Someone Perfect for Mr. Moore
Read Someone Perfect for Mr. Moore Online
Authors: Lucy J. Whittaker
Text copyright © 2013 Lucy J.
Whittaker
All Rights Reserved
This book may not be reproduced in
whole or in part without permission. All characters are fictitious, any
similarities are not intentional.
Lucy sat down, completely exhausted. The shift had been a
busy one, between multiple codes during the night and her routine patients to
see, she hadn’t had time to even sit down. To make matters worse, upper
management wanted to see her before she left. They wouldn’t be able to for at
least twenty minutes though. She only hoped that they would be on time. All
she wanted was to go home and get some much needed sleep.
Her manager knew what they wanted, but was unable to tell
her what was going on. What the hell was this all about? Her last review had
been good, so why would they want to see her? She watched as the next shift
left the department, talking about how busy their day would be. She rubbed her
tired eyes and decided to go down to the cafeteria for a cup of coffee. She
wanted to have a clear mind when she talked to them. The last thing she needed
was to go in there groggy and not be able to answer any questions they had for
her.
She had just paid for her coffee and taken the first sip
when Sherry approached her. “Good morning Lucy, everyone came in a little
early today, so they are all waiting for you.” She said.
Lucy walked with her down the hall, she ignored the curious
looks that some of the passing employees gave her. She would be at the top of
the rumor mills today. Wonderful, just what she needed. She was surprised
when Sherry motioned for her to go into the conference room. As they walked
inside it looked to Lucy like the whole board of directors was here. Oh great,
she must have done something really bad for all this.
The Chief of Staff sat at the head of the table and motioned
for her to sit in the only empty chair left. The long polished table sat at
least twenty people and there were another dozen or so standing around in their
power suits.
Lucy sat in her seat feeling a little overwhelmed. She only
knew a few people that were here, one of them being Ted, the Chief of Staff.
She looked around at the other faces a little curiously. They must be in the
middle of a lawsuit. Half of the men here looked like lawyers to her; she
relaxed a little at the thought. This was all routine. She had nothing to
hide.
Ted watched Lucy as she looked around the room. He was
familiar with her department. He had never spoken to her; obviously there had
been no need to. He had read over her file the day before. She had a spotless
record and according to her manager she got along well with her coworkers. In
all the years he had run facilities this had never come up before. Would she
even do this for them? It would really help the hospital out if she did.
“Lucy, I’m sure you are wondering why we have brought you
here today. We have a proposition for you.” Ted said.
Ok that got her attention. Lucy sat straighter in her
chair, unable to hide the surprise in her voice. “What kind of proposition?”
“You have been taking care of a patient since he came in, a
Mr. Moore. You are aware that he doesn’t have much time left?” He waited for
her nod, and noticed the small frown that formed between her brows. “Mr.
Moore’s son Dean would like to hire you to come and stay with his father until
his passing.”
Lucy looked at him, truly shocked. “You’re serious?” After
Ted nodded to her, she spoke again. “I don’t understand.”
“Mr. Moore has consulted his attorney and has worked up a
proposal for you and the hospital if you agree to help them. He has graciously
offered a sizable donation to the hospital, along with a very generous package
for you. You would stay at their home, and take care of his father for a
certain number of hours per day. They already have a nurse lined up for him,
but his father specifically requested that you come and stay with him.”
Lucy smiled thinking of Stan. She had gotten close to him,
something she always tried not to do. She knew it the first time she had read
for him. “He is a very sweet man, but I really don’t understand this. I’ve
never heard of anything like this before.”
“Maybe you should hear what they are offering before you
decide. The board is here; they have already looked over the financial end of
the contract and would encourage you to take it. Your job will be here when
you get back. Think of it as a little time away. Their lawyer can talk to you
in private; Dean is a very powerful man. Not all the details are available to
us, as far as where they live, and also contact information.” He looked a little
unsure when he turned towards her again, but the board was pushing him into
this. He just wasn’t sure if this was all going to be as perfect as they think
it will be. Sending this woman away from her home and everyone she knew. He
would really be surprised if she agreed to it. “If you are willing to listen
to them you can use my office.”
