And in washed the hoo hah of entourages. Much ado was made about Billy getting to go home and before he knew it Ian was alone. He tried to move a little in the bed, but he was pretty much pinned down.
His one good hand had a needle attached to a drip bag in addition to the clip that was attached to the monitor. He decided to see how far he could stretch that hand. It would only move just under a foot in any direction before he could feel the pin rake inside his flesh. He wouldn’t be doing that too often.
He decided to see about his legs. The left was encased in a brace. The other seemed to be fine. He wondered if he was flexible enough to stick a cigarette between his toes and get it to his mouth. He laughed at himself.
“Glad to see you are keeping yourself entertained...”
“Wella!” Ian wanted to leap out of the bed and give her a big hug and a kiss. He didn’t have to; she rushed right over and gave him a very huge bear hug and kiss. She wouldn’t let go. He could feel her start to shake with tears. “I’m fine, Wella, I’m just fine…”
She pushed him back, and quickly turned to compose herself before turning back to him with a big wet smile. “We have all been so worried…”
“I’m so sorry…”
“Not your fault. You remember that, you skinny white boy, this was all some pervert’s fault. You had nothing to do with this….”
“I would have been just fine, but a couple of guys decided to use me as a trampoline…”
“They told us everything was gonna be okay, but I couldn’t rest until I saw for myself. I am so relieved…”
“You’re just thrilled your Greek god of a hunk is posted outside my door…”
“Ian, honey, that is just really hot sexy icing on the cake…” She just smiled, “Now, what can I do, do you need anything…?”
“Yes, kidnap me and get me the hell outta here….”
“Nothing doing, we have everything sort of under control…”
“Sort of?”
“Kent’s being a pain, but nothing we can’t handle.”
“Kent? What’s he doing?’
“Not sure, but he’s appointed himself your temporary replacement. Showed up Monday morning, and broke up the morning power chat, telling everyone this was a place of business, not a coffee klatch. Started ordering everyone around and then shut himself in your office.”
“My office?”
“Called me in and demanded the key to your desk drawer.”
Ian laughed. “Did you give it to him?”
“Hell, no, said I didn’t have one. Trish says he spent the rest of the morning with a letter opener trying to get it open. Blake says he almost pooped in his pants when he walked in and told him that thing always sticks, pounded it with his fist and slid it right open for him…”
“Tell Blake I owe him a kiss…”
“When Kent got a look he slammed the drawer shut and stomped off…”
“Doesn’t he like potato chips?”
“Trish said he mumbled something about redneck junk food addict as he practically beat the button to the elevator in.”
“Redneck? It was full of Cajun Spice chips, not barbeque pork rinds.”
“He had me making coffee and Blake shredding papers…”
“Shredding…what’s he up, too?”
“Not quite sure. He goes in your office and shuts the door; occasionally he’ll pop out and bark an order. But we know for sure he is up to something. Trish came out of the office and motioned Blake and me over to her desk. Said for a guy that thinks he’s so smart he’s sure an idiot. She had pressed the intercom button down…”
“But I keep that thing unplugged…I kinda broke it and Blake has been waiting for someone to come and fix it.”
“He plugged it back up, and we listened to almost every conversation he had yesterday. He’s real ticked off, started when legal brought Pierce Warner’s contract down, already signed, just waiting for your signature. He immediately called somebody and demanded to know what the contract was all about.”
“Pierce signed his contract?”
“Came in and said you wanted it done first thing Monday morning and regardless he wanted it done, too. We snuck straight up to legal and pounded it all out. Your boy, Jenson…?”
“Jenson Michaels?”
“Yeah, he called as well, worried about you. I told him we were all just carrying on as though nothing had happened. You’d want us to keep things going so he met Blake at lunch and gave him another satchel full of some scripts.”
“Why so clandestine?”
“None of us trust Kent. He keeps barking at people and ordering us to do anything but work on what we are supposed to, and then complaining to any suit that walks by that he’s got to keep an eye on us or we won’t do any work.”
“He shouldn’t even be there…”
“Oh believe me anytime, Mr. Turner walks in…”
“David Turner’s been down?”
“Two or three times. Kent says he’s just down making sure that everything is being carried on the way you told him you wanted it.”
“I told him?”
“Claims the moment he heard about the accident he’s been sitting by your lonely bedside. Let me see if I get the quote right, “Poor boy, had nobody, and I didn’t want him to think that no one cared. We’re close you know….”
Ian wanted to gag. “What’s that bastard up to?”
“All we know for sure, is that when Turner caught him the last time, Sean said he heard him tell him say that you had told him you wouldn’t be returning, something about you and Ronnie going off and milking cows. You’d had enough and he was going to speak with the board about releasing you from your contract…best thing to do for everyone involved….”
“He wants me fired?”
“Oh no, not fired, released at your request. Problem is the idiot never bothered to see if any of us had been in contact with you or had been by your poor lonely bedside.”
“He’s up to something…”
“Of course. He’s determined that America Alive expand an hour and Sebastian Manor get canned ASAP.”
“That’s all been decided and there’s nothing he can do about it.”
“That’s not what he claims…”
“Wella, he thinks I am too naïve or stupid to figure it out, or just far out of reach enough to not be able to stop him. As of tomorrow, we power meet via conference call, although I want as many of you here as much as possible during the work day as the hospital will let us get away with. If I’m lucky they’ll just throw me out and I can get back to work full time….”
“That’s not exactly what I wanted to hear, but close….”
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