A Mouth Watering Offer

For the ​first time in a very long while, the Accident and Emergency unit at the Queens appeared empty. It felt like an unusual day as the crowd thinned out, leaving the health workers with a few patients placed on observation. Paige Patterson watched the last outpatient leave, and she sighed.

A normal day at the Queens was characterized by the loud crowd at the A&E, the voluminous number of patients at the Out-patient-department, which was unfortunately built beside the hospital's A&E.

The noise from these two departments were enough to make one go nuts. Yet the likes of Paige found themselves already used to it, as it was now part of their daily life. She whispered to her colleague before standing up and making her way down the mini corridor that led directly to the OPD.

Seeing how calm and scanty the waiting rooms were, she stared in shock, telling herself that something was definitely wrong. The OPD had always been the busiest department in the whole hospital. And in a bid to regulate the crowd, the management had to adjust consultations on appointment basis, except in the case of new patients. Yet they recorded little to no decrease in the crowd. So Paige was taken aback to see just a few people at the waiting rooms. She pondered on what could be the problem, but ended up as clueless as before.

Carefully, she marched down to Nathan's office while hoping that the scanty waiting rooms would mean less work for her childhood friend. She was already curious as to why he asked to see her and being told to wait was not something she hoped for.

"Good morning Nat, Candice said you were asking for me." Paige asked as she stepped into Nathan's office. She took an empty seat opposite him.

"Good morning Pai." Nathan greeted smiling.

Paige has been a close friend of his from their days​ in college and​ during their internship. Fortunately, they ended up working at the Queens. "I've got news, a big one. It is more of a huge opportunity for a financial breakthrough." Nathan said, smiling broadly.

"Really, what is it?" She asked, excitedly.​​​​​

Having grown up under the care of a not-so-kind step-mother, Paige Patterson rarely had people that genuinely cared for her, except the likes of Nathan and her present boyfriend, Stefan. So her friendship with Nathan was something she cherished so much.

"One of my patients is back in the country. She's been struggling with mild hypertension for a while now which we've been managing adequately. If I must say, since she became my patient, her blood pressure has never gone above limits except for one time she was going through some personal stuff." He paused and flashed a cute smile. "She stays outside the country. But we always keep in touch and I do speak with her consultant over there and so far, her blood pressure has been under control. Are you following, Pai?"

"Mhmm." Paige replied.

"Okay. But you know these wealthy people, they don't like taking chances. So, it's safe to say that my client is just in need of someone to keep her company and also keep a watchful eye on her health." He concluded.

Paige heaved a deep sigh, and threw Nathan a thoughtful stare. "How old is she?"

"She'll be fifty six soon." Nat replied.

"Why is she back, is she relocating back to the country? And what about her husband and kids?"

"Husband is late. He died a couple of years ago. Her kids, I'm not sure of the numbers. What I do know is that one of her children recently established a Cardiac surgical center. And It's actually one of his charity schemes to help the less privileged who can't afford the dire cost of heart surgery he wan..."

"Is he a cardiologist?" Paige cut in, shocked.

"From what I know, he's into the Diamond business. He is a real businessman. I doubt he knows much about the health sector, maybe a few things he read or picked up from medical practitioners." Nathan explained.

"So how come he established a cardiac surgical center? That will cost him a real fortune. Does he or anyone close to him have heart related issues?" She asked again, causing Nathan to smile.

"Pai, you need to understand that these people are billionaires. They can do anything they want with their money. For all I know, he could be bored, then decides to carry out a philanthropic work. Moreover, money is not even a problem to them." He answered, shrugging.

Paige nodded. "So are the whole family Diamond collectors. I mean your client's children. Is it like a family business for them?" She continued her query.

"I knew you'd kill me with questions." Natan chuckled. "I'm not sure of what they all do though but two of her daughters are well celebrated lawyers." He replied.

"Oh! So that makes sense then. I mean, considering their brother is into such business. He is more like a Mafia right? And having two powerful lawyers behind him is the best kind of security he needs. So, what's the deal?" She asked, putting on a serious face."

"They want a live-in Nurse that would be with their mother all through her stay in the country, someone to care for her till she returns back."

"Why can't the Nurse pay their mother a visit at least once or twice weekly. I mean one of them is likely to be a member of the Mafia and I don't want to get killed or shot dead while living with them. She will be living in the same house with her Mafia son, right?"

"Oh my god! Pai, where did you get that from?" Nathan asked, laughing uncontrollably. "Firstly​, I never said her son was a member of any Mafia or whatever you called it." He stated, wondering where she got such an idea from. "In fact, he is the calmest and most gentle human you would ever come across. He is not a bad person at all. Again, they do not want you visiting. Moreso, they live at Yardstin which is about a six to seven hour journey from here. If you ask me, I'll say this is a very good deal and it's just for a period of three months. The icing on the cake is, they pay pretty well." Nat added, the last line was said in a whisper in order to convey how exciting the news sounded.

"Nat," she called, shaking her head to the sides. "I don't think this will work for me. I've got my gift store running on the side, I've got to work, I also have my whole life here. I can't just pack up and move to another state."

"Not even when you are going to be paid two thousand dollars each week? " asked Nat with a mischievous smile.

"They are paying what, how? That's a whole lot of money!" Paige exclaimed, sitting up. "Who pays their employee such an amount of money in a week?"

"The Kentleys." Nathan replied.

"Unbelievable!!"

"You should probably read about them before making a decision. You can give me feedback by Thursday. That should give you enough time to decide, right?" He asked.

"Nat, two thousand dollars each week." She said in a distant voice while staring at nothing in particular. Turning to him, she spoke again. "That will be eight thousand in a month and approximately twenty-two to twenty-four thousand in three months. How is that even possible? It sounds too good to be true."

"I know, I've done the math before now and the pay is quite encouraging honestly. You could buy a property you know." Nathan said, smiling broadly.

"I'll give it a thought this evening." She finally said thinking about the money and how far it would go in solving most of her personal problems at the moment. Then a distant reminder shook her, Nathan would obviously need a percentage cut from the money. He got the offer for her, he could have given it to anyone in the hospital but he brought it to her. So, he deserved a reasonable percentage from the pay. "How much is your cut?" She asked, smiling knowingly.

"I'll get paid five thousand dollars for helping them find a reliable hand and that's the cut I'm taking. Besides, you need the money more than I do." He winked. "Mrs. Kentley was a former patient of my dad's before he passed on."

"God bless his soul." Paige uttered audible enough.

"She's been my patient since dad's demise. And, I've been a bit close to the eldest son for a while now in case you are in doubt."

"Thank you so much, for bringing such an amazing offer to me on a platter. I am very grateful and indebted to you. And best believe my husband-to-be will pay you in full before he gets married to me." She teased, and roared in sweet happy laughter.

"And I can't wait to get my wages." He smiled. "Just let me know of your decision on time." He added, in a more serious tone.

"I sure will. Now, let's leave you to continue with work. See you later." A nod from Nathan ushered her out of the office