Chapter 13 A Brazen Request

• "This…this is my husband."
• Rosie's answer lacked conviction only because Ian was entirely too unprepossessing at first glance. Currently, he did not have a job, nor did he have any sort of career; furthermore, he was obviously physically disabled.
• Nonetheless, Ian had immediately offered the use of his 5 million dollars for her father's treatment, so she felt it was only fair to acknowledge their marital status in front of Kyle.
• "Oh…your husband. I see." Kyle's smile froze for a moment, and an irrational wave of depression threatened to swamp him. Rosie had been the reigning beauty of the police academy back in the day, and her suitors were all exceptionally talented and good-looking. Who would have thought that she would end up marrying someone so ordinary-looking? The man even dressed in such a vulgar, low-class manner!
• "Can I take the liberty of asking if the drug prescription we've come for will be affected by who I am?" Ian was an exceptionally perceptive person and it was obvious to him that Kyle was infatuated with Rosie. As a result, his tone of voice was not very welcoming.
• Kyle ignored Ian, dismissing him at a glance and deeming him of no account. However, as a professional, he was obligated to ask, "What prescription do you need?"
• "We've come to ask if you can prescribe anti-C5 monoclonal antibody drugs for my father. He's very ill," Rosie replied hastily, surreptitiously giving Ian's hand a slight pinch.
• She knew her husband was jealous, but she could not risk him antagonizing Kyle, not if she wanted the man to approve the drugs for Wilhelm's treatment.
• "Anti-C5 monoclonal antibody drugs?" Kyle let the words hang in the air for a moment, then sat down, steepling his fingers together. " Rosie, it's not that I don't want to help you, but I'm not allowed to prescribe those drugs for just anyone."
• "I know that, Kyle. I'm asking you to help us, please." Rosie gave a faint smile, swallowing her pride. For her father's sake, she was now asking a man for a favor for the first time in her life. Normally, she kept her distance from men in general.
• "Well…let me see what can be done." Kyle turned on his computer. Rosie's smile was far too potent a weapon; he was powerless against it. He pulled up an inventory of the hospital's drug supplies and began looking through it.
• Rosie breathed a silent sigh of relief at Kyle's reply. She shot a quick glance at Ian, warning him not to cause trouble. This was a matter of life and death for Wilhelm; she had no choice but to use every means at her disposal to persuade Kyle to help her.
• If Ian screwed this up through a few inopportune words, she would never forgive him.
• After a few minutes, Kyle looked rather awkward and embarrassed. Glancing at Rosie, he said apologetically, "Rosie, I'm sorry. We do have one dose of the anti-C5 monoclonal antibody drug, but I can't give you a prescription for it."
• "Why not?" Rosie stared at him uncomprehendingly.
• "Well…the fact of the matter is, this dose has already been reserved for a very important person. We're the biggest hematology hospital in the southern region, and many prominent people come here to be treated every year. Anti-C5 monoclonal antibody drugs are in high demand so they're always in short supply," Kyle explained with a sigh. He had wanted to be magnanimous in front of Rosie, but that dose of medication had been very clearly reserved. He did not dare to prescribe it for fear he would be blamed when the matter came to light. His professional career would never survive such a scandal.
• "Then what can we do now?" Rosie's heart sank. She bit her lower lip and pleaded, "Kyle, please. Isn't there any other way to get my father the treatment he needs?"
• "I…" When Kyle saw that Rosie was on the verge of tears, he felt terrible. Suddenly, a bold idea flashed into his mind. Marshaling his courage, he said, "If your husband will step out for a moment, I'll discuss the matter with you privately."
• "Very well. Ian, please wait for me outside." Rosie shot Ian a glance.
• "Alright then. If there really are no other alternatives, we'll go look up that old fellow tomorrow." Ian gave a nonchalant shrug, then sauntered out of the office.
• However, he did not go very far, electing to sit down on one of the chairs in the corridor. He wanted to hear what Kyle proposed to do.
• Rosie shut the door, then turned to Kyle. "Can we discuss things now?"
• "Rosie, the truth is, I still like you even after all this time!" Behind his glasses, Kyle's eyes smoldered with passion. In his memory, Rosie had always been a pure, pristine, beautiful nymph. Who would have thought that despite the intervening seven or eight years, she would have barely changed? Not only that, she had blossomed and matured into womanhood, and Kyle was practically mad with desire. He had already decided that if it would allow him to get on intimate terms with Rosie, he would write her the drug prescription, even if it meant he would face disciplinary action later on.
