Page 2 of What the Doctor Ordered

S imon

“See you tomorrow, Dr. Vale.”

I nodded politely to one of the nurses, trying not to grimace at the sultry expression she sent me. I should be used to the looks by now. Ever since my father died and I was named sole heir to his successful medical empire, women have been noticing me more, essentially begging for my attention.

I humored them for a little while, going on a few dates here and there, but they quickly grew tiresome, especially when it was clear that most of them were only interested in the fortune I was inheriting.

It had been a while since I’d been on a date because of the vicious cycle of becoming attracted to a woman, becoming attached, only to have her show her true gold-digging colors, then dumping her, and doing it all over again.

I didn’t particularly mind being single, however.

Preparing to take over Father’s business now that he was gone had me busy enough.

A romantic partner was not something I needed right now. They would likely just get in the way of my work.

Nodding to a couple of other doctors as I went, I finally stepped out of the stark white building.

It had been a particularly trying day, with a few difficult patients who refused to follow their care regimen.

Although those moments were difficult, it was that much more rewarding when I could successfully guide others on a journey toward healing and wellness.

I had always known I would be a doctor. Many believed it was because of my father, and while that was partially true, I wouldn’t go so far as to say that I did it just to follow in his footsteps.

There was no question that my father was a major role model throughout my life. He was the kindest doctor, and his patients had adored him; so much in fact that many of them attended his funeral. But it was seeing the joy he brought to others that made me want to become a doctor.

My eyes widened when I stepped out onto the sidewalk and came face to face with my mother.

Dinah Vale might have lost her husband, but it didn’t break her spirit.

Her graying dark blonde hair still shimmered and didn’t have a single strand out of place.

Those who didn’t know her well would think she was completely happy, but I knew better.

Her dark blue eyes held just a hint of the sadness I knew she was carrying heavily, even if she refused to show it.

She was the strongest woman I knew. Maybe the strongest person altogether.

“Mom,” I said, hearing the concern in my own voice. I raised my arms to hug her as my eyes adjusted to the dim light coming from a nearby streetlight. “Are you alright? What are you doing here?” Mom didn’t smile like she normally did when we reunited, which just worried me further.

She frowned up at me. “We need to talk, Simon.”

About half an hour later, Mom and I were seated across from each other at a restaurant, sipping on some red wine while we waited for our meals to be served.

“You could have called me,” I told her. “You didn’t have to leave the house at this time of night.”

“Lawrence is always happy to take me anywhere I need to go,” Mom said with a dismissive wave of her hand.

“The poor guy,” I said lightly as I pictured my mom’s elderly, soft-spoken driver.

Mom was quiet for a moment, tracing her fingers over the base of her glass. “I’m worried about you, Simon,” she said at last. “You have made no moves to find a life partner. You’re not getting any younger, you know. And frankly, neither am I.”

I grimaced. “Mom, is this really what you came all this way to discuss?”

Mom pinned me with a look. “I figured that I should since it is now imperative that you marry. And soon.”

I felt my eyebrows rise. “What do you mean?”

“It appears that a part of the will was overlooked,” she said. She pushed a folder across the table to me. “There is a certain stipulation that I came across.”

“Stipulation?” I repeated in confusion, quickly opening the folder and pulling out the documents.

I flipped to a page she had marked with a colorful sticky note. Scanning it to locate what she could be referring to, I blinked several times when I finally found it, as if that would make the ludicrous sentences disappear. I lifted my eyes to meet my mother. “Was father aware of this clause?”

“There’s no way of finding out for sure now,” she said, a touch of sadness in her voice.

“But that is beside the point, Simon. You see now that you must find a wife soon, don’t you?

You need to either be married or, at the very least engaged, to fully take over your father’s business or it will be run by the board until you do. ”

I ground my teeth together at the thought.

Father had very specific ways that he wanted this company to be run.

If I let the board take it over, even temporarily, it could spell the end of everything my dad had worked to create: a successful medical empire that still managed to give the patients the feel of an intimate family practice.

I knew some of those board members. There was no doubt they would try to change things to make the company more financially lucrative.

That wasn’t a problem on its face, but those greedy board members prized efficiency above efficacy.

I had a feeling that they would insist on sacrificing my father’s morals in order to make the company run more profitably.

I couldn’t stand by and let that happen.

Others might have been affronted by their mother trying to pry into their private lives, but I understood where mine was coming from.

She lost her husband, her best friend, just a couple of months ago.

