When Ordinary Isn't Ch. 02

"I've been part of an incredibly successful adventure, and right now, I'm thinking of turning my success in a direction which allows me to help others do the same. I've set my focus on a few new projects, one of which will allow me to turn some of what I've been blessed with back to the community I've called my home for almost four decades. What I'm working on now in no way conflicts or competes with Reiter-Marlin's efforts or interests."

Many of the patents filed by Eric Reiter during the startup of the company are to be assigned to the corporation, and others will be part of a cash or stock royalty agreement the terms of which the company is keeping very close to the vest.

"I can't believe what I'm reading," Peggy said quietly.

"What does it say?" Stephanie asked.

"Give me a minute," she responded distractedly.

Peggy clicked a link at the bottom of the page which read, "Eric Reiter pledges $50M to Children's Hospital."

She clicked it and opened another article in The Oklahoman published two days before Nina made the connection.

Eric Reiter, formerly of newsworthy Reiter-Marlin, has publicly pledged a $50 million endowment to Children's Hospital of Oklahoma City. At the joint press conference held with the chairman of the hospital's board of directors, Mr. Reiter said, "This has been in the making for a while, and I'm excited to see what the future holds. This endowment is earmarked to form a new research unit at the hospital."

When asked why he'd chosen to establish and fund the unit, he said, "My sister's experience sparked the idea and set things in motion several months ago. As fate would have it, I had the unfathomably coincidental opportunity to meet an incredibly impassioned pediatric trauma surgeon when I was vacationing in Florida. The individual described an interesting treatment protocol and a research study I thought bore substantial merit. But funding for the study is faced with enormous challenges at the facility at which the physician is currently practicing. When certain possibilities are right in front of me, I tend to act. I've since attached a proviso to the endowment making its final funding contingent on inviting the doctor to OKC in consideration for the position of Research Director."

Reiter indicated he had not yet been able to contact the individual described, and declined all requests to provide the person's name.

"Because he doesn't know it," Peggy murmered.

"Doesn't know what?" Stephanie urged.

"He doesn't know my name."

"Who? Eric?"

"Yeah. He doesn't know my full name."

"You told us already. What's going on? You're acting strange."

Peggy closed the browser and rose from the desk. She was five minutes late reporting back in to her unit, and started walking briskly to the elevators.

"What the hell is going on, Peggy?" Stephanie was struggling to keep up with her.

"I've got to think, Steph, and I've got tons of crap to do in the next six hours. Nina said she wanted to meet me in the lounge after our shifts end. Let's go get drinks after work. I think I'm gonna need a few," she said just as the elevator opened. "See ya!" she hollered as the doors slid closed, leaving Stephanie standing there in stunned silence.

When she'd finally checked back in, she sat at a workstation and launched a browser. She Googled "Reiter-Marlin," and the results sent her directly to the corporate website.

She clicked Contact Us.

There was an address and toll-free telephone number listed. She pulled out her cellphone and dialed it. An operator answered.

"Thank you for calling Reiter-Marlin. To whom may I direct your call?"

"Hello," she said. "I'd like to speak with Eric Reiter."

"I'm sorry," the woman said immediately, "Mr. Reiter is no longer with the company."

"Oh, that's right. Is there any chance you know how I can contact him?"

"I'm sure you can understand that we can't provide such information."

"I do. Um..." Her mind was racing, trying to think of any other ways of connecting with Eric. "Is there a way you can get a message to him? I just read an article in an Oklahoma newspaper saying he's trying to contact me. I have no other way of contacting him, either."

The line went silent for several seconds.

"May I have your name, please?" the operator asked.

"Doctor Margaret Foreman."

"I'm sorry, Doctor Foreman, I don't see your name on our incoming contacts list."

"Try Peggy. He knows me only as Peggy."

"I see. Thank you. Please hold one moment while I connect you to Lance Marlin."

The line went silent for a second, then she heard holding music.

She listened for about thirty seconds. Her finger was hovering over the red 'X' on her phone's screen, almost ready to hang up, when a man answered.

"Good afternoon, Doctor Foreman, Lance Marlin speaking."

"Uh, hello. I know I sound like a crazy person, but I'm trying to reach Eric Reiter and I don't know what's going on or why I was transferred to you."

"I can explain. I'm sure you can understand how being an executive of a corporation requires security measures which are sometimes aggravating. The operators don't give out contact info for any employee. All they're permitted to do for most calls to employees is forward them to their extension or voicemail box. For senior employees and executives, they're provided a list of approved callers. If a caller isn't on the list, they go nowhere.

