"He back you up?" Jess asked hopefully.
Kim snorted. "Not likely. I didn't find out until I'd been at Memorial for a few months that the only reason he hired me was because of pressure from the hospital administration to add a woman to his staff. Seems Pruitt thinks women are too emotionally volatile to be psychiatrists."
Anger deepened Jess's voice. "I wish I could say I'm surprised." She raked her hand through her hair. "What did he do?"
"I was coming up for my one-year review. I still had two years left on my contract, so Pruitt decided the situation would be a good excuse to get rid of me." Kim swallowed hard as the emotions of that time threatened to overwhelm her. She was brought back to the here and now when Jess gently squeezed her hand.
Drawing strength from the hand warmly clasping hers, Kim continued, "He called me into his office and explained that the young woman's mother had just come to see him and was extremely upset. She stated that she had spoken to her daughter and claimed that I had not only told her daughter I was a lesbian, but actively encouraged her to participate in deviant activities by extolling the joys of pursuing a gay lifestyle."
"That bitch!" Jess blurted.
"My sentiments exactly," Kim said. "That wasn't the worst of it. Pruitt didn't bother to investigate or even talk to the patient. After telling me about the complaint, he put on this patronizing father act as if he was looking out for me. That's when he dropped the bomb. He would make it all go away if I would quietly resign. I was to submit my resignation and state it was for personal reasons. That way there was no need for this 'unfortunate incident' to ever be reported."
A growl rumbled from deep within Jess's chest. "And if you didn't?"
"Well, then as much as he didn't want to see me embarrassed or have my professional reputation damaged, for the good of the patient, he would have to file a breach-of-ethics complaint against me."
"Bastard." Jess scowled fiercely. "We may have only worked together for a short while, but I know there is no way in hell you did anything you were accused of." Her anger fairly vibrated from her. "Please tell me you didn't resign. Or better yet that you sued the shit out of him for filing an unsubstantiated complaint."
A tidal wave of emotion washed over Kim. With the exception of one brother, the rest of her family and her lover had been adamant that she quietly resign. Jess's staunch defense meant the world to her. Moisture prickled at the corners of her eyes as she struggled not to be swamped by the rising tide of her emotions. It was a losing battle. Tears began to trail down her face.
Jess reached across the table and captured Kim's other hand. Taking both hands in hers, she began to softly run her thumbs across the backs of Kim's hands.
A loud mournful woo woo emanated from Thor.
Several people turned toward their table, reminding Kim that they were in a very public place. Mortification stained her cheeks. She dashed her tears away. "I'm so sorry," she muttered, too embarrassed to meet Jess's eyes.
Jess looked over her shoulder and glared at several people who were staring. "Nothing to be sorry for. Don't worry about it."
In an attempt to give herself some time to regain her composure, Kim leaned down and stroked Thor.
Thor's big tongue swiped several times across Kim's tear-streaked face before she could react.
"Blech." Kim sputtered. "I appreciate the sympathy, big guy, but your technique leaves a lot to be desired." She used her shirt sleeve to wipe the slobber off her face.
Jess worked hard to smother her laughter. "He should at least get an A for effort." All evidence of humor fled from her expression. "Seriously, he usually doesn't express that kind of empathy. He really likes you."
Warm, understanding blue eyes met hers. Kim swore she could almost hear the "and I do too" that Jess didn't give voice to. Kim bent over and hugged Thor's neck. "He's very sweet." She captured Jess's gaze and added silently, And so are you.
A faint blush painted Jess's face, and she glanced away for a moment. Shifting uncomfortably in her chair, Jess once again brought her gaze back to Kim. "I... I'm sorry I upset you." A heavy sigh escaped her lips. "If you felt resigning was appropriate, it was totally your decision and I respect that."
"That wasn't why I was crying." Kim reached for Jess's hand and curled her fingers around her palm. "It was that you actually defended me. My own mother was more concerned that it might come out in the local newspaper that her daughter was a lesbian than she was about what a complaint like that could do to my career."
Jess's hand tightened in Kim's. "I'm sorry your family didn't support you. That must have been awful."
"Oh, it gets worse." Kim knew she sounded bitter but couldn't stop herself. "When I refused to resign and complained to Human Resources and the hospital administration, I suddenly became a pariah." Kim's free hand clenched into a stiff fist. "No one at the hospital supported me. Not my friends, not even my lover. Anna, my ex, was furious with me that I didn't resign immediately. Her only concern was that while investigating the complaint against me, someone might find out about us. She didn't even work in the psych department. It didn't have anything to do with her, but all she cared about was how it might affect her. She was more afraid of getting dragged out of the closet than what the whole affair could do to my professional reputation."
Jess reached out and gently brushed her tears away.
Kim hadn't even been aware of the fact that she had started to cry again. She ducked her head and began to silently berate herself. Way to go, Kim. This will really make Jess want to have anything to do with you. The first time you get together you pour out your pitiful sob story, and just to top it off tell her about your closeted ex-girlfriend.
"Look at me. Please," Jess said.
Although she was shamed by her emotional breakdown, Kim forced herself to look at Jess. A gaze filled with a combination of anger and compassion met hers.
"I'm sorry you had to go through something like that. I've seen you with patients. You're a great psychiatrist. You didn't deserve that kind of treatment. Not professionally or personally," Jess added, giving Kim's hand a firm squeeze.
Kim immediately started to choke up again.
"Hey now. No more of that. Forget that homophobic prick, Pruitt. He didn't get away with it. Right?"
"Once HR got involved, Pruitt totally backed off. I really think he believed I would resign and hadn't thought about what would happen if I didn't. There was no formal complaint ever filed against me. Even the mother recanted her statement. The official word was that it was all just a big misunderstanding."
Kim scrubbed her hands over her face. "The truly ironic part is Pruitt has a gay son, and he and his dad get along fine. Pruitt didn't care I was a lesbian. He didn't like that I was a woman psychiatrist, or maybe he just didn't like me. And in the end, he did get his way. I left. Under my own terms, but I did leave."
"Well, if I should ever cross paths with Pruitt, I'll be sure to thank him," Jess said.
"What!" Kim was so shocked she didn't even care that people were once again staring.
Jess grinned. "That's better. And yes, I said thank him. If he hadn't been such a total bastard, you wouldn't be here, working at LA Metro." Jess turned a bit shy. "And we would never have met."
Maybe there is something to that old adage "every cloud has a silver lining." A lightness she hadn't felt in months filled Kim's heart. It was matched by the brilliant smile that spread across her face.
"I'm glad I met you, Jess."
A loud woo woo from Thor made both women jump.
Carefree laughter bubbled up. Kim slid out of her chair and dropped to her knees. She wrapped her arms around Thor and gave him a big hug. "I'm glad I met you too, big guy."
CHAPTER 13
JESS PUSHED HER chair away from the desk. She had retreated into her office to get some paperwork done, but had lost her usual relentless focus. Earlier in the week, she had experienced some trepidation about seeing Kim in a work situation following their outing. Those feelings had changed as the week progressed. It was Friday afternoon and she had not gotten so much as a glimpse of Kim all week. Now a part of her longed to see her, if just for a few minutes.