Chapter 1 An Invitation To A Ball

• "You absolutely have to go!" exclaimed the pretty black-haired girl in a doctor's coat.
• Mikayla ran a hand over her face wearily. Her partner, Anna, was at it again.
• Anna was her closest friend and confidant, and beyond that, she was her business partner.
• They'd met in medical school. After graduation, they both got jobs at the same General Hospital.
• Later on, they left together to open their own hospital, the MikAnna Hospital.
• It was a combination of both their names, Mikayla and Anna; MikAnna.
• "I don't want to, go" Mikayla complained. She didn't even care that she sounded whiny.
• "But it is literally for a good cause," Anna said in a scandalized voice like she couldn't believe her friend.
• Mikayla sighed. "It's always for a good cause," she reminded her.
• Apparently, they'd been invited to a find raising event hosted by one of their investors.
• This wasn't the first of such event. In fact, they were regularly invited to such events.
• Every single event was to raise money for some big world and health issue, and every single time her friend made the same argument.
• Sadly, attending them came with the territory. To appease their investors, she often had to put aside her personal feelings and attend.
• But Anna was the opposite. She loved these events and basked in them.
• "This one is for cancer," Anna said matter-of-factedly.
• Mikayla eyed the invitation card that sat on her table sourly.
• "My presence or absence at the event wouldn't make any difference in whether a cure is discovered for cancer or not," Mikayla argued.
• This argument was nothing new. It was a dance they did every single time.
• And just like she did every single time, Anna rolled her eyes. "Your presence won't hurt the cause either."
• "Look, I'll rather just stay at home and watch reruns of Young Sheldon!"
• Anna shook her head. "You know the investors like to see us at these things. This is our opportunity to give back to them."
• Mikayla sighed. Was it that when you became rich, you were immediately forced to hold these kinds of events?
• How many fundraisers could they possibly host a year? They were barely halfway through the year and she'd already attended six. Six!
• Sadly, the set of people who could afford to dump millions of dollars into their Hospital were the same ones who hosted these events.
• "With the way you're acting, one would think you actually care about raising money for..." She took a peek at the card, "... cancer research."
• "Of course I am!" Anna exclaimed.
• Mikayla scoffed. She knew her friend. Her motives weren't exactly pure. She wasn't doing this out of the goodness of her heart.
• No, it was a result of her love of partying and rubbing shoulders with the rich and mighty; two things that Mikayla hated and wanted nothing to do with.
• How many times had Anna kept Mikayla awake at night with wild imaginations of being swept away in a wave of romance and wealth?
• Too many times to count! She always hoped to find a man at one of these things.
• Sadly, it hadn't happened for her so far. The men that showed interest in her only wanted to f*ck her and go.
• Mikayla didn't care for any of the things her friends wanted.
• In fact, she made sure to stay out of situations where such a thing could occur.
• But Mikayla had a soft spot for her friend so each and every time an invitation like this came up, Anna succeeded in dragging her along.
• Even now, the smile on Anna's face said that she knew her friend was already getting tired of arguing and would give in soon.
• As one final feeble attempt to get Anna to let her be, Mikayla tried one last tactic.
• "Why don't you go by yourself this time? Maybe without me there holding you back, you'll have a better chance of finding the billionaire of your dream."
• As expected, Anna simply rolled her eyes. "Nice try. You're coming with me!"
• Beep! Beep!
• Just then, there was a beeping sound and Anna and Mikayla both scrambled to find their pagers.
• "It's mine." Anna waved her beeper in the air. "I have to go. Pick out something nice to wear," she called over her shoulder as she rushed out of Mikayla's office.
• "Ugh," Mikayla groaned and flopped face down on her desk. Once again, she'd let Anna talk her into this.
• Maybe she should have just continued working at the General Hospital instead.
• Running a private Hospital was starting to feel like a pain in the ass.
• "No, that's not true," Mikayla corrected herself. She loved her job. She loved treating her patients.
• She loved making the Hospital a safe space for the workers and patients. She loved everything about her job.
• She should be thankful. Most people didn't even get to do what they loved. She did.
• Attending a few fundraisers here and there should be a small price to pay.
• She just had to do as she had always done; not draw any attention to herself.
• Pop in, shake a few hands, smile here and there, take some pictures and exit at the closest window of opportunity.
• "I can do this," she psyched herself up. 'I can get through this. It's only for a couple of hours.'
• Just as she was completing her affirmations, the door opened and Nurse Kim stuck her head in.
• "Shall I call in the next patient, Dr. Wall?" She asked.
• Mikayla had almost completely forgotten about her patients waiting outside.
• All thanks to Anna who barged in earlier waving the invitation in the air like a winning lottery ticket.
• Her partner must have given the order to hold all patients until she left.
• Mikayla straightened in her chair and adjusted her white coat. It was time to work.
• No time for dilly-dallying or worrying over the event. Her duty first and foremost was to her patients and she took that very seriously.
• "Yes, Nurse Kim. Please let them in," she directed.