Page 63 of Until Waverly

I stepped off the elevator on the third floor and walked down the short hallway to the Human Resources office. The boot on my foot clanked against the tile floor, echoing in the walls, reminding me of why I was there to begin with. Nervous energy crawled through my stomach. No matter what happened, once I stepped through that door, my head would be held high, and I’d keep going.

Chapter21

Waverly

“Waverly Redman,” I said to the woman behind the reception desk once I was standing before her. “I have an appointment this morning.”

The office was bright and cheerful. There were paintings on the walls from children in the pediatric ward, two floors above Labor and Delivery. Soft, calming music was piped through the waiting area, but it did nothing to relax the anxious tap of my thumb against my thigh. The longer I sat there, the more worried I became. It was stupid, really. I could berate myself later for acting so on edge. Yet, at the moment, I couldn’t stop the panic clawing at my insides.

“Miss Redman,” the receptionist said. “They’ll see you now.”

She held the door for me, a kind smile on her weathered and wrinkled face. Her brown eyes sparkled with compassion as she paused for me. “It’s good to see you up and about. We’ve all been worried.”

I didn’t want to seem ungrateful, but I was confused why, out of all the employees in the hospital, they’d been concerned about me, a student. However, I didn’t say a word. I kept my thoughts to myself. “I’m getting better every day. I miss being here. It’s like an itch I just can’t scratch, you know?”

The woman laughed. “Oh, I understand completely.” She stopped at the conference room door and opened it for me. “Come see me when your meeting is over, okay?”

“Sure,” I replied. “Thank you.”

She gave my arm a squeeze before closing the door behind me. Inside the room were two men I hadn’t met before, Joyce, my instructor Amy, the head nurse of Labor and Delivery, Mrs. Rodham, Dr. Jay, and a few others I didn’t recognize, along with a stenographer.

“There she is,” Dr. Jay said. “You’re looking good, Waverly. How’s the ankle?”

I grinned. Since the first day I’d showered without a cast, my strength had slowly come back. I didn’t feel like I was some limp noodle anymore. Also, walking around was getting easier too. The boot had become an extension of me. “Good. Not as painful as I thought it would be. I can step better too. Bonus, the headaches are also gone.”

“Excellent to hear.” Dr. Jay grinned.

“Miss Redman, if you’ll have a seat,” the man at the head of the table said. “This won’t take long.”

Joyce glanced at me and gave me a small nod and a wink, and I relaxed marginally.

“I’m sorry I am meeting everyone under these circumstances.”

“My name is Mr. Young. I’m the head of the safety division within the hospital,” the man said. “Of course, you already know Joyce, Mrs. Rodham, Amy, your instructor, and Dr. Jay. To your left is the head of security, Mr. Hoffman, and next to him is Mr. Carmine. He is one of the directors for the hospital.”

I said hello to each of them before settling in for the meeting. I wasn’t sure what they wanted to know, because I was more than sure everyone in the room who was there that day had given a statement. Instead, I said nothing and waited. trying hard not to worry about what would come next.

“Miss Redman, I was told you’d been hurt twice in this incident. Once when the father arrived during an altercation with Dr. Hahn, and again at the conclusion of the incident. Can you tell me what happened?” Mr. Young asked.

“He was upset. Frantic. We put him in a room to calm down while we sorted what we were going to do next. He shouldn’t have been on our floor to begin with. The father was escorted up by security. He should have been brought to the NICU or to his wife in the ER.” I knew I was throwing the blame at the security guard’s feet, but it was the truth. The suspect’s wife had been killed in an accident, and his infant son almost died as well. Had they taken him to where he needed to be, not with us on Labor and Delivery, the outcome would have been better.

“Three of my security guards were terminated after our findings,” Mr. Hoffman said. “There were several protocols ignored that day, including the situation seconds before SWAT breached L&D.”

I hated the idea of someone losing their job, but I also couldn’t feel bad about it either. They’d put us at risk, not to mention the mothers on our floor. “I’m not sorry they were fired.” I don’t know where the grit came from within me. “We had two mothers in active labor. Do you know how hard it is to not only keep them calm but help them progress?”

Joyce beamed, as did Nurse Rodham.

“They do now.” Nurse Rodham nodded toward me. “We discussed this while you were unconscious.”

Oh.

“Speaking of which, can you explain how you were injured,” Mr. Carmine said. “As your superiors have said, the accident happened fast, and no one really saw.”

I went over the situation again from the minute I answered the telephone because the nurses were busy to the second the father threw the device and I hit my head on the floor. “Everything else is still blank.” I shrugged, hating the fact I couldn’t give any more specifics.

“Like I said before,” Dr. Jay added. “If you tried to do it again, it would never happen.”

“Did you know there was a guard waiting at the door the whole time?” Mr. Hoffman pressed.

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