On Monday morning a frustrated Sophia walked into the section of the St. Peter’s hospital that held the lab. Passing by workers and a few patients she headed to the front desk and slapped her hand on the hardwood. The two ladies sitting behind the high desk barely glanced at her as they chatted about something.
“Excuse me,” she said to get their attention.
They kept talking.
“Excuse me,” she said through gritted teeth. They looked up at her with bored eyes.
“Yes?”
Straining to keep her anger under control she said, “I brought the blood sample of one of my patients last week and I am yet to get the results of his test.”
The one with low-cut curly hair gave her a droll glare before slowly moving to the monitor at the side of the desk. “Name?”
“Sophia Blanc my patient’s name is Freddie.”
The lady took a long time scrolling through the lists of names in the register. Behind the front desk was the closed-off lab, closed to workers from the main hospital area and to patients. Sophia could hear the muffled voices of overworked lab attendants as they performed one test after another.
The receptionist looked up from the monitor at her. “Your test isn’t ready yet.”
Eyebrows shooting up Sophia leaned forward on the desk. “Excuse me? I have waited a week and now I have to wait until my patient is dead before I get the result?!”
“If you need it urgently then speak to the Board.”
Sophia gasped. “What…?!”
Just then the lab door opened and a tired-looking man in a large white lab coat with the St. Peter’s emblem brazed on it came out. Sophia wasted no time in approaching him.
“How long does it take for you to perform one test?” she shot out. She was well aware that she was being rude to the man but for Freddie’s sake, she needed the test result. Maybe her guess about his illness was wrong and if it was, she needed to put his mom’s mind at ease otherwise…
“Miss, I am sorry for the delay. We are trying our best. There is a lot on our hands and we are working overtime to produce results.”
Swallowing down on her anger she said in a pleading tone. “Please a patient of mine could be dying, I just need to confirm my suspicions and begin treatments if need be. Can’t you help me out here?”
“There is a process to these things,” the man said in a slightly pissed-off tone. “Now if you will excuse me, I must return to the lab. There is a lot to do with little manpower.”
He left her there and went in the direction of another room. Clenching her fist in an effort not to scream and hit the smug faces of the front desk ladies she walked away, prepared to lie again to Freddie that all was well.
She has barely started her routine around the hospital when Stella met her in the hall.
“Hey,” she greeted with a small smile.
“Hey, yourself,” Stella replied. “Come with me right now. We are wanted.”
Sophia frowned at Stella’s dramatic tone. “By who?”
“The Board.”
Her brows shot up as she fell into step with Stella who was walking rapidly towards the stairs leading to the executive offices. “Did you say the Board?”
“Yes, the Board, honey. Apparently, they heard of our many complaints concerning the lack of up-to-date equipment and the other many problems we have been complaining about and they need us to tell them in their faces exactly what we’ve been complaining about.”
Great.
By the time they got to the landing where the Meeting Room was located, they were both out of breath. The interior of the room was done in plain white. There was a huge glass window that overlooked the busy roads and streets, the morning light came in through the paneled glass, reflecting on the black leather chairs arranged along a long glass table. On this sat the members of the St. Peter’s Board of directors a of whom sat with grim faces as they listened to the workers give their opinions on areas of improvement. On chairs arranged around the room, several doctors and nurses sat. Rosa who was sitting at a corner with Nate and Mike waved Sophia and Stella over. One of the nurses was talking about the lack of efficiency of the interns working in the Accident and Emergency department.
“Has anyone talked about the lab?” Sophia asked.
“I already did,” Mike responded with a wink.
As one doctor or nurse after another made their complaints the directors listened and at the end of it all, they took a moment to deliberate among themselves like juries in a court. When they were done a representative stood and addressed them.
“We have heard all you have to say and we will like you to know that here at St. Peter’s we strive hard to satisfy not only our patients but our staff. All your complaints would be put into consideration. There is a funds shortage, the hospital does not have enough to fulfill its needs and the needs of its sister hospitals, that is, our other subdivisions. The good news is, we now have sponsors who want to help renovate the closed-up wards and offices, buy equipment and make other improvements where needed.”
There was a murmur of surprise and gratitude among the workers gathered there.
