Indiscretion: Callie Douglas - Book Four

Chapter Three

After finishing my notes, I heard the ping of a text message come in. I checked my messages to see two. The first was from Ethan. "How did you sleep last night? Does that help you make your decision?"

I wrote back "terrible. I kept waking up looking for him in the bed. And it gives me something else to think about. I don't want to be looking for him for the rest of my life."

The other text message was from Gabe. It said "I missed you last night. Do you have time to eat lunch together today? Did you remember your lunch? I brought some risotto that some nice person packed up for me. I could come up to your office if you're interested."

I wrote back "I missed you, too. I couldn't sleep without you there. I'll look forward to seeing you at lunch."

I put my phone away and walked out to the waiting room to greet my next patient. Phil Benson was a staffer, a janitor in the administrative building.

"I'm always worried about the building being clean."

"Isn't that your job?"

"It is, but I really worry about the place being clean. Now that winter is here and all that slush and snow is being tracked in on people's boots, I'm starting to hyperventilate whenever I think about coming to work."

"What happens when you see a floor that's messy?"

"I feel like I want to cry. I try to keep the building clean, but I can't keep it clean to my standards."

"What are your standards?"

"Have you ever heard the term 'so clean you could eat off it'? That describes my standards."

"What do you think will happen if the floors get messy and dirty?"

"I worry that I'll get fired."

"Have you ever been fired before for not doing your job well enough?"

"No, I haven't."

"Has anyone you know ever been fired for not doing a good enough job?"

"My wife lost her job a couple of years ago. She had cancer and wasn't able to perform adequately since she was so sick from the chemo. Her company fired her. It has been tight around our house ever since."

"Is that about when your obsession with doing a good job started?"

"It did", he said, full of wonder.

"I understand why you're concerned about doing a good job. It must be hard to live on one salary when you're used to living on two, and especially hard when you're paying medical bills. However, I'm sure your work is impeccable. Have you had any work reviews in the past two years?"

"I have."

"What did your supervisor say about your work?"

"He said my work was excellent and he put a commendation into my personnel file."

"That tells you something, doesn't it? I don't think you have any reason to worry, but it isn't up to me to decide that. How do you feel about this need to keep everything clean now that you realize your need is based on your fear of losing your job?"

"I feel better. I didn't think about it being related to Beth losing her job. Do you really think I'm not in danger of losing my job?"

"That's not up to me to decide, and it sounds like a conversation you need to have with your supervisor. However, looking around this building and considering the cleanliness of it, I don't think you have to worry. I'm very happy to work in such a clean building. You should be proud of the job you're doing."