The Love of Lies

Winner

Ashton’s POV

I left Cori's room feeling more upset than relieved. It was never my intention to have the girl work for me, but it’s not an option to have her go back to working at a bar.

She’s a registered nurse, and while I can't say that there's anything wrong with her past employment, it’s definitely a waste of her education. She did not bust her ass to wipe sticky tables and mop endlessly dirty floors, and I had to do something to appease her.

Before I went to talk to Cori, my mother made it clear that I was to use whatever means necessary to keep her at home because we know that she isn't taking care of herself the way that she should be.

She's always tired, I don't know when she finds time to eat at work, and when she's home, she typically doesn't leave her room unless someone forces her to. Overall, my mother and I are both concerned about Cori's well-being, so her being fired is actually a little relieving to us.

We have had discussions about how we would convince the woman to quit, but now we don't have to do that. Still, neither of us plan to let whatever happened today slide. Someone definitely targeted Cori, and even though she told me that she wasn’t the only one fired, it's still my belief that the other women who were let go were just collateral damage.

It would have been too suspicious if they would have called a meeting to fire Cori directly, and by pulling in other nurses who violated the same or similar rules, they were able to partially shield themselves just in case Cori tried to sue them for singling her out.

I’m not going to allow anyone to take advantage of her in that way, especially because they’ve dragged me into the lie. Cori hasn’t brought it up, but I think it’s solely because she hasn’t fully processed what’s going on, and she might think that she deserved it.

Fortunately, I was able to come up with the whole cooking thing, and when I left Cori's room, she and I already worked out a meal schedule. Don’t get me wrong, I feel bad about it, but I'm also kind of excited.

Since I'll be home until my suspension is over, she’ll cook three meals a day, but when I'm working, she'll only be responsible for breakfast and dinner. I've tasted the woman's cooking once, and if she made that every day, I don't think I would complain.

However, Cori must have some type of experience with meal preparation or catering, because before I left her room, she informed me that she would be putting together a menu for me to choose from. I’m curious to see what the girl is capable of, so I didn’t protest, however I made it clear that she’s under no obligation to do anything unless she feels up to it.

“What did she say?” My mother nervously and loudly asks.

She’s been waiting in my sitting room, but I put my finger over my lips, not wanting her to draw Cori's attention. She wasn’t asleep when I left her, in fact, she was scaring me because of the way that she was rubbing her belly, and that’s why I'm so upset.

“We’ll talk later, but I don’t like the way she looked when I left her room. I’m about to leave, but if you could keep an eye on her when I’m gone, that would be great.”

“Okay, but what’s the game plan for now?”

“I hired her as my personal chef.”

“WHAT?!”

“Shh… I didn’t know what else to do. She wanted to go back to her old job.”

“How much did you offer?”

“Fifty dollars per meal.” My mother is really good with numbers, and it takes her about ten seconds to do the math.

“So, eighteen hundred while you're out of work, then three thousand a month thereafter? What about the student loan forgiveness she’s in?”

My mother is super fond of Cori, so she’s taken the time to find out all about the girl, down to her expenses.

“I’m not worried about it. When I come back, Cori won’t owe anyone anything.” My mother claps excitedly and grabs my head to give me a kiss.

It’s at that moment that I realize why I’m a rough person. She has always been very handsy with me and Troy, but because her actions are done in love, I never noticed.

Cori’s POV

It took forever for my stomach to stop hurting, but since Ashton has offered to pay me for cooking, I’m a little less stressed. If I can find another public hospital to work for, I might be able to qualify for some sort of loan relief, because I can’t afford my education without it.

Although it's a hard pay cut, I technically don't have any living expenses right now, so I’ll have to work on budgeting myself even tighter to maintain my savings goal.

My research told me that I need at least 30k to support a baby for one year. If I were still working my old job, it would have taken me eight months to save that amount while still paying off my other debts.

Now, it’ll take me twice that amount of time, unless I can figure out a way to bring in more income from home.

“Cori dear?” Mrs. Lewis has her head poked into my room as though she’s afraid of how I’ll react to seeing her, but I’m not angry with her at all.

“Please come in.” The woman sits next to me, and because she’s nosey, she starts going over the spreadsheet that I have open.

“What is that?”

“It outlines how much I made, how much I’ve spent, and how much I have in savings.

“You have four thousand dollars in your savings account?”

“Well, I only worked for a month, and before my first check, I nearly bottomed out my savings on fixing my car, paying my rent in advance, uniforms, and shoes.

