The Royal Contract

Chapter 373 - Too Tired To Think

It had been a busy day at the hospital. He was new. Therefore, the workload seemed heavier than usual. He still had to learn most of the protocols that the administration imposed on their staff.

He also had to familiarize himself with the names of his co-workers and other hospital staff. At the same time, he must study the histories of his new patients. Then, there were the emergency cases he had to deal with too.

"Hey, Jacob. How are you doing so far?" Sebastian asked him as he walked into the locker room.

He had meant to talk to him about the earlier incident, but the day had been a bit crazy. There was just no time to deal with it until now. He could see that Jacob was readying himself to go home.

"Good. I am a bit tired, but I think I did ok. What do you think?" Jacob asked his immediate supervisor for his feedback, remembering that he was observing his performance.

He had reservations about accepting this job and transferring to this city. His life away from his brother had been quiet and peaceful. But living in this city had put him in a location near him.

He was not sure if that would be a problem or not. However, the hospital offered him what he wanted all this time. To serve and heal young people who were seriously sick. They gave him the grant he needed for his research.

"Well, I did not see anything that I could complain about as far as I observed. I think you did great." Sebastian said as he placed his things inside his locker.

He watched him close his locker and grab his jacket and bag before walking towards him. "Do you have time for one drink? Show me around where people around here go to unwind."

He still had questions he wanted to ask him before going home. But the locker room was not a safe place to talk about it. He required clarifications, and it had nothing to do with his job description.

"Yeah, sure. Meet me at the lobby in a few minutes, and I will show you around." Sebastian accepted his offer, knowing too well what his intentions were.

He knew a perfect place where they could grab a drink, at the same time, talk about the elephant in the room. He knew that his new friend was bothered by the boy's condition and with Dani's participation.

He understood what he saw and what his conclusion had been. He would like to set the record straight before he accused Dani of something and worsened the situation.

After a few minutes, they were seated at a bar not far from the hospital, ordering their first beer. The place was not loud and not too crowded. It was a perfect place to drown your sorrow or talk.

"What was the deal with the boy and the woman?" Jacob could not wait for him to tell him. He had been dying to know the story, especially now that he figured out who the woman was.

But he did not plan to tell Sebastian about that. He did not need to know that the woman was the former fiance of his brother. He had no plan to tell anybody about his association with him, not yet anyway.

He valued his privacy and peace. He did not want to get involved in his brother's bullshit affairs. He would rather be poor with the meager salary he would get from his job than take money from him.

"I knew you would be asking about that. But thanks for having my back earlier." Sebastian chugged his beer before continuing. "Dani is a friend of mine. She is a lawyer who loves to help people."

"So, what did it have to do with the boy? It was obvious that someone had abused the boy. Then, she should be reporting it to the authorities." Jacob voiced out his opinion.

He did not see why she would hide him from the system if she wanted to help the boy. It just contradicted what he believed was the right thing to do.

"Yes, we both figured that the boy suffered some injuries, probably from the cruelty of his foster parents," Sebastian revealed their initial conclusion.

"But Dani would like to dig deeper into his situation. She believed she could not do that if she turned him over to the authorities. She had to gain his trust first." He further explained to Jacob what Dani had planned for the boy.

He might not be that close to Dani, personally, but he believed in her character as a person. Jacky had also reaffirmed what a wonderful person she was.

"But is it wise to go around the law? As you said, she is a lawyer. She should be the one upholding the law." He still was a bit apprehensive with the way the two were handling the case of the boy.

In a way, he did understand why Sebastian was helping Dani with the boy. He had seen several cases of abuse and malnourishment of kids coming from the low-income brackets. And also those who came from foster care.

Their conversation about the issue continued for a few more minutes before replacing it with some new ones. The one beer turned into two before Jacob finally called it a night.

"Sorry, but I still have morning rounds tomorrow." Jacob made his excuses as he put on the bill and paid for both of their drinks. "My treat this time."

He did drink occasionally. But in his line of work, he did seldom drank more than his limits. The hospital usually called him during his off, so he did not see the point of getting wasted.

The only time he could remember kissing the floor was back in premed. But other than that, he had controlled his intake of alcohol. It was not suitable in his line of profession.

"Well, then we should do this again next time. My treat." Sebastian said, enjoying his new friend's company.

He could use a drinking buddy since he was still unsuccessful in his dating life. It could be lonely when all he did was work. He thought he had the perfect girl, but she still slipped through his fingers.

"Sure. I am looking forward to it." Jacob could use a friend. It could be lonely in this new place without someone else to talk to and ask for help.

Jacob walked away from him and rode his car back to his apartment. All he wanted to do was crash on his sofa and close his eyes, forgetting about anything else. It did not matter that he still had not eaten breakfast or taken a late-night shower.

As soon as his back landed on the soft cushion, he was gone. "Go away." It was the last thing he remembered babbling before all consciousness left his body and mind.

He passed out like a log, unmoving from his place. He even snored like a train, filling the room with his deep slumber.. He might not even remember if he had a dream because he was too tired to think.