Chapter 4 - THE APOLOGY NOBODY EXPECTED
Emma didn't expect Adrian Moretti to apologize.
Men like him didn't apologize.
They compensated.
They intimidated.
They made problems disappear.
But the next afternoon, he appeared outside the restaurant without his usual entourage.
Emma was carrying a crate of clean glasses through the back entrance.
She nearly dropped it.
“What are you doing here?”
Adrian stood beneath the awning.
Rain darkened the shoulders of his black coat.
“Apologizing.”
Emma stared.
“For what?”
“For investigating your past without permission.”
She blinked.
“Oh.”
Adrian looked uncomfortable.
“I should have asked.”
“Yes.”
“And I shouldn't have assumed that because I have resources, I'm entitled to use them however I want.”
Emma studied him.
“Did someone write that speech for you?”
His mouth twitched.
“No.”
She smiled despite herself.
“Good.”
They sat in a quiet corner of the restaurant after her shift.
Adrian ordered coffee.
Emma ordered tea.
For several minutes, neither spoke.
Then Emma said, “I worked at St. Catherine's for three years.”
Adrian listened.
“I loved it,” she continued. “The children. The families. Even the exhausting shifts.”
Her fingers tightened around the cup.
“Then I noticed medication records that didn't match what I had administered or witnessed.”
Adrian leaned forward.
“What kind of discrepancies?”
“Doses recorded at times when patients weren't scheduled to receive them. Missing signatures. Changes made after the fact.”
She swallowed.
“I reported it.”
“To Whitmore?”
Emma nodded.
“He was the medical director.”
Adrian's face hardened.
“What happened?”
“He accused me of making unauthorized changes to records.”
Her eyes filled.
“I hadn't.”
Adrian said nothing.
Emma continued.
“They suspended me. Then terminated me. My complaint was dismissed, and the nursing board opened a review based on the hospital's allegations.”
“Were you convicted of anything?”
“No. But the process was expensive, and my reputation was damaged.”
She looked down.
“I couldn't afford to keep fighting.”
Adrian stared at her.
“So you became a waitress.”
Emma nodded.
“Rent doesn't wait for justice.”
Adrian sat quietly.
Then he said, “I won't ask you to trust me.”
Emma looked up.
“Good.”
“But I would like to help you obtain an independent review.”
She shook her head.
“I don't want your money.”
“Then don't take it.”
He leaned forward.
“I can give you the name of an attorney who specializes in professional licensing disputes. You decide whether to contact her.”
Emma studied him.
“No strings?”
“None.”
She hesitated.
Then nodded.
“All right.”
Adrian smiled faintly.
“Thank you.”
Emma looked at him.
May you like
“For what?”
“For giving me a chance to do something properly.”