“And what's this?” The woman points to a pink section of the spreadsheet that shows a five-hundred-dollar balance, and I tell her that it’s what I set aside for the baby. “Have you always lived like this?” I close the window and show the woman the spreadsheet from the year before, expecting her to think it's sad, but like me, she’s proud of it. “Cori, you are amazing. Not many people your age think the way that you do.”

“Well, not many have to, but for me, this was the easiest way to keep track of my expenses when I was too young to open up a bank account without my father. Now it’s a habit.”

“You should get with Troy. He’s very good at growing savings accounts.” The sides of my stomach start to cramp again, so I rub them, and I can tell that it’s worrying Mrs. Lewis.

“Are you sure that you don’t need a doctor?”

“I need to sleep,” I admit. “This situation is stressful.”

“Sweetheart, you aren’t alone anymore, and no matter what happens in the future, you have our help right now.” I smile at the woman, who roughly nudges my leg. “Have you eaten?” She asks, reminding me that I'm hungry. "Let's make something together," she suggests.

Ashton’s POV

I enjoy being an asshole sometimes, so when I got to Cori’s job, I made sure that it seemed as though I was on a friendly visit. I even allowed the hospital director to show me my brand-new plaque before showing me an outline on how the money I donated will be spent.

While reviewing it, I want nothing more than to withdraw my commitment to the organization, but I won’t punish innocent children who will benefit from it; Cori wouldn't want that.

“Are you happy with the plan?”

“I’m actually here about a personal matter.” I smile flirtatiously at Carissa McLean, the hospital Director’s daughter, who really shouldn’t have been called. “What happened this morning?” The women exchange glances, so I jog their memory.

“Mr. Lewis, this institution takes its reputation seriously. We got rid of the problem before it became an issue.”

“You mean that you broke the law?” Mrs. McLean looks confused, and it's probably real. “When did I report anything to anyone here?”

“Never but-”

“And when did Cori Russo practice medicine without a license?”

“She told someone that they had heart disease.”

“Did she? Because from what I know, she simply stated her opinion.”

“She led people to believe that she was a doctor.” I spout out the definition of a medical professional, and a nurse is clearly covered.

“Mr. Lewis, we thought that we were doing you a favor by getting rid of a problem.”

“The mother of my child is not a problem, but still, that’s not why I’m here.” Both women look sick, understanding at once that my kindness had nothing to do with an interest in their hospital, and everything to do with the woman they stupidly fired. “Do you realize how much trouble you’ve caused yourself?”

“I’m sorry sir, but we haven’t broken any laws. Cori was legally fired.”

“Is that so? Then, who may I ask put in this initial request?”

“What?”

“Who suggested the termination process start against Cori?”

“Sir I don’t understand your question because I-” As the woman speaks, I stand and dangle my phone in front of her face. She looks over at her daughter with pure irritation in her gaze, understanding at once that the girl had it out for Cori.

She’s been compiling information about Cori since I entered the hospital, and according to my source, she’s also been getting the woman canceled even on days where the census supports additional staff.

However, because her father likes Cori, she hasn’t been able to go all the way until Wayly, only the way that she reported it back to her mother was completely wrong.

“What am I reading?” Her mother asks, talking more to her daughter than to me. “You told me that Mr. Crosby and Mr. Lewis senior put in a direct complaint with you.”

“More like Vanessa Dodson.”

“Sir I-”

“Fired a hardworking woman over lies and a personal agenda. I could show you images that your daughter sent me to support that, but I don’t think you’d want to see them.”

“But, weren’t you assaulted that night?”

“Show me a police report.” The woman can’t do that, and legally, no report means that witness statements are hearsay.

“Mr. Lewis. I stand by this hospital's decision.”

“Maybe you should ask your attorney how he feels about it.” Mrs. McLean takes the hint and calls her lawyer.

Right in my presence he advises her to reinstate Cori with a warning to avoid further issues. He then goes on to apologize, saying that he had no idea the firings were sparked by personal issues, and I believe him because he has too much going for himself to get involved in petty squabbles.

Funny thing is, I would’ve been helpless if Clarissa reported Cori’s pregnancy and got her fired for not disclosing a possible liability, but she chose to spitefully target her career, giving me leeway.

“Cori won’t be coming back until after the baby is born, so there's no need to rush, but if I hear anything about this situation from anyone else, I will pull out as a donor, and I’ll make sure other donors understand that your daughter isn’t above lying to get into her friends ex-boyfriend’s bed.” Clarissa glares at me, but there’s no lie in my words. “Also, Cori was in some sort of loan forgiveness program…”

“We’ll keep her enrolled throughout her leave.” I wasn’t expecting that, but since it was offered, I won’t decline.

“Mind sending that to her in writing?” Mrs. McLean agrees, and because I won, I leave.