Fixation (Fatal Attraction #3)

Chapter 24

24

C ould she not get a break for a single Goddamned day? Reina reread the email from Dr. Williams. The essence of all those fancy words was simple—she’d been fired without a recommendation. No explanation was given. The email meant that Laila, or someone else, had informed Dr. Williams that she’d left Vedant’s house without his permission. It definitely had to be Laila; she was the one who held the biggest grudge against her.

Reina exhaled. She’d arrived home late last night, drenched, cold, mentally and physically exhausted. She’d barely slept through the night. Finally, she’d gotten up from the bed and started her chores. The fridge had to be cleaned of all the stale food. The old stacked laundry had to be done, and the house had to be cleaned. She’d only finished two of these tasks when this email had pinged on her phone.

She hid her face behind her hands. God, how could she have fucked up her life so thoroughly?

Breathing out, she looked around her small but well-furnished flat. It had been hers for so many years now. Her parents had bought this flat for her in upscale Grosvenor Square when she had moved here to study. It was in a safe location, and the building had top of the range security. It had been close to her university, and later, even the hospital she’d worked at had only been two metro stops away. But now… now for the first time in years she had no direction. She didn’t know what to do.

“I am not a one-woman kind of man. You and I, we had fun, but I think it’s time to end it.”

“You posed quite a challenge. But now I’m bored.”

Fucking asshole. He’d been in it with her for fun? Fun? It hurt that she’d been expecting more from him, while he’d never been serious about her in the least. She’d been nothing more than a challenge to him, and eventually, that too had become tiresome.

An ache bloomed in her chest. This one man had spectacularly destroyed her life. She was so mad at him, but mostly, she was mad at herself for falling into the silken trap he’d laid out for her. How could she have let this happen to herself?

She blinked back the tears she hadn’t even realised had been falling and got up. That’s it. She was a strong, independent, and brave woman. He was the one who told her to stand up for herself. Well, that was one advice she was implementing right away. She was going to take back control of her life. Starting right the fuck now.

One hour later, she barged into Dr. Williams’ office.

“Dr. Singh,” her senior doctor looked up from his laptop, “You are intruding.”

“You fired me without an explanation or recommendation,” Reina said.

“Have you come to beg for your job back?” Dr. Williams asked, his tone haughty and contemptuous.

Although Dr. Steve Williams was in his late fifties, he was a good-looking man. He was tall, with salt and pepper hair, and at one point, she’d thought he had a kind face too. She’d learned the hard way about the predator that lurked behind his gentle disposition.

“Why did you fire me?” Reina asked.

His eyes gleamed as they ran over her. It disgusted her. He disgusted her.

“Not hiding behind your disguise anymore, Reina?” he said, his eyes roaming over her yet again, making her cringe. “Have you finally come to your senses? Is that why you’re dressing attractively again? My offer still stands, you know. I will rescind your termination if you agree to come to my bed whenever I ask you to.”

Her stomach swooped. She couldn’t believe he was propositioning her again. Had that been his intention all along? Had he thought that punishing her by giving her the worst shifts, cancelling her holidays, and banning her from the operation theatre would make her frustrated enough to give in to him? And now this. Fuck, he was vile. Once again, it was proved that men couldn’t be trusted. Fucking bastards.

“I will never accept your disgusting proposal,” she breathed out.

He leaned back in his chair casually. “I see you’ve still not come to your senses. You forget that I hold the reins of your career in my hand. You rejected me so easily but then whored yourself to Vedant Oshnov. You forgot that as per our hospital guidelines, doctors are forbidden from having an affair with a patient.”

“I’ve read the guidelines,” Reina began, “I think the exact words are, ‘ a doctor is forbidden from having an affair with a patient while that patient is admitted to the hospital. ’ Since Mr. Oshnov had been discharged from this hospital since over five weeks now, this guideline is inapplicable. Hence, whether or not I had an affair with him is none of anyone’s business.”

