CHAPTER 4

Five Years Later 

Salma

“Leona is doing great at school,” Mrs Higgins, my daughter’s kindergarten teacher praised my little one, “in fact, I believe she is a bit advanced for her class.” 

That surprised me. I expected Leona to be smart, after all she had the genes of two people who had graduated summa cum laude from medical school. 

“I have a feeling there is more?” The look on the teacher's face prompted me to ask. 

“Well,” she began, “there are special programs for children like her.”

I frowned. 

“Children like her?” 

“She is too smart for kindergarten,” Mrs Higgins stated bluntly, “there is nothing more we can teach her.” 

I looked at my toddler, who was playing with the other children with a cheerful disposition. She looked perfectly normal as she skipped hoops and jumped around. 

“But she's so happy here,” I moaned, looking at the glee on Leona's face. I loved that she was considered a child genius but I was reluctant to change schools. 

My phone rang at that moment, breaking my chain of thoughts and my conversation with Mrs Higgins. I flashed a polite smile at my daughter's teacher and said, “I have to go now.” 

I answered my call as I walked out of kindergarten. 

“Freddie, this better be good,” I said once I answered the call. The call had come from my assistant Freddie. 

“McLean Pharmaceuticals has sent another proposal,” said Freddie, “they have promised to donate ten million dollars to your cause in Sudan and another ten million dollars to your research on spinal tumours.” 

I stopped in my tracks. 

Brandon McLean. 

What the hell did he want from me now? It had been five years now and now that I had peace, he chose this time to torment me with countless business proposals. 

“Freddie, when I get to the office, I had better not see that proposal on my desk, do you understand?” I said, my tone as firm as I could make it. I had told Freddie several times that I would not entertain any business proposition from McLean but he never listened to me. 

“With all due respect, ma’am, it's twenty million dollars in…” I began to say, but I stopped him from saying more, “I am worth way more than that, and this is not about the money. If you say another word about McLean, I am going to fire you. Do you understand?” 

I heard him swallow which meant that he understood me. 

“If there's nothing else…” 

“You are scheduled to speak in Texas next week at Baylor College of Medicine,” he said, “should I cancel that or…” 

“Do not cancel,” I said, “the head of cancer research in the country will be in attendance. I need to have a word or two with him.” 

“Yes ma'am.” 

BRANDON 

“Doctor Gascon refused to approve it,” Madison, my head of product management said. Her voice carried her frustration. I could see the soft wrinkles on her forehead, too, which proved she was just as stressed about it as I was. 

“Who does this woman think she is anyways? Some type of god?” I was frustrated too and that made me raise my voice and pummel my fist into my oak desk. I bruised my knuckles in the process but I could barely feel a thing. 

“Sir,” Terri, Madison's assistant cleared her throat, “The New York Times deemed her, “the god of medical products,” she was not done yet, “according to a report by Health Digest Weekly, Dr Gascon's words are ‘law in the industry, the entire pharmaceutical profession worships the ground on which she walks. Without her word on your product, your FDA approval means nothing.” 

I rolled my eyes at Terri. She liked moments like this when she could fawn over the many articles she consumed. 

“I'm not sure why you're gloating,” Madison said, “it was your idea to bring her on board and it has flopped.” 

“It hasn't flopped,” said Terri, “we have only failed to secure her approval. Once she sees the Tibetan at work and the magic it can do in the operating room, she is going to go bananas.” 

“I don't care if she goes apples! We need this product to sell. I want every hospital in the country to call us to supply their hospitals.” 

“Perhaps, you should ask her yourself,” Terri said. Madison turned red and began to stutter, “I'm sure what… what…”

“I'll do it,” my tone was firm. I did not like it but I was willing to do anything to recover the one billion dollars I had invested in making the product in the first place. “Set up a meeting, I'll meet this Gascon woman.”

“We cannot just set up a meeting,” Madison said with a crease of her forehead, showing me that what she was going to say next was rather unpleasant, “she has a distaste for CEO’s like you. If you were to meet her, it would have to look like a coincidence.” 

“And then you would use your irresistible charm to persuade her to accept your new product as a gift.” 

I looked at the two women in the face as though they were mad. 

“You want me to lobby her? Are you insane? I'm a businessman and not some politician!” I was mortified that they would even suggest that. 

“And the woman you are meeting has said many times that she is a doctor and not an influencer,” Terri loved to say the truth as it was, “and what you are asking of her is to use her influence to make you a profit.” 

“Besides, it takes a considerable amount of persuasive skills to bring in investors who bring in billions of dollars to the company.” 

They had a point. 

“Fine!” I gave in, “How can I coincidentally run into her?” 

“Tonight!” Terri chipped in. 

“Tonight?” My face was a big question mark. “I am going to propose to Elaine tonight. I cannot cancel on my girlfriend.” 

“Dr Gascon will be travelling to Sudan to help out with victims from the crisis there. It takes months sometimes before she comes back to America. But this proposal—perhaps it can wait?” Madison raised an eyebrow as she asked the question. 

“Elaine will be so disappointed,” I said, shaking my head. I imagined the tantrum she would throw when she found out that I was choosing to spend the evening with a woman who was not her. She would go on and on about how emotionally unavailable I was and all that. 

“I believe the banks can wait a couple of months for their two or was it three billion dollars you…” 

“Where do I have to be?” I cut Terri off. 

Both women smiled.