• Rosie drew her brows together slightly, but she could not outright reject him because of the favor she needed. Instead, she murmured, "Thank you, Kyle. That's very flattering, but I'm a married woman now, you know."
• "That's not important. I'm a married man myself. All I'd like is for you to have dinner with me and watch a movie together so I can rekindle an old dream, just for a night. If you can promise me that, I'll find some way to wrangle the data and give you the prescription," Kyle declared recklessly, outlining his brazen proposal.
• Rosie's frown deepened. Kyle's words made her deeply uncomfortable. If she turned down his offer, she did not know how much longer Wilhelm would be able to last. She was not a young innocent anymore; she knew exactly what was likely to happen if she agreed to Kyle's proposal. After dinner and a movie, he would probably want to get intimate with her in some motel room. She had standards; this was certainly going too far and was utterly unacceptable.
• In the midst of her dilemma, Ian suddenly shoved the door open and strode in, carrying a trashcan. In front of Rosie's startled gaze, he dumped the receptacle over Kyle's head and emptied the trash all over the hapless doctor. In an arctic voice, he declared, "A piece of trash like you is only fit to mix with other trash!"
• With that, he grabbed Rosie's wrist and pulled her out of the office, leaving Kyle standing woodenly on the spot. Behind his glasses, his eyes burned with poisonous hatred.
• Once they reached the corridor, Rosie wrenched her wrist out of Ian's grasp and snapped angrily, "Now that you've finished your little display of manliness, Ivan Griffin, how about you consider what's going to happen to my father after what you've done?"
• "Oh, so you're going to let that four-eyed sleazy puppy take advantage of you?" Ian's voice was frosty as he stared at Rosie.
• "Of course not!" Rosie shook her head, thrown into turmoil and completely unsettled. "If I were that sort of woman, I wouldn't have married you. The issue now is how to help my father find a cure!"
• "I'll find a way somehow!" Ian's anger died down at Rosie's reply. It was true; they had been married for almost a year now, and Rosie had never once become embroiled in a scandal with any other man. She had always fulfilled her duty to him and behaved above reproach, even though she still would not allow him to have intimate relations with her.
• "Alright, I'll leave that to you. Let me go talk to the doctor again." Rosie headed straight for the emergency room after that.
• Ian followed her, thinking hard. If it were a matter of broken bones or superficial injuries, he would have been able to deal with them easily in the past. However, Wilhelm's illness was a different matter altogether. It was a hematologic disease, which meant that it was genetic in nature. Unless Wilhelm underwent bone marrow transplants or blood transfusions, ordinary medication would be useless.
• Ian had been extremely skilled in his past life, but he was no deity. Only specialist doctors using the latest technology and equipment could conduct bone marrow transplants and blood transfusions.
• All he could do now was to pin his hopes on Wilbert Ashford. Since the old man had been dubbed "Othar's God of Medicine", he had to have some way of curing Wilhelm. Even if that did not pan out, Wilbert's network of connections was certainly more extensive than Ian's, so perhaps the old fellow might be able to find a way to obtain the supply of anti-C5 monoclonal antibody drugs that Wilhelm needed.
• By the time Ian made up his mind about his next course of action, he had arrived at the emergency room with Rosie. The minute the doctor came out, Ian immediately inquired, "Doctor, how long do you think my father-in-law will be able to hold out?"
• "With conservative treatment, he should easily be able to last two months if he remains in stable condition," the doctor replied.
• "Alright then. I'll figure something out as fast as I can," Ian returned.
• After the doctor left, Rosie sighed. "All we can do now is to get in touch with Mr Ashford as soon as possible."
• "Yeah. Don't worry, I've got something he wants," Ian said comfortingly, gently squeezing Rosie's hand.
• It was nearly dawn when Wilhelm was finally able to be transferred to a normal room. Rosie and Ian went with him and helped the nurse to settle him in comfortably.
• "I'd like to spend some time with Dad. You go out first and wait for me," Rosie told Ian.
• "Sure. I'll try and get hold of Wilbert Ashford then." Ian acknowledged this with a nod, then headed out of the room.