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Johanna shrugged. “Just someone I thought I knew.” She turned back to Harly and stared, trying to tear her mind away from Ali. Maybe she misread Ali. She seemed genuine when they had spent time chatting in the bar the previous week. The woman she had just seen, though, was nothing more than a tyrant. She was there for only a minute and showed no emotion except for demanding authority. She shook her head, getting the image from the bar out of her mind. It was a good thing Ali was off limits because, at that moment, she saw no reason why she would have been interested in the first place.
Ali
The HR office was quiet when Ali entered it at the end of the day. Noemi looked up and smiled. “Hello, Ali. How’s it going?”
“Pretty good. I was checking to see if you have the employee files for the nurses who started the surgical residency today. I have to start their training tomorrow and wanted some insight into who they are as employees. Also, it wouldn’t hurt to have their educational backgrounds. I’ll take anything I can get. I can return them tomorrow.”
“Of course. Give me a sec.” Ali grabbed a seat and waited for Noemi to get back to her. While she waited, the door opened, and Jessica from the ER entered. Ali smiled at her.
“Hey, Jess.”
Jessica nodded. “Ali. How ya doing?”
“Same ol’ same ol’. Noemi is grabbing me something from the back. It shouldn’t take her long.”
Jessica shrugged. “I’m in no rush.” Jessica sat across the room and grabbed a magazine from a nearby table. Noemi returned a short time later.
“Here ya go, Ali. I’ve attached a copy of the roster, as well.”
“Thanks!” Ali grabbed them from her and leafed through the folders. She was about to turn away and when her ears tuned into Jessica and Noemi’s conversation.
“Kelli said I should come here and get an application for the nurse educator position. Guess she wants me to get it in before it’s officially opened. That way, it cuts down on the process. She said there should be one waiting here for me.”
“Yep, I have it right here. It’s going to be a pretty great position. Class compensation did a lot of work on the hiring line with the board.” Noemi replied. “Good luck to you.”
Ali hesitated at the door, torn between turning towards the conversation and interrupting. What application? Julia hadn’t mentioned there was an application. As far as Ali was concerned, they were still in the beginning stages. She released a breath and left the office. Julia would have some explaining to do. Ali took the files to the elevator and pushed the button for the pediatrics floor. Julia’s office was just down the hall, and the door was propped open. Just before barging in, Ali knocked, and Julia looked up from her desk, startled.
“Ali, what’s going on?” She looked at her watch, “I thought you left a while ago.”
Ali shut the door behind her, turning to find Julia’s eyebrow arched. “Just left HR. Jessica Sanchez was there. She was picking up an application for the nurse educator position. You didn’t tell me there was an application. You mentioned the position, and that’s all. Do you actually want me to apply, or did you just verbalize your support to make me feel better at the conference?” She began tapping her foot, all the while staring at Julia.
Julia leaned back in her chair. “I can assure you that you actually have my support. I wouldn’t have said so unless I meant it.” Ali tilted her head, unable to read Julia’s expression. “I understand that you are worried that maybe someone will come in and take the job before you truly have a chance, but I am not just appeasing you here, Ali. You have just as much chance as Jessica or anyone else. Just trust me on that.” Ali looked down at the folders in her arms. Julia continued. “You just have to work hard and do your job, and everyone will see the qualified candidate. I believe in you. Do you?”
Those words struck Ali. If she was going to trust the process, then she had to believe in herself. She needed to believe in herself. That also meant showing them during this training that she would be the right individual to promote.
“Are we good?” Julia asked. Her phone started ringing, but Julia didn’t shift her gaze from Ali. Ali nodded and backed up towards the door.
“I’ll see you later.” Ali turned and left the office. She did trust Julia. Despite having some difficult challenges in her past, she believed Julia when she was told that she had the same opportunity as everyone else, but sometimes it was hard to trust that when she knew of the mess she had worked hard to get out of.
She got in the elevator and took it down to the main floor. She left the hospital feeling somewhat relieved, but she feared that she didn’t actually have a chance. When she got in her car, she sat in the driver’s seat and looked through the list of people in the residency program she would be training. It came to twenty-two employees, but her eyes went to one name in particular.
Johanna Vialdi? She recognized the name from the previous week. In fact, she had thought about Johanna several times during the past week. Ali wondered what her story was and if Johanna had thought about her at all. Johanna had run off so quickly from the bar that Ali knew there had to be a reason, but she certainly didn’t know it. She rifled through the folders until she found Johanna’s. She flipped through it. There wasn’t much listed in her work experience. The file indicated her previous employer’s name and that she left after only a year. It wasn’t a very impressive work history or resume.
She was already an established nurse. Also, why the residency program? Ali closed the chart and tossed it into the seat next to her. Obviously, there was a story there, and Ali would make sure to get to the bottom of it. She had to put her best foot forward, which meant that she needed to have each of the new nurses she was training succeed in the program with flying colors. Ali wouldn’t let anything, or anyone, get in the way of the promotion she deserved.
Johanna
Johanna entered the training room the next day. It was easier today because she knew where she was going, but once she entered, she quickly glanced around. She groaned and went to the table where she and May had sat the previous day. She had hoped May would already be there. After the first day, she hadn’t really gotten introduced to anyone else. But she felt like May and she had really connected. Hopefully, they could become friends. Feeling self-conscious about sitting alone, she reached into her purse, took out a pen, and leaned into her notepad as if studying very intently.
The door slammed shut, and Johanna looked up to see where the sound came from. A woman she didn’t recognize entered the room after having shut the doors and went straight to the front of the training space. Johanna glanced at her watch and then shot a look at the door. Surely, May didn’t choose to drop out of the program already? Johanna frowned, mentally willing the door to suddenly open.
The woman cleared her throat, drawing Johanna’s eyes back to the front of the room. “Hello, my name is Francesca, but you all can call me Frannie.” Frannie smiled easily, and Johanna felt a little more at ease. “I work in Human Resources. We will start with a PowerPoint presentation about the most important rules and procedures. And, with any luck, you won’t all fall asleep.” She gave a deep laugh, and some others joined in. “Let’s begin, shall we?”
Johanna casually glanced down at her watch again. The time ticked by, but May wasn’t there. She wanted to shrug it off, but it bothered her that her only friend in the class had suddenly bailed.
“I’m passing out the employee handbook. You can also go online and find all this info. The handbook isn’t a suggestion, but it’s to be read like the Bible. Every one of you should ensure you know it front to back. And trust me, you will. I have a whole slide presentation on it. It’s less than an hour, but, be warned, there will be pop quizzes during your training. We use them to make sure you’re fully prepared before we put you into the world alone. Do you have any questions?”
Johanna looked down at the handbook that lay in front of her. She opened it up and stared, her eyes bugging out, as pages upon pages of legal jargon stared her in the face. It’s all so overwhelming. How can I do this alone?
