I knew he needed to go and, honestly, wasn’t sure why I’d waited this long. Maybe the busy schedule, but that wasn’t an excuse. I squeezed the bridge of my nose.
“I caught him taking pictures of me bent over.”
I stared at Alicia in shock. While he had been flirtatious, made inappropriate jokes, and annoyed the staff, he had never crossed into territory like that as far as I knew. He had to go. And it had to be now.
“That’s sexual harassment, Alicia. Would you like me to call the police so you can file a police report?”
She swallowed. “No, but if he continues to work here, I won’t be able to work here anymore. I could brush off his attempts to ask me out. I thought he was trying to be funny and make friends, but now I’m just creeped out.”
I nodded. “I understand. I’m so sorry that he did that. Can you have one of the others working at the front call one of Dr. Velasquez’s technicians? I know they are looking for temporary work until this is solved and Dr. Velasquez comes home safely. I’ll need someone to come in.”
“Thank you.” Alicia nodded. “I’ll call someone right now. I have some friends over there.”
I followed Alicia to the door. She huffed when we both spotted Dean crouched in front of the kennels that lined a far wall. I patted her on the shoulder. “Take a break if you need to or a long lunch. It’s on me today.”
Tears flooded Alicia’s eyes, but she blinked them away. “Thank you.”
I waited for Alicia to step into the front lobby before I approached Dean. “Dean, I need to see you in my office immediately.”
His head popped up and he grinned, not catching on to my foul mood. At a leisurely pace he strode across the space between us. I turned on my heel, stepped into my office, and held the door for him.
“What’s this about? Finally ready to take me up on my offer to take you out for lunch?” He winked and I barely held back my repulsed shiver.
“Dean, please take a seat.”
He did, leaning back into the chair with his legs spread and his fingers playing with the scruff along his jaw. He was the epitome of casual. I sat in my chair, folded my hands on the desk, and looked him in the eye. “Dean, you are a good veterinary technician. You work well with the animals and with their owners. However, you do not work well with our female staff.”
He started to argue, but I held up a hand silencing him and kept speaking. I wouldn’t let him stall me. He’d been here for far too long, and it was time for him to leave. Immediately. He wasn’t the first person I’d fired, but it was the first time it had happened in the middle of the day. I usually waited until all the patients had left and it was a quieter environment. Not this time.
“When you started here, you were friendly and kind. I think that’s what made it easier to brush aside jokes and inappropriate behavior until it escalated. I can’t allow this to continue at my practice. You were caught taking pictures of a female employee as she bent over. You are fired. Effective immediately. You may gather your things and leave through the back entrance.”
Dean fumed in the chair across from me. The casual pose was gone. His fists were clenched on his knees and he was scowling at me. “You’re going to take that bitch’s word over mine?”
“This is not up for discussion, nor is it only due to this one incident. It has been building over time due to your behavior. I have asked you repeatedly to stop flirting with the staff, asking them out, and making inappropriate jokes. You would stop for a while, until it would slowly start to happen again. We have been so busy that I fear I’ve let your behavior slide for too long. I’m unwilling for that to happen. Please collect your things and leave. I will escort you. I will also not hesitate to call the police if you do not leave cordially.”
Dean jumped up, kicking the chair to the floor behind him. I stared at him, not giving in or giving him a reaction. I knew that was what he wanted, and he wouldn’t get it from me. I strode across my office to the door and opened it.
“I don’t have anything to grab,” he muttered.
I nodded and walked down the hallway in front of him, keeping my head slightly turned so I could keep an eye on him in my peripheral vision. I popped open the back door and let him pass through. “Your I.D. badge.” I held out my hand.
He ripped it off his shirt and flicked it at me. It bounced off my leg and lay next to my feet. I closed my hand, bringing it down to my side, as I watched him walk to his car and peel out of the lot. I bent to pick up the badge and released a long shaky breath as I walked back to my office. I placed his badge on my desk, grabbed my white coat from the back of my chair, and strode toward the evaluation rooms. The two-minute break I’d allowed myself for coffee had ended up being longer, and now I had multiple visits waiting on me. But that needed to be done immediately.
The next time I was able to breathe was the end of the day. The staff had already gone home; it was just me, sitting in front of my desk putting the last touches on the day’s paperwork. Tabitha, the technician
