by Brina Cary
He sighed and scrubbed at his five o’clock shadow. He looked exhausted, but it was a special kind of exhaustion. She knew it well. It was mainly from whatever memories he was trapped within. Pain assaulted him. She had seen the look on her own face often enough to recognize it. “I trusted him and it bit me. I haven’t really trusted anyone since, except for close friends. It takes a lot to make me trust.”
“Why would you not trust your own father?” Synthia’s father lived on the other side of the country, but they still spoke often. She couldn’t imagine not trusting him.
“Synthia… my mom… she died when I was just a boy.”
“Dear God… I’m so sorry!”
“It’s not your fault. You couldn’t have known. My father betrayed me. He tossed me in boarding school after my mother died and left me there to rot.”
“Did you consider that he didn’t know what to do with you? He might not have known just what all came with being a father.”
“He knew. My grandfather was a great man. My father just became a little lacking.”
“He lost his wife. When I lost my husband… the world stopped. It took everything I had just to get up from the bed, just to quit crying long enough to take care of Daniella. Grief is a powerful thing. I think you’re underestimating it.”
“My mother died. How am I underestimating it?”
“You’re forgetting that you were young, you were flexible. Your father? That was his life. I know firsthand what that feels like…”
“I think we should talk about something else.”
“Fine. Why don’t you tell me what Montoya said to you that freaked you out so bad.”
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
“Dad, I haven’t been able to talk to you since mom died! It was like you just couldn’t stand to look at me. You shipped me off to boarding schools the first chance you got and never came back! I’ve made myself into a good man. No one else can claim responsibility for that.”
“Here you are asking me for help and screaming at me that I haven’t been there for you.” His father shook his head. “Well, son, you can’t have it both ways. Either I’m there for you or I’m not. One day you’re going to have to realize that I lost my wife. I lost the woman I loved more than life itself. She died and I couldn’t handle it.”
“One day you’re going to have to realize that I lost my mother. Then I lost my father because he couldn’t handle it.” Ollie turned on his heel and walked out of his father’s mansion, ignoring his name being called. It was, but a voice on the wind. There was a time when everything had to end. It was time for him to give up on his father… it was time for him to give up on the things he wanted in life.
A chirp like ring tone sounded from his pocket. Pulling out his phone he looked hard at the face. It was Synthia calling him. It was time to be a man. It was time to stand up for what was right. He was going to force Avalon to handle Daniella’s case, despite how upset they were with him over the clinic. He’d give up his career, but he was going to save her first. He had money. At fifteen he had hired a stockbroker. He could pull it all out. He might have to close down the clinic, but Daniella would live. Grit and determination had gotten him through life. It wasn’t about to fail him now.
As he answered her call, he felt empowered in a way that he hadn’t in so long. “Synthia, I’m on my way.”
“There’s a man here from a donation place. He’s asking all kinds of questions… I don’t know the answers.”
“Put him on the phone.”
“Hello?”
“You’re speaking to Dr. Oliver Brooks. What are you asking my wife?”
“Oh, hey, Dr. Brooks! This is Sam. I had heard you got married, but I didn’t know this was your wife. Congratulations! I was asked to come brief her on the bone marrow donation process.”
“Why?”
“Dr. Montoya hasn’t told you yet?”
“No, he hasn’t.”
“He found a donor for your daughter. The donor is going through the final process now. It’s all in house, so we can have it done very quickly. Could have it done as early as Monday.”
That was three days away. “Where did the donor come from?”
“Dr. Montoya said that the guy has been registered for a while, but wasn’t a match to anyone that needed a donor until now.” He heard the phone being shuffled before the guy continued. “Everything’s in order, but I need your wife to consent. Dr. Montoya wanted the husband to consent too, but he didn’t say that was you.”
Of course he didn’t. He wouldn’t want Oliver to be in the way. “I’m off site right now, but I’m on my way. Can you wait about fifteen minutes?”
“Sure, I can leave some papers with your wife and come back. The donor’s not going anywhere. He was really specific about who could have his bone marrow. He wanted it to go to kids. He’s refused all adults. Has a soft spot for them or something. Not real sure.”
Oliver frowned, but ignored the flags that raised. Some people were just odd or some had even lost loved ones that were children because a match was never found. The donor was probably one of those. At least Oliver hoped he was. That would make him feel much more at ease. “Go ahead and leave the paperwork. She and I will discuss it when I arrive.”
“Sure thing, bye, Doc.”
As Oliver hung up, he took a deep breath before making his next call. It was answered on the third ring. “Josh.”
“You still haven’t learned how to properly answer a phone.” He smiled. Josh never would learn. He was old school and wasn’t about to change for anyone. That was why Oliver liked him.
“Hey, kid! How are you doing?”
“Good. You?”
“Well, I was better before you called. You sound down. It’s like you’re thinking something bad, kid.”
He got behind the wheel of his car and shut the door, starting it before he finally spoke. “Josh, Avalon found out about the clinic. I’m in trouble. I need to know what to do. What do I do?”
