Alpha Billionaire Series
The Wrong Choice Chapter 9

GAVIN

A clap of thunder didn't deter us from our game of hoops. Jiles, Nick and I continued on despite the few sprinkles. We'd looked at the radar and I decided the worst of the storm would go north of us, so we played on. I dribbled past Jiles, using my arm to shield his attempts to steal the ball, and tucked inside, planting my feet and performing a perfect layup. The ball sank through the net with a swoosh, and I cheered, fists pumping in the air.

"Cheater!" Jiles chuckled, jogging to chase the ball. He dribbled back to the baseline as the wind picked up a bit, pointing at Nick. I blocked the pass, stealing the ball and turning for a quick two-point basket.

"Wow, you're on fire today, Carpenter." Nick chased the ball this time and passed it to me.

"Yeah, just having a good game day." I shot again, sinking yet another basket. The game was hardly a game when I had a good day. My parents thought I could have managed college ball while doing my studies for med school, but I had opted to leave basketball as a hobby back then. Now it was a great source of relaxing and releasing stress. Today, however, I had no stress, so it was just a good time.

"You seem to be in a great mood today." Jiles swiped the ball off the ground where it was rolling away and bounced it a few times before taking a shot that ricocheted off the rim.

"Yeah, maybe I am." I caught the flying ball, offering a chest pass to Nick, who took another shot. He cheered as his shot went in and Jiles claimed the ball for himself again.

"Somebody got laid." Nick laughed, then covered his mouth and raised his eyebrows, as if his joke were a scandal.

"You guys are idiots." Not wanting to divulge personal details about anything in my life, I strolled over to my bag and pulled out my water jug.

"So, it's true?" Nick followed me across the court to the benches and sat down, reaching into his bag and grabbing his own water.

"Whatever it is, is none of your business. I don't like to talk about my personal life too much, you know?" I chugged some water and slapped the cap back on. "Besides, we're here for ball, not for chit chat. What are we? A bunch of women?"

"Nah, but now that you let the cat out of the bag that you liked that girl, we need to know the details. You know both Nick and I have a ball and chain, so let us live vicariously through you, man." Jiles tucked the ball under his arm and grabbed his wrist. The expression on his face told me he wasn't taking no for an answer, so I gave them as few details as I could but got them off my back.

"So, Madii and I had dinner one night. We talked. She let me know she's ready to move on. I think she might want to see where this goes." I tried to sip my water and act cool, but these jokers wouldn't let up. They laughed and pointed. Nick slapped me across the back and grinned. "So, you got laid?"

"How did you assume that from what I just told you?" I joined them in a chuckle.

"You're finally not brooding anymore. First time I seen you smile in months I think." Jiles set the ball at his feet and picked up his water bottle. Another clap of thunder rumbled across the sky just as my phone rang.

I sorted through my bag trying to replace my phone, but it rang out before I found it. The caller ID said it was Tricia, one of the RNs on the floor at the hospital today. I wasn't on call, so I ignored it and shoved the phone into the pocket of my gym shorts. "Another game?" I said standing.

Jiles rolled the ball in my direction. "Not me. I have to head out. We have a plumber coming tonight. See how exciting married life is? This is why I need those juicy details from you." To access the complete chapters for free, visit J o b nib. com "Ah," I laughed, "but you have it all wrong. See you get to have s*x whenever you want because you have a built-in partner. If I get laid it's because some poor woman felt sorry for me."

"So, you did get laid!" Nick snatched the ball up from the ground at my feet and laughed, then took off toward the court.

"See you at work tomorrow," Jiles said as he picked up his bag and headed toward the parking lot.

My phone rang again, so I pulled it out of my pocket to see it was Tricia again. One call was a fluke, but two in a row? I answered the call.

"Dr. Carpenter."

"Yeah, Doctor, you need to come in. We've had a problem we think you should address."

"What's that, Tricia? Is there an emergency?" I wasn't massively concerned, given that Dr. Rutger was the surgeon on call today and the fact that all of my patients were either recovering from surgery well or in a coma.

"It's Drew Heintz, sir. He's had a seizure. Dr. Rutger and Dr. Smith are running some tests now, but since he's technically under your care, they wanted you here."

My heart sank a bit. If Madison found out there had been a change in Drew's status, even one for the worse, she may change her mind about me. A seizure wasn't necessarily a bad thing, nor was it good, but it meant things were happening.

"Sure, I'll be right over. Have Gary send me any updates to my cell on the way." I hung up, knowing Gary Rutger was one of the leading neurologists in the city. Drew was in good hands with him, but that wasn't what concerned me. "Come on, man! It's gonna let loose soon. Let's get some one-on-one going." Nick bounced the ball a few times as he shouted at me.

"Nah, I can't. I just got called in. One of my patients had an episode. I'll have to catch you later, alright?" I waved Nick off as I picked up my bag and water bottle. I needed to figure out what was happening before Madison did, so I could prepare myself for the inevitable.

