Julian was shocked to hear her name from Ethan's glorious mouth. She stammered.
"I… Yes, I would take you to the director's office."
She hurried out of the front desk and walked up to Ethan, almost reaching to hug him.
Ethan was a little surprised to see the sudden change in Julian's behavior.
He expected her behavior to change, but he didn't expect her to want to touch him.
He would've asked Annabelle to show him, but he wanted Julian to do it because she was the one who disrespected him.
"Now you can show me the director office. What happened to I am going there to beg the director of my medicine bills."
Julian's heart missed a beat; she shamelessly touched Ethan on his right shoulder.
"Don't blame this little girl, Mr. Ethan. Just that so many people have used that method, and the director strictly warned us to prevent them from coming."
Ethan dusts the unknown dirt on his right shoulder.
"I am sure the director didn't instruct you to insult them and also use security on them. Did he"
Julian was loss for words; her eyes moved to the floor?
"I am sorry, Mr. Ethan; it won't happen again."
"Tell your friends that, and don't touch me again; your hands are full of dirt."
Julian nodded to Ethan's words; she didn't take it as an insult, but rather as a way to improve herself. She has to agree to Ethan's words if she wants to become his friend.
She led the way for Ethan. Ethan gave Annabelle a commendable nod, and even though she didn't believe him, she didn't say anything ugly.
Julian pointed to the director's office, which was at the end of a long corridor.
"That is Mr. Davis's office; although he has no appointment today, I am sure he would want to see you."
Julian smiled at Ethan; she tried to look more pleasing to him.
"I close at 6 p.m.; maybe we could hang out so I could apologize to you properly."
Ethan looked at her. She was a beautiful lady, no doubt, but her behavior was ugly. He had seen many people like this—people that answered to money, people that would do anything for money. If there was one thing he had learned through his years of hardship, it would be to never associate with people like this.
He doesn't plan to deviate from what he has learned. Julian might be beautiful, but she cannot be compared to Annabelle, the good-character girl, or his university idols.
"I don't need your apology, and I don't care about your closing time."
Ethan approaches the director's office without waiting for Julian's response.
The director was arranging some documents on the table when Ethan knocked twice before entering.
Mr. Davis wondered who was knocking on the door since he didn't send for anybody; he thought it was Miss Grace, but it turned out to be a young guy in his patient uniform.
He had seen this before.
"And who are…"
Ethan took his seat before he responded.
"I am Ethan Winston. I heard the hospital is shutting down due to a financial crisis. I would love to donate to the hospital."
Mr. Davis was surprised by Ethan's words; he immediately thought that Ethan was one of those good-hearted patients who wanted the hospital to continue running by donating the little they had, but that would no longer be possible anymore.
"I am sorry, Mr. Ethan, but there is nothing anyone can do anymore. The hospital is going to shut down a week from now. I wish I could do something, but it's out of my hands.
"The owners have already decided to shut the hospital down."
Ethan could see that director Davis pictured him as a normal patient in the hospital, but he wasn't a normal patient.
However, he wondered why the hospital was suddenly closing down; he had never seen a hospital close down before.
"Mr. Davis, could you please enlighten me on why the owners are choosing to close the hospital down despite having so many patients?"
Mr. Davis blinked slowly; it wasn't a secret anymore that the hospital chief financial officer gambled with hospital funds; he lost the game, so he committed suicide.
The owners had to pay a lot of money to cover the debts that came from it, but things could no longer function as they used to. After a month, the owner decided it would be best to shut it down.
Davis fist tightened. It was hard to believe that the man he knew right from his university days could do such a thing; he wasn't a gambler, nor would he be stupid enough to commit suicide.
He just didn't understand what happened; the police said he was going through a lot.
"Mr. Ethan, that wouldn't change anything, but if you are curious, you can check the news; it's not a secret, and if you are still wondering why the owners are shutting the place down, they are facing some setbacks in their main companies, so it was the right call to close this down."
Ethan nodded to Director Davis' words; perhaps it wasn't right for him to ask such questions. It must hurt Director Davis so much that the hospital was closing down.
Ethan placed his hands on the table.
"How much does the hospital need to function? Say the amount, and I will donate the money right away."
Director Davis was shocked by Ethan's words, but he believes Ethan was just messing around; he could tell that Ethan was in the university, so he's still a child, and he probably doesn't understand how things like this work.
"Mr. Ethan, this is not something a kid can handle, and besides, this is not a charity center; donations are not allowed, and we are not talking about minor donations like fifty thousand dollars or a hundred thousand dollars; the hospital would need at least fifty million dollars to function again."
Davis believes Ethan was one of those spoiled rich brats from second-class families who thought they would be able to solve anything.
"Mr. Ethan, as you can see, I am busy. If you have any other complaints, you can meet the people at the front desk."
Davis wanted to continue when Ethan sounded in a calm manner.
"Would fifty million dollars be enough? I could donate up to a hundred million dollars."
Davis' heart missed a beat; he wondered if Ethan was joking. He studied Ethan's face, and he couldn't find any trail of uncertainty.
"You want to donate a hundred million dollars."
Davis gave Ethan his full attention. He told the front desk ladies not to allow anybody in except the person who had an appointment, but they let this boy in. He never really thought about it, but now he wonders why they let Ethan in.
Ethan shook his head and sounded in a low manner.
"I don't only want to donate a hundred million dollars, but I also want to invest one billion dollars. Do you think the owners who would be willing to sell 70% of their shares to me?"