“Damn, kid. I knew this would come. Let me make some calls. It’ll be ok.”
“I got married, Josh. I’m a dad to a kid that’s dying. She needs a bone marrow transplant. If she doesn’t get it then she’s done. If they fire me, then they will try to not treat her. They’ll send her to Saint Luke’s… I’ll need to pay for it all out of pocket or she’s going to die…” Daniella would die too. There wouldn’t be anything that could save her if she didn’t get the bone marrow transplant. “She’s just a kid for God’s sake!” Tears of frustration streamed down his cheeks.
“Do you even know how much that will cost?”
Oliver did. It was hundreds of thousands of dollars. That wasn’t taking into account any of the follow up care she would need…
“Of course you do. Honestly, I don’t know if you have enough in your funds that I can liquidate pretty quick. Kid, give me a few hours. I’ll do my best to see what I can do. Can you hold them off until then?”
“I’ll avoid the board members like the plague. As long as the Chief of Staff or HR doesn’t find me then I’m good.”
“Give me at least five hours.”
“I can give you four.”
“Do your best to give me five. It takes time to trade.”
“Do your best.” If Josh couldn’t get him the money then Ollie would rob a bank. It didn’t matter now. His career was over, the clinic was gone… After all of these years, he was still screwing up. He would save Daniella if it was the last thing he did. He just needed to make sure they didn’t find out he robbed the bank That was possible, right?
Chapter 15
The Chief of Staff stood in front of him. The man, Dr. George O’Hare, was only fifty-two, but was a shark. That’s how he got to be where he was, making decisions that had life or death consequences based on what was best for the patient. Every clinical person fell under him, even Ollie.
“Oliver, I need to speak with you.” George’s voice had a r
ough edge to it.
Oliver should have expected that he would be waiting at Daniella’s room for him. Of course he would have found out too. If everyone else knew, of course he did too. “Can it wait?”
“I’m afraid not. I’d much rather not do this in front of your family.” The word family was stressed, as if he knew that Oliver had done something wrong. George turned and walked away, clearly expecting Oliver to follow, which he did.
****
As they entered George’s office, Oliver felt as if he was done. He hadn’t been able to give Josh the time he needed. He was going to have to figure other ways of getting Daniella’s transplant done. Synthia trusted him and he wasn’t going to let her down. He began going over things in his mind. If he couldn’t rob a bank then there had to be a way that he could stall them… There were ten guards on shift at any time. It would take them at least four minutes to respond to a Code Juliet…
“Whatever you’re thinking, you need to put it out of your mind. Don’t make this worse than it already is.” George pointed to one of the terribly stiff, faded green faux leather chairs. They were known as the Chairs of Doom amongst all of the clinical people that fell under George. Ollie hung his head.“Have a seat, Oliver.”
There would be no Code Juliet, just like there’d be no robbing a bank. He wasn’t capable of committing a criminal act. “George, I already know what this is about. Can we please just skip that. Formalities will just make it worse.”
“I’d rather you sit.” It wasn’t a request to placate an old man. In fact, it wasn’t a request at all. It was a demand.
They walked over to the round meeting table, set in the middle of the Chairs of Doom, in the corner of George’s office. It was a round table, mimicked on the tale of King Arthur’s Court. However, Oliver didn’t feel very equal in that moment. As they sat, Oliver realized George was getting comfortable, stretching out the seconds into minutes before he spoke. As if he was considering his words with the utmost care.
“George, I’m an adult. I can take it.”
“Oliver, I’ve watched you for a while now. You’re a great surgeon, but after the Woods case you started fracturing yourself. Your duties never suffered, so I left it alone. I ignored it. I had hoped that you would be able to deal with it and move on. In a way you’re still dealing with it. I know you married that woman just so she could have the benefits.”
“George…”
George held up his hand to cut Oliver off. “No, I’m not done.”
Oliver closed his mouth and sat back. It was time for him to just accept it. After all, if he just stalled by letting George talk, then he’d be able to find another way or give Josh the time he needed. “Very well.”
“Whatever the two of you have going on, is between the two of you. If she’s using you for benefits, that’s fine because that’s between the two of you. However, you need to accept that you married her and be a good husband. That little girl needs a father, so you better learn how to be one of those too. I think that’s going to be a bit hard for you, but I know you have a good idea of what one should be. You’ve grown up a lot. I think you’re even beginning to become a good man. I already know you’re a great surgeon.”
He took a pause and Oliver knew, knew it was time for him to accept his punishment. “You crossed a line, Oliver. It’s a line I can’t ignore.” George shook his head, his shoulders hunched slightly. “Oliver, you signed a contract. That contract is very explicit. You can’t work another job during hours that you’re on our payroll. I know you didn’t have any surgeries during that time; however, that’s time that we paid you and you weren’t here.”
“I was available though.”
“I’m aware of that. That’s why I let this go on for so long.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve known since you signed the papers on the building. I’m not an idiot.”
“I never said you were.”
“You’re a terrible liar, but it’s true that you’ve never underestimated me. You’ve just overestimated yourself… You should really be more careful with your phone.”