“We just thought to let you all know. In only a short time we will have made amendments to the problems you all have presented.”
The meeting ended and Rosa and Sophia made their way to their office. They had barely settled when a knock sounded at the door and a young intern peeped around the slightly open door. Sophia looked up.
He was carrying a large bouquet of red roses, the biggest arrangement she had ever seen. The guy was almost dwarfed by the flowers. Sophia turned to Rosa who looked at her with a raised brow.
“Did you order flowers?”
Sophia shook her head. “ I was just going to ask you the same thing.”
Rosa was out of her chair in a second, she went around her desk and helped the young guy who smiled gratefully at her. She set it on her table.
“Who are these for?” she asked.
“They just came in for…” he picked a card from the huge arrangement and then turned to Sophia. “Sophia Blanc.”
She wasn’t sure who was more surprised. Rosa’s mouth gaped and her eyes were huge. She plucked the card from the guy's hand to take a closer look.
“Excuse me?” Sophia asked nervously suddenly finding her voice again. “The flowers are for me?”
“Yes, and there’s something else.” The guy lifted the bouquet and produced a large black velvet box with a red ribbon tied around it. “This is for you too.”
Rosa’s mouth practically hit the ground. “Wait wait wait, who are these from?”
The guy shrugged. “They arrived at the front desk and I was asked to bring them to you. I gotta go now.” He turned and left.
Dazed and confused, Sophia stood up from her seat and approached Rosa’s table where her friend was inhaling the sweet scent of the flowers. She was smiling and wagging at brows at Sophia.
“Oooh look who has a secret admirer. Do you think it was Nate who did this?”
She shook her head. “No Nate wouldn’t do this.” But she couldn’t seem to recollect anyone in her life who would send flowers and a box…a box of what?
Rosa was too busy squealing about the flowers to hear her. Then she suddenly stopped. “Oh my God, there is another note.”
“There is?” Sophia asked, too stupefied to think of anything else.
Rosa was already opening the card. “It says, Sophia, have dinner with me tonight. My chauffeur will be at St. Peter’s by 7. Matt Wolffe.”
Rosa narrowed her eyes at Sophia as she playfully glared at her. “You have been seeing a guy without my knowledge, Sophia?”Sophia opened her mouth to respond but just then the door swung open and Stella walked in about to say something but she stopped at the sight of the flowers. She looked between Rosa and Sophia.“What is going on here? What are we celebrating?”Rosa tilted her head discreetly at Sophia. Stella’s eyes widened.“You got flowers?” She asked as she closed the door behind her and approached Rosa’s table. “From Nate?” But she didn’t need to wait too long for an answer. She picked the card from the table, read it and her eyes stretched wider. “Matt Wolffe?!” she turned slowly to face Sophia. “Matt Wolffe?” she repeated.“Yes, Matt Wolffe…”“How the fuck did you meet Matt Wolffe, Sophia? You’re a herm
Matt was in a good mood. There was no drizzle today and his drive to his office was great. Looking out of the floor-to-ceiling glass window that overlooked the city from the twenty-fourth floor of the building complex that held his office and other firms he appreciated the view. The view was good. His excitement and light mood were from the good news he received from Simone. According to him, Ricky was clean, nothing shady about the man which meant that Ethan Lowe really lived a secretive life but nothing was hidden for too long, especially not from him. Ricky had called to inform him that Cheryl now had a lead on Ethan. She was getting cozy with him and he knew Cheryl very well, she was as beautiful as she was persuasive. If anyone could get him the information he needed on Lowe it was her.More than that he was looking forward to his date tonight. He had sent Lawrence, his secretary, on a very familiar assignment. Send a dress and large arrangements of flowers. Lawrence was
Sophia swallowed nervously as she tilted her head back slightly to look at him. He was tall and beautiful. The intensity of his blue gaze suddenly made her feel small. His dark suit added an air of danger to him, highlighting his broad shoulders and lean muscular form. It suddenly felt like she was seeing him for the first time. She had barely given him more than a glance at the club but she thought he was good-looking, now she felt her breath catch in her throat. When his gaze fell to her scrubs she suddenly felt conscious.This isn’t going to work, I should have at least worn something different.His smile waned and his eyes flew to hers again.“Leave now,” he said to the host who stood behind her. His voice was deep deceptive smooth. She heard the glass door open and close softly. They were alone.Matt walked around the table and held his hand to her. “Nice to finally meet you, Miss Blanc.”The last time this happen
