His Wicked Obsession (Archer and Virginia) novel Chapter 93

Virginia walked over to the sink, turned on the faucet, and began washing her hands under the steady stream of water.

She didn't turn around, simply eyeing the two women through the reflection in the mirror.

She recognized them. They were administrative assistants in charge of scheduling appointments.

The slightly older one recovered quickly, forcing a sycophantic smile. "I was just saying earlier, this has to be Chloe's doing. I bet she's the one who posted that garbage. She just can't stand seeing you succeed, Dr. Caldwell."

"Yeah, Virginia, please don't be mad. We..."

Virginia shut off the faucet and pulled a paper towel from the dispenser to dry her hands.

She turned to face them. "I'll let it slide this time. But if I catch you gossiping about a colleague's private life on company time again, you can march straight to HR and hand in your resignations."

Her voice wasn't loud, and her pace was deliberate, but the two women froze, utterly mortified.

Virginia tossed the paper towel into the trash, pulled open the restroom door, and walked out.

...

On the day Chloe came in for her follow-up appointment, she wore an off-white maxi dress, her hair pinned up in a loose, elegant style. She looked the picture of fragile perfection.

Her assistant guided her to a seat in the waiting area. As Chloe settled in, she glanced around the room, her eyes landing on a young woman in a lab coat organizing files.

The name tag read: Intern - Hailey Miller.

Chloe raised an eyebrow, a cunning glint flashing in her eyes. She stood up and approached the intern, her voice soft and sweet. "Excuse me, how many more appointments does Dr. Caldwell have today?"

Hailey looked up. Seeing the woman's pale complexion and the faint dark circles under her eyes, she quickly replied, "She has two more ahead of you. It'll be just a short wait."

Chloe offered a gracious smile and a polite thank you. She placed her small handbag on her lap and let out a heavy, deliberate sigh.

"Are you unhappy with our services?" Hailey asked tentatively. "You can tell me. I'd be happy to pass your feedback along to management."

Chloe kept her head bowed, a flicker of triumph dancing in her eyes.

She twisted the strap of her bag, her voice laced with manufactured distress. "Virginia doesn't like me. But she's Doctor White's designated assistant. She knows exactly what I'm going through, yet behind closed doors, she's so hostile toward me.

"She... well, what happened the other day was an accident. She already apologized. And back then..." Chloe murmured, acting as if she were talking to herself. "I'm sure she didn't mean to come between my husband and me all those years ago..."

She let her sentence trail off, leaving the unsaid accusations hanging thickly in the air, offering Hailey the perfect breadcrumbs to construct her own dramatic narrative.

Predictably, Hailey spent the rest of the day completely distracted at work.

Over the following week, a noticeable shift occurred in how Hailey looked at and interacted with Virginia.

It was subtle—a delayed response to an instruction, purposely dragging her feet on tasks, or 'accidentally' failing to prepare patient files ahead of time.