Chapter 8
CHAPTER EIGHT
Hartford
I opened the lid of the white cardboard box and slid the cake onto one of the canteen plates. A couple of nurses stopped on their way out of the break room.
“You made this?” The one with the high ponytail asked.
I winced. “I bought it. I tried to make it, but failed.”
“It looks amazing,” a man said behind me.
“Help yourself, Jacob,” I replied to the doctor who’d just swept into the break room, taking every woman’s attention away from my cake.
Jacob was the hospital heartthrob. It was easy to see why.
He wore his pale-blonde hair as short to his head as possible, giving maximum impact to his blue eyes and sharp jaw.
“I brought some paper napkins because I had to promise Mabel in the canteen my first born just to get one plate.”
“This is really nice of you. You made it?” Jacob asked.
I shook my head.
“Hartford! I was looking for you,” Gerry said as he sauntered into the break room. He glanced between Jacob and me. “Have you got a minute?” He didn’t wait for an answer before heading back out of the door he just came from. I dashed to keep up.
Gerry’s office looked like it might have been an old storage cupboard. It was tiny, with a folded-up wheelchair behind the door and a distinct lack of windows.
“Take a seat.” He closed the door behind me and pulled out a stool from under his desk.
“You brought in some cake.” He checked something on his computer as he spoke. “That’s nice of you.”
“I tried to bake but failed, so I bought that cake but I’m going to try again. I’m getting some lessons from a friend of Joshua’s, actually. You know, trying to get a life outside of the hospital, as you suggested.”
He turned to me and frowned. “It’s a good first step. And it’s nice to see you’re making friends. You said you and Joshua weren’t dating. Is there anyone else?”
Before I could answer, he shook his head as if to chastise himself. “I know I shouldn’t ask, but I see my junior doctors as my children. I like to see them happy. Fulfilled. Margo says I’m an interfering old man and I suppose she’s right—”
He was interrupted by a knock at the door.
“Come in.” His voice was all stern authority.
Jacob stuck his head around the door. “That research you asked for.” He handed Gerry a faded, red paper file.
“Have you got yourself a girl, yet, Jacob?”
Jacob cleared his throat. “Not at the moment, sir.”
“Good, good. Then you’ll take Hartford out to dinner.”
Humiliation climbed my limbs. Had my boss just asked someone out on my behalf? Gerry seemed lovely but I really didn’t need him setting me up.
I started to object but Gerry put his hand up to silence me. “Jacob thinks I’m just as interfering as you do, but humor me.” He turned to Jacob. “Hartford hasn’t known me as long as you have. She’s still getting used to my foibles. Perhaps you can catch her up over dinner.”
Jacob gave Gerry a relaxed salute as if he’d been in the same position a thousand times and didn’t find it awkward at all. “No problem. I’ll tell her exactly how to avoid you.”
Gerry chortled and then jumped when his phone started to ring.
“Saturday night?” Jacob asked me.
I shook my head. “Honestly, I’m sure you have better things to be doing—”
“It’ll be fun. I’m on shift, so shall we meet at eight thirty somewhere? I’ll text you the name of a place.”
I shrugged. I could hardly say no in front of my boss, who’d just set me up. “Okay. Let me know and I’ll be there.” I tried to sound enthusiastic, but I was a terrible faker.
Gerry put down his phone and Jacob swept out, pulling the door closed behind him.
“So,” he said, and cleared his throat. “We got sidetracked last week talking about what you’re going to be doing outside the hospital. Tell me, are you enjoying yourself?”
“Everyone has been very welcoming and I feel like I’ve been here longer than I have.” I wondered if I should mention he looked like he hadn’t slept for a week. “The extracurricular stuff is a challenge. But I’m working on it.”
“I see you are. Keep at it. I’ll need updates every two weeks. In the meantime, I could use your help with something. But I don’t want it to interfere with you settling in or finding yourself a life outside work.”
That sounded intriguing. I nodded, urging him on.
“I mean it, Hartford. It’s the kind of project that can consume you. You have to promise me you’re going to keep up with the good work you’re doing outside the hospital.”
“I promise,” I replied.
He pushed back in his chair and exhaled, nodding. “What I’m about to tell you is highly confidential and you must repeat it to no one under any circumstances.” Gerry’s expression turned from jolly to steely.
“Okay, I won’t tell a soul.”
“I used to teach at Harvard Medical School and have many wonderful friends in America, many of whom were students or faculty from my six years in Cambridge. One of those friends now works for a major pharmaceutical company over there and has shared some very disturbing news indeed.”
He paused as if he wanted me to say something, but I had no idea where he was going with this.
“My friend has come to me because the company they work for has had a change of strategy in order to boost sales in respect to certain drugs currently in development. They have an entire division tasked with developing drugs that can be sold over the counter. That doesn’t sound controversial, does it?
” He didn’t wait for a response, though I shook my head anyway.
“But they have teams of people looking at the rules and guidance so the drug gets through loopholes and patchy legislation. By all accounts, they’re bribing regulators left and right. ”
I could feel the hairs on my arms stand to attention. Drug companies held so much power and could do so much good, but three steps to the left and they could do so much harm.
“Merdon are angling for over-the-counter approval on a number of their new drugs, which are close approximations of formulas currently available exclusively on prescription. What’s worse is that they’re targeting medicines for children first. They hope they can take advantage of parents wanting the best and quickest help for their children. ”
I could feel the bite of his words in my sternum. “That’s disgraceful. Do you think they’ll get away with it?”
“Well, I’m doing my best to ensure they don’t. But I have to be careful because I don’t want my friend to risk her job and reputation.”
“You said you wanted my help. What can I do?”
Gerry sighed. “They’re starting in America. With a drug for ADHD called Calmation.”
“Calmation? I’ve read about it in the journals. There’s got to be a mistake.” There was no way a drug so powerful could be sold without a prescription.
“No, they’re just weeks away from filing. When they get regulatory approval in America, they’ll use it to put pressure on the British regulator. They intend to spread their rot this side of the Atlantic.”
“So—” I started then paused, my mind ringing with the sound of internal alarm bells.
This was bad. “No one can expect parents to make medical decisions about children that could cause lasting damage. A child with such a serious medical condition should be monitored by a doctor.” My fury was snowballing.
“You’re telling me Merdon is going to try to sell a drug that alters a child’s mood over the counter, like it’s a lollipop or something? ”
“They’re sinking tens of millions into it apparently.”
“What can we do? Sign a petition. Create some kind of lobby. Has anyone spoken to you about it? You’re the best consultant pediatrician in the world.”
He shrugged. “Of course not—Merdon just want to make money and the regulators are a bunch of pen pushers. They don’t actually have to deal with the consequences of their decisions.
” Gerry pulled open an old-fashioned metal filing cabinet and took out a file, which he handed to me.
“I need fresh eyes to look at the issue and come up with some kind of plan. I thought as you’re not afraid of working in a warzone, you might be just the woman for the job. ”
This could be a travesty for a generation of children. Something had to be done, and I was just the person to do it. This was just the kind of problem I’d been eager to sink my teeth into.
“I want to help. And I promise, I’ll keep baking and have dinner with Jacob, but we can’t let this happen.”
Gerry gave a weary smile and nodded. “I knew I was right to hire you.”
We had to stop Merdon before this strategy was out of the gate. I had no idea how, but I was determined to do whatever it took.