"Your name?" the chairman simply asked.
She glared at him, as she pictured herself giving him a slap. A hard one, bigger than what she had just given that nurse. What the hell was he thinking leering at her that way?
"What is your name!?" he barked impatiently, stamping his feet hard.
"None of your business!" she yelled back, staring up at him with blazing eyes. She couldn't take it anymore. It is true she was a gentle soul, but having people walk over her consecutively, and in a day was just too much for her to bear.
He was shocked at her outburst as he had least expected it, but April didn't care. She wasn't ready to give a hoot. The worst that could happen is that she could be thrown back to a police cell, of which she had been there before. It seemed to be even more peaceful there, than out here where there seemed to be no peace for her.
The Chairman took one step towards her. "Did you just yell at me?" he asked slowly, in an unusual calm voice.
April drifted back as he edged closer, her heart pounding in her ears. Maybe she should have been more polite. She wondered. His attitude seemed a bit off and erratic.
He raised his hands to hit her, but it stopped midway in the air. Someone held it. She strained her neck to see clearly. Had the door been left open?
She realized it was Adrian himself. "Let her be," he told the chairman calmly.
He snarled, freeing himself from Adrian's grip. "How dare you?! Do you know what she did? She dared challenge me, and I swear with my life that she will rot in jail." He pulled out his phone from his breast pocket as he spoke.
"Please be calm. You know this is the ICU and there is a patient here." Adrian told him in a soothing voice. As for April she was as cool as ice and couldn't even utter a word.
"Then I demand an apology. Immediately!" he growled.
"So. Sorry." She worded dryly, giving a mild roll of her eyes
After the chairman stormed out in fury, she threw herself back on the chair in tears. Adrian didn't know what to do. He patted her gently on the shoulder. "Hey. Did he burst your ego? Don't worry, you will be fine. Do you mind coming to have a drink with me in my cafe down the road?" he offered.
She shrugged his hands off her and glared up at him with teary eyes. "Don't think you can just pop out of the blues and play the role of a knight in shining armour when we both know exactly what you are like." She blurted, burying her face in her hands as she sobbed.
Adrian sighed. "I doubt you realize what I saved you from now, else you would have at least been grateful."
She glared up at him again. "Then take back what you did! Go and call him and tell him I made a mistake apologizing, because you made a mistake interfering and that he should go ahead with his initial intentions!"
"Hey, cool it. I am sure you wouldn't like your sister to wake up to some sort of commotion. Be calm for her sake at least." He urged her.
She wished he would just turn around and go other than linger next to her with his alluring cologne that dealt with her senses.
The door opened then and Lu came in. He furrowed his brows when he stepped in as he saw Adrian standing by her side. Adrian's head was still wrapped in a bandage from the fight, and as for him, he had a bit of plaster for his broken nose.
"What are you doing here?" he growled at Adrian. "Are you here to torment her again or something?"
Adrian eyed him. "Watch your filthy mouth, bro. I just saved her from the chairman now. Don't think I was the one who made her cry. What are you doing here anyways?"
Lu returned the stare. "Shouldn't I be the one asking you that? Why bother saving her from the chairman since you can't even save her from your monstrous self. I heard you are taking her house away, even in this dire situation they are in."
Adrian scoffed. "Why don't you set your facts straight, man? For your information, her dad placed the house on sale, and I am only a buyer, okay? He has gotten them another apartment as we speak. So shut the hell up and stop spewing shit." He walked past him, brushing his shoulder hard against him as he stormed out angrily. It took Lu a great restraint and effort to let it slide.
"Hey, April. What's up with you? Are you okay? Did you have a confrontation with the chairman? Or rather, do you mind having a drink with me to clear your head?" he queried endlessly.
April lacked words to say to him. Her heart raced as he stood next to her. Shouldn't she ask have been cool to Adrian and ask if Lu was the one, and save herself this tension? She simply shook her head at his question without looking up at his face. "I bet my head would be much clearer if I am left alone." She said quietly. Seeing she was not in the mood, he shrugged and let her be. Jorge stepped in immediately.
"Hey, April. What's up? Are you good?"
She managed to look up at him. "Where have you been?"
"Oh my goodness, gal. Your face is a hell of a mess." he remarked. "I am sorry, I heard what happened. My aunty had an emergency so I went to assist her with a stuff or two." He paused for a moment as he went about examining Maya on the bed. "She is still alive at least." He mused.
"Did you see my dad or Sammy anywhere?" Sammy was her kid sister, and the youngest of them.
He shook his head. "I am not sure, but I think they headed home to pick up things before Maya's emergency. They should be on their way by now."
"So, are you saying this incident happened right after they left?"
He swayed his head sideways slowly. " I don't know the exact details though. You know I was given a ward and a bed to rest, thanks to you guys. But I feel much better now. Too bad I was given a suspension. I heard you were fired, but he is willing to take you back with an apology." he reduced his voice to a whisper.
She shook her head as she stood up. The ache in her head was unbearable, thanks to the way Adrian had pulled her hair back then, and though she carried no plaster or whatsoever on her, her body ached terribly with different grades of pain. "That is history now. I have been totally fired. I would just need to find my way. Being in a smaller hospital may do my soul some good after all."
Jorge smiled. "That is if you would be accepted. You know you would need a letter of recommendation from your boss here."
April shook her head. "No. I wouldn't. First off, I didn't work here, you know. I wasn't even able to go on any round to a ward, neither have I attended to one patient. So, you can't say that." She glanced around the room for her purse when she suddenly remembered that she had not been with it since the fight. Was it with the police? Or her dad? "Do you have my purse, Jorge?"
He shook his head. "I guess it should be with Naomi. She was the one who picked it up when you fainted back then after you had a brawl with Lana.
April tried to think. Didn't Naomi hand it back to her? "Fine. I would go get it then." She said, leaving.
Jorge watched her leave before pulling out his phone as he dialed a number. "Hey, dude. What's up? Why did you tell me you pulled a perfect job? The girl is in a coma as we speak and there is a fifty percent chance that she will come around soon. What the hell is this?"