Lucy looked up as two of the men at the table stood. “Miss
Lintz, if you will come with us we can go over some of the details and see what
you think.” A tall man with blonde hair spoke, Lucy would bet his suit didn’t
come off a rack. The second man stood silently at his side, their manners and
impeccable grooming screamed money.
Lucy nodded to them and stood up; she felt a little
self-conscious walking in front of them in her scrubs. She suddenly wished she
could have at least showered. She walked into Ted’s office and sat down as the
door closed behind them. The blonde man sat down across from her as she
settled in her seat. The other man stood by the door, his face blank as he
looked at her. She knew instinctively that this man was not a lawyer, so who
the heck was he?
The blonde man started to speak again. He explained the
arrangement they were asking her for. She would come and stay as a guest on
Dean’s estate. She would help the nurse with his father’s care, but primarily
would act as a companion to him. She would have a generous income for the time
she was there, and all her expenses would be taken care of. He explained that
their estate was in Kentucky, no one from the hospital would know the exact
location, and she was not to tell anyone where. Her family would be allowed to
contact her via her private cell phone, but only during the day. She would
have the freedom to explore the estate during her free time, and transportation
would be provided for her if she needed to go anywhere on her time off.
He told her they knew about her son in college, they were
willing to help with his tuition if she agreed. “Miss Lintz, are you currently
involved with anyone?”
Lucy blushed when she looked at him for asking such a
personal question. She shook her head no, she felt shocked. How had they
found out so much about her? The university that her son was attending was
quite expensive, even with the scholarships that he had received. She couldn’t
afford to help him a lot. She would be a fool not to accept this, if only for
the help with his schooling. She had family close by that could look after her
house for her. She didn’t have any pets to worry about. At least she would
have her job when she came back. This could actually be a good thing. She
hadn’t been on vacation for years.
“Could I take a look at the contract please?” She reached
out to take the document that he handed to her. She looked it over. It seemed
pretty straight forward. Some of the legal wording was giving her a headache,
but basically if she was unable to stay, she would be able to leave without
question. A sizable bonus for her and the donation to the hospital depended
on her staying until Mr. Moore’s death. This could be anywhere between now and
three months. Would she really be able to be away that long?
“When do you need my decision?”
“Now.”
Lucy gaped at him for a second. She had to make such an
important decision about her future right now. She sat back in her chair. Was
she dreaming all of this? Maybe she had really gone home and she was in bed
right now. “Is this for real? I had a really bad night and I am totally
exhausted right now. You are joking aren’t you?”
Jason sat back in his chair and crossed his long legs. He
gave her a smile, one with perfect white teeth. “I assure you Miss Lintz, this
is no joke. Mr. Moore is a very wealthy man, his father is very important to
him. Anything he can do to make his last days more comforting to him he will
do. We have drawn up this contract so you would have a really hard time saying
no.” Jason relaxed in his chair; he knew he had her now. He had been worried,
but after he had told her about the help with her son’s tuition, he knew she
wouldn’t say no. He had been offered a sizeable bonus for his time if she
agreed; he had added the clause about her son at the last minute. His
instincts had been right, if he wouldn’t have mentioned her son at all, she
would have never agreed to this.
“Can I ask you why I was chosen? Mr. Moore has had several
therapists take care of him since he arrived, why am I so special?”
Jason looked at her thoughtfully and told her the truth.
“Stan told me that you were the only one that held his hand and took the time
to talk to him when he was afraid. You were the first to take care of him when
he came in. He told me how you stayed by him through some of his tests, you
even stayed with him for his CAT scan when you didn’t have to.” He paused for
a second as he watched her. “He said he wasn’t afraid to die while you were
there.”
