Accident Prone 205 Farewell lunch for Dr. Snow 1

Liz was ecstatic that Mia confirmed: she will be home, and Liz can stop by after Dr. Snow's farewell lunch. Liz has so many things to tell Mia!

Liz knows that these 'free days' are for research, but she decided to give herself this first week off and enjoy the mini-break before she digs into her role as a senior neurosurgeon seriously, starting Monday.

Liz decided to go to work Monday and Wednesday mornings to meet with her patients, while Tuesday and Thursday mornings will be for surgeries. In this way, she has reason to go to work four days a week and she hopes that this schedule will prevent her from getting too relaxed. She gets every afternoon and the whole Friday free to relax… cough, cough… not for relaxing, it's for research and professional enhancement. Sounds good for now, and she will make adjustments for the things that don't work as expected.

Ah! Next week she will meet with the first batch of applicants for the internship under her guidance.

Dr. Kaviraj told her to relax and that nothing is set in stone with advice that if things don't work out, she can always tweak as needed, and that includes replacing the interns as well.

...

Around 9:30 AM, Liz received a call from chairman Lee's secretary.

"Chairman Lee wanted me to ask if you can come to his office at 11 AM today."

Liz was not happy about this. It's her day away from the office and considering that it's a group lunch with coworkers outside the hospital, there is a chance that people will want to carpool. "I thought that lunch is at noon and that we should meet at Tutta Bella restaurant."

"Yes, that is for lunch. Chairman Lee would like to meet with you before that. Or after. Whatever works for you, he is available."

Liz made a face while wondering, since when is chairman Lee so accommodating? "I will be at his office at 11."

~ Seattle, the Franciscan Medical Center ~

11:03 AM

Liz is in chairman Lee's office and he is so welcoming that she is confident that he needs something from her. People don't change their attitude toward someone without a reason, and his sudden friendliness is raising red flags.

Actually, since Monday he is friendly, but it's getting more intense every time she sees him.

"Dr. Williams…", chairman Lee addressed Liz officially. "I want to thank you again for your efforts in securing record donations for the Franciscan Medical Center. As some donors requested, we restructured our finances so that funds received from donations can be funneled toward specific areas. You are aware that we are planning to expand and upgrade the neurology wing, and I am happy to inform you that we have secured sufficient donations to do so."

Liz smiled. 'Some donors' which requested the restructuring of finances so that donations can go to a specific area is Max. And it's obvious that chairman Lee is not bringing up Max and the Alpha group because he does not want to admit that one man can force him to do all this extra work, just to please him. Max is awesome like that.

She was expecting to hear what else is there. He didn't call her to come here just for this, right?

"I assume there is more.", Liz voiced her thoughts.

Chairman Lee confirmed. "Yes. Based on the cost estimates for the planned work on the neurology wing, there is a surplus so we were thinking of investing in the research wing which would benefit neurology."

With this, Liz understood. Because the donations are made for the neurology wing, he wants to funnel that money to other areas under the veil of being beneficial for neurology and he needs her blessings because if those donors find out that their money went elsewhere, they might get angry.

Liz smiled. "Of course. That sounds reasonable."

Chairman Lee exhaled in relief and jolted at Liz's next words: "As long as you show me the plans for the research wing, I can see if they will apply to neurology or not."

Chairman Lee's smile froze. It took him a few seconds to respond: "Absolutely. You will be in the planning committee for any project which is funded out of the budget for neurology. And we will welcome your suggestions as well."

"I look forward to it.", Liz said smugly. "Do you have any plans now to show? We have time until lunch…"

She observed chairman Lee as he went to get some files from the side, and she has to admit that she likes this position of power over chairman Lee. So far he treated her as an underdog. With Dr. Snow leaving and with all the visibility she got thanks to the fundraiser, the tables have turned, and chairman Lee is giving her special treatment because he does not want to risk her to leave. She wondered if Dr. Snow had this treatment. Probably. Ah, how she wishes that Isaac can see her now.

