Page 37 of Doctor Bossy

Was it because I’d gone so long without a woman? It had been nearly a decade, and while I occasionally felt the urge to have sex, I’d never felt this lost with need or this driven to madness over another woman before. Even sex with Heather was always gentle and sensual, never torrid and crazed like what just happened.

What was it about Becca that brought out this beast in me that simply had to have her or go crazy from wanting her?

Was it her innate vulnerability mixed with that fearless zeal to take on the world? Even though she never spoke about her past, I always knew she’d been through a lot at her young age, but she never let it beat her, fighting back with dogged ambition and a drive that made things happen for her. While I met talented, intelligent students on a near daily basis, I didn’t recall ever meeting anyone quite like Becca before.

Maybe that was why she fascinated me so much.

Shit, I need to stop thinking about this.

I rubbed my hands over my face and got up to pace the length of my office, trying to clear my head. I had better things to think about, like what to do about the university’s rejection. It was not a complete loss, especially since I now knew what happened, but it would take time to rectify the error and get it through for another round of approval.

Unfortunately, time was not something I had.

Gladys alone had only a few years of life left, and every day, the disease stole something more from her. I had confidence that the drug would have at least passed if not for the contaminated sample, but confidence wasn’t what these people dealt with.

Although they did deal with favors.

An ugly feeling passed through my chest, even at the thought of it. I tried to stay out of university politics as much as possible because it all became very messy very quickly. It wasn’t a secret that most universities ran as nepotistic agencies for the ultra-rich elites to send their children, and Broadchurch was worse than most. What most didn’t know was just how deep it went, with some families outright controlling the ins and outs of the university with their finances. I always hated that aspect of it, hated the greedy profit line that they sold their souls on. I refused to partake in it in any way, not giving my support to any of the two factions currently fighting to maintain a majority share of the university. I especially did not let their damn pharmaceutical contacts anywhere near my medical device or medicines.

But now…

I needed something from them—a favor. I needed to fast-track the approval process as much as possible, and I knew they could do that.

And I would have to do something for them in return…

It might be something as small as giving someone’s kid a recommendation letter.

But then it might also be selling off a patent.

Once I asked for a favor, I no longer got to choose what it would be.

But it seemed I had come to this.

I picked up my phone, then put it down again. I needed to think this through before I did what I had to do.

I got up and left my office, telling Willa, “I’m going for a walk. Postpone all my meetings and defer all instructions to Leila.”

“Yes, sir.”

Then I went out to get some fresh air and the space I needed to think.

I had always seen myself as an honorable sort of man, to the point of being a little uptight, as Heather used to like to say. I was straight-laced for my entire life and never joined in on any of the bullshit that army cadets sometimes did for fun. I did my job, sent money home for Mom and Dad, and helped out wherever I could.

And I always, always did what I felt was right, never giving into bribery or intimidation by any of the higher-ups. This continued after I began making my pharmaceuticals, never giving in to people who wanted my patents for millions of dollars only to upcharge it by 3000 percent as people died. I didn’t care even when they threatened my life, and I always did what I thought was right.

But now, it was the first time I had to grapple with my conscience, grapple between doing the honorable thing and doing what was beneficial.

One of the people struggling for control of the university was a man called Vincent, the acting vice president of the university, who was currently vying for the presidency. He was a strange man, and I wasn’t exactly sure what his affiliation was, but I knew he had some influence in the government. I knew he wanted one of my patents, but I never took him up on his offer, knowing exactly the type of corrupt person he was. But right now, he also wanted me to put my support behind him as president of the university. He was not the right man to be put in charge of the university, and supporting him in any way would weigh on my conscience.

But so would letting Gladys die.

She needed the medication quickly, no matter what. It would be selfish of me to put my morals above the good of the general public.

I imagined Heather looking down at me. She hated politics even more than I did, and she would have hated what I needed to do.

But a decision like this could have saved her.

I made the call. There was no answer, and then I remembered Vincent reaching out to me by email and saying if I ever needed something, I should reply and send it that way.

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