25. David
25
DAVID
The hulking man had horrible breath and a mismatched tie, but I took his lecture in silence, knowing any impropriety on my part would get me fired instantly. The witch hunt the board was doing was ridiculous. What happened between me and the man who pressed charges against me was my personal life. I'd done nothing unethical in my professional life, but they were digging anyway, looking for a reason to fire me and avoid the bad publicity.
"Your lax and ineffective leadership is making you look bad, Park." Henry was a board member and so far removed from the day-to-day operation of the hospital that he had no sympathy for Lauren when she was a few minutes late. He blamed me, and that was okay. At least he wasn’t blaming her.
"I apologize, sir. It won't happen again." I took my lumps, and he ranted a few more minutes before leaving me alone to lick my wounds.
I saw the look on Lauren's face when she came in. She was upset about something again, probably her brother. I knew she wanted to talk about it last night, but she'd refrained from doing so because of my emotional state. I wished I'd have been a little more in control of myself so I could have listened to her and helped her. But I was selfish and shut off. Now I was stuck in this mess and with no way out but to ride it out and hope nothing horrible happened.
My phone rang, so I took it out of my pocket. It was the lawyer the hospital assigned to me. I wanted to hire my own attorney, but the board insisted I use theirs. I wasn't stupid. I knew I'd never get a fair shake with this guy because he wasn't looking out for my best interests. He was watching out for the hospital's reputation in the media. Still, I answered the call because what else would I do? He'd just show up at my office.
"Hello?"
"Dr. Park, this is Tom Bryant again. I've spoken with the prosecutor and I have an update. Is this a good time?"
I felt like asking the man if any time was a good time to deal with this crap, but I held my tongue and said, "Yes, go on." The last time I spoke with this man, he told me he was trying to work a deal. Imagine that, taking a plea bargain on a case where I wasn’t even guilty just so the hospital didn't suffer repercussions. And it wasn't even a malpractice suit.
"They'd like to offer you no time. You'll pay restitution to the victim, which you'll be on your own for. I believe he's asking half a million in damages… The hospital investigation will be ongoing, though. The board wants to make sure they're covered. You know how it is." The man sounded like a snake slithering closer to me with fangs dripping venom, ready to pounce.
"Half a million because I defended myself and a woman on the street? You've got to be kidding me! That's ridiculous." I could pay it, though I'd have to mortgage my house for a while to come up with the cash quickly, but the principle of the matter was that I had done nothing wrong. I had no intention of pleading guilty. I was furious.
"Look, David, I'm giving it to you straight. This is the best you'll get. The board is really uneasy about the whole thing. They want to make it go away, and the worst part is you'll end up fighting for your job in the long run, anyway. Just having a felon on their payroll is enough to make hospital donors and patients turn away." At least the man was honest with me. I figured all of this, anyway. "I'm pleading with you to take this deal. You'll end up in jail and paying way more than half a million, and you'll lose your job too."
"All for a split-second lapse in judgment which was honestly self-defense?" None of this made sense or seemed fair, and I was at the mercy of the system now.
"It's that or you give up the name of the woman and she comes in to tell her side of the story. If she tells them you were really saving her, you'll walk away and all of this vanishes."
I couldn’t do that. Not for my job or all the money in the world. I would never throw Lauren under the bus like that, not in a way to humiliate her or make her lose her job. I loved her too much for that. I was the umbrella shielding her from the rain, and I was the only thing keeping that storm from drowning her.
"I already told you I can't do that."
"Can't or won't, David?" He sighed. "I'll call you tomorrow for your answer." He hung up on me, and I wished I had one of those old-school rotary phones to slam down onto the cradle. These new cell phones just didn't give the satisfaction of ending a call in anger like that, and I didn't want to throw it.
Angry, I slid my phone back into my pocket and thought about taking a walk to cool off, but Lauren opened my office door and padded in, looking sheepish.
"Is now a bad time?" she asked, and I gestured to the seat across from my desk. I'd never turn her away, though now was a horrible time.
"Sit."
She sat on the edge of the chair and looked nervous. By now, she had to have heard some of the rumors, but I hoped what was getting around was so vague that she didn't have enough details to get involved. Eventually, it would all come out, but I'd handle it my way until then.
"What can I do for you?" We were alone, but I used my most professional tone. I didn't want to give any appearance of anything unethical for any reason. If someone from the board found out about me and Lauren, I’d be fired immediately. They were looking for a reason to make this go away, and that was the fastest way—get rid of me. She seemed to get the hint at first, but her shoulders drooped.
"Could we talk about something? It's really important." The expression on her face pained me. It was the same one she'd had when she told me she wanted to go public and I shot her down. Maybe she hadn't noticed how torn up I was. Maybe I'd done too good of a job of hiding it when I told her I was fine and I didn’t need to talk. Maybe I'd been sending the wrong signal and it was time to send the right one. I just didn’t know how to do it without hurting her.
"If it has to do with work, then yes. I am all ears." I glanced at the adjoining diagnostics office to make sure my shadow wasn't watching and then said, "If this is personal, the answer is no. We can't go public, Lauren. I told you this weeks ago. Now is the worst time for that, and I won't even discuss it with you on the clock. I tried talking with you on the phone and you shut down on me. We can't do this here."
"But…" she protested, and her bottom lip quivered. She'd been doing a lot of that lately, cowering and crying. I didn't mind. It made me want to rush to her and save her, but if the board found out, we were both screwed. I had to remind myself that my stern demeanor at work was saving us both. It was the only way to make sure she stayed out of this as much as possible.
"Dr. Newhouse, let me remind you that we're at work, and we agreed to be as professional as we need to be and?—"
Lauren bolted to her feet and rushed for the door. Only after she was gone did I exhale. Her sobs were enough to gut me. I'd have a lot of digging to get myself out of this hole I was in, both with her and with this mess. I'd love nothing more than to quit everything and run away with her, but she had her brother and a budding career. And I had criminal charges that kept me in Chicago with no way to get away until after it was all said and done.
I just hoped when all the chips were down, I didn't lose her and my career. I'd never survive that. But there was no point in having slugged that man to save her, only to turn belly up right now and expose her. The end would be worse than the beginning. I'd never do that to her.
I had to be this way. I had to remind myself that I had to be this way too. Otherwise, I'd chase after her and get us both fired, and that wasn't an option.