Oliver frowned for a moment before recognition flared to life. The day he signed the papers, he was late because he lost his phone. His un-protected, no password having phone… it had fallen out of his lab coat. However, he had found it on his desk… “How?”
“Master key, moron.” The hurtful words were smoothed with the smile George aimed his way. “Oliver, you have to understand that I’m stuck. I need something to be able to fix this, but right now my hands are tied behind my back. The board has asked that you be suspended, pending action. They’re calling for a peer review on all of your cases since Woods.”
Peer reviews were bad. They were ending his career in medicine. “George, that’s not necessary.”
“It’s either that or you resign. If you resign it stays quiet.” George scrubbed his face, as if trying to rub the stress away. “I don’t like this, but the board… they’re not pleased.”
“What can I do to change their minds?”
George gave a half-hearted laugh. “Buy control of the hospital,” he suggested.
A frantic, heavy-handed knock on the door interrupted Oliver’s retort. The door flew open and a tiny woman stalked in. She was about seventy-nine years old. Her face was contorted in an angry manner and her whitish-blue hair stood at odd angles. “You won’t believe this! Some asshole bought control of my hospital! Our investors weren’t paying attention and they sold fifty-one percent of our stock.”
“Really?”
Oliver watched as George tried to hid a smile. He watched as the tension seemed to melt away from George and the lines on his face smoothed out.
“Yes! Three corporations bought stock this morning. All under one head corporation, Hunt Enterprises.”
Hunt Enterprises? Oliver squirmed in his seat. He knew who owned Hunt Enterprises.
“I don’t understand it either! They’re a technology and real estate company. Why would they want our hospital? Are they going to close us down? Build something else here? The Board is gong nuts! As CEO I need to be able to reassure them that everything’s ok; however, I can’t do that!Why can’t I do that, you ask, because I don’t know that it will be!” She stalked back and forth, pacing in the tiny room.
“Beth, I’d like to introduce someone to you.” George motioned to Oliver. “Beth, this is Oliver Brooks. His father owns Hunt Enterprises.”
The woman turned to Oliver and gave him such a look of distain that he felt as if he had been tossed into a supernova. “Why does he want our company?”
“I don’t know.” Oliver shrugged. He really didn’t know. There was no reason for his father to care about Avalon.
“Yes, you do. I bet you’re here to scout it out for him!” She pointed a bony finger at him. “I bet he’s been planning this for months and he sent you to see what we’d do.”
George stood up and sighed deeply. “No, Beth. Actually, Dr. Brooks is the neurosurgeon that the board requested a resignation for this morning. I’m pretty sure his father got word of it shortly after and took action. His father is a very wealthy man after all.”
Why would his father buy the hospital? Was it because of their argument?
“I don’t give a damn how wealthy his father is! This is absurd!”
“George?” Oliver wasn’t sure what to do. This elderly woman was throwing a temper tantrum. He had never seen anything like it. “Should I leave?”
“Stay where you are.” George turned back to the woman. “Beth, Dr. Brooks has been an extremely valuable asset to this hospital; however, he holds no key functions that would prevent his father from buying the hospital. As a matter of fact, we could use this to our advantage. Beth, have you thought about advertising the fact that our top neurosurgeon runs a free clinic in his free time?”
“It’s improper and against his contract!”
“However, it would go over very well with the public, don’t you think?”
Beth glared at George. George sat calmly. It was a poker match and Oliver knew he didn’t have any cards in the game. If only he could just disappear from the room. The silence was deafening.
Beth turned Oliver and his wish to disappear grew. “Fine. We’ll need to clean you up, but it might work. George, make him presentable. If his father is going to take over my hospital then I’m going to take over his free clinic.”
Chapter 17
Ollie sat across the table from his father, silently staring at him. His eyes looked tired, but his jaw was set. Ollie smiled. His father thought he didn’t know. “So? How are things with you?”
“Good. How are things with you?”
“Some mysterious company bought the hospital, so I got to keep my job.”
“Oh, good. I know you like working there.”
“Dad, can we cut the crap?” The shocked look his father gave him, made him realize just what all he had missed by not paying attention. “I’m serious. Talk to me.”
“Ok, what do you want to talk about?”
“Dad, I wanna know why — why you left me alone?”
“Are you talking about boarding school?” Ollie nodded. “I didn’t know what to do with you… you were just a kid and my wife just died. I know it was shitty, but I honestly didn’t know what to do. Your mom, she was the love of my life. She and I were supposed to be together until we were both old and gray. Then we were supposed to die together.”
“You haven’t even dated since she died, have you?”
“Nope. It feels like cheating.” His father took a sip of the coffee that he had been stirring aimlessly. “The boarding school seemed like a good idea at the time. I had things to go through and do. I didn’t want you to be hurt anymore and you looked so much like her. It was so painful… You still remind me so much of her, but it doesn’t hurt anymore. It hasn’t for years — since you were about seven. However, I didn’t know how to fix things with you. I just hoped that you would forgive me at some point without me ever having to ask.”