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Ally could only shake her head because tears were clouding her eyes and too many words were like a logjam clogging her throat. How could it be possible to love another human being like this?
“Hey,” a voice called, accompanied by the sound of the door sliding open. Iris’s head appeared. “Looks like you two have got things sorted.”
“Pretty much,” Tag said.
Ally sniffled and nodded.
“Good. You can sew up the details later. I think I’d make a stunning maid of honor. Tag, you can thank me with a raise and a company car. But right now, we need you guys back in here. Ally, your grandpa is here with Laurel, and apparently we still need to solve another problem.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
BACK INSIDE THE HOUSE, Ally recited the entire conversation she’d had with Dr. Boyd.
“Then he gave me the ultimatum. All I have to do is quit, and it will all go away. He’ll make sure the complaint doesn’t get filed, and that Tag gets elected.”
Throughout the tale, Laurel had been on her phone, only glancing up occasionally. Anyone would have guessed she was barely paying attention until she looked at Ally. “How did you leave it? What answer did you give him?”
“I almost agreed to resign on the spot, but something about this whole situation doesn’t sit right. Why does he want me to quit so badly? I mean, I know he doesn’t like me, but his attitude toward me has always seemed over the top. I decided to run it by Flynn first. Flynn was having lunch with my grandpa, so I was able to tell them both about the meeting at the same time. Flynn said I needed to talk to Tag and find out if what Dr. Boyd said is true, about the endorsements. And that’s as far as we got.”
“Boyd likes to believe he has even more power and influence than he does,” Flynn supplied. “Before Ally quit, I thought she should make sure he wasn’t bluffing.”
Bering said, “It is true about the endorsements. With Tag’s background as a paramedic and his contract with the hospital, the lack of support from the medical community would raise a lot of questions. And that lack of support, not to mention losing the financial backing, could be enough for Tag to lose the election.”
Shay asked, “What does Ally’s resignation achieve that having her fired doesn’t? And why threaten her with the election?”
“She goes away much more quickly and quietly,” Laurel supplied. “No one would think to blame Boyd if she quits. He wants Ally gone and Tag is just additional leverage.”
“She’s right,” Flynn agreed. Pulling out his phone, he began tapping on the screen.
Abe said, “I think this is mostly about me.”
“You?” Ally looked at her grandfather.
“Yes. I had a coffee date scheduled with Laurel, and she showed up right after you left. I mentioned this trouble with Boyd, and she gave me some information.”
“I believe Abe is right.” Laurel explained, “I recently interviewed Kip Patton for a story and learned that Dr. Boyd had formally applied to consult on this medical app that Kip’s company is developing. It’s one of those apps where a person can enter their symptoms and find out what might be wrong with them. Except Kip wants to have an option where people can see what alternative treatments might be helpful, in addition to a modern medical approach. That is what Kip and Abe have been discussing for some time now.”
“That sounds cool,” Hannah said.
“Yes, it does. The problem for Boyd is that Kip has just offered the consulting position to Abe. Because of Abe’s reputation along with his background in modern and traditional medicine, he can offer both perspectives. Then there’s the fact that he’s about a million times more personable.”
“Wow. Papa, congratulations!” Ally said. “This is amazing. Is this the business meeting you mentioned? It was with Patton? You’re going to do it, right?”
Her grandfather grinned at her. “Yep. It is a pretty neat deal. I was going to do it, but I don’t want to if it means you’re going to lose your job. Boyd has it in for me and you shouldn’t suffer because of it.”
“You’re the one who told me there were lots of jobs, remember? And this is way more important. This app could potentially reach millions of people.”
