He Loves Me Not

Ch.16

"Holy shit." Adeline thought to herself.

Now she knew exactly what Serena was talking about. Even before the case was discussed at court they were already going to lose. Serena had somehow managed to sleep her way through the justice system. She kept staring at the intern in shock, and when he did look at her he showed no signs of shock in seeing her. Instead a smirk formed on his face. He then cleared his throat and reached for a papers in this bag.

"Alright doctors. Like Mr.Gold has probably told you I am here to discuss the chain of event that will happen on court."

While everyone nodded their heads Adeline still had that shocked look on her face. She couldn't focus in the meeting at all. Zander noticed her face and nudged her with his foot. She looked over to him,

"What's wrong with you. You're acting like you've seen a ghost." Zander whispered to her.

Adeline shook her head.

"I'm fine. I just remembered a bunch of paper work I need to do after this meeting."

Zander just nodded his head and focused back to what the intern was saying.

Adeline was so deep into her thoughts that she did not even notice that they had finished the meeting. She stood up and bid the lawyers good bye with a fake smile. As soon as the door closed everyone stated their opinions.

"Why did that Mr. Gold act as if he had a stick up his ass?" Emersyn asked.

"Probably because he did." Zander muttered.

"Something doesn't feel right. I don't know about you guys, but why do I feel like no matter what we are going to loose this case?" Dan asked.

"Nothing is right...." Adeline whispered.

All eyes were on her now.

"What do you mean?" Emersyn asked.

Now or never. Adeline thought. She leaned forward and looked at her friends.

"I know something. Something that can help us win this case." Adeline announced.

"Then tell us!" Dan urged.

"It's not that simple. If I say this I obviously lose my job, people will look down at the hospital due to me breaking HIPAA, the board will fire me, more lawsuits over the fact that I broke HIPAA, and just the idea of breaking HIPAA can cause the backlash of never being hired ever again."

She laughed to herself, knowing that Serena had once again put her in a trap.

"My career can be ruined after this case. Everything I worked for can be lost, because of her."

Everyone looked at one another.

"Adeline....I know this might sound selfish, but please tell us. I know you will risk everything. But, this hospital. Hundreds depend on this job for a living. You're right. If you break HIPAA you could end your career. But do not let this selfish witch get away with it. For too long she has been making your life hell. She thinks she is on top of the world. And now you have the power to send her back to the bottom. Where she belongs." Dan urged.

Zander gripped Adeline's shoulder.

"We're not forcing you. We could never. And this choice is solely on you. If you do go through with it we will support you. No matter what, and we'll help you through it. And if you don't. It's okay. We'll find another way." Zander said.

They were all now waiting on Adeline. Finally, she stood up and walked over to Dan's computer.

"What are you doing?" Emersyn asked, seeing her type into the computer.

"Getting Skype ready."

She sat there for a couple of seconds and then she turned the screen to show 2 people who were just as confused as everyone else.

"Doctors.. Meet our lawyers. Sarah and Luca from Dwight Attorney and Law. If I'm going to tell you this info. This is stuff I want everyone in our team to know. "

Everyone nodded, and Adeline told them everything she knows.

***

"That's crazy." Emersyn whispered, finding it so hard to believe what she just heard.

"I don't understand. Serena told you straight forward about the whole baby thing? Why?" Zander asked.

"Because she probably thought Adeline wouldn't tell. She's right. Breaking HIPAA means ending her career. No one will ever hire a doctor who can't respect that. She counted on the fact that Adeline would never destroy her career. And even if Adeline did tell she would still lose her job. The hospital would have no choice but to fire her. In the end Serena still thinks she won." Luca pointed out.

"Even after everything she will do for us? Saving the hospital from bankruptcy, saving everyone's job? None of that will matter?" Dan asked.

"Think about it. If you were a patient, would you trust your medical information with a doctor who broke the secrecy? Would you trust that hospital at all, if they were to still keep that doctor? Yes, you could win the case, but the backlash could hurt you. If the hospital still had Adeline work there, they could loose patients, partnerships, etc. It's unfair, but that's how the world works." Sarah explained.

"It doesn't matter what happens to me. I knew what I was doing." Adeline announced.

"I'll find a way. I always do. But now we focus on one thing. Winning this case."

"Now with the fact that the father of the baby is in fact an intern and knows the judge we can use that against them."

"How? The court date is literally a few days away. It would be a miracle to change our judge to make it an even playing field." Zander wondered.

Luca and Sarah looked at each other with a smile.

"Don't worry Doctors. We know a few people who can pull a few cords here and there."

Adeline smiled, everything was going as planned.

Finally, things were going her way.