"Mary Janice Davidson - Love Lies" - читать интересную книгу автора (Davidson Mary Janice)

“Massachusetts General might be able to put my money to better use,” he threatened, “and they likely
wouldn’t keep me waiting to write the check, either.”

Ah! This was satisfying. Langenfeld nearly choked on his coffee. “Oh no, no, no, Mr. Lawrence. I—that
is,we want—we need the money. Very much. Please?”

“I’m not a big fan of hospital charity work.” Victor dropped into the proffered seat with a grimace.
Aargh , his knees! “The medical community has billions of dollars, but hospitals are always whining for
more money. Figure that one out.”

Langenfeld squirmed, but, Victor noted with an internal sigh, didn’t dare argue. Flash a little money at
someone and they turned into a jellyfish. The country’s medical crisis was just a tad more complicated
than all that. A pity Langenfeld wouldn’t point that out. Victor liked people who had guts. They were
rarer than honest lawyers. He ought to know.

He tried once more. “If you guys spent a little less on inflated doctor’s salaries and a little more on
equipment, you’d be doing a lot better.” Nope. Nothing. Langenfeld was even nodding in agreement.
Victor sighed. “That’s neither here nor there. I’ll be frank, Langenfeld. I need the tax break. And good
PR never hurts.”

“Right, right. And we’re very grateful. Ah…how much—I mean, what amount were you—did you want
to—”

“Five hundred thousand,” Victor said casually. “To start, we’ll see how it goes from there.”

Langenfeld was, to no great surprise, nearly overwhelmed with gratitude. So overwhelmed he stood and
pumped Victor’s hand for more than a minute. So overwhelmed that he let Victor kick him out of his
own office after Victor explained he needed to use the phone to make a private call.

“Fine, fine, dial nine to get out.” Dr. Langenfeld was walking backward, practically genuflecting. Victor
fought not to roll his eyes. “I’m late for a meeting anyway.” He rushed out.

Victor crossed the room and rapped on the closet door. “It’s safe now.”

The door opened and the woman stood there, shaking her head. “That was not a pretty sight. Luckily I
couldn’t actually see it. Who’da thought Langenfeld could be so…so…”

“Beside himself with gratitude?”

“Cringing and groveling.”

“Can you blame him?” Victor asked, a little piqued that she wasn’t staring at him with an awed gaze.
She must have heard everything. She knew he had gobs of money to flash around. “It’s not every day
someone drops a check for a half mil in his lap.”

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, you’re a real humanitarian.” Her voice roughened, deepened. “‘I’ll be frank,
Langenfeld. I need the tax break. Also, I’m such a big shot that I’m going to torture you for keeping me
waiting. Also—’”