Burt felt like he had been struck by lightning.
The towel in his hand fell to the floor, unnoticed.
"Divorce?" he stammered, his voice trembling. "Liz, I know I messed up today. I know the Mayor's son is a VIP, but no one told me there was an artery there. But I know we can fix this. I'll go apologize to the family on my knees if I have to!"
Elizabeth didn't even blink as she turned away from him, heading for her office.
Burt followed after in silence. When she said nothing the entire walk, he exhaled in relief, concluding she must've said all that to blow off steam.
They got to her office and she went straight to her desk, going around her drawers looking for something until she pulled out a document and threw it at him.
Taken aback, he bent over to pick it up, but froze when he saw the heading of the document.
Divorce Agreement.
He ran his eyes over it.
It was already signed by her.
Falling into her seat, Elizabeth crossed one leg over the other and stared up at him coldly.
"You are a stain on my reputation. I am the Director of Gold Medical. I can't have a husband who is terrified of a scalpel."
"But… I love you," Burt whispered, his eyes stinging slightly.
Four years and he did whatever she asked knowing as long as it made her happy, he was happy.
"Love doesn't pay lawsuits," Chris Gold sneered, stepping into the room.
"Sign the papers, dog. At least try to leave with a shred of dignity."
Burt looked from Chris to Elizabeth. The contempt in their eyes was suffocating.
He realized then that pleading was useless.
His mother always spoke so highly of the Gold family and how grateful she was to have them.
She had spent so much sending him to med school that he felt guilty knowing he wouldn't be able to land a job anywhere with the skills he had, so when Elizabeth Gold approached him to work at her hospital during his mother's funeral, he didn't hesitate to say yes.
"I'm not signing until I get my back pay." He swallowed, pushing the memories to the back of his mind as he picked up the pen.
"For four years, I've worked in this hospital. I've taken the night shifts no one wanted. I take emergency calls, drive the ambulance and wheel in patients, but I haven't seen a single cent in my bank account."
He looked up, meeting Chris's gaze.
"This divorce means I will no longer be a member of the Gold family and as such won't be working in this hospital after today, so I want my salary. Four years of back pay. Give me that, and I'll sign."
The room went silent.
Then, Chris threw his head back and laughed.
It was a loud, mocking sound that grated on Burt's ears. Even Elizabeth let out a scoff, shaking her head as if she had just heard a joke.
"Salary?" Chris wiped a tear of laughter from his eye. "You ungrateful parasite! You think we owe you money?"
He stopped talking and took a step closer, jabbing a finger into Burt's chest.
"Did you forget who paid for your mother's chemotherapy?"
Burt froze. The mention of his mother, who had passed away three years ago, felt like a knife to the gut.
"We treated her here," Chris spat. "Top-tier room. Imported drugs. Specialists. Do you have any idea how much that cost?"
"She… she was your employee too. She cleaned this hospital for twenty years!" Burt managed to choke out.
"And that's the only reason we didn't kick her out on the street!" Chris yelled. "When she got sick, the local news was sniffing around. 'Gold Medical abandons loyal staff member to die'.
"We couldn't have that headline, could we? So we treated her to save our image, not because we cared if she lived or died."
Burt felt the blood drain from his face.
"We spent hundreds of thousands on that useless woman," Elizabeth added coldly, checking her watch. "Your 'salary' for the last four years was just interest on the debt you owe us. We deducted it to pay for the bed she wasted and now there's nothing left."
"Moreover, we housed and fed a leech like you for four years while you paid off her debt. So what exactly makes you think you're in a position to make demands?"
Burt's vision blurred. "You… You used her for PR… and then charged me for it?"
Chris sneered. "We did you a favor and you repaid us by nearly killing the Mayor's son today."
"Honestly, we should sue you for the remaining balance, but I'm generous. Sign the papers, get out, and we'll call the debt settled."
He pulled another pen from his pocket and threw it. It hit Burt's chest and clattered to the floor.
Then he commanded. "Sign. Or I call the police and have you arrested for stealing medical supplies!"