“She’s holding out on us.”“Yes, she definitely is.”Sophia ignored both Stella and Rosa as she made reports on the patients’ files in front of her. Since they started their routine that morning they both tried to subtly get her to talk about her night with Matt Wolffe. She tactfully avoided them since there really was nothing to tell. But now with her schedule cleared she was finding it harder to avoid them especially since Stella decided to camp in her and Rosa’s office. Once she was done writing she went to drop the files off at the card/records desk where the reports would be transferred to the patients’ database. As soon as she came back she found Stella sitting at her desk with a mischievous glint in her eyes.“Spill.”“Spill what?” she laughed.“What happened last night? Come on! You promised you would give us the details now you’re being selfish with them. W
“Morning.” “Morning,” she replied with a smile as she walked down the hall where Stella’s office was located. The doors were identical, all painted white and the windows had identical shutters. She pushed open the fourth door. Stella shared the office with one of the specialist doctors. The room was lit with bright white lights like hers, there were medical charts on the wall, books and journals were arranged on a small shelf that was set against the wall beside the desk. There was another door to the right, it was open to reveal the stretcher used for medical examination of patients. Stella was sitting behind her desk looking blankly at an open magazine in front of her as though she was lost in thought. Since it was late morning the sun came in through the window highlighting her red hair. She looked up when Sophia stepped in. “Stella, I’m really sorry for what I said back there. I know it sounded like I was calling you a slut and I am sorry for that.” “Actually I should be apologi
What is he doing here? She was aware of his eyes on her as they left the room and walked into the hallway. She turned to him as soon as they were alone.“So, Mr. Wolffe, do you want to invest in the hospital, or are you here to invest in me?”He laughed. She was watching him with her hands crossed in front of her. She was beautiful under the glare of the lights above them and her eyes held the same challenging glare they did last night. He had cancelled his reservation at the hotel last night and skipped dinner much to the disappointment of his housekeeper who had prepared a meal for him regardless of his instructions not to. When Lawrence reminded him that morning of the appointment he made with the hospital Director weeks ago he suddenly found that he was eager to see Sophia again. Since he messed up yesterday it was only fair that he was given another chance. He seldom got rejected so her rejection yesterday had come as a surprise. Still, he was determined to know Sophia Blanc, th
She read through the reports as she made her way to the doctor who was in charge of Freddie’s treatment. It was as she suspected. The series of tests suggested he had AML which affected the myeloid cells that produced red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. Freddie’s cells were excessively producing premature red blood cells, suppressing the white blood cells which would explain the red spots she noticed on his chest and arms. Since he had acute leukemia treatments would need to begin as fast as possible. She met his doctor and they discussed the possibility of a bone marrow transplant to replace Freddie’s. After much deliberations on the best actions to take they decided it would be best to invite specialists from the other branches to decide what steps to take with Freddie’s condition. After a 2 hour conversation, she left the doctor’s office and made her way to the ward where Freddie was. His mom was there by his bedside like always talking and laughing with him. He held a
“Mr. Wolffe, Cheryl is here.”Matt looked up from the reports he was reading at his secretary. Lawrence, was a bright kid who had worked briefly under Simone Pierce while the old man was still in business but when Simone decided to retire he retired his staff too. But Matt liked Lawrence, he was smart and quick and he executed orders efficiently.When he needed the dirty bits to use against Ethan Lowe he sent Lawrence to Ricky and gave instructions that their business could not be done anywhere near his workspace and as far as he knew Lawrence delivered that message. He frowned.“What is she doing here?”“She wouldn’t tell me and she has refused to listen to me.” Lawrence was tall and handsome with a black fade cut. His brow was furrowed in frustration over his dark brown eyes.“Let her in.”He had barely finished talking when Cheryl walked in. She was extremely gorgeous, a quality that proved useful when she had to seduce her targets. Her blonde hair was wavy, her bust and hips full