***

After a fast shower and changing into more appropriate work attire, I headed into the hospital. Tricia met me as soon as the elevator opened with Drew's chart in hand. Dr. Tanya Smith was really the one overseeing his case and seeing that he had no need for surgery for the past 16 months, I really should have just let her take care of things, but Madison had been on my mind nonstop. So, I made my rounds anyway. Now things had changed, judging by the numbers on this chart, I knew why she was calling me in for the consult.

Tricia brought me up to speed as we walked to Drew's room. His mother hovered by his bedside and his father sat wringing his hat in hand. Thankfully, I did not see Madison in the room. Before heading in the room, I pulled Tanya to the side. "So, what's the update?" I had invested in this emotionally more than what was healthy, and given state laws about treating family and friends, I should recuse myself. But I hadn't divulged any details of my personal interactions with Madison, so for now, at least, in the state board's eyes, I was still able to work on his case.

"Well, Gavin. It's not great. You can see from yourself from the readouts that Drew suffered a grand mal. I don't have to tell you that this is not a good prognosis for him. Eighty percent of patients who have late-post-traumatic events like this will devolve into epilepsy. The fact that he hasn't awoken makes this more critical. In the absence of subdural hematoma, it could mean his brain is shutting down." Tanya spoke clinical language that only doctors understand, so I was thankful for Drew's parents' sake that I was there.

"Thanks, Tanya. And the meds you put him on?" I flicked my eyes to see Alice crying and Henry comforting her.

"Anti-seizing cocktail. Routine stuff." She thumbed through a file. "We will keep him hooked up to the EEG for a while. You know, seizures like this that are too late are just not good." She clicked her tongue. "Don't set them up for false hope. Give them the facts as they are. Last thing we need is a lawsuit because we told them activity in the brain could be a good thing."

"Any activity means hope, Tanya." I took the file from her and winked at Tricia. "But you're right. I'll give it to them simply. Thank you for calling me."

Tanya nodded and walked away. I got a glimpse of Dr. Rutger as he exited the room and headed away from me down the hallway. I lingered there studying the chart a bit longer, even after Tricia walked away. Giving Alice and Henry this news wouldn't be as difficult since Madii wasn't here, but it was never easy breaking bad news to a loved one of a patient-even when you weren't emotionally involved with them.

"Mr. and Mrs. Heintz." I stepped into the room and gave them a moment to compose themselves. Alice wiped her face and Henry walked toward me with an outstretched hand.

"Gavin, we told you to call us by our names." He frowned as he shook my hand. "How are you? And can you give us some update here? What happened?"

Alice ambled to the sofa and sat down, dabbing her eyes again. I gestured for Henry to sit with her, then pulled up a chair. As I sat, I took a deep breath to prepare myself. Henry looked at me with stern eyes, as if he were willing himself to be strong for Alice's sake. "So, Drew had what we call a 'late-post-traumatic seizure. That means most seizures in brain injury patients occur within the first seven days from the point of injury." I collected my thoughts then continued. "The fact that there has been activity could be good or bad." Alice's face fell, and Henry put his arm around her.

"So, the good. Tell us that first." Henry squeezed, jostling her a little as he summoned a brave face again.

"Well, the good news is that of the known patients who awakened from comas this prolonged, most of them had events where brain activity increased slightly or substantially for weeks or months before awakening. A seizure is classified as activity, and a few coma patients did have this."

"And the bad news?" Alice's lip quivered. She clutched her hands together in her lap, her eyes intensely on me.

"Seizures this late in the game mean that more seizures are likely. If he wakes up, he may suffer from epilepsy permanently."

"And we still have no way of knowing if he will wake up?" Henry slid Alice's hand into his and held it. I watched their hands shake. This had to be so devastating for them.

"There is no way to tell. All we can do is watch the EEG and wait." I wished I had better news for them, but Tanya was right. If I gave them false hope now, I would feel worse if Drew just passed away. "We have a team of experts watching him round the clock. He is in great hands here."

I wanted to bring up Madison and whether they had told her or not, but I didn't want to sound like an asshole. So I tiptoed around the topic hoping they'd volunteer the information.

"Has Madii been by today?"

"Oh, heavens no. Thank goodness. She would be distraught." Alice smoothed her hands over her pants several times nervously. "The last thing she needs is to focus on Drew right now. She has her whole life ahead of her and she's just been sitting here wasting it away." She peered out the window where rain fell freely now, the thunder a faint hint of what it was when I'd been outdoors.

"Looks like the weather knew what sort of day it would be." Henry pulled Alice to his chest and kissed her forehead. "Thank you, Gavin."

I stood, offering my hand. "We'll watch and wait. In the meantime, since Madii is not next of kin, I can't divulge medical information to her. So, if you feel she needs to know, you should tell her."

Henry stood and shook my hand again. "Alice is right. If nothing has changed, and we're still just playing a waiting game, then Madison should just live her life. She needs to move on. It just breaks my heart watching her waiting for something that will likely never happen."

I squeezed his hand firmly. "Right. Well, I will go talk to Dr. Rutger and see where we stand. Maybe he has some other insights for us. I'll check back a little later."

Relieved to know they wouldn't be telling Madison, a new feeling washed over me. Guilt. I knew according to state boards, I was doing the right thing. But that didn't get rid of the feeling I was keeping secrets from her.