I Remember (Remembrance Series) by Cynthia P. O'Neill Read Free Book Online

smiled.
    “Here are the completed items.” I picked up the stack of folders and handed them to her. Little notes were attached to each of them, identifying where they were in the system, in the event anything needed to be altered or corrected at the last minute.
    “As for my father, his strength has improved and they’ll go ahead with the testing, tomorrow. I don’t know that we will have any answers, but I feel the need to be there for my parents.” My eyebrows creased with worry.
    Caroline put her hand on my shoulder in reassurance. “Keep positive thoughts running through your mind and I am sure things will all work out for the best. Cherish the time you have with them”.
    “Try to have a good Valentine’s and we hope to see you on Monday, Jordan.”
    “Thanks, Caroline! I will have this last item to you, shortly. Are you leaving?”
    “No, I have some more work to handle, so I will be in my office. Before you leave, be sure to put your phone on ‘Out of Office’ for tomorrow and take down your ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign.”
    “Ok, will do. I’ll drop by on my way out.” I smiled at her with appreciation.
    The project was finished, taking less time than I had imagined. I was surprised when I realized I would be getting out of the office at my regular time. I stepped into the hallway and headed toward Caroline’s office, when Pamela approached.
    She put her hand on my arm and I flinched. Her touch always felt like hot coals on my skin.
    “Jordan? I’m so sorry to hear of your dad’s illness.” I could hear the words coming out of her mouth, as if they were meant to be sincere; but her facial expression looked forged, as if she had to pout a little to keep up an impression of concern.
    “How did you know?” I haven’t told anyone other than Caroline.
    “Let’s just say some things or some people are not always what they seem to be around here. Secrets and rumors fly swiftly. If I were you, I’d be careful who I talk to.” She went on her way, flashing an enigmatic smile and gliding along as if she were happy to hear of some bad news. I suddenly recalled my dream of her with vivid clarity and it seemed to be spot on.
    Caroline motioned for me to come into her office. “Please close the door behind you, Jordan.”
    “Jordan, I am concerned about some of the behaviors around the office. As you are aware, we had two employees quit rather abruptly after Pamela started talking with them. I had a couple more come to me this evening with thoughts of leaving. They informed me of rumors that I am ready to lay off half of the staff, citing that several doctors are going to separate from the practice and form their own clinics. You wouldn’t happen to know where this is coming from, would you?” Her face looked distraught with emotional pain.
    “Whoa.” This was the first that I’ve heard of it.”
    I tried to wrap my mind around the words she had just uttered. “Caroline… It’s been weird for awhile. Things seemed much happier when I first started working here, but I had no idea this was going on.”
    “If you think of anyone or hear anything, please let me know. I hope you realize none of this is factual. Granted, we do have a couple of doctors thinking about pursuing other interests, but we already have others lined up to come in and enlarge the practice.” Caroline’s words were reassuring. I knew she spoke the truth.
    “I’ll keep an ear out. Oh, by the way, did you happen to mention to Pamela about my dad? I kind of wanted to keep it private until I know what’s going on.”
    “Why would you think that?” Caroline’s looked hurt.
    “On the way to your office, she commented about how sorry she was to hear of his health issues.”
    “Hmm…I did tell Linda, since she is part of Administration. She was ticked about the sign on your door. She insisted on offloading some of her work to you, today, and kept pressing me until I told her the reasons behind your need to focus. I swore her to