One Shots 'The nursery nurse'

Once a Traitor, always a Traitor

"And that was the reason...," said Marjorie, defeated, sinking back into her office chair. Mia, who hadn't even sat down yet, stood across from her with her arms crossed. This was not how she had imagined her first day at work. Autumn hadn't even been on maternity leave for a full day, and everything was already falling apart.

The redhead sighed in frustration and finally sat down at her desk. "Let me get this straight. Reece was fired on the spot? Because he insulted a parent through the app?" She simply couldn't believe it. Reece could be impulsive at times, but that wasn't like him at all.

"Yes," Marjorie replied curtly. "Roger's been on my back all morning. He's indirectly blaming me." She nervously began playing with her wedding ring. "And then there's the parents' WhatsApp group. Siobhan and Sorscha showed me screenshots... Luckily, Viv and Clodagh are in the group and feeding us information... My God... How is this supposed to go on?" She took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes. The stress was clearly etched on her face.

Mia frowned. Something didn't add up. None of this made sense. But Marjorie wasn't done yet. "Head Office is going to be watching our every move for the next few weeks. Siobhan already warned me. Janice is out for blood. They're just waiting for someone here to slip up... She's after my job... Mia, I'm sorry, but under no circumstances should you be seen with Charlotte during work hours... Don't give them any reason to twist this against you." She looked at Mia seriously. "Please, Mia."

Mia nodded. "Don't worry. I don't want to cause problems for you or for Char. Plus, Autumn would make my life hell. But out of curiosity—can I see the messages Reece supposedly sent?"

"If you really want to," Marjorie said, surprised. She picked up the iPad and handed it to her.

"Wow..." murmured Mia as she read the note. The entire message didn't sound like Reece at all. On the contrary, it read like something a moody teenager would write.

Moody teenager. Bingo. The realization hit Mia like a jolt.

"Marjorie, I'll be right back."

"Wait! Mia! Your shift hasn't even started yet. Where are you going?" But Marjorie hadn't even finished the sentence before Mia was out the door.

Mia had a suspicion. But she wanted to confirm it before jumping to conclusions. She exited the building through the back door and pulled out her phone. It didn't take long before Reece's voice came through the line.

"It's not even eight o'clock and you're calling me already? Had your first fight with Marjorie?" he asked with a hint of sarcasm.

Mia pressed the phone tighter to her ear. "Reece, save the jokes. That's not why I'm calling. Be honest with me—did you send that message to the parent?"

There was a pause on the other end. Only the faint hum of a coffee machine could be heard. "No," he finally said. Calm. Too calm.

Mia stared into the distance, stunned. "What?"

"It wasn't me. Carly wrote the message." His voice sounded tired, resigned. "But I took the blame. She's still young, and... she felt overwhelmed."

"You did what?!" Mia snapped. "Reece, do you even realize what that means?! Marjorie is hanging on by a thread! And you let her believe that you insulted a parent? What the hell, Reece!" She cursed internally for leaving her cigarettes in her bag back in the office—right now she desperately needed one.

"I didn't want to put Marjorie in an even worse position. There was already enough going on with Ofsted and Autumn's leave... And Carly... she really needs this job. She's helping support her parents."

Mia scoffed. "And you? Do you have enough savings to never work again?! Reece, how are you ever going to find another job with something like this on your record?! Carly needs to face the consequences of her actions—because she deserves them. This isn't the first time she's caused problems."