Contempt flared in the man’s eyes. “Dr. Singh, I run this hospital, and I decide who gets to work in it or not. You’re fired and that isn’t changing. I’ve even drafted an email to the board regarding your misdeeds. You disobeyed my direct order when you operated on him, and then you had an affair with the same man—your patient. You will get blacklisted and will never work as a doctor anywhere again.”

Reina stared at him for a long moment. “You’ve had a problem with me from the second I refused to sleep with you. My biggest mistake was to not take you on then and complain about you to the management.”

“Oh, please,” he played with his fountain pen. “You didn’t do anything then because you knew it was my word against yours, and you are no one. Who will believe you over me?”

Anger filled her whole being.

“You’re right. Dr. Singh is no one. Who will believe her?” Reina straightened her spine. “But the world will stand up and fucking listen to Dr. Reina Mehra—youngest sister of Rajiv Mehra, owner of Poseidon Shipping Corp. and…” She removed a magazine from her bag and threw it on the table. “And the sister of Ananya Mehra, editor and owner of Noir Fashion.”

Fear splashed over the older man’s face. It gave her great joy to see it. This man had made her life hell for months, and like a fool, instead of standing up and fighting for herself, she’d been worried about the backlash on her career and let him push her around. No more. Vedant was right. She ought to have stood up for herself a long time ago. Maybe then, she’d never have allowed Vedant to walk over her. But lesson learnt. No one would ever do that to her again.

She lifted her nose in the air. “I’m giving you an easy way out of this mess that you have created. You will rescind my termination notice, post which you will accept my resignation email, which you will find in your inbox. And lastly, you will give me a glowing recommendation and then you will forget I ever existed. Failure to do any of the above will result in me slapping multiple law-suits on you and the management for aiding and abetting sexual harassment in your hospital. Let’s see how many more women come out and blame you for harassing them once Noir Fashion covers my law-suit against you.” She tipped her head at the magazine. “Oh, and when you get the time, read my sister’s magazine. You will learn how beautifully she crafts a story. And with me, be assured that she will go all out as it will be personal for her.”

The older man stared at her aghast. She continued, unfazed, “Also, let’s not forget your role in allowing four of your team members to be kidnapped and held hostage by the Oshnovs for nearly five weeks. I signed an NDA not to file a suit against them for doing what they did. However, no one can stop me from talking about your role in it. They will get away easily; you, I doubt, will survive the backlash of that. My family will ensure it. I will ensure it.”

Dr. Williams gaped at her, mouth open, unable to form a word. But Reina wasn’t quite done. “If you don’t do as I say, then it may take time, but I will destroy you, Dr. Williams.”

The older man was sweating now. “Please stop. I’ll do as you say Dr. Singh.”

“It’s Dr. Mehra, and you bloody well do as I say. Write that recommendation letter right now and cc it to the management. I need a print of it as well. I’m waiting.”

He began to type quickly. A few minutes later, she got a ping on her phone. She quickly read through the email with a glowing recommendation about her, her work, and her contribution to the hospital. She waited until he took a print, signed and stamped it and handed it to her.

She held her phone up. “By the way, I’ve recorded our entire conversation. Now, I have proof of your harassment. I’m going to take this video to the management and ensure you don’t repeat this ever again with another woman. And so, it will never be your word against mine or any other woman’s ever again.”

The fear on his face made her feel better than she had in days. Her head held high, Reina walked out of his office. She ran both her hands down her hair. Several of her colleagues stared at her as she passed them. Many had never seen her like this, sans glasses and hair flowing freely down her back. She didn’t even bat an eye. She’d lived in her own shadow for far too long. She’d worried that her seniors and colleagues would never take her seriously or respect her because of the family she belonged to. She’d worried that her appearance would put her in compromising positions that could eventually damage her career. She’d been so fixated on her career that she’d forgotten to put herself and her dignity first. But that stopped today.

She was Reina Mehra, and she was going to own who she was. No more hiding from anyone or anything.