“You took a cat without even getting a litter box? Ronnie, what am I going to do with you?”
“Well, her box was dirty and I wasn’t about to touch it.” Veronica protested. “Look, just make me a cup of coffee while I go take a shower and change. I’ll run out and pick up the things the cat will need.”
“I’ll make you a list. Knowing you, you’ll get the box and forget the litter.”
“Funny,” came the sarcastic reply, although in fact she didn’t think about getting stuff to put in the litter box. “I’ll be back down in a little bit. Try and keep fuzzball off the couch and away from the antiques, okay?”
The mall was busy for a Wednesday afternoon and Veronica ended up parking at the far end of a row. A quick press of the button on her keychain and the bright blue Jeep Cherokee’s doors locked and a warning light on the dash indicated that the alarm system was armed.
It took her fifteen minutes to navigate her way around the mall until she found the pet store. Once inside, she walked down the isles until she found the cat supplies. Racks and shelves of everything from fake mice and scratching posts to catnip and collars vied for her wallet. Veronica hated shopping and when the teenage clerk offered to help her pick out things for her new pet, the raven haired woman readily agreed. The result was seventy-five dollars worth of litter, toys, food, catnip, and various other items that the young girl insisted were necessary for a happy and healthy cat.
After finishing her shopping, Veronica went to the hospital to check on Rose. She wasn’t at all prepared for what she saw. The sheet covering the young woman’s legs outlined the full length casts. A nasty looking row of stitches surrounded by an equally nasty looking bruise covered one cheek and dried tear streaks prominently showed on her face. An IV with several bags hung from one side, giving the injured woman the fluids and pain medications she needed. A catheter disappeared under the blanket. Veronica’s heart ached for the pain that Rose was in as well as the pain that she would go through as she recovered, knowing deep inside that her recklessness behind the wheel was the only reason the young woman was here. As if sensing her presence, the reddish-blonde head turned and green eyes focused on her. “Hello.” she said politely, her voice a bit raspy.
“Hello Rose. How are you feeling?”
“Lucky to be alive I guess,” she croaked, her eyes trailing over toward the water pitcher. Veronica immediately walked over and poured some into the yellow plastic cup.
“Here.” She handed the cup over but then quickly reclaimed her grip on it when she saw the young woman’s hand shake. “Let me help.” Together they got half the cup down Rose’s throat before Veronica returned it to the small stand. “Do you remember anything about the accident?”
“No, not really. I was running…some men were chasing me…I got out of the park and ran out into the street…that’s all I remember before waking up here.”
“You don’t remember anything about the car that hit you?” Veronica prodded. “The color, the type of car, the driver, anything?”
“No, nothing. I’m sorry. Are you with the police?”
“No.” Inwardly Veronica breathed a sigh of relief. Rose couldn’t remember what happened. With a little luck she might just be able to pull this off.
“Oh, then I suppose you’re here to talk to me about the bill?” Rose asked, deciding that the beautiful, well dressed woman had to be a hospital administrator, despite wearing a jacket. Perhaps she had just on duty, Rose reasoned.
“Actually, I do need to talk to you about that but-”
“I have no money,” she interrupted. “I don’t have kids, I don’t qualify for any programs.” She gave a defeated sigh. “I’ll give you whatever I can each week but I’m afraid it won’t be more than five dollars or so.” She resigned herself to giving up her bus fare to help pay for the impossible bill.
“You don’t need to do that,” Veronica said, amazed that someone with obviously little or no money was so quick to take financial responsibility for the hospital bill. “Perhaps you’d better let me explain.” Rose nodded. “My name is Veronica Cartwright. I own Cartwright Corporation. I um…I found you after the accident and brought you here. When I realized that you didn’t have insurance, I told them that you worked for me. Cartwright has an excellent benefits package including medical coverage. You won’t have to pay a cent for your care, I promise.”
“You? But they told me that my boss…” Realization set in. “You told them you were my boss?”
“Yes.”
“Oh.” Rose seemed to ponder the information. “So instead of owing the hospital, I’ll owe you?”
“No no no. By the end of the day your name will be added to the insurance rolls. I’ll have it backdated to before the accident and you’ll be covered.”
“But isn’t that fraud?”
“Only if you didn’t work for me.” Damn, why did she have to be so difficult? Couldn’t she just accept that the bill would be covered? Veronica couldn’t understand why someone who had nothing was questioning a good thing when it was being offered to her. Maybe she miscalculated just how poor the young woman was. She needed more information. “Tell me, where do you work now?”
“I…” Rose looked down, clearly embarrassed. “I work part-time as a cashier at Money Slasher. I should say I worked part-time. I’m sure they won’t hold the job for me until I can walk again.”
“Do you have any skills? I mean, can you type or take dictation or anything like that?” The crestfallen look on the young woman’s face answered the question. “Well then, I guess you’re a clerk. It’s an entry level job but it’s better than bagging groceries.”
“But I can’t work.” She looked down at the casts covering her legs. “I can’t even walk.”
“The job will be there when you’re ready. Until then, you just concentrate on recovering.” It was so simple, why was she making it difficult? Veronica didn’t plan on this.
“Mrs. Cartwright?”
“It’s Miss, but please call me Veronica.”
“Why are you doing this? I mean, you don’t know me.” After a lifetime of being handed the short end of the stick, an act of such great generosity was too much for her to believe. There had to be something more to it. Everything had a price attached.
The raven haired woman thought quickly, running through the stories she had made up in her mind on the way over, discarding all of them as being lame. “I guess I just wanted to help. I saw you lying there on the street and I reacted. The only way to keep you here at the Med Center was to tell them you had insurance and the only way to give you insurance was to make you an employee. I run a large corporation that operates several smaller ones. Adding you to the rolls isn’t a big deal. I’m sorry, I don’t have a better explanation.” The only other explanation would involve the truth and Veronica couldn’t afford that. “Don’t worry about why I’m helping. Just let me. Now, is there someone I should contact to let them know you’re in the hospital?”
“Um…I guess Kim should know so she can hire someone else for my slot.” Rose said quietly, mourning the loss of the job she had worked so hard to get. It was too much for her to believe that she was being offered a job with a company as large as Cartwright Corp. “She’s the night manager at Money Slasher on Central. I have to turn in my smock in order to get my last paycheck.”