บท 43: Chapter Forty-Two
"Okay, so this time, I'll do the peds and trauma stuff first." Arizona said as we all sat in the waiting room of the latest company we were trying to convince to help us buy the hospital. After a week of doing this everyone was beginning to grow worried, even more after Karev had told Yang and Meredith just how bad the hospital had been doing since we all walked out.
"And then I'll go into neuro." Derek nodded.
"Okay, can somebody else do the closing?" Callie asked. "I-I was awful last time we practiced."
"No, you were fine." Arizona tried to assure her.
"No, she stank." I spoke honestly. "I can handle the closing, better than standing behind Derek as I nod throughout the entire neuro piece."
"Derek, can you do the closing?" Arizona asked, glancing between Callie and I.
"Do none of you have any faith in me?" I shook my head.
"We do, we just remember what you did during the proposed budget cuts." Derek reminded me.
"I'm sorry, it should be just a few more minutes." The secretary told us. "Can I get you any water or coffee?"
"Coffee." Yang nodded while everyone else turned the offer down. "And a bagel or something. I'm starving. This meeting was supposed to start half an hour ago."
"Okay, he's a billionaire." Callie reminded her. "One of his minutes is worth forty of ours."
"I can't believe we got this meeting in the first place." Arizona shook her head.
"Yeah, nice job, Stan." Derek patted him on the shoulder.
"I really believe Julian Crest is our guy." Stan told us. "He made all his money in late-stage internet mobile. Medical tech is the one area he doesn't have a foothold. Your focus on applied research, it's right up his alley."
"Yeah, well, someone should buy him a watch." Yang scoffed before she glanced at Meredith. "Who are you calling?"
"Heather Brooks." Meredith told her. "Mousy."
"Wait. What are you doing?" Yang frowned, confused. "What happened to not talking to anyone?"
"I left patients behind. She's keeping an eye on them." Meredith defended herself. "I haven't said anything to her. I'm giving her advice."
"We're all set if you'll follow me." The secretary told us as she returned with Yang's coffee and bagel. We all nodded as we gathered our things and began to follow her down the hall.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"You are investing in an institution, a reputation, a legacy." Derek told the two young men that we all sat in front of, around the large conference table. "But Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital is worth more than its past. Our plan is to build on that reputation, to make Seattle Grace a place where medical innovation is developed and delivered to the patients who need it. That is our plan. That is the future of Seattle Grace. And we invite you to be a part of it."
"Neat." One of the men nodded once Derek finished. "We'll, uh, let you know."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"I thought you were taking us to Julian Crest, not his daycare center." Derek frowned at Stan once we had all gotten outside after the meeting.
"You don't just walk in and talk to a guy like Julian Crest." Stan shook his head. "There are hoops to jump through. Those junior execs like us, they pass us up to his business development guys. We impress them, then we see the man himself."
"Oh. Will they do this before or after their nap time?" Callie raised a brow.
"Or, before or after the hospital is closed?" I asked.
"You were golden in there." Stan told us. "There's no way you don't make it to the next level. I'm telling you, any second now this phone is gonna ring. Really, any second now."
We all stood there, watching his phone for a few minutes, but nothing happened. Finally, just as I was about to lash out at Stan, his phone rang and he quickly answered it, walking away as he spoke to whoever was on the other end of the line.
"What are they saying?" Arizona hissed at him, but he only gestured for us to all be quiet.
"What do you understand?" Derek pressed.
"Thank you. Thank you very much for your time." Stan told the caller before he hung up. "You guys, you were kind of rude."
"Well what did they fucking say?" I snapped at him.
"I'm sorry." Stan sighed. "You got the meeting."
At his news we all began the cheer, received at the news. We all started to hug one another, overjoyed by the news of this all. We actually had a chance now. We might actually be able to save the hospital.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"What's bugging you?" Callie asked me as we sat outside the office building with the others, eating lunch before we had to go back in to talk to the business development guys.
"What?" I frowned.
"All week you've seemed to have your head in the clouds, distracted by something." She told me, keeping her voice soft so the others wouldn't overhear us. "So, what is it? What's been bugging you?"
"It's Jackson." I admitted.
"Ah, so there is something going on between you two." She smirked, causing my brows to furrow. "Don't give me that look, ever since you came back its been clear that something's been going on between you two. Bailey and I have been taking bets, wondering how long it'd take you two to get together."
"Well, he wasn't too happy when he found out that we all quit." I informed her. "All week he's been trying to get ahold of me, he's even come over to my apartment, trying to get me to let him in so we can talk. I don't know what to say to him so I just ignore his calls and messages and sit in the dark when he comes over. I don't know what else I can do."
"Well, soon enough this should all be over so you can talk to him." She gave me a small pat on the shoulder. "When you tell him he'll understand."
"What if he doesn't?" I asked.
"If he doesn't then I'll kick his ass." She offered, causing us both to laugh.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"This would restore Seattle Grace Mercy West as the region's leader in adult and pediatric trauma medicine." Arizona told the men sitting in front of us as she began to wrap up her part of our presentation. "Dr. Shepherd?"
"Yeah, we'll lead the way in neuroscience- a dedicated research institute for the advances of brain mapping, with applications to the treatment of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease-"
สถานะพลังงานรายสัปดาห์
-- การจัดอันดับด้วยพลัง 
-- หินพลัง