Ariana arrived at the small conference center a few minutes early and sat in the car, wrinkling her nose in disgust as she watched people enter the facility. She didn’t exactly like a lot of the other paramedics in her territory, but she had a much greater hatred for the rest of the medical community. She saw doctors with watches that cost more than her car laughing and strolling along without a care in the world.
They’d probably just come from some elective surgery, when they could have been helping a kid with club feet or a cleft palate.
Too many doctors were all about the money, and Ariana had no intention of becoming one of those. Her aspirations of being a surgeon had nothing to do with making bank. She truly wanted to help people, and she knew she was delusional to think she could singlehandedly change the face of the medical community, but that was her futile journey in life.
Eventually, she got out of the car and strode into the conference room, stopping to be sure her attendance was registered. She needed the credit for this, and she refused to do it again. She searched the crowd, counting about two dozen coworkers she recognized and not finding any of them she cared to talk to. The three women gave female paramedics a bad name, flirting and sleeping with anything that had two legs and something hanging in between.
That, more than anything else, was the reason she hated what she’d done the night before. Now she was just like them, the shameless women who slept their way to the top.
As for the men, most of them were chauvinistic, and the only reason she appreciated Sal was that he was a family man. While he may have flirted with some of the girls, to her knowledge, he’d never followed through. Of course, she’d managed to dupe him quite easily last night, so how did she know for sure he wasn’t sneaking off and banging one of these poor excuses for independent women against a wall somewhere?
Too jaded to care, she finally spotted Sal and rushed toward him, ignoring everyone else in the room. He smiled and waved as she approached, and they sat next to each other at a table with two other male medics who at least didn’t openly make derogatory comments about her.
She glanced around the space as everyone settled in and shook her head. The segregation never ceased to amaze her. Front and center were the surgeons, with general practitioners and hospital residents to the right. She sat on the left side, where medics took the front and nurses sat in the back.
So much for the 21st century.
The food was mediocre, and the lecture was worse. Speaking in a calm, soothing voice and using the terms ‘sir’ and ‘ma’am’, as the lecturer suggested, wouldn’t get her anywhere with someone like Larson. She sneezed to cover a grunt of frustration as his name passed through her mind yet again. She couldn’t stand it anymore! If only she could get in his face and tell him exactly what she thought of him, maybe it would be enough to move on.
The alternative was unthinkable.
Of course, there had been a time or two that she’d made this sort of mistake, albeit with someone slightly less disgusting, and she’d discovered the best way to get them out of her system was to go one more round. But there was no way she could even consider something that filthy now. The mere thought of ever touching that man again made her want another shower.
She clapped with the others when the lecture ended, sure that at least half of the attendees were only applauding the fact that it was over. Sal leaned over and muttered, “I could have been at my son’s soccer game.”
She nodded and rolled her eyes. “I have a test to study for.”
“You really think you can make it on the other side, don’t you?”
Ariana looked up to find Jennie, one of her least favorite among that circle, staring at her with amused disdain.
“We all have dreams, honey, but if you think you’re going to just slide right in the big swinging doors wearing the white coat without getting a little white stain on your uniform first, you are sorely mistaken.”
Ariana clutched her hands into fists, digging her short nails into her skin in an attempt to keep from decking the girl. With as much venom as she could muster, Ariana spat back, “Just because you don’t have any viable skills doesn’t mean everyone has to sleep their way to the top. Some of us know how to keep our pants and our mouths closed.”
Sal laid a hand on her arm to call her off. Over her head, he said, “That's enough, Jennie. Go harass someone who might actually deserve it.”
Ariana stood to leave as the woman with fake tits and a fake smile walked away, but she heard a disapproving noise behind her and turned with wide eyes to find Dr. Dalton Byers looking at her with amusement. “Now, Miss Powell, I think you should really keep your attitude in check. I’ve heard about your reputation, and I’ll tell you, it’s very hard to get invited into an OR for observation or anything else if you can’t play nicely with others.”
He walked away before she could respond, and she started after him, but Sal held her back. “Let it go, Ariana. What the hell has gotten into you today? You need to relax. You’re ready to bite everyone’s head off.”
She sure as hell was, and there was one person to blame—one lousy man who had started her off on the wrong foot about twelve hours ago. But she was done being Vince Larson’s victim. She faced enough bullies on a daily basis, in her real life.
There was no way she was going to let him get the best of her and rule her life and the way she acted anymore.