I was her only child, so it was natural for her to be worried about me, especially since I was really the only close family she had left.

For that reason alone, I could be understanding and patient with her.

“Mom, you have enough to worry about,” I said gently. “Let me be concerned with the logistics of this. I’ll speak with my lawyer. I’m sure we’ll be able to come up with some kind of solution.”

I expected that to calm my mother down, so I was surprised when she actually stared at me with large eyes and her lower lip poked out.

I blinked at her. “Are you actually pouting?”

“I wouldn’t have to if I didn’t feel so worried for my only child,” she said with disdain. She let out a heavy sigh. “You have always had a mind of your own, much like your father.”

I smirked at her. “You’re saying that almost like it’s a bad thing.”

Mom actually managed to smile at that, but it didn’t quite meet her eyes.

“I admire that about both of you,” she said seriously.

“I apologize if I am coming on strongly, but you need to understand that this isn’t just about your father’s company.

I’m not getting any younger and neither are you.

I understand your work is important to you but there is more to life than that. ”

“I understand that,” I said, holding back a grimace.

This wasn’t the first time we’d had this conversation, but this was probably the most serious one we’ve had on the topic.

I could tell how important this was to my mother.

I sighed deeply. “I have every intention of marrying one day, Mother. Rest assured that I will look into this further and figure everything out.”

That seemed to finally appease my mom. She smiled but then gave me the stern look she used to use when I was a kid. “I sure hope so, Simon,” she said. “For both of our sakes.”

“Thanks for coming on such short notice, Brandon,” I said to my lawyer the following evening.

Brandon Carlowe was a serious guy. He had worked for my father as well, so I had known him for most of my life. I don’t think I’d ever seen him smile.

Brandon just nodded, lowering his bag onto my desk so he could produce some forms from it. “I owe your father a great debt,” he said in a tone that suggested he wasn’t going to elaborate on the details.

I cleared my throat and stood beside the older man so I could look over the will with him. “Were you able to find a way around this stipulation?” I asked eagerly, getting right to the point of the visit.

Brandon started shuffling papers on the desk, organizing them in a way that made me wonder if he had an obsessive-compulsive disorder.

He was quiet for a couple of moments before he looked at me from over his tiny glasses.

“It was far too easy. I thought that you would have provided more of a challenge for me. It was a bit disappointing.”

I chuckled with confusion, not sure how to respond to that.

Brandon grunted before tapping his ball point pen against a line he had highlighted. “This clause states that you only need to be engaged or married in order to fully take control of the business.”

“Yes, that is correct,” I confirmed, glancing over the points the other man had highlighted.

Brandon gave me a look that strongly implied I was missing something obvious. “You have nothing to worry about,” he said slowly. “Whoever put this poorly written document together should have been more detailed in terms of the time constraints of the agreement.”

“So, does that mean that I don’t have to get married?” I asked, wanting to make sure I understood correctly.

Brandon tapped his pen against the desk. “Essentially, yes,” he said. “Basically, what you’ll have to do is get engaged and then stay engaged for six months to abide with the stated requirements. Then, you should be able to break off the engagement without any repercussions.”

This wasn’t exactly what I was hoping for in terms of a loophole, but I could work with it.

“Why six months?” I asked. “Is there any way we can get that time cut in half?”

“No,” Brandon said without hesitation. “That is the one part of the document that was clear in terms of a timeline. Once you’ve surpassed the six-month mark, your control of the company will be permanent and no longer subject to the condition of any engagement.”

I could feel a load of tension rise off my shoulders as I processed Brandon’s words.

“Thanks for everything,” I said to Brandon as I walked him to the front door.

Brandon just grunted as he shrugged his jacket on and turned the knob to let himself out.

He paused and looked back at me and something in his expression reminded me of my father’s before he gave me some kind of sage advice.

“If you decide to go this route and obtain a fake fiancée, I suggest that you don’t treat it lightly, even if it’s just to keep up pretenses. ”

I blinked a couple of times before nodding, a little dumbfounded, unsure what the point of his comment was. There was no use trying to decode something coming from the old lawyer though, so I just nodded my head agreeably.

“I’ll make sure to do that,” I replied.

Brandon eyed me seriously and then grunted one more time before taking his leave.

I wandered back into my home office, booting up my computer to do some research. If I employed Brandon’s suggestion, I would be able to take over my father’s company and appease my mother by becoming temporarily engaged. It was the letter of the law, so to speak, if not the spirit.

And I knew just the place where I could go looking for a woman to play the role of my fake fiancée.