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We both laughed but I noticed the mystery man had stood, now staring at the wall in front of him. Okay, his behavior was strange. I headed toward the elevator, thankful that as soon as I pressed the button, the doors opened. The steel box empty, as soon as I stepped inside, I turned around. Just seconds before the doors closed, he walked by without looking in my direction.
I found myself breathing a sigh of relief. I grabbed a diet soda from the breakroom before heading into my office. While there was a single window, it wasn’t operable and didn’t help with the stuffy appearance. I had a feeling the room had once been a broom closet. At least I could close the door and block out most of the usual hospital noises.
As soon as I sat down, I pulled up my files, searching for the man who’d died. As soon as I found his records, I noticed it was listed he had a heart murmur. I wasn’t certain I’d remembered that. I sat back, shaking my head. Maybe I wasn’t completely healed, at least in my mind. If I continued to second guess myself, it would only lead to serious complications, a need for a leave of absence. I couldn’t afford to allow myself to fall into despair. It wouldn’t serve me well.
Even though I buried myself in paperwork, I opened the door twice to peer into the hallway. Why? Was I really buying into Maggie’s concern? There was no reason to. None. After the second time, I laughed and grabbed a few items to take to the shredder. The second I opened the door, Maggie appeared. We both jumped.
I laughed.
She didn’t.
“What’s wrong?” I asked. The woman was pale as a ghost.
“You need to come with me.”
“What happened? Another patient?”
When she grabbed my arm, I was shocked. “No. I noticed something and thought you should see it.” She dragged me into the breakroom, only letting me go to turn on the television.
“What is going on?”
“You’ll see. I hope I can find it again. You father is giving another press conference.”
“Maggie. You know how I feel about my father’s political career.” She’d caught me bitching after a phone call from dear old Dad, the man nagging me to come to dinner. I hated the pomp and circumstance around their evening meals, which was why the only time I’d been to the house recently had been Christmas. The four hours had been excruciating. I was nothing like my father and thankful for it. Carrie was the master of handling his pontification and his friends. Even on Christmas Day, he’d had two of his cronies over for drinks.
“Shush. Let me find it.”
The moment she pulled the news at noon station on, his face and that of his groupies surrounding him came into view, and I turned away. “I’m not watching this.”
“Sarah. Come here.”
Groaning, I turned around just as she turned up the volume.
“And I will promise you that by the summer of this year, the beautiful streets of New York will be rid of such monstrous organizations such as the Giordano family, the Moretti clan, and the Pavlov Bratva. All who treat this beloved city like their own private shooting gallery.”
My father’s voice boomed over the microphones, the crowd of several hundred cheering him on as if he were a god. I was a little sick to my stomach. The fact he’d called the families out by name didn’t surprise me. Nothing about my father did any longer. He believed he could walk on water and was bigger than the law.
“Turn it off.”
“Wait. Listen.”
I noticed it had been prerecorded, which meant Maggie had heard the entire speech before. I folded my arms, doing what she asked.
“And now, we have Gabriel Giordano in charge of the Cosa Nostra.” My father stopped to laugh, staring at the adoring faces in the crowd. While the name yanked a red flag into the air, the city was full of Italians. The name Gabriel was nothing special.
When I exhaled, she threw me a look, trying to encourage me to stick around.
“This… kid had the nerve to threaten me last night. Do you believe that? Me, the man who’s going to make certain he spends his life behind bars.”
“Maggie. Is this about my date?”
Before she had a chance to respond, my father looked directly into the camera. “Now, I know that this boy had big shoes to fill, but the former stockbroker had better come at me with more than a verbal threat.”
All time seemed to stop, my father’s voice going into slow motion, his words garbled for a few seconds. Was it remotely possible that… No way. Not a chance in hell. But if that was the case, then the man I’d… fucked was the brother of the person who’d died. No. No. I couldn’t go down that road. There was no chance it was possible. None. Karma wouldn’t be that much of a bitch. “Gabriel is a popular name.” My voice was shaky.
“I know that. But you need to see this. They’re about to switch back to the newsroom.”
I was shaking, my skin crawling all over as the scene in front of my father’s office faded, folding into the newsroom. Walking closer, I stared at the screen as the female reporter stood beside various images of the Giordano family, including a photograph of the man who’d been in the accident.
