Triplets for The Millionaire - K.C. Crowne Page 0,52

and wanting.

I’d been desperate not to play his game. However, not only was I already in the middle of it, I was losing.

Chapter 15

PATRICK

As happy as I was to see the lovely Dr. Bridges, I was there to check out a potential investment. So, for the rest of the tour I behaved myself.

“This place is bigger than it looks,” I commented as we reached the second floor of the clinic.

“Isn’t it? You’d never guess by how small the staff is.”

“Or how many patients are here. There were only about ten in the lobby waiting, yeah?”

She nodded. “Yep. There’s another waiting room on the second floor you can get to from the other side of the block. But no point in opening it, since it’s not like we can actually use the space.”

We passed room after room, all of them long empty. Most of them were dirty and run-down, the equipment long-gone, the paint peeling from the walls, dust thick in the air.

“This used to be a real hospital,” she told me. “Closed about a decade ago due to city budget cuts. One of the founders of the clinic got the idea to open the bottom floor and use it as a free clinic, a place where other doctors in the city could drop in and offer care to those who didn’t have the means to afford it.”

I looked around as she spoke, imagining what this place would look like with a little TLC. “Fresh coat of paint, some deep-cleaning, new supplies…this clinic could be one of the best facilities in the city. And it could do some real good, too.”

She nodded. “And it needs staff. All the fresh paint and fancy gear won’t do us a bit of good if we can’t staff the place. You saw what was going on downstairs.”

“You mean with the doctor running reception?”

She nodded as we continued. “Right. Someone doesn’t show up, or someone calls in last-minute, there’s nothing we can do other than fill in the gaps on the spot. And if we need a doctor fill in for the receptionist…”

“Then that means they can’t treat patients.”

“Exactly.” She leaned against the nearest wall, letting out a sigh. “I love working here – I really do. But sometimes coming here just reminds me of how much more we could do.”

“Well,” I said, clasping my hands together, “that’s what I’m here for.”

She flicked her eyes up to me. “You’re really on board with our clinic?”

“Why wouldn’t I be? I’ve got more cash than I know what to do with, and if the rest of the staff here is as half as good as you, then I’d be an idiot to not take a chance like this to do some real good. Granted, I’ll want to see a business plan and all that. But I’m assuming you and the staff have one already.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that,” she assured me. “The rest of the team and I have been putting together our dream budget, where every dollar would go if we ever managed to get the money we needed.”

“And it looks like you might get your chance. If I get on board, and it’s looking like I’m going to, and the rest of Pitt Medical does too…”

She shook her head, as if she didn’t even want to set herself up for disappointment by entertaining the idea. “God, it would be amazing. With some investor capital and Pitt Medical’s resources, this place would change the neighborhood.”

A mischievous expression flashed on her face. “Let me show you something.”

Without waiting for me, Lola started down the hallway. I followed her, stepping around the trash and debris that littered the floor. We reached a metal door, and she pushed the bar to open it. The door led to a staircase that went up. We trotted up the stairs, eventually reaching the top. Another door was there, and she opened that, too.

We stepped out onto the roof of the clinic, the view looking out over the neighborhood. The mountains loomed in the distance beyond the tops of the townhomes and apartments. The multi-story buildings to the left and right provided some privacy. Despite the din of the streets below, it was strangely peaceful.

“Nice, huh?” she asked, pulling her coat tight against the breeze. “When the weather’s more accommodating, I like to come up here between patients and have a cup of coffee. I have this fantasy of turning this spot into a break area, like an outdoor garden where doctors can relax