“Well, Dr. Laszlo—”
“Oh, please. Call me Angela,” she said.
“Angela,” I said, “my father built this company from just an idea. See, he was an incredibly smart man. Probably too smart for his own good, you know? He had this weird thing about cats, though. Really wasn’t sure what that was about. Anyway, he went to school for English Literature, and he read this story, righ
t? And it just sparked something inside of him, you know? It made him think about his life.”
“Uh huh?” Angela asked.
“You know, and he just sort of took off with this idea. He wanted to help people because of that story, and his heart was so big and kind.”
I had to swallow back my tears, so I looked down at the files in my hand. For some reason, I couldn’t gather my thoughts. I was painfully aware of how Angela was looking at me, and I could feel Christian’s stare on the side of my face, and all I wanted to do was run and jump into a dark hole.
And never come out.
“What story did he read?” Angela asked.
“I can’t remember it right now,” I said. “But, it did inspire him to start the company.”
“Well, that’s good, right?” she asked. “That story’s responsible for you being here, then.”
“It’s the story that started the business,” Christian began. “But, the story isn’t what keeps us moving. It’s doctors like you who do. We understand that you are motivated to help others. The Hippocratic Oath tells us that. But, many medical supply companies aren’t in it to help others. They are in it to make money and nothing else.”
“Don’t I know it. I’ve had so many people gouge me over the years,” Angela said.
“And it’s wrong. Here is what we do with our charities: at the end of every year, we calculate the company’s net revenue. Then, we simply donate 25 percent of that total sum to the different charities that are near and dear to the company. It’s simple and precise, and exactly what my stepfather wanted. He wanted to find a way to celebrate everything we did for the community while giving back to it in the process. That was the very easy mathematical equation he came up with, and that’s why we are sticking to it!”
“Oh, that sounds generous. Do you have some sort of donation party? Where all the doctors you service come out and witness it or something?” Angela asked.
“Oh, no. One thing about my stepfather is he was private. He was never one to boast about his accomplishments or his gift-giving. He just wanted to do it. He was a good man in that regard,” he said.
“Sounds like it,” Angela said.
“Do you have any questions for us?” he asked.
“Just one,” Angela said. “How do we get started?”
“Well, that question is for my vice president. Stella?”
“You’ve done a fabulous job of outlining exactly what you need,” I said. “I can run through this paperwork pretty quickly, draw up some totals for my business partner to look at here, and then we can get you rolling. You can write a check, or you can use your company card on our mobile kiosk,” I said.
“Oh, a mobile kiosk! That makes things so much better. Would it be possible to get receipts with that?” she asked.
“Of course. I could take your email and email them to you straight from my phone,” I said.
“Wonderful. Then that’s what we’ll do,” she said, smiling.
It took me almost two hours to draw up the figures for Christian to look at, and the entire time he and Angela talked. She laughed at his jokes, and he smiled at her stories, and I felt a pang of jealousy grip my chest. I saw the way her hand lightly settled on his knee. I saw the way she was looking at him. I saw the way her eyes sparkled when Christian leaned back and crossed that long leg of his over his knee.
I told him to buy the suit because of how presidential and important it made him seem. But now, I wanted him back in that baggy suit that did him no fucking favors.
But of course, he tailored that, too.
And holy fuck, he had looked incredible in it Saturday night.
We double-checked the figures and ran them by Dr. Laszlo before she paid and got on her way. In this single transaction alone, we had garnered enough for our operating costs for the next three months, and I was ecstatic. She bought gloves and stethoscopes and ACE bandages. She bought BAND-AIDS and wheelchairs and crutches. She bought just about everything she would need to fill her practice to the brim, and I couldn’t have been happier. We had nailed our first client, and I couldn’t help but walk out of that coffee shop proud.
Even I had to admit that I didn’t realize exactly how much it took to really start a practice.