Doctor Anthony Williams was feeling exhausted after the day he’d had, and it wasn’t quite over yet. He had one final meeting that he wasn’t looking forward to at all, and if the appointee was late by even a minute, he was willing to cancel. He wasn’t normally the type to be that brusque about things, but his draining day was just the latest in a long string of unexpected changes.
He was the Chief Medical Officer of Fieldburg Hospital, and two weeks ago he got word that the hospital was being bought by a corporation. He had an idea of how that would end and spent a week debating whether or not he was going to leave the job altogether. Then, he started getting distracted by an unusual pair of new employees. One was a distinctly pale phlebotomist who looked like he was short a few pints himself, and the other was a new director for the hospital’s medical library. He was forced to put them out of his mind to prepare for a second meeting with the corporate CEO. He hadn’t been able to properly come to a decision thanks to having to personally work with the newcomers. But he was going to play it by ear and take everything in stride. He was staring at the clock like a student overeager to rush out as soon as the time ticked over, but his secretary spoke up through the intercom.
“Dr. Williams, Ruby is here to see you,” she said. He allowed himself three seconds to sigh heavily, then pressed the button.
“Send her in,” he replied. The short woman walked in almost immediately, and Dr. Williams was on his feet, ready to greet her with the respect due to the hospital’s owner.
“Hello, Ruby.” He shook her hand as they exchanged pleasant, obligatory smiles.
“Dr. Williams, thank you for taking the time.” She nodded and sat in the guest seat in front of Anthony’s desk. She had a commanding aura about her, and he half expected her to sit in his chair, but he was pleasantly surprised.
“We’re both exceedingly busy, I’m sure,” she started the meeting as soon as he was sitting down. Apparently, she was in charge regardless of the seating arrangement. “Fieldburg Hospital is far from the first hospital Chroma Corp. has purchased, and I have an idea of how things usually tend to go. I expect you’ve been weighing your options since we last met, but hopefully you’ve had an opportunity to learn what Chroma Corp. is all about. This isn’t a business for us; we run hospitals to help care for communities. I’m sure you had an idea in your mind of typical corporate corner-cutting, cost-saving, marked-up treatments when we met. Did your tours of any of our other hospitals help you understand us better?”
“Undoubtedly,” Dr. Williams nodded. He took the time to visit three Chroma-owned hospitals and talked with some of the senior staff. He’d come away not only impressed, but thoroughly stunned. And not for any of the reasons she wanted him to see.
“I’ll be honest…,” he chuckled nervously. “I’m still not entirely sure if I’m ready to work for a corporation as big as you are. The efforts you take to help local communities are apparent... but the staff is... unbelievable.” He wanted to communicate something without offending, and he had no idea how to do that. Fortunately, Ruby had the experience to catch on, and she smiled.
“We do have thousands of fantastical employees across all our hospitals,” she nodded. “Or are you still in the denial stage?”
“No, no,” Dr. Williams shook his head. “I’m already a believer. The two employees you placed here were more than enough proof. I’m convinced Vale is a vampire and Murtaugh is a legitimate wizard, and I met enough fae employees in your other hospitals who were all just as friendly. I’m just not sure that the community is ready for a Fae-staffed hospital. And I’m not sure I have that kind of uphill battle in me as the Medical Officer.”
“Oh, is that all?” Ruby laughed lightly. “You have other options. This hospital now belongs to Chroma Corp., which means you are a Chroma Corp. employee. You’re welcome to keep this position, or take up a position in any other hospital we own. We can find one that’s only for humans for you, if you prefer. However, I must also remind you that Chroma Corp. has done this quite a few times. We research areas quite thoroughly before we make any moves.”
“That’s good…” Dr. Williams nodded, unsure what else to say to that, but Ruby continued.
“Even before we sent Vale and Murtaugh to get you used to the idea of Fae existing, Fieldburg Hospital had already treated dozens of local Fae. We wouldn’t have chosen this hospital if there wasn’t a community to support. They’ve been here all along, whether or not you were convinced.”