Lucy looked up at him as she wiped her eyes. She always got
emotional easily when she was tired, this was no exception. She gave him a
watery smile when he smiled at her. She took a couple of deep breaths to
compose herself. What a sweet man he was, if his son was anything like him,
she would be happy to help them out.
“So what do you say Miss Lintz? Do you think you can do this
for us?”
“Yes, I think so. How much time do I have?”
“You’ll need to be ready to leave tomorrow. We will be
flying out in the afternoon. Your shifts will all be covered and that should
give you time to get your affairs in order. We were concerned that you had a
boyfriend that would cause issues, but since you don’t. That point is moot.”
He leaned over Ted’s desk and handed her a box of Kleenex. She smiled her
thanks and he really looked at her for the first time. Not as a lawyer, but as
a man. Her scrubs camouflaged her body, but she had really pretty eyes. She
wasn’t very tall, but even tired she was noticeable. Her hair was pulled back
in a clip, but it looked like it would be long and curly. Her red hair
accented her bright blue eyes and pale flawless skin. He idly wondered what
Dean would think of her. It had been quite a while since he had seen him
around a woman. Maybe Lucy was just what Dean needed too.
“Alright, if you are ready I will have you sign and then you
can go home and get some rest. I will take care of everything here for you.
I will call you in the morning to see if you need any help with anything. I
can let you know what time we’ll pick you up then.” Jason watched her sign her
name, she had a nice signature, the loops and the slants of the letters looked
dainty.
Once she stood up, he offered her his hand and she shook it,
she had delicate hands. The nails were short and well-manicured, she stepped
past him and he realized that even after a long night and a stressful morning
she smelled nice. She had a pretty smile too. He had found out everything
there was to know about her. He knew she wasn’t seeing anyone, but that was a
key part of his questions. Her single status would make her realize she had no
one here to miss.
He glanced at Alcide as she passed through the door, and saw
him checking out her ass. Shit, that’s the last thing they needed was him
coming on to her. Maybe he could get Dean to tell him she was off limits or
something. If she would have been interested in Alcide at all she wouldn’t have
ignored him the way she did. One thing he knew about Alcide and women, if they
were interested he knew right away, the others were almost always turned off.
He never liked him, but he was Dean’s friend. He would make a call to Dean
when she left and tell him about it.
Jason listened to the board members tell Lucy they
appreciated her helping out the hospital. He could tell them she was doing
this for her son, not for them, but it didn’t matter anyway. Things were now
set in motion. He told Lucy he’d call her in the morning. He gave her his
card with his number on it. If she had any questions she could call, he would
be available. He asked Ted if he could use his office for a few minutes after
she left. He had to call Dean and tell him she said yes.
Lucy had never been on a private plane before. She looked
out her window and saw the white fluffy clouds and the blue sky. Stan slept
beside her in his seat. They had talked for quite a while until she noticed he
was getting tired. She gave him a pillow and put a blanket over him and
encouraged him to close his eyes for a little while. She smiled when she
looked at him, he was snoring softly. He had told her how glad he was that she
was going to stay with him for a while. She thought about how hopeful he
seemed today, compared to the last few days that she had seen him. Maybe it
was the thought of seeing his son that made him feel that way.
She glanced up and caught Alcide watching her. He kind of
gave her the creeps, he was by no means ugly, but he just had a vibe about him
that told her not to trust him. He had dark brown hair and dark eyes; she
could easily see women falling at his feet. Jason though, he seemed really
nice. He had helped her with a few loose ends, like her mail and paper. She
had also talked to him about the bonus they had in her contract, she didn’t
feel right about that and wanted it taken out. Also she wanted just her normal
wage, but he wouldn’t budge on that one, in fact he had been adamant that part
would not change. He really tried to talk her out of the bonus too, which
confused her a little. Wouldn’t he want to save his boss money?