“The thing is, we may not have done any good at all,” she said. “The avian flu virus may mutate on its own, at any time.”
“That’s true, and there’s nothing we can do to stop it. But the CDC and the WHO are working hard to develop a reliable method of producing the vaccine, and if the virus mutates before that happens-” He spread his hands. “At least no one is releasing it deliberately, and making a fortune from the deaths of millions. Which brings me to another health issue,” he said, smoothly switching subjects. “How are you doing?”
“I feel well, finally. The surgery wasn’t a picnic, but it worked.”
“I’m glad. Swain was there, you know.”
She felt as if he’d thrown a body block at her. “What?” The word came out as a weak gasp.
“For your surgery. He wanted to be there. When you were placed on the heart-lung machine, he almost fainted.”
“How… how do you know that?” She almost couldn’t speak, so profound was her shock.
“I was there, too, of course. I was… concerned. It wasn’t a minor surgery. He saw you in recovery, but had to leave before you were awake.”
Or he’d wanted to leave before she was awake. She didn’t know how to take all this in, or what to think.
“You can leave here anytime you want,” Mr. Vinay continued. “Do you know what you want to do?”
“See my mother and sister, first of all. After that… I don’t know. I need a new line of work,” she said wryly.
“If there’s any field in which you’d like to be trained…We can always use someone who’s dedicated and resourceful, and loyal.”
“Thank you for the offer, but I’ll have to think about it. I honestly have no idea what I want to do.”
“Maybe I can help out a little,” he said, getting to his feet with some difficulty. He used a cane now, she saw, leaning his weight heavily on it. “He’s waiting. Do you want to see him?”
There was no need to ask who was waiting. Her heart leaped, and her pulse began racing. “Yes,” she said without hesitation.
He smiled. “I’m glad. I didn’t know if you understood how difficult things were for him.”
“I didn’t at first,” she said honestly. “I was so shocked to realize… but then I began to think.”
He laboriously made his way around the desk, and patted her shoulder. “Have a good life, Liliane.”
“I will, thank you… Mr. Rogers.”
Frank Vinay smiled, and left the office. Ten seconds later, the door opened again and Lucas Swain stood there, as good-looking as always, but now he wasn’t laughing. The expression in his blue eyes was almost… scared.
“Lily,” he began. “I-”
“I know,” she interrupted, and with a laugh launched herself at him. His reflexes were excellent; he opened his arms and caught her.