Chapter 6. Curiouser and Curiouser

Katherine POV

I was not a perfect mom, but Erin’s words made me feel like somehow, in my past life, I did something good to deserve her, and it made me want to protect her more. 

“Mrs. Combs?  Your phone had been ringing nonstop. I believe it was urgent.” The nurse prepping Erin for the operation peeked out the door to hand me my phone. 

I took it, grimacing when I saw the caller’s ID.  It was Greg. 

Gingerly, I slid open my phone, and Greg’s furious voice came on the line.  

“You b*tch! Give me back my money!  You did not fulfill the end of the bargain. Lucas Sanders fired me. I must have my money back.” Greg demanded from the other line. 

My heart sank. I knew, from the way my conversation with Lucas Sanders ended, that this might happen.  But I never expected him to act so fast. 

“I already paid the hospital, Greg. The money is gone.” I admitted nervously. 

There was an ominous silence on the other end, and my heart started thudding hard in my chest.

“Then, you better pay me back right now, or I will sue you.” Greg snarled before he hung up.

Panic rose within me.  I knew I needed to cough up the money to pay Greg back, or else, he would make true to his promise. 

“Ms. Fielding, is everything alright? We are ready to transfer the patient to the operating room.” The nurse informed me.

I gripped my phone, deciding to temporarily put aside the problem with Greg to attend to my daughter. 

Outside the OR, I held Erin’s hand. 

“Wait here, mommy. Okay?” Erin said before they wheeled her gurney inside the operating room.

I nodded and smiled.  “Of course. I will be here.” My response seemed to assure my daughter. She smiled and waved goodbye before she and the medical staff disappeared from my line of view. 

Anxious and afraid, I started pacing the floor, and would often catch myself to wipe the tears that flowed freely down my cheeks. 

“Mrs. Combs?” A man called, disrupting me from my thoughts. 

“It’s Fielding. Katherine Fielding. I recently got divorced.” I told him bitterly before eyeing him. 

My eyes narrowed, trying to place him. 

“I am Oliver Mans. We met earlier at Lucas Sanders’ office.  Can we talk?”  

I shook my head, not interested in anything but to wait out for my daughter to finish the surgery. 

“Now’s not a good time for me to chat. You see, my daughter is there.” I told him ruefully, pointing at the OR’s closed doors. 

Oliver Mans nodded.  “It’s actually the reason why I was here. Lucas sent me to give you this.” 

He handed me a blank check. 

My eyes widened in shock.  For a moment, I did not know what to say. Then, I remembered Greg’s call.

“He fired Greg,” I told him bluntly. 

“Yes, and he was afraid of its backlash to you and your daughter.” 

Something inside me flipped. 

Lucas Sanders’ timing was perfect. Just as I was worrying about where to get the money to pay Greg, he came to bail me out. But instead of making me feel better, the offer made me nervous. 

"I can’t take this,” I made the decision remembering what happened between Lucas Sanders and me in his office. 

Heat rushed to my cheeks. 

“Don’t misconstrue his reasons, Katherine. Lucas wanted to help you because he thinks your daughter needs helping, nothing more.”  Oliver Mans cut through my thoughts, leaving me staring up at him in confusion. 

Was he implying something? Did he know what happened earlier at Lucas Sanders’ office? 

“I know he is a softie, and his fiancee warns him all the time about it, but he’s Lucas Sanders.  He does things as he sees fit.” Oliver Mans explained.

It was then that it dawned on me that he knew that there was some tension between Lucas Sanders and I and was warning me off him.  He wanted me not to see more into Lucas Sanders’ generosity. 

But it was the inflection about Lucas’ fiancee that flustered me. 

Before I could make a rebuttal, Oliver Mans straightened.  Then, he pulled something out of his vest’s inner pocket. 

“I forgot to mention that I am the Executive Director of SF Assist, the foundation that forms part of the corporate social responsibility program of the SF conglomerate. We extend financial and medical aid to qualified individuals.”

Then,  Oliver Mans’ phone rang.  

“Lucas wants to talk to you.” 

When I took the phone, Lucas Sanders’ voice was clipped. “I fired Greg so, I knew that the first thing he would do is to withdraw the last financial support for your daughter. I don’t want it to weigh down my conscience, so I asked the company’s foundation to put your daughter on the roster of our recipients.”  

“I could lend you my money, but considering that you hated it so much, I opted for the company foundation to help you instead.” There was a bite to his tone, but I could not help being grateful.

Despite me lashing out at him, Lucas Sanders knew I wouldn’t take his money, so he used the company’s foundation to help me.

I appreciate the thoughtfulness, but I also warned myself not to get too carried away, or else I might warm up to the man. 

The call ended, and while I was returning the phone to Oliver Mans, I was surprised to get a glimpse of his wallpaper. It was a picture of three people.  A younger Lucas Sanders, Oliver Mans, and a girl who closely resembled me. The top part of the image had been torn, so I was not sure. 

Still, the sight gave me goosebumps. 

Was the reason Lucas Sanders’ wanted me was because of the girl in the picture? 

Now, I am getting curious.  

Who was the girl and why did she look so much like me?

Then, I remembered what the grapevine said.  “His girlfriend died in an accident.”

I took a deep breath, suddenly feeling the need to fill my lungs with air.