"Since Eric stepped down, he asked me to add you to my list. Because the system won't accept entries without surnames, I had to add you as Peggy Peggy." He laughed.

"Oh," was all she could think to say.

"Eric has been trying to find you for the last week, too, but your hospital advised him there's no one employed there with the name of Peggy."

"That's because the name on my record is Margaret."

"Makes sense. Eric's really anxious to talk to you, and he was hoping you might try to contact him here."

"So, can you transfer me to him or something?" Peggy asked, growing frustrated.

"No. He's working out the final details of an endowment he announced a couple of days ago, so he's got lawyers and doctors all arguing in a room about tees and cees. If you give me your cellphone number, I will text it to him. He'd have my hide if I gave you his number and you turned out to be a stalker. It has to be his decision to contact you."

"A stalker?"

"I'll let him explain."

She gave him her number and politely ended the call, offering genuine gratitude for his help, and sharing his laughter at the absurdity of the situation. Her excitement was boiling. She wasn't sure whether it was due to the opportunity to talk to Eric again, or the possibility of an incredible professional endeavor right in front of her. It took her most of the afternoon to realize it was both.

She spent the next four hours seeing patients, checking on their progress. Her phone rang just as she finished her case notes.

"Doctor Foreman," she answered.

"Hey, Peggy, it's Eric."

"Holy crap! It's so good to hear from you!"

"It's good to hear your voice again, too. How on Earth did you figure out a way to get in contact with me?" he said excitedly.

"One of my friends somehow figured out who you are. I have no idea how. It happened after lunch a few hours ago. I'd shown a couple of my friends one of the pictures we took on The Wheel, and I guess she recognized the name of your business, and she found an article online with your picture. So yeah, I know more about you now than I did two weeks ago, but only what I've read in the papers.

"So, who are you and what the hell is going on? And why did you keep asking me if I know who you are?"

"Because it's sort of important. I'm sorry I have to be so elusive and dodgy, but I can explain it. And for now, I need you to do me a favor. Those photos you took of us, please keep them to yourself. I'm not demanding it, you can of course do whatever you like, but I'm just asking for a favor. Peggy, I need you to understand something. I trust you, okay? I'm walking out on a limb. I want to tell you about me, but I don't want to do it over the phone. I'd really prefer to talk with you in person. When is your next break?"

"You're in town again?" she asked excitedly. "I'm almost off shift. Unless something happens, I'll be done at seven o'clock."

"No. I'm not in Orlando," he said. "My words were poorly chosen. When do you have a few days off?"

"I'm off for four days starting tomorrow, but I'm on call the last two."

"Is there any possibility you can meet me here tomorrow?"

"Where's here?" she asked.

"Oh, duh. Sorry. There I go again. I'm in Georgia. Atlanta, to be precise."

"Why? What's happening there?"

"Meetings about the endowment," he answered.

He forced himself to breathe slower and focus his attention. The pure joy he heard in her voice matched what he felt when she'd answered his call. He was stumbling to speak effectively, and didn't want to come across as clumsy or unclear as he spoke his next entreaty.

"Peggy, I'm detecting a little concern in your voice. All I can say is you have no reason to worry. I'm the guy you met two weeks ago. Whatever you've learned by reading the papers, just set that aside for the moment, okay? I don't want anything reporters write to cloud your judgment. Just remember who I was when we met. That's all I ask."

"Easier said than done."

"Have you read something which frightens you?"

"No, it only deepens the whole mystery. I read the article in the Wall Street Journal about your company's IPO and your decision to leave it. There was a link to another article in the Oklahoma City newspaper about an endowment you're offering to a hospital."

"Yeah, it's kind of a big deal to me."

"I can only imagine." She paused. "Eric, am I the doctor you're looking for?"

"Yes. And I want... well, a lot of people would like to discuss it with you."

"It sounds... interesting. I don't get off work for another two hours. I'll need to pack and start driving. Atlanta's seven or eight hours away. Maybe I can find a flight and figure all that out."

"I'm going to send my Citation to Orlando tonight. It'll hangar there and be ready to fly you up here first thing tomorrow morning. There's nothing I'd like more than to be on it to meet you, but it's too crazy here at the moment."

Peggy felt as if her skin was sizzling with static electricity. Everything was happening so fast, and she felt as if she was about to pass out.

"Your Citation? That's a private jet, right? Wow. Just... wow... um... I don't..."

