27. David
27
DAVID
I felt very intimidated by the long rectangular table at which I sat. To my left, the lawyer tapped his pen on a yellow notepad that had his illegible scribbles on it. To my right, nothing. I sat at the far end closest to the windows that overlooked Chicago's skyline while the board members sat at the far end, far enough away to whisper about me and I couldn’t hear it. The two detectives, here only to gather whatever further evidence they could from the board's deposition, had set up an audio recorder in the center of the long table.
"Dr. Park, let me get this straight… You refuse to plead guilty and save yourself the jail time, but you also refuse to give up the name of the woman you claim to have rescued?" Dr. Sue Kline, chairman of the board and the woman who hired me years ago, pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose and looked at me in concern. Her forehead was knit tighter than a sweater.
"I can't give you what I don't have." The lies continued to roll off my tongue, but the more I told them, the harder it got. I wasn't an unethical man. I hated that I was burying myself like this. The only person who knew I was lying was my lawyer, and thanks to attorney-client privilege, he had to keep that to himself, though I didn't doubt that he'd squeal like a pig if Sue put pressure on him.
Mr. Bryant might as well have snarled at me like a rabid dog, but I wasn’t going to cough up Lauren's name for anyone, least of all the very people who would use it to bury me. As things stood, Lauren and I were on such rocky ground, I didn't know if we'd recover. She wasn't taking my calls, hadn't returned my messages, and today, she called in to work and said she'd be taking a few days off for a family emergency. When I stopped by to see what was wrong, there was no answer.
"You understand that a not guilty plea means ninety days in jail when you lose. The court will side with the victim." Henry, the board member and doctor who had been shadowing me this week, suddenly seemed to care about more than whether I was performing well. "David, that's a felony on your record. You can't do that to yourself."
He didn't have to say that out loud for me to understand the ramifications of my position. I'd never have a shot at any decent job in my future again. I'd be the crap doctor at the free clinic. I'd have to sell my house and live off scraps eventually. My money would only last so long.
"The hospital can't employ a felon…" Sue's words were a knife to the chest, but I knew they were true. Patients could never trust a hospital where convicted felons were allowed to practice medicine.
"I maintain my innocence," I said calmly, folding my hands in front of myself.
"Just tell us the woman's name and let her corroborate your testimony, David." Now Sue was doing it, pulling at my personal side, the bit of friendship we'd developed over the years. None of them wanted me to suffer. But none of them knew Lauren like I did, or how she was struggling and how badly she needed this job. I couldn’t do that to her.
"I appreciate your concern. I honestly do. But I will take my chances in court. I hope the jury will see that I was doing what I had to do to protect someone." I pressed my lips into a firm line and sighed. I had to keep reminding myself that I was doing the right thing for Lauren's future, even though I knew mine was at risk.
The detectives watched everything as Sue, Henry, and the rest of the board members continued to grill me for the next forty minutes. I was informed that they'd be interviewing every member of my team and even past coworkers. The rumors that were floating around were getting out of control, and they'd already issued a notice to all department heads that it had to stop. Today was the first day I noticed anyone treating me differently other than Henry, and I hated it. Like I was a leper, no one would talk to me or sit near me except those who wanted gossip.
They were covering their bases, making sure the hospital didn't catch any heat for having a "violent criminal" on their payroll. I didn't blame them, though I knew how skewed the facts were, and without a proper defense, I was going to end up exactly as they predicted—fired and doing time.
They all filed out, leaving me sitting there alone with the lawyer, and I felt defeated. I just wanted it to be over with now so I could serve the time and start looking for a new job elsewhere, but that wasn’t how this worked.
"David, let me level with you. You're throwing your life away, your career, your future, your family for a woman you don't even know. Why would you do that? Who is this Dr. Newhouse, anyway?" Tom's words stung me. In this circumstance, he was protecting my rights. But if I told him about Lauren in full context, he'd have no choice but to watch out for the hospital and their policies.
"You don’t understand," I grumbled.
"Then help me. Why would you do this?"
I looked up at him and shook my head. "She is young and has a brother to care for. This will destroy her." I fiddled with a paperclip I picked up from the table, discarded from one of Tom's briefs.
"More than you'll be destroyed? You want to go to jail and pay this guy off?" Tom slapped his folder shut and slid it into his briefcase, then closed and locked it. "What's she got on you, anyway? Is there something worse?"
"God, no!" His insinuation that I'd done even more unethical things—God forbid, whatever it was he was thinking—was deeply insulting. "Look, her job would be on the line too. I have a bank account with savings I could use to stay afloat for a long time until I settle somewhere else. She has nothing. I can't do that to her."
"Help me understand, Dave. Why would it hurt her?" He leaned in and pressed me so much I snapped. Hospital lawyer or not, someone had to know that what I was doing had a point.
"Because I'm seeing her now, and she works for me, and there is a hospital policy which I'm very sure you're well aware of." My chest heaved at the confession and I didn't stop there. "I'm sleeping with her. If the board finds out it was her, that we kissed, there will be a probe. When they discover—and I know they will—that we're in a relationship following this, she'll be fired, and I'll be next.”
Tom sat back and scowled at me. "You know I work for the hospital and that legally, I'm supposed to disclose that to them."
I stared at the paperclip, now unfurled, and straightened in my fingertips. "Do what you have to do, then. I just hoped you'd see why it was so important to me. I'd rather tank my own career than let hers suffer."
The large conference room was quiet enough to hear a pin drop. Then Tom huffed out a sigh and slid his briefcase off the table. As he stood, he said, "This is going to end so badly for you, Dave." He slapped my shoulder and started for the door. "But I wish you all the best of luck with that lady. She must be out of this world for you to go to such lengths to protect her while your life is being torched. Your secret is safe with me."
When the door clicked shut, I almost broke down in tears. Lauren really was a special lady, so special I'd do anything to save her and protect her. I'd never be the man she fell in love with, the one with money coming out my ears who was able to throw my wealth around and give her whatever she wanted. Not after this. I'd be reduced to a nameless, faceless man in a white coat writing prescriptions for flu relief at an urgent care center. And that was only if they hired convicts.
I reached for my phone and dialed Lauren's number. I needed to hear her voice if only for a second to feel comfort. But it rang and rang. When it went through to voicemail, I left the fifth message in days, asking her to call me. I'd been too hard on her in the office the other day. She was upset and hurting. I felt like such a fool, like I burst my own life raft. Nothing was right in the world without her, and I was the one who'd pushed her away.