~ Seattle, Tutta Bella Italian restaurant ~

12:23 PM

Liz arrived at the restaurant as the last one to join the table reserved for Dr. Snow's farewell lunch.

The talk in chairman Lee's office lasted longer than expected, but Liz found it very satisfying. After that meeting, she spent some time in her office to make sure no one will try to carpool with her. If she is stuck with someone, she will need to drop them back to work and she does not want to return to the Franciscan Medical Center and linger more than necessary because her afternoon is planned (girl-time with Mia).

She used the time in her office to check her emails and then she exchanged sweet texts with Max.

Max wanted to call her, but she declined out of fear that if she hears his voice, it will be impossible to hang up. Also, text messages last longer because she can read them later.

By the time she reached the restaurant, the parking spots in front of the restaurant were full, and she had to park in the back. Luckily, there were plenty of spots there.

On the parking lot, Liz stepped out of her car and observed the surroundings. She had an eerie feeling that someone is watching her, but she could not see anyone. Liz shook it off while telling herself that it must be due to the talk she had that morning with Max. She trusts that Max will not have someone follow her without her knowledge, and there is no reason for anyone else to follow her either. Right?

Back to the present…

Liz smiled brightly when she saw that there is an empty seat next to Dr. Kaviraj at the table in the restaurant. At least with her, she can talk in a relaxed atmosphere.

"I thought you changed your mind and are not coming.", Dr. Kaviraj said when Liz took a seat next to her.

"How can I skip this? It's the first company-paid lunch since I joined.", Liz said half-jokingly.

Dr. Kaviraj smiled and pushed the plate with sweet pea crostini between the two of them. "We already ordered appetizers. Here, we can share mine."

Liz took one happily. She is hungry.

A minute later, a waiter came and took their orders. Liz was content that she didn't miss this.

"I hear that thanks to you, there will be significant improvements to the neurology wing. Congratulations.", Dr. Kaviraj told Liz with sincerity in her voice.

"Yes. I spoke with chairman Lee about the possible upgrades to our research facilities. At this point, we are looking to add more isolated labs for different studies and to hire more interns."

Dr. Kaviraj was curious. They didn't upgrade their research for a long time. "What kind of upgrades to research facilities?"

"We are lacking in the area of child neurology and neuro-oncology and we have no presence in the area of sleep medicine. With the resources at hand, we can…", Liz got immersed in her talk while discussing her ideas on how the Franciscan Medical Center can become the go-to place for neurology patients in the area.

Dr. Kaviraj listened with interest and asked questions, and without realizing, few others joined in the conversation and it became a group discussion over a meal. It was one of the best lunches with coworkers Liz had. Others at the table could feel Liz's enthusiasm and they appreciated her expertise. Liz described her visions vividly because she had a chance to work in one of the best facilities for neurology, at the Williams Medical corp.

Liz was so much into her talk, that she didn't notice Dr. Snow observing the scene with a small smile at the corner of his lips. Actually, his eyes were on her since she entered the restaurant, but now that she is the center of attention, everyone is looking at her, so he is not standing out.

The more Dr. Snow watched and listened, the more fascinated he was with her. In his opinion, Elizabeth is a full package: looks, brains, wittiness, kindness, principles. If there is a definition of a perfect woman, Elizabeth's photo would be right there and his only regret is that the two of them are so far away. 

They were almost done with the meal, and the desserts were being served, when chairman Lee hit his glass with a knife, asking everyone for attention.

"Before we end the meal, it is common that we go around the table and for everyone to say a few parting words to the person who is leaving. Let me start…", chairman Lee turned to Dr. Snow. "You were with us for a short time, but you left a big impact on me and I believe on everyone else…"

After a few more sentences of pleasantries which ended with best wishes for the future, chairman Lee gestured to the next person to take over.

"I will always remember your eye-opening advice about types on incisions..."

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