The Chairman of the local board opened the doors to the board room and said, “We’re ready for you now, Victoria.” Aidan squeezed Vicky’s hand as they entered the room, searching the faces of the board members for some inkling as to how they voted.
“Victoria,” Mayflower spoke first via the video monitor, “We have made our decision and I’m privileged to be the one to tell you that both boards have unanimously voted to proceed with the new health center.”
Vicky put her hand to her mouth and suppressed a cry of surprise. It was too professional a setting to let her little girl feelings out so they could dance with happiness. She’ll save that for later, when she’s alone with Aidan.
Mayflower continued, “However, we have one condition to this decision.”
Condition? What kind of condition? Vicky’s joy turned to instant worry. What part of the proposal were they putting a condition on? Knowing how corporate boards worked, she knew nothing ever came easy when it came to requesting millions of dollars, and some part of the plan was usually left off to save money. She knew that when she wrote the proposal, and tried to make it as lean as possible and still give the community the much needed medical care they deserved. Like stand-a-lone units for neonatal-intensive care, cardiology and ortho surgery, and hospital owned specialty practice offices that would provide access to other general medical needs.
“The stipulation, voted for unanimously by both boards, is that you, Victoria,” Mayflower paused for dramatic effect, “agree to the name of the new health center.”
The name? Who cares about the name? “Of course, Madame Chair,” Vicky replied, “Whatever everyone wants to call it is fine with me.”
“Then we have a consensus,” Mayflower declared, “The new health center will be named St. Frances Montgomery, in honor of its CEO,” the local board stood and applauded, “Congratulations, Victoria, you deserve this.”
“Oh my God!” Vicky did allow her surprise to show this time. She clapped her hand to her heart and wiped away a tear that had instantly formed in the corner of her eye.
About to burst with pride, Aidan stopped clapping long enough to hug her wife. “I’m so proud of you, kid. You deserve it, now go say something.”
Vicky squeezed Aidan’s hand, and then took a few steps closer to everyone and said, “I’m…, I’m speechless. Thank you all so much for this great honor.” Vicky swallowed hard and found her CEO voice, “We will lead the way in this state, indeed in this great nation, with the best health care access, state-of-the-art equipment and caring employees, all focused on one priority, caring for the patient’s every need.”
“You speak very well for someone who’s speechless,” Mayflower warmly teased.
Epilogue
Walking hand-in-hand in a large field, across a pebbled path, Aidan and Vicky stopped at an oversized wooden sign that read, Future Home of St. Frances Montgomery Medical Complex. Aidan pulled out her cellphone and hit the camera app, turning it horizontally, and then she motioned for Vicky to stand in front of the sign.
Vicky struck an executive pose, with her arms crossed over her chest, her left knee bent forward, beaming a smile of pride and excitement.
“I am so incredibly proud of you, baby.” Aidan said, as she snapped the picture. Then she pulled Vicky close and kissed her on the forehead.
“It’s still so surreal. I mean, since you’ve come back into my life I have been so blessed. And now that blessing will help so many more people, Aidan.”
“It’s already helped me immensely,” Aidan teased with a stroke of Vicky’s arm.
“Now, can we finally go on our honeymoon?” Vicky asked innocently.
Aidan turned and bolted for the car. “Last one there is a rotten egg!” she called over her shoulder.
“God, I love that woman so much!” Vicky said, and ran after her lover.
The End
But there’s still more with Aidan and Vicky! In book five, Aidan and Vicky go to Ireland on their honeymoon, and get entangled in politics and terrorist. Joyce and Ellen face the worse possible dilemma that could end Joyce’s career. Samantha has a run in with Leonard that could cost her everything. Jerry and Yvonne also face the worse possible affront to their relationship, Jerry’s billion dollar mother.
Other books by Mairsile:
Aidan & Vicky:
I Remember You
Aidan is tough, self-assured and suffering from amnesia. The only person who knows her heart, Vicky, can’t tell her that they were childhood lovers, even when Vicky is asked to hire her.
Vicky is the CEO of a multi‒million dollar health system, being targeted by terrorist’s hell bent on blowing up her hospital. (Book 1 of the A&V series) Buy it now!
Remember, It’s You I Love
Aidan & Vicky are on a mission called, Operation Pink Knight, where they must enter a war zone in order to rescue Aidan’s second love, and first fiancée. It comes down to a volatile standoff between them and the enemy, and Aidan must choose which woman to save. (Book 2 of the A&V series) Buy it now!
Remember, You Love Me
Planning a wedding with one fiancée, losing herself to the sexual advances of her other fiancée, Aidan is torn between love and duty. Through no fault of her own, Aidan is caught up in a love triangle, and must choose which woman she will marry. But that's not Aidan's only problem. She must save her fiancée, Vicky, from a particularly nasty stalker, who as it turns out, is Aidan's own father. But how can she concentrate on just her, when she is also engaged to Samantha, who Aidan believes she left behind, during an insurgent attack in Iraq. Samantha spent a year in captivity, and the only way she could survive the horrific treatment, was to think of Aidan. (Book 3 of the A&V series) Buy it now!
Generations of Women Warriors:
Generations of Women Warriors: Battle of Pea Ridge, American Civil War
First in a series chronicling the life and times of women in a family, who fought in historic battles and loved in historic times, though both could get them killed. Temi, at age 17, finds herself pregnant, in love with a girl, and staring down a cannon, in this epic tale of growing up during the Civil War. Buy it now! (Book 1 of the Warrior series)
Generations of Women Warriors: Battle of Amiens, The Great War
The next generation in the second book of the series, finds the daughter of Temi and Robin, in France during WWI, fighting for her life, as German tanks rumble toward her. Buy it now! (Book 2 of the Warrior series)
Stand-a-lone
UNLEASHED: It's Not Nice to Frack with Mother Nature!
A meteorologist and a geologist meet in a bar, and...
A chance meeting in a bar brings a new passion to the chaotic lives of a storm chaser and an earthquake enthusiast. When these two women make love, the earth quakes and the winds howl. But there’s a dark past that keeps one of them from committing to their love. And the other embarks on a dangerous mission to expose an illegal fracking operation. Will the earthquake swallow up the tornado, or will their love conquer all? Buy it now!
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