She hadn't meant to be a jerk when she walked out into the kitchen that morning and was grateful Brett hadn't held it against her. Penny opened her email and skimmed the words of the message again. It had Danny's name listed at the bottom, but she could have sworn his office manager Sheryl had written it. It was too kind. Too genial. Danny was a lot of things but diplomatic wasn't one of them.
Sheryl on the other hand was the one person Penny had been devastated to leave. She'd assumed that after years of working together they'd maintain their friendship even after she left the office, but she'd texted her a few times with zero response. She shouldn't have been surprised.
Danny was like that. Controlling and all-consuming, not just with his girlfriend but with his staff. No doubt he'd tried to poison Sheryl against her or at least given specific instructions not to communicate with her. Even though she knew the power he wielded, it still stung that Sheryl would listen to him.
She focused on the last paragraph.
We hope you'll feel comfortable using us as a reference in your continued job search.
The last thing she wanted to do was list Danny's practice on her resume, but what choice did she have? The only other workplace she could include was back in BC and wasn't nearly as compelling in the industry. Plus, if that was all she listed, employers would definitely wonder what she'd been doing for the last two years. They'd probably assume she'd gotten pregnant or something.
Offices weren't allowed to discriminate, but everyone knew that women found it difficult enough to land a competitive job. The last thing she needed was a glaring red flag saying, “Hey I might be unreliable because of my uterus.”
Penny flicked back to her resume and began to adjust the dates. She could put the office number that would go directly to Sheryl and not even mention Danny. Even though Sheryl wasn't responding to her personal messages, she would speak kindly of her if someone called to check, wouldn't she? Besides, who actually called references these days anyway? Did they always jump through those hoops?
Penny's mind drifted as she formatted. She and Brett had agreed to start physical therapy that night after dinner, which she was making since it was Tuesday. They'd grabbed lunch on the way home from the grocery store, so she wasn't planning on doing anything until about six o'clock.
Since Brett wasn't willing to take pain medication, she hoped that timing would work for him too. He was going to be in a lot of pain, but if he hopped into a hot bath and iced, hopefully the shock of working his knee would exhaust him to the point that he could sleep even if he ended up staying on the couch to prop his leg up again.
Penny mentally constructed their session. It would have to be basic since he hadn't done much work and his surgery was only a week and a half ago, but she wasn't going to go easy on him. Brett was motivated to improve, and she wasn't ever the one to hold a patient back.
This was good. Think about Brett as a patient. This was professional and nothing more.
Penny almost laughed out loud at herself. She could barely look at Brett without her ovaries twitching. But maybe that was also a blessing in disguise. Maybe what she needed was to be faced with temptation and still make the choice. Shewouldfigure out how to do what was best for her. Well first, she’d figure out how todiagnosewhat was best for her.
That was the end point most out of reach. It had always seemed so much easier to go along with everyone else. So much more peaceful when people liked her, when they thought she was pleasing.
But she was the one who always ended up with herself in the end, and there was nothingpleasingabout sitting in this room with not one line on her life CV that looked the least bit impressive. By the time she went back to Vancouver, she had to have at least something to hang her hat on.
Penny worked through the afternoon submitting resumes and filling out application forms online. Only two jobs required a cover letter, and one of them was the job she was most excited about. A medical center focused on physical therapy and chiropractic, very similar to Danny’s office but a few years ahead of him.
She was passionate about her work. She loved treating patients, and more than that, she loved building the business and finding ways to bring people that needed their services through the front doors. That had been a surprise to her and possibly one of the reasons why she'd stuck around longer than necessary. Hopefully she could find a new opportunity that checked all the boxes.
At a quarter to six she closed her laptop and walked out into the kitchen. Penny felt a pang of disappointment when Brett wasn't there sitting at the table. His laptop was gone, too.
She listened for the sound of water or any movement behind his closed bedroom door but didn't hear anything. Would he have gone out? Crutched his way to the gym? If he was stupid enough to do that before a PT session, she wouldn’t feel the least bit bad about his discomfort later.
As she opened the fridge and started to pull out the ingredients she needed for a salad and tzatziki sauce to go with the falafel, the front door opened with a squeak. Penny turned and saw Brett hobble in holding the mail.
He smiled and gave a small wave before setting it on the table. He’d changed into athletic wear, and his shorts covered up most of the brace on his knee.
“How far is your mailbox?” Penny asked. An odd sense of protectiveness washed over her, but she tamped it down.
“Just at the end of the block.” Brett stretched out his back, and she glanced over to find his crutch still leaning against the wall.
He followed her gaze. “I told you it gets better in the afternoon.” She smiled and opened the cupboard, looking for a frying pan and a bowl. Brett made his way over and pointed. “Pans are in the cupboard next to the stove.”
“I thought you said you didn't know how to make falafel.”
“I don't know how to make them, but I know how they're cooked.”
“Seems like a slippery slope.”
Brett chuckled. “Do you mind if I watch?”
Warmth swirled in Penny's center. She'd made this a hundred times, but the idea of Brett paying attention to each movement made her nervous. “Only if I can put you to work.”
“I wouldn't expect anything less.”
