Mine at Last Read Free Page B

turned on his computer and opened his schedule. His first meeting, with a new pharmaceutical representative, was in thirty-five minutes. That gave him just enough time to quickly review and assess the last few patients who were admitted to the E.R. Just as he opened the computer file, there was a knock on his door.
    “Yeah, come in,” he said without looking up. The door opened and his assistant, Nora Rembrandt, smiled and then shook her head in sympathy.
    “Good morning,” Nora said, “I hope you’re ready for a crazy one, ’cause it’s gonna be one of those days already. You’re wanted out in the pit—in exam room snake-eyes two, sexy-legs six and lucky number thirteen. And heads-up, security is on full alert. Someone jimmied the lock on the hospital records room sometime early this morning and also someone tried to break into a third-floor drug cabinet again.”
    Dominik nodded and stood to leave. He was surprised he was getting better at Nora’s bingo-calling jargon. He understood her perfectly. “Yeah, you’re right. It’s going to be one of those days.”
    His desk phone rang. Nora answered, agreed, then hung up. “It’s already starting. It’s Dr. Gilman and she wants you in her office at you earliest convenience.”
    He nodded, stood and walked out, going to the E.R. to visit the patients she’d told him about. Afterward he headed up to the administrative office. He pushed open the glass door and strolled into the reception area. No was there, so he headed to the main offices. Dr. Gilman’s door was open. He knocked and walked in. The sweltering heat hit him immediately. The office was stifling. Gilman was at her desk with her glasses on and a large portable fan turned off behind her. Her desk was piled high with files and paperwork.
    “Good morning, Margaret,” Dominik said, frowning. “That’s a lot of paperwork.”
    “Good morning, Dominik,” she said, then glanced up at the two huge stacks piled high on the side of her desk. She nodded and sighed heavily. “Yeah, these are some of the files requested by the Cura Group. The first and second auditors finished up and now they’re sending their consultant in next week to do the final. I don’t know who this person is, but they pull a lot of weight in getting this through. Come in and have a seat.”
    He walked over and sat down as she began rearranging the papers and folders further to the side of her desk. “Does not look like a fun job,” he said.
    “Believe me, it’s not, but after reviewing what the last two teams did, they specifically wanted to examine and look these over. The majority are Bowman’s E.R. records. Something obviously stood out, but it completely eludes me.”
    “So, what happened to the air-conditioning in here?” he asked.
    “Maintenance has been working on it for the last two days. We need a new system, but that costs money and right now funds are scarce. Okay, busy day ahead. It looks like someone tried to break into the medical
records office this morning.”
    “Yes, I heard. Has security checked the video yet?”
    “Yes, they’re reviewing the video now.” She took off her glasses and tossed them on the desk. “I gotta tell you, Dominik, this is the last thing I need this morning. The Cura Group’s reviewer will be here next week and I can’t have this happening when they’re here. Do you have any idea what this would do to our chances of having this buyout go through?”
    She stood and walked to the window anxiously, then came back to her desk and leaned on her chair. “This thing is out of control, not to mention it’s a public-relations nightmare. Who’s going to come here if their medical records are free to the public? The publicity is killing us. And now we have reporters sneaking in here every five minutes speaking with an unofficial source close to the situation. What the hell is that?” The rant continued for another few minutes before she stopped and looked at him. “I heard you had