Not Your Doormat Anymore

"You're exploiting me?" I turned around and thought, "Is there any benefit to what she's offering?"

"No! You're Dr. Ranford, and you're basically like Hippocrates. Do you want to scheme every day and be the CEO or fulfill your dream of being a doctor?" Ms. Smith's eyes lit up.

I realized she was good at finding out people's weak spots; she had done that with Casey, and now she was doing it with me.

"Alright." I heard myself agreeing to her suggestion.

"Great! It's settled, then."

Ms. Smith looked stubborn on the surface, but she was serious and smart when it came to work. She negotiated the price of the hospital repeatedly and ended up acquiring it at a very good price. When the deal was made, her face lit up.

"I saved up so much! I can use this money to get the medical facilities now."

"I thought your family is rich?" I recalled how she had treated millions of dollars like it was nothing. That was different from how she was behaving now.

"So? The hospital is mine, not my family's. Of course I've got to save more. Do you want to be a shareholder? You can give me five million dollars, and I'll give you 30% of the shares."

Looking at how she was calculating, I rejected her. "You bought it for 12 million dollars but want me to invest five million dollars while just getting 30% back? That makes no sense."

"30% is good enough! My hospital has potential." Ms. Smith tried to convince me and even offered to treat me to a meal.

She pouted. "This restaurant is a very high-class one. One meal costs around five thousand dollars, at least. Just think about it. Your family has capital and plenty of liquid funds too, right? It's a waste to just let all that money sit there."

"I have other plans." I rejected her many times, but she was persistent.

"But being a doctor is what you want to do. You don't want to see our hospital go under either, right? Besides, I'll get shares in my uncle's research institute too. When that happens, I'll give you 5%. You can also use the patents. How about that?"

I was tempted. "30% of the hospital shares and 5% of the research institute's shares. That's my condition."

"Deal. I'll send the contract to your Ranford Corporation tomorrow."

Ms. Smith was satisfied. The food was served at that moment, and while we ate, she didn't bring up anything about work.

I respected her for that; she was

ет

able to calculate everything nicely without affecting the meal and had still managed to secure an

investment.

I mused, "Is she really a rookie who has never started a business herself?"

Ms. Smith didn't give me enough time to find out more, as her driver came to pick her up the moment we left.

"See you tomorrow, Mr. Ranford."

She left with a smile on her face, while I drove back to the company.

It was a personal decision to invest

in her hospital, so I planned to usenoveldrama

my own money instead of the company's funds. That was why I didn't tell Lindsey about it.

Hence, when she brought something over to my office the next day, she gave me

a strange look.

"Want to have lunch together?" Ms.

Smith

decked me under the net

She was wearing heels, and i

of hurt, but not too much.

I shook my head. "I'm busy."

"Alright, then I won't bother you anymore. I'll call you when the hospital opens."

The moment she left, Lindsey walked in. "That lady is..."