Page 4 of Emil

“How do you know about that?”

“Because he’s been stressing about it for weeks. In the group chat the other day, he said it was in the final stretch. Anyway, don’t call him. It’s nothing, and I’m sure I’ll be out of here soon.”

“Are you new here, Anders?” Reed teased. The affection in his voice was evident. “No one is ever out of an ER fast. Keeping people here as long as possible is how we ER docs find joy in this world.” Belatedly, it seemed to hit Reed that I was here instead of Anders’s boyfriend. The doctor glanced around before returning his gaze to the giant man in the hospital gown, worry lines etched across his forehead. “Where’s John?”

“Uh, um, I’m not sure.”

“He declined to bring Anders in,” I interjected flatly.

Anders had been adamant that no ambulance be called, but I’d be damned if I’d let it go entirely. If nothing else, I wanted to protect my company. Or that’s at least what I told myself. My heart skipped a beat when Anders collapsed next to me. Then, when his asshole boyfriend declared himself too busy to take Anders to the ER, Lacey said she would do it and arrange childcare on the way. That was when I stepped in and said I’d do it. It was a testament to how poorly Anders felt that he gave only token pushback against the decision.

Reed wasn’t able to mask his reaction quickly enough. “Too busy? Okay,” he said with skepticism.

“He’s been working hard on his current project and sick people make him nervous,” Anders said.

“He’s working hard, or he’s pushing you hard to do his shit?” Reed shot back.

I’d already pegged John for an absolute waste of a desk at the company, but it surprised me that someone from the outside would have so much clarity on the bullshit John was pulling. From what I knew of Anders, he’d defend that asshole to the end.

A furtive glance at Anders revealed a man on the edge. The exchange with Reed, which I had no doubt came from a place of concern, left Anders even more exhausted than before. He’d leaned back on the raised gurney and closed his eyes, but it wasn’t a relaxed posture. His head teetered on the edge of collapse. As much as I agreed with his friend’s opinion on the boyfriend, Anders couldn’t take any more.

“Doctor, would you mind showing me the visitor’s lounge?” Reed looked away from Anders, who visibly relaxed at the diversion of his attention. Yeah, it was definitely enough. “Now.” Reed looked as if he wanted to argue, but finally gave a curt nod.

I followed him through the glass cubicle’s door and carefully slid it closed behind me. Once we were clearly out of earshot and eyesight, Reed stopped and leaned against the wall.

“Fuck that fucking asshole. I went too far in there. Anders doesn’t need yet another asshole pushing him.”

“It’s out of concern.” Reed nodded, and I added, “But it was too much.”

Reed grimaced but nodded again.

“Did he even pretend like he gave a shit his boyfriend was in a crisis?”

“Not really. He stood around while one of the other people in the office tended to him, and didn’t lift a finger to assist.”

I tried to keep my voice neutral, but there wasn’t much effort behind it. Whatever it was about Anders that had caught my attention, I didn’t have a good explanation for it. After the goddamn debacle of a takeover, I was about to shut the entire company down, take the tax write-off, and conveniently forget I was the one who signed off on the investment in the first place.

“You’re his new boss?”

“Indirectly. My firm has absorbed them. I’m only there to get them integrated into our systems, and then I’ll turn it over to the general manager.”

“I don’t know shit about business, but I’d have thought you had people for that kind of thing.”

“You’d think so, but the owners have been challenging since the loan was called and we exercised our rights over the shares.”

The business was small enough that the employees could be absorbed into other ventures. It wasn’t ideal, but it was better than putting them out on the street. But I couldn’t shut the firm down completely until the books were in order, and there was some shady shit going on in those.

The numbers weren’t adding up, and once we cleared out anyone who might have been cooking them, the accountants had struggled to make them match too. It appeared there were two entirely separate sets of books, one real and one fantastical. And, in a surprise to no one, it was the altered ones that had been presented to the board during the acquisition process.

“Dr. Greer should be in with him pretty quickly to double-check his levels, but I suspect he’ll release him after he does that final check. Did anyone call Rory?”

“Who’s that?”

“His best friend, but more like family.”

“He was having lunch with a reddish-haired guy tod⁠—”

“Yeah, that’s him.”