His jaw tightened.
“Because you think I’ll hurt someone?”
“I think you’re angry.”
He stared.
“You don’t know me.”
“No.”
She met his eyes.
“But I know angry men.”
The room became quiet.
That sentence changed the balance between them.
The boss looked toward her arm.
He lowered his voice.
“Did a man you live with do this?”
“No.”
“Boyfriend?”
“No.”
“Husband?”
“I’m not married.”
“Then who?”
The nurse hesitated.
“Someone connected to my work.”
He became still.
“The clinic?”
She immediately regretted the reaction.
He saw it.
“Which clinic?”
“You don’t need to know.”
“I already know where you work.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“How?”
“Your identification was in your bag.”
“You went through my bag?”
“The paramedics did.”
She watched him.
He continued:
“I asked the hospital where you worked because I intended to pay whatever insurance refused.”
The nurse stared.
“No.”
He looked confused.
“No what?”
“You are not paying my hospital bill.”
“It’s done.”
Her face hardened.
“What?”
He recognized the mistake immediately.
The nurse sat straighter.
“You paid my bill without asking me?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I can.”
“That is not a reason.”
“It usually is.”
“Not with me.”
The boss stared.
Most people responded differently to him paying bills.
Gratitude.
Fear.
Obligation.
Occasionally suspicion.
Never anger.
The nurse pointed toward the door.
“Fix it.”
“I cannot unpay a hospital.”
“Then let them bill me and take your money back.”
“That is financially irrational.”
“I don’t care.”
He looked at her.
“You would rather owe thousands of dollars?”
“I would rather know what I owe and to whom.”
The sentence stopped him.
He understood more than she expected.
“Fine.”
She frowned.
“Fine?”
“I’ll tell billing to reverse it.”
The nurse stared.
“You will?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because you asked.”
The simplicity unsettled her.
The boss stood.
Then paused.
“One question.”
She sighed.
“One.”
“What did you find at the clinic?”
Her face changed.
He saw it.
Not fear for herself.
Fear for someone else.
The nurse whispered:
“Missing money.”
The boss sat again.
“What kind of money?”
“Patient assistance.”
“How much?”
“I don’t know.”
“Estimate.”
“Hundreds of thousands.”
The boss’s expression sharpened.
“From where?”
“Foundation grants.”
His eyes narrowed.
“What foundation?”
The nurse said the name.