Kapitel 585: Ch 585 - A Showdown
Ann snorted. "How can the clinic be transferred to such a young man? What's going on with Dr. Allbrook? Without him, I don't see how we can continue to make money. Alex isn't capable of running this place, so it's up to us doctors to do it. And that means he needs us more than we need him."
She smirked. "First, our salaries will be tripled, and we will be limited to just fifty patients a day. If there are more than fifty people, we will take eighty percent of the consultation fee. Second, everyone needs half a percent of the equity. The eight of us support this clinic, so it's normal to want a decent share."
She pointed at Alex. "Third, you're a layman, so you can't participate in the management and running of the day-to-day affairs. We'll do it ourselves."
Sophie inhaled sharply. How will Alex react to this? she wondered.
The doctors were all in agreement. They were the ones who made the clinic work; therefore, they should be the ones who had the most say in running it. And if they were running it, then they should be paid better.
"If you agree, we will continue to work… for the right money," Ann said. "But if you don't agree, we'll quit now and join together to open a medical center across town. We'll give you an hour to consider."
Alex smiled. "You doctors hold yourselves in great esteem, but apparently, you don't cope well with change."
The older doctor sneered. "Whatever. Either agree to our request, or you'll find yourself with no doctors. The money this place has made lately is all down to us. Our reputations go way beyond Baltimore, and because of us, so does the reputation of the Woodside Clinic. If we leave, this clinic will be nothing."
The patients started muttering among themselves.
"He's right. Without Dr. Glover and the others, the clinic would close in a matter of days."
"If they go, it will destroy the clinic."
Before Alex could open his mouth, a group of the patients called out and asked him to speak with them.
Wanting to be reassured, they looked at Alex, wondering how he would respond to the threat.
"Will you agree to their demands?" one patient asked.
Alex smiled, drumming his fingers on the counter. "You really don't see their position," he said. Then he turned and spoke to the doctors. "Over the years, it's not you who have made this clinic, it's the Woodside Clinic that has made you. Without you, this would still be one of the top medical centers in Baltimore."
He paused, making sure he had their attention, and then he continued. "But, without Woodside Clinic, you doctors are nothing special. As a matter of fact, you've forgotten your original motives for becoming doctors. Instead of talking about how to cure patients, all you can think about is how to earn money."
He shook his head. "It doesn't matter if you want to make a lot of money out of rich and powerful people, but you have to give the same attention to the patients who come to our clinic."
He walked out from behind the counter and looked at the doctors. "You claim great achievements, but you don't have any sense of ethics."
Ann had been listening and now she spoke up. "Who are you to speak to us this way? Are you even qualified to be a doctor?"
All eyes turned to Alex.
Ann continued. "You bastard! Who gave you the right to lecture us? No matter what you think of us, let me remind you that we've cured countless patients between us. We have exhausted ourselves for our patients, and we're not going to let you judge our abilities and achievements."
The middle-aged doctor agreed. "That's right. What do you know?"
"Exhausted yourselves?" Alex pointed to a man in the crowd and said, "Dr. Glover, this patient is obviously suffering from high blood pressure, something simple lifestyle changes will help with. But you diagnosed him as needing an expensive and invasive surgical procedure."
He turned to a beautiful young woman. "Dr. Jones, you diagnosed this young lady, but you didn't consider her lactose intolerance. If she just cuts out dairy products, her stomach ailments will disappear."
"How did you know what was wrong with me?" the woman asked. "You're right—dairy always sets me off."
By now, the patients were in an uproar. The woman was a long-term patient of Woodside Clinic, so they knew she was being genuine.
"What's more, I don't know who purchased these medicines or how much they cost," Alex said, gesturing to the pharmacy. "I only know that many of them are past their expiration date. Not only are they about to expire but also the quality is low-grade. These medicines won't cure you."
He emptied a tub of pills onto the counter and then crushed them with his fingers. They instantly turned into a pile of powder.
Most people were now looking very uneasy.
Sophie felt an eyelid twitch. She knew the medicines gave peace of mind to their patients. They paid a high price for first-class medicine, which they now knew was inferior.
"Alex, be quiet," she said. "We've built our reputation up over the years, and you're about to destroy it in seconds."
"Young man, I want you to apologize right away," the older doctor said. "Otherwise, we will all resign."
Ann, the other doctors, and their assistants all glared at Alex. "Apologize, or we'll resign," Ann said.
"What? You all think you can pressure me?" Alex asked.
"It's too late now," Ann said. "Don't bother asking me to stay. Even if you begged me, I wouldn't work for you."
Alex laughed. "Go on, all of you. Get out of here."
"Fine. We will," one doctor said. "We won't stay here to be insulted like this."
Sophie muttered beneath her breath, "Great. Well done, Alex. How will we survive without our doctors?"
Ann looked at the other doctors and then spoke to the patients. "From today, we have drawn a clear line. We are irreconcilable and will never come back to Woodside Clinic. If you choose to see a doctor here, then we will blacklist you, and you will lose the chance to be treated by one of us. However, if you leave with us, I promise we will solve all your problems."
She turned back to her fellow doctors. "Let's go!"
With that, she took off her white coat and threw it on the ground. Then she turned sharply on her heels and went out.
Following her lead, the other doctors also took off their white coats, looked at Alex with contempt, and walked out of the door.
As a result of the doctors' protest, all the staff members of Woodside clinic, including twenty-four assistants, five pharmacists, and three cleaners, all stopped work, put down their respective equipment, and left the clinic in a hurry.
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein