It has already been a month since she started her internship. Work went by as usual until that afternoon when Hopton Hospital suddenly got flooded by patients that needed their labs taken urgently.
Two groups of people were in a car accident. Most of them needed blood transfusions and several of them needing immediate surgeries. The laboratory technicians were swamped with the heavy workload.
Diana tried to keep calm amidst the stressful environment. Her shift was almost at an end when suddenly Bryan came to the Laboratory and looked for her. He had a serious look on his face and one could even detect anger.
Diana was confused as to why he looked that way and even looked for her.
"Sit down," Bryan ordered harshly as soon as she entered his office, throwing a chart on the table towards her.
Diana looked confused with his behavior and just calmly scanned the sheet showing a laboratory result.
"Tell me. How do you explain this? How come a male patient has elevated hCG? And don't tell me he possibly has some underlying disease that caused the increase of hCG level. I already had somebody else obtain a urine sample and rechecked it. It didn't show the same result. So tell me, what happened to your specimen?" Bryan gritted his teeth.
He doesn't know why he even felt attracted to somebody as careless as this person. He was humiliated when the doctor of the patient brought it to his attention.
Diana was frozen in place. She didn't know how to explain the situation.
"Not only that, the same happened to this patient's lab result." Bryan showed another male patient's chart. "And this." He showed a geriatric female's chart. "Elevated hCG."
Diana gasped in shock.
"I only tested the specimens that I got from those patients. From what I can remember, I followed all of the procedures." Diana said exasperatedly. She didn't know how to prove that she didn't make a mistake.
"Are you really not going to admit your mistake? I can't believe this. I've misjudged you. I thought you are a professional in our line of work." Bryan sneered. "It turns out you're only a pretty face."
Diana was shocked by his words. Only a week ago, this man kept on finding her, trying to ask her out on a date. Each time, she declined. And now he accuses her of being unprofessional, even insulting her abilities as if her appearance is a ticket to her earning her achievements.
She clenched her fist and gritted her teeth in anger.
Right at that moment, somebody knocked on the door.
"Come in," Bryan said. The person opened the door. Clara came in, carrying a few charts.
"Hey, Bryan. Oh Diana you're here." Clara smiled, seemingly oblivious to the tension in the office. "I got the charts and have the results of the specimens I took. Will you look at it so I can send this out to the doctors?"
"Okay. Thanks a lot, Clara. You've been such a big help." Bryan flashed a big smile to Clara. He scanned the charts, not finding any errors. "I'll treat you to a meal later, as thanks, okay?"
"Aww~no problem Bryan. Anything to help you. I'll see you after work then." Clara gathered the charts, her fingers brushed against Bryan's hand in the process. She flashed him a wink and left the office.
Diana felt her neck become hot. She can tell her blood pressure going up in anger. Those charts were the same ones she received earlier. She could surmise now that Bryan asked Clara to recheck the specimens because of her mistake.
She couldn't understand why the results were different when they took the specimen from the same patients.
"Look, Diana. I think you've been too stressed out lately. Why don't you take a leave from work for a few days to rest up? You were good when you just started. Maybe the workload is too heavy for you." Bryan was calmer than earlier. Getting up, he went around his table and approached Diana. Placing his hands on her shoulders, squeezing tenderly as if comforting her, he said "Are you having problems lately? Maybe I can help. You can always come to me. As your Supervisor, I can help you."
'Why is it that it sounded like he had a different meaning with his words?'
Diana's whole body froze. She felt disgusted.
"Alright. I'll take a day off then. Thank you." Diana got up to leave, Bryan's hands fell to his sides.
Disappointed that she didn't try to ask for his help, "Okay. I need you to write an Incident Report before you clock out. I'll do a write-up on you because of what happened. Rest up." Smiling although his eyes look cold, Bryan led her out of his office.
Diana didn't waste any time and went to the computer to make the Incident Report.
The other lab technicians were looking at her awkwardly.
"How could she make such a rookie mistake?"
"Yeah.. it would be bad if a patient's condition worsened if they're given medication after a misdiagnosis."
"Yikes! That would be terrible!"
"Worse if somebody died because of it!"
"So unlucky! Tsk! Tsk!"
"Seems like she's not that amazing after all." Michelle snickered.
"Looks like the boys have already snapped out from their dream. Reality is she's only a pretty face." Alicia chuckled.
Diana finished her Incident Report and gathered her things, heading to Bryan's office to submit it.
Behind her, Clara made a noise as she got up from her chair, "I won't be leaving with you girls later. Bryan is taking me to dinner."
"Ehh? Since when did you become closer to him?" Michelle was incredulous.
"Hmm? What do you mean? Don't I have always gotten along with him?" She shrugged, acting as if it was not a big deal.
"But dinner outside? Is that a date?" Alicia poked her side, making her giggle.
"Who knows? Hehe.. you'll just have to wait and see.." She said as she raised her chin arrogantly.
The men in the laboratory looked her way and then glanced at Diana.
They were not blind. They saw how Bryan tried to take her to dinner every chance he could.
After Diana submitted the Incident Report, she went home.
Diana was already at her apartment's doorstep, keys in hand, she stared at the doorknob mindlessly. She never expected things to turn out the way they did. All the way here, she's been racking her brains about what exactly happened. She swore she followed all of the procedures. 'Did I really take it from the right patient? I swear I did.' She inserted the key and twisted it, opening the door. "Hey Di.. You're back early." Heather greeted Diana as she entered their apartment. Glancing at the clock, it's not even time for her scheduled clock-out. "Yeah. Boss sent me home." Diana replied dejectedly. "Huh? What happened?" Heather asked. "Are you feeling sick or something?" Diana is a hard worker. She won't leave work early if she can help it. "No. Though I might as well be. I made an Incident Report today.
Passing by Hopton Research Institute, Lucas's Assistant, Ethan Taylor who sat in the passenger's seat remembered a small detail. "Mr. Ingram, this Research Institute submitted a proposal in your office. They've made mention about a new discovery they have and asked if you're interested in making an investment." Ethan said, his voice maintained a professional tone. Lucas glanced at the building and recalled that Diana works at Hopton Research Institute. The Investigator mentioned before that she is popular there. Lucas rested his chin against his hand. "Hmm--meet up with them. I'll listen to their proposal." Ethan glanced at Lucas on the front view mirror, wondering if it has something to do with the woman he had investigated. Lucas rarely meets up with people seeking investments. "Alright, Mr. Ingram. I'll e-mail them now." Ethan proceeded to send a message to the Insti
Did he forget to ask something? Ethan wondered. The drumming didn't stop yet. He desperately tried to recall. Then a thought flashed in his mind. The cause of his boss's weird behavior is his interest on Ms. Diana Winchester. Ethan cleared his throat. "Mr. Cook, if you don't mind me asking, how does Hopton Research Institute take care of its employees?" His voice was nonchalant as if he was only asking it just to make conversation. "Eh? Our employees are being well-guided. Our Institute provides plenty of benefits and is for the employee's career advancement." Bryan sang praises for his company. 'He's probably checking if our institute is in alignment with their institute's ideals.' "I see. That's good to know. I heard that your Institute has recently accepted a new intern?" Ethan asked, drinking a few sips of water. Lucas's drumming stopped. Bryan and Clara were shocke
Early in the morning, Diana received an e-mail from the Supervisor, Bryan Cook. Upon receiving the notification on her phone, she thought she's being called back to work. She quickly opened the e-mail. Unfortunately, that was not the content of his e-mail. Instead of calling her back to work, he notified her that she will no longer be able to work at Hopton Research Institute. Diana's eyes were about to tear up. She can't believe how they treat their employees. She couldn't explain how she is feeling. She felt like shouting, crying, and even slapping at the real culprit. Knock! Knock! Heather knocked on Diana's door. "I prepared breakfast." When Diana didn't answer, Heather knocked again, twisting the knob and finding it unlocked. "Hey. Breakfast is--" Heather saw Diana's facial expression whil
At the Hopton Research Institute, Supervisor Bryan Cook was feeling pleased with himself as he thought of the promotion that he will for sure get. He is just waiting for the notification on Forrest Research Institute's decision to invest. The phone rang in his office. It was the Receptionist. "Yes? Can I help you?" Bryan asked in a good mood. "Mr. Cook, we have people here from the Oxfield Crime Department, they said they are investigating the incident yesterday." the Receptionist said, dryly. She's very disappointed at the trouble Diana caused. The news on yesterday's incident traveled fast. With the help of Clara and her friends, gossip spread like wildfire. With how popular Diana's name had become since she entered the Institute, this piece of news also was quickly disseminated. A lot of them felt bad, thinking that they have committed a few mistakes in their career,
Bryan went to his office and gathered the papers that had the erroneous laboratory results from yesterday.He then called Diana.Now that things have turned out like this, he will make sure that Diana will be in the Officers' hands before the day ends."Diana, how are you?" Bryan asked, faking concern."Mm. Can I help you?" Diana replied."Oh. Yes. Can you come to my office? I need you to sign some papers." Bryan made up.On the other end, Diana rolled her eyes. What papers could she possibly sign after getting fired just like that?But knowing that Heather and Ed are still in the building, she is assured that nothing bad will happen to her."Okay. I'll be there." Diana said."Good. Good. Bye then." Bryan hung up, his eyes had a sinister look.As he left his office, he bumped
Bryan on the other hand was second-guessing himself when the questions that were asked revealed that he made a hasty decision in terminating Diana. He should have investigated first before sending out that letter. Otherwise, the higher-ups will find fault in him. Clara however was pale-faced when the Officers interrogated her. She tried to be as calm as possible but when she was asked what she thought of Diana, her reaction betrayed her. She was green with envy in Diana that the Officers were able to see that she indeed had a motive. "Let's not waste our time here. Tell me, why did you do it?" the officer asked, leaning towards Clara with cold eyes that frightened her. Clara's whole body went cold. Now, she's done for. "I didn't do anything. It was Diana's fault. She was negligent. She should have kept her eyes on the specimens. She shouldn't have left it unattended. She should have made sure
Later that night, Diana was folding her clothes after cleaning up and doing her laundry. The apartment's door opened and Heather came in, changing her shoes into slippers. "Hey Di! Did you eat yet?" Heather asked when she noticed Diana just getting out of her bedroom. Diana shook her head. "Nope, I was waiting for you. I cooked dinner." Heather noticed that Diana's mood had improved significantly. She didn't look as saddened as she did before. "Aww.. you didn't have to wait for me. Hehehe So what did you cook?" Heather sniffed, trying to smell the food. "Beef stew.. I got rice too. I found a recipe while I was on Chatify today." Diana said, smiling. She got up and set up the table. Heather went to her room to put her things down and washed her hands. Taking their seats, they talked about random stuff t