Page 30 of Hold Me Instead
She released a full-body laugh. “Yeah, sure. I mean, I guess I did scold her a bit. Seriously though, the timing on her post was not cool.”
Truth.
“Wait. Why do you ask?” Bella asked.
“She just stopped by my apartment.”
“Nooo.”
He laughed. “Yeah.”
“Wow. Damn, I made it easy on her, didn’t I? She knew you already knew about the boyfriend too.”
“She wanted me to know that wasn’t why I was fired,” Zachary said.
“Good Lord,” Bella muttered. “Why would she even suggest such a thing?”
“Guilty conscience?”
“Ha!”
He didn’t want to consider the possibility that was why he’d been let go. Had his ability as a veterinarian really not been worth more than whomever Anna was dating?
“Hey, you still there?” Bella asked softly.
He scratched his head. “I know you’re not in the veterinarian field.”
She jumped in when he didn’t continue. “Definitely not. But I love animals!”
His laugh was clipped. “Am I a good veterinarian?”
There was silence on the other end, and he immediately felt stupid for asking the question. For wondering about it so badly he’d ask a friend who had no idea of his ability.
“Never mi—”
“Zachary Lee. The only thing all this shit with Anna and her dad proves is that it is completely, one hundred percentfor the bestthat you’re no longer working there. They’re caught up in some weird internetworld of fancy veterinary clinics, including her father. That doesn’t sound like the priorities of an animal hospital I’d trust for my pets.”
He nodded slowly, staring out the large living room window at the high-rise across from him. He pressed his head to the pane of glass and looked down, splashes of red and yellow courtyard trees visible below.
“As for your abilities in your career? Yeah, I don’t really know. I did hear of all the special acknowledgments over the years because Anna loved to brag about them. You also made my great-aunt feel very taken care of when she brought her dog to see you. That goes a long way in my book.”
He’d forgotten about that.
“Thanks, Bella.”
“Hey, anytime. I’m just sorry my conversation with her sparked an ambush.”
“Well, she did acknowledge what was going on with my dad too.”
“She did? Sorry, yeah, I…I may have let that slip.”
“It’s alright. She brought tea. Which probably wasn’t so much about my dad because…”
“Because it’s Anna.”
“Yeah.”
“Yeah. Ugh. Hey, looks like I’ll be in Wisconsin a little sooner than I thought. I’ll keep you posted? Would love to see your face. And I feel like I owe you dinner?”