"Peggy, take a deep breath. It's okay. I know this is a lot to absorb, but I'm as excited as you sound, too. I'm looking forward to seeing you and telling you all about the whole thing. Please promise me you won't read anything else. Don't go Google-crazy. It's really important to me."

"I promise. What time will the flight leave?"

He laughed with immediately recognized warmth. "You drive to an executive terminal, walk up the steps into the airplane, and say 'Let's go.' That's when the flight leaves."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. Here's what'll happen if you agree.

"You'll be in Atlanta for six or seven hours and talk to a few people, then we'll fly together to Oklahoma City. You'll overnight at a really nice hotel. The next day, there's a bunch more people to talk to. You'll get back to Orlando in time for your on-call. It'll be a whirlwind, but we can make it all fit."

"Uh, okay. Where do I go?"

"I wouldn't know. I'll have my pilot contact you. Can she call the number I just used?"

"What? The pilot is going to call me?"

"Sure. She's going to need to know where you live so she can tell you which airport to go to."

Peggy laughed. "Orlando, Florida, Eric."

He chuckled, too. "There's more than one airport there. She'll want to know which one is the most convenient for you."

"Oh, my god. This just isn't making any sense."

"Take another breath, Peggy. I'm sorry for surprising you like this."

She felt the need to put her head between her knees. It took her a few moments before the fuzz dissipated.

"This is just so crazy."

"I know, and I understand. I've been right where you are and it wasn't too long ago. I'll tell you all about it when I see you."

"Okay."

"I'm sorry if I come across as being demanding, but dress for the flight and pack like you're going to a job interview. Whatever that means to you is completely your call, but the meetings you'll be attending are exactly that. You'll most likely be under the microscope for at least part of the meeting in Atlanta, and certainly in Oklahoma."

"Part?" she asked.

"Tomorrow is all legal junk, but a few board members are here, and I'm sure they'll have questions when they meet you."

"Oh, of course," she said with mock flair.

He laughed. "And bring casual stuff, too. There's no luggage limitation and no checked bag fees."

"Casual stuff? Do you have anything in mind?"

"Of course I do, but it'd be undignified of me to say how you were dressed when we spent the day together looked fantastic on you. All of it."

"You got it, Eric Reiter." She sighed happily. "You know, you look like a Reiter."

"Doctor Margaret Foreman, you look like an angel."

"You're very, very sweet."

He couldn't see her tender smile, but he heard it in her tone of voice.

"I need to say something else."

"Oh, boy," she said cautiously.

"No, it's nothing like that. Tomorrow's going to seem crazy and maybe a little overwhelming. Please don't let it envelop you. I hope it's fun and exciting, but what I really want you to know is how I haven't stopped thinking about you since you left the resort. You've tripped something in me. I don't know what it is, but I'm really looking forward to seeing you again."

His words almost overwhelmed her. Her brain was still reeling. She felt as if she'd taken a deep breath of halothane. She heard his final two sentences in her own mind, but they were in her own voice. It had been an enjoyable weekend, but it was supposed to be detached. She had to admit to herself that the hook through her lip was still set, but she wasn't sure whether or not she wanted to admit it to him.

"Peggy?" he said after the long pause.

"Yeah. Me, too, Eric."

The rest of her shift was less eventful by yards than the ten-

minute phone call. Thankfully, no emergencies arrived at the ER which required her service, as she was worried her mind would be distracted. She met Stephanie and Nina in the staff lounge at 7:06pm. She didn't sit down.

"Sorry, ladies, I can't do this tonight. I've gotta run," Peggy said.

"Why? I thought we were going to get drinks. It's the weekend!" Stephanie argued.

It wasn't a weekend on any calendar printed in the modern world, but it was the rare coincidence in their compressed-shift schedules when all three would share two days off.

"I know, but I can't. Something is happening and I can't afford a hangover or even being tired tomorrow morning."

"What's going on?" Nina asked.

"Eric is flying me to Atlanta."

"What?! You found him?"

"No, you found him, and I reconnected with him. Long story, but he's sending an airplane down here tonight. He said the pilot will be calling me to get some information. I'll be going to Georgia first thing tomorrow morning."

"You've got to be fucking kidding me," Stephanie said before slapping her hands across her mouth.

"Mind your language, woman," Nina scolded.

"No kidding, no jokes," Peggy said.

"What do you think he's up to?" Stephanie asked.

"I have a fairly good idea, but I'm not going to talk about any specifics until I've heard all the details myself."

"You're chasing a man," Nina scoffed.

"No, I'm not," Peggy said, glowering as she turned to leave the facility. She wondered, though, if it wasn't true.