Chapter 30 Don't Think I Don't Know It's Your Trap
Matilda nodded. Adalyn had a point there.
"Matilda, everyone's covering for you, but you can't just ignore whether the hospital lives or dies. How about you go meet with the person in charge from the supplier and clear things up?"
Matilda thought about it and felt she really should go talk to them, so she agreed: "Okay."
Adalyn immediately smiled and said warmly: "I happen to have the contact info for the person in charge over there. I'll set up a time and place, and you have to come, okay?"
...
In the evening, Matilda texted Wentworth: [Something came up tonight, won't be home for dinner.]
Adalyn had already sent her a message asking her to leave together after work.
She went to the parking lot and saw Adalyn and Irene.
Adalyn was driving Reuben's BMW. She asked: "Want to ride with me?"
Matilda shook her head: "No need, I'll drive myself."
"Okay, then follow me closely."
Matilda drove her Range Rover, following behind.
After getting in the car, a hint of doubt crossed her mind—could Adalyn be setting some kind of trap? Going to meet the person in charge of equipment procurement, and she's only bringing Irene? Shouldn't there be hospital management present too?
But since she was already here, she might as well see what Adalyn was up to.
More than twenty minutes later, they arrived at a large shopping center in downtown Phoenix City.
The place was crowded with people coming and going. It didn't look like anything bad could happen here.
After parking, Adalyn led Matilda into a barbecue restaurant. They had reserved a small private room.
As soon as they entered, Matilda saw a fat-faced man sitting inside.
"Dr. Spencer, this is Mr. Weaver," Adalyn introduced.
Then she said, "Mr. Weaver, this is Dr. Spencer."
The moment Ray saw Matilda, his eyes lit up.
He reached out to shake Matilda's hand. "Dr. Spencer, hello. I've seen your video. You look a hundred times better in person than in the video, even better looking than TV actresses."
Matilda felt suspicious—wasn't she here to explain the misunderstanding? He should hate her, so why was he being so friendly?
Seeing the awkward atmosphere, Adalyn quickly smoothed things over: "Mr. Weaver, how about we order first and chat while we eat?"
"Sure." Ray agreed readily.
Adalyn ordered two servings of grilled ribs and chicken wings, plus two bottles of apple cider.
When the drinks arrived, everyone had a glass first.
Adalyn was always good at livening up the atmosphere and chatted quite well with Ray.
Ray said with a laugh: "I had no idea the Harmony Health Center director's daughter was so pretty too."
Adalyn smiled: "You're too kind. I'm nowhere near as good-looking as Dr. Spencer."
Ray raised his glass to Matilda: "You're really beautiful. Being so pretty, why become a doctor?"
Matilda wondered—pretty people can't be doctors?
"What should I be then?" she asked.
"You should be a flight attendant, or a model, or an actress. Or if not that, become a social media personality—just post a few photos and you can make good money from tips," Ray said.
Matilda replied flatly, "I don't have that talent."
"I know some agents in the entertainment industry. I could introduce you to some directors—maybe you could play a leading role." Ray raised his glass again.
Matilda didn't drink. She felt this Ray was not a good person.
Just then, Adalyn nudged Irene, signaling her to leave in a bit.
Adalyn picked up her bag and said to them, "Irene and I have something to do, we're leaving first. Dr. Spencer, you have a good talk with Mr. Weaver."
By this point, Matilda had sensed something was wrong.
She asked Ray directly: "I heard our hospital can't buy that phototherapy equipment because of me?"
Ray smiled, put down his fork, and reached out to grab Matilda's hand, but she immediately pulled away.
"Don't you want to buy the equipment?" Ray asked.
"I do. But Adalyn told me you won't sell to us because of the video."
Ray said: "Yeah, I saw your video and thought you were beautiful. If you keep me company, then the equipment thing will be easy to talk about."
"What kind of company?"
"What do you think? After dinner, let's get a room?" He made no attempt to hide it.
Matilda looked at his greasy face, with barbecue grease on his lips, and immediately felt disgusted.
"Sorry, I think there's been a misunderstanding. I came to explain things, not to sleep with anyone. I don't do that kind of thing."
She got up to leave, but Ray grabbed her.
"Don't go. Just one night, and I'll sign the contract right away."
"Let go of me." Matilda tried to break free, but he was big and tall, and she couldn't shake him off.
In desperation, she used the self-defense moves Wentworth had taught her—knee to his chin, then a kick to his stomach.
She remembered what Wentworth had said: 'don't stick around to fight, take your shot and run.'
Ray shouted from behind, "If you do this, your hospital will never get another chance!"
Matilda paused. It was a shame they couldn't buy the equipment, but this wasn't her fault. The director and deputy director hadn't told her the truth because it was too outrageous.
She pushed open the door and saw Adalyn and Irene eavesdropping outside.
Irene quickly explained, "It's not my fault. I was just dragged along for dinner. I had no idea he wanted to screw you."
Adalyn felt guilty but stayed stubborn. "I didn't know either. My dad said it was all because of you, so I thought it was about the video. Who knew he was such a creep."
Matilda raised her hand and slapped Adalyn hard across the face.
"Adalyn, don't think I don't know you set this up."
Adalyn hadn't expected Matilda to hit so hard. She saw stars and nearly lost her balance.
But she still argued, "So what if I did? The equipment is so important. For the hospital's sake, shouldn't you make some sacrifice? You got to be an attending physician because the hospital trained you, didn't they?"
Matilda sneered, "I became an attending physician through my own hard work. You're the one who got into the hospital through your father. You're the one who should pay the price."
With that, she shoved Adalyn back into the private room.
The door swung open, hitting Ray who had just walked to the doorway. He stumbled backward, and Adalyn, unable to keep her balance, fell right on top of him.