on his schedule, and he didn’t think twice about going until he saw Ginny’s expression.
He could back out. Now he wanted to rescind his RSVP. Except that for all the shit Ginny put him through about being honest and speaking one’s mind, it gnawed at him that this was the thing she chose to be passive-aggressive about.
Mason tried to ignore the irritation that danced inside with indecision. He could call Ginny on her behavior. He could email Trina and cancel first. He could say fuck it, and go anyway, which really didn’t seem like a great response.
And none of that helped him focus on his job search.
His phone rang, and he jumped. He’d been staring at nothing for three hours? Wonderful.
Trina’s name was on the screen, as if his mangled thoughts had summoned her. He swiped Answer. “Hey.”
“Hey, stranger. It’s been ages. How’ve you been?”
He expected a pang at the familiar voice and her cheerful greeting. There should be a fist around his heart, telling him he missed her more than he was willing to admit. He smiled at her friendliness, but there was no longing. “Not too bad. You? Congratulations, by the way.”
“Thanks. I saw you’re coming to the wedding. It’ll be good to see you again.”
This was his chance to say now that you mention it... but nagging spite stuck the words in his throat. “Yeah. Same here.”
“You’re probably busy, so I won’t keep you,” she said. “Thing is, I heard through a friend, who heard from a headhunter, that you might be looking for work. Are you still interested in corporate training?”
“Yes.” He couldn’t ignore the twinkle of hope inside. Please let this be more than polite conversation. Then again, why would she call him just to chat? They hadn’t spoken since he left Malibu more than a year ago.
“Are you staying at this San Francisco address on your resume?”
She had his resume? “Yes... How did you get that?”
“Okay, it was my boss. She got a stack of potentials from a recruiter she works with, and I heard your name, and I told Spencer about you... We’re in town to deal with something for a park he has here. Do you want to have dinner? Catch up. Do kind of an informal interview kind of thing?”
The answer was Yes. Absolutely. Except for the nagging that said Ginny will be pissed. Was he going to throw away a career opportunity for her? He was considering it. “As long as you don’t mind me bringing a date.” That was the perfect solution. He could show Ginny he’d moved on, prove to her that she and Trina could really be friends... It was the perfect solution.
“Of course. Warn them they might get bored with the geek talk.”
“That won’t be an issue.”
“Great.” Trina’s reply was sunshine and sincerity. “We’ll stop by at seven, if that’s okay, and we can decide from there where to go?”
“Looking forward to it.”
And he was. Not because it meant seeing Trina again. That longing was gone. But a job with a company like Spencer’s? Excitement thrummed inside at the possibility.
He wasn’t going to ambush Ginny with his plans, though. He sent her a quick text. Missed you this morning. Hope your day’s going well. Give me a call when you have a few minutes.