just picked up your whole life and moved out of Denver. Does he even know you’re here?”
“He barely even cared when he broke up with me. And no, he doesn’t know I moved,” I sighed. “The jerk’s so busy with his job, his house could burn down around him and he’d barely notice.”
“Good,” she said, not missing a beat. “Let him have the career you helped him earn. Maybe it’ll be a comfort when he’s forty-five and alone because he’s addicted to work.” She sipped her wine before continuing. “I’m telling you, he’s gonna be one of those old guys who dies alone in his mansion from a heart attack and no one finds his body for weeks because he didn’t have any friends who cared enough to check on him.”
“At least he’ll have a mansion,” I commented, looking around at my tiny studio, a place I could barely afford.
“Oh, don’t worry about any of that. This is just a starter apartment - a place to spend a little time while you get your feet under you.” She sounded so positive, and I wished I could be as well. “Just think, a year from now you’ll have a new job, a new life, and probably a total hottie who dotes on you like crazy. This is all temporary.”
The rest of the evening passed with Gia and I working through the bottle of wine as the sun set. But when she left, I felt so damn alone. I’d given up everything to come to White Pines.
And part of me worried I’d made the biggest mistake of my life.
Duncan
I stood before the tall, arched window of the conference room, downtown White Pines below in the distance. My private practice was situated in the hills above the city, giving me a killer view of the area. But I had bigger things on my mind than appreciating the view.
“Dr. Pitt,” someone spoke from behind me. “The year ahead…”
I tore myself from the view and turned around, facing the conference table packed with my staff – doctors from the various branches of my private practices throughout the state.
“The year ahead is going to be unlike anything else,” I said. “And I hope you’re all ready for it.”
Every set of eyes was on me.
“Details would be nice,” Dr. Alana Shaw, a pediatrician from my Colorado Springs office, said.
My mouth curled into a slight smile. She was challenging me, no doubt about that. And some men or women in my position might take offense to that. Not me. I loved when my employees held my feet to the fire to make sure I was the right man to be in charge. Standing at the head of the conference room table, my hands clasped behind my back, I was in my element.
Being a leader wasn’t easy, of course. But what’d be the fun if it were?
Without saying a word, I moved slowly, confidently, over to the MacBook on the end of the table. With a few quick keystrokes, I brought up the PowerPoint of my plan for the upcoming few quarters. It appeared on the TV behind me, everyone present giving it their full attention.
“You want details?” I asked. “Here they are. As you all are well aware, Pitt Medical Group has been having a banner year. Through careful management and skilled care, I’ve established our private practice as one of the finest medical care outfits in the state. Hell – the country.”
But before I went on, I caught myself. “Actually,” I said. “I haven’t done anything.” I let my words hang in the air, the audience appearing somewhat confused. “We’ve done it. Together.”
I gestured to the screen behind me. The picture was of Colorado, red dots here and there on the map to indicate the five locations in the state where we operated. “When I started Pitt Medical Group, I had one goal in mind – to provide the best medical care in the state of Colorado and participate with as many insurances as possible to get care to all. To that end, I hand-picked the most skilled doctors in region, plucking you from overcrowded public hospitals and giving you everything you needed to rise to your full potential.”
My words went over well, judging by the pleased faces in the audience. But not a single word was untrue – my staff was so good I didn’t need to bother with false praise.
“I took a risk in expanding from one location here in White Pines to the rest