The room exploded with questions, and I answered every last one of them. By the time the hour was over, I needed a break, a few minutes to cool my head before getting started on the rest of the day.
I bid farewell to the audience one-by-one, and when they’d all left, I hurried back to my office. I started my coffee machine, preparing a cup and sipping it as I stood in front of the window looking out over the city.
I’d been all confidence for the staff, and it wasn’t a lie – I truly believed in myself and my mission. And more than that, doubt didn’t come naturally to me. But I’d made some big promises. The plans had existed solely in my mind for the last year, and now they were out in the open. And I wouldn’t go back on my word. Pitt Medical Group was about to have its biggest year yet, and I needed to be ready for it.
I didn’t get two sips into my coffee, however, before a chime sounded through my office – the sound meant my secretary, Hannah, wanted my attention.
“Yes?” I asked.
“Dr. Pitt,” she answered. “Your brother’s here to see you.”
Now, that’s a surprise. My brother, Andrew, as far as I knew, had been up to his ears in work at the law practice in Denver where he’d been hired. Why he was in White Pines, I could only guess.
“Send him in.”
“Of course.”
I set my coffee on my desk and turned to the door just in time to watch it open and Andrew saunter in like he owned the building.
“Afternoon,” he said, serious as ever.
Andrew was tall and good-looking with short, dark hair and a trim face. He was dressed in a well-fitted suit, one that wordlessly spoke to his new status as a highly paid lawyer. His eyes were a deep brown, and his mouth was in a flat line.
It was still somewhat strange to have a brother in my life, something I was still wrapping my head around. We weren’t simply brothers – we were long-lost brothers, having only found one another again after decades of being separated. Or, to be specific, he’d found me.
Our biological mother had given me up as a baby, my father a nameless man who hadn’t bothered to stick around to do the right thing. When she’d had Andrew two years later, she’d been in a position to keep him.
He’d done some research over the last few years and eventually tracked me down. As such, we were back in one another’s lives. It was good to have him, of course, but our relationship was…strained. It didn’t help matters that Andrew was just so damn serious all the time.
I glanced down and saw something in his hand. “Good to see you, Andrew,” I said, stepping over to him and giving a handshake that quickly turned into a hearty, back-slapping hug.
“I assume you had something to do with that crowd of thunderstruck doctors I passed on the way in?”
I grinned, pleased that I’d shaken them up a bit. “You assume correctly. I just finished laying out my plans for the next several years. Gave them a hell of a lot to process.”
“That’s what it looks like.”
I glanced at what was in his hand – a rolled-up magazine. I laughed a bit as I realized what it was.
“And it also looks like you’re picking up a little celebrity status along the way.”
He handed the magazine to me, though I didn’t need to take it to know who was on the cover. It was me, of course. The magazine was Forbes, and the shot was of me in my suit, a clean, white lab coat on over it. I was seated in my office behind the desk, a serious expression on my face. The headline read “Dr. Duncan Pitt – The Future of Medicine Will See You Now.”
“I can’t believe I let them talk me into that,” I said, shaking my head as I stared at it.
A small grin appeared on Andrew’s lips – not a common sight. “You say that like they had to twist your arm.” He took a seat in one of the chairs in the meeting area in my office. “Come on, Duncan – you’re getting a little taste of fame and you like it. No shame in that.”
I unbuttoned my suit jacket and sat down on the edge of the desk. “Fame has nothing to do with it. The reason I did that piece was because I want to attract talent. The more my name gets out there, the more likely it is that the best doctors in the country, hell, the world, know that Pitt Medical Group is the health care institution of the future.”
The grin stayed on his face. “That’s very noble of you. Not sure if I buy it, but noble all the same.”
“Please. You really think I want to be famous? That I want to be gossip fodder for the tabloids?” I scoffed. “No – it’s a necessary evil.”
“Sure,” he said, crossing his legs.
“Anyway,” I said, changing the subject. “What’s up? Not like you to just drop in like this.”
“I was in the area, actually. One of the partners wanted me to drive into town to pick up some documents from a client.”
I smirked. “Ah, so they’ve got you on errand-boy duty. All that time in law school’s paying off.”
He chuckled. “I’m starting on a low rung, sure. But I’ve been busting my ass, showing them what I can do. I figure I keep it up for a few years and they’ll have me on partner track before too long. And it’s not like the money isn’t worth it.”
“I see you’re already developing a taste for the finer things.” My eyes flicked to his expensive suit.
“Oh, this?” He shook his head as if the multi-thousand-dollar suit he wore was no big deal in the slightest. “Just comes with the territory. Can’t exactly show up to meet with clients wearing something off the rack.”
“And I’m sure that’s torture for you, wearing that,” I joked.
“Don’t get me wrong – it’s nice. But I’ve got more important things to worry about than clothes.” He crossed his legs, his polished, black dress shoes catching the late-afternoon light. I almost wanted to bust his balls a little more about his expensive shoes, but I let the subject drop.
“Anyway,” I said. “What’s up? You just swing by to say hello?”
“Do I need a reason to visit my brother?” he asked.
“Of course not. Just curious.”
“Well, I wanted to see you. And I wanted to make sure you were still on for Thursday.”
“Thursday?”
“Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten already,” he said, exasperated. “Remember, we said we were going to try to meet once or twice a month for drinks?”
Another issue we’d come across. Andrew had been going out of his way for us to get together – his way of wanting to make up for lost time. And I hadn’t been the best with following through on these plans.
“Oh, right, right. Of course I’m still on.”
“Really?” He raised an eyebrow. “Not too busy for your little brother?”
“Please,” I said, warming my tone. “As if you even need to ask.”
What came out of my mouth next felt like it happened on its own. “And what about Annie?”
To say he was shocked would’ve been a hell of an understatement. “Annie? What about her?”
“She’s in town now, right?”
“Um, yeah, I guess. What about it?” He gave me a perplexed look, as if wondering why on Earth I’d bring her up. “I don’t know. I suppose I was just curious if you’ve run into her or not.”