The Unexpected Journey-A Prince Harry Fan Fic

Chapter 32

As Maddie neared the London DWB office for her meeting, she was stuck on how surreal this moment was. At the beginning of the mandated three months off, she had thought they would never end; that she would be stuck in the endless purgatory. But it was coming to an end in a flash.

Harry had left her that morning to attend the meeting he had rescheduled in order to go to Bendal. He had kissed her and wished her luck and clarity. Maddie took a deep breath as the cab pulled up to the office. She paid and thanked the driver and then, she was facing her future.

She sat in the waiting area for less than ten minutes before she was pulled into an office with a wonderfully sweet woman named Marquita. She was tall and beautiful and Maddie wondered as she followed her why it was she wasn't modeling somewhere exotic. But she kept those thoughts to herself.

After offering the obligatory water or coffee, Marquita shut the door to her office and sat down across from Maddie. Opening her file, they went over the doctor's notes, the releases that had been signed and then Marquita asked her the most popular question,

"What do you want to do next Maddie?"

And Maddie still didn't know. She shook her head and looked down at her hands. Unsure, confused, she explained that she was kind of hoping the options available to her would help with that decision.

"Well," Marquita sighed. "You recovered well from the incident in Bendal. Physically, you're good to go. I see you met with our staff psychologist and he has signed off on your mental status."

"Good to know," Maddie chuckled lightly.

"Though Bendal remains a contentious area to live in, it isn't any more or less dangerous than it was before you left—and we still have a team down there. At the time of your mandated furlough, you were in the middle of serving out an extended contract. So, if you wanted to return, we could absolutely send you there. One of the Psychologists is getting ready to end her tenure and I'm sure the community would welcome you back. You have some great recommendations in your file from the staff down there. So, that is certainly an option for you."

"Wow..." Maddie breathed. She should be thrilled to hear that. She had wanted to hear that—didn't she? "Wow. I just...that's what I was hoping to hear." She spoke the words though she wasn't nearly as sure as she thought she would be.

Was it? She thought. Was it what she wanted to hear?

"Of course, if you were thinking of trying one of our many locations, we can certainly talk about that. Or, if you wanted to be done with the service for a while, that would be perfectly understandable."

"Done?"

"Some people need a break," Marquita smiled warmly. She had been through this meeting thousands of times; had seen this reaction and confusion thousands of times. Glancing back down at Maddie's file, she saw an additional note. "Oh...wait..." She pulled the piece of paper to the top of the stack.

"What is it?"

"Well," Marquita allowed the tiniest of smirks to cross her face as she read the note. "It seems as though..." She looked up to Maddie with a conspiratorial look in her eyes. "Normally I'm not supposed to pass on any opportunities that are outside of Doctors Without Borders. I mean, if you asked for resources, I could give them. But normally I'm not supposed to tell you about anything outside of the organization."

"Okay..." Maddie's eyes narrowed. "I'm sorry. I'm confused, are you..."

"It seems as though somebody wants you to consider staying in London," the young woman smiled at Maddie as she said the words.

"Somebody wants me to stay in London?" Maddie's throat grew tight as she repeated the words.

"Yes," Marquita passed a piece of paper across the desk. "There is an opening at the Children's Hospital, for a staff Psychologist—handling inpatient treatment and working with the trauma team." Marquita read from the paper. "It's a really great hospital. I know a med-tech there and he loves his job."

"Hold on," Maddie held up her hand, her face growing warmer and warmer as she sat with this news. "Somebody...found...me a job in London?"

"Well, kind of," Marquita seemed a little uneasy. "Somebody set up an interview for you. It's not a guaranteed job. You would still have to go through the process. But yes, somebody put in a good word for you and wanted to make sure that this..." Marquita shrugged. "They wanted to make sure that this fell in your lap."

"My lap," Maddie was certain her face was growing red as the anger took over her thought process. "But you said that you don't normally connect people with outside employment and..."

"Well, it seems as though this came from somebody with quite a bit of influence," Marquita leaned closer. "It's happened before but only in very rare circumstances and...and it almost always comes down from the top."

"The top," Maddie laughed bitterly. Somebody intervening in her life—from the top.

"Anyway," Marquita smiled and closed the folder. "As you can imagine, time is of the essence on these issues. I can give you forty-eight hours to think about it but twenty-four would be ideal. Only because I need to process paperwork—rather you decide to go back to Bendal or to the interview here in London."

"Sure," Maddie nodded; too angry to elaborate any further.

"Do you have any other questions before..."

"No," Maddie shook her head and took the file along with Marquita's business card. The young woman escorted her to the waiting area and wished her luck with her decision.

"I look forward to hearing from you," she smiled before she turned to greet another client. Clenching her teeth Maddie pulled her sunglasses on and stepped out onto the street to hail a cab.

As she neared Kensington Palace, her anger mounted exponentially. She hoped Harry had his security officer close by because, as she held the job interview that had fallen in her lap from the top, she was absolutely certain of one thing.

She was going to kill him.