Terminal Read Online Free

Terminal
Book: Terminal Read Online Free
Author: Robin Cook
Pages:
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“the last thing I want to do is to be forced to admit to my mother that she’d been right about him all along.”
    Dorothy smiled. “I can relate to that.”
    “It’s gotten to the point that I think he’s avoiding me,” Janet said.
    “Have you two talked?” Dorothy asked.
    “I’ve been trying,” Janet said. “But talking about feelings is not one of his strong points.”
    “Regardless,” Dorothy said. “Maybe you should take him out tonight and say what you’ve just said to me.”
    “Ha!” Janet laughed scornfully. “It’s Friday night. We can’t.”
    “Is he on call?” Dorothy asked.
    “No,” Janet said. “Every Friday night he and his Charlestown buddies get together at a local bar. Girlfriends and wives are not invited. It’s the proverbial boys’ night out. And in his case, it’s some kind of Irish tradition, complete with brawls.”
    “Sounds disgusting,” Dorothy said.
    “After four years at Harvard, a year of molecular biology at MIT, and now three years of medical school, you’d think he’d have outgrown it. Instead, these Friday nights seem to be more important to him than ever.”
    “I wouldn’t stand for it,” Dorothy said. “I used to think my husband’s golf fetish was bad, but it’s nothing compared to what you’re talking about. Are there women involved in these Friday night escapades?”
    “Sometimes they go up to Revere. There’s a strip joint there. But mostly it’s just Sean and the boys, drinking beer, telling jokes, and watching sports on a big-screen TV. At least that’s how he’s described it. Obviously I’ve never been there.”
    “Maybe you should ask yourself why you’re involved with this man,” Dorothy said.
    “I have,” Janet said. “Particularly lately, and especially since we’ve had so little communication. It’s hard even to find time to talk with him. Not only does he have all the work associated with med school, but he has his research too. He’s in an M.D.-Ph.D. program at Harvard.”
    “He must be intelligent,” Dorothy offered.
    “It’s his only saving grace,” Janet said. “That and his body.”
    Dorothy laughed. “At least there’s a couple of things tojustify your anguish. But I wouldn’t let my husband get away with that juvenile Friday night stuff. Hell, I’d march right in and embarrass the heck out of him. Men will be boys, but there have to be some limits.”
    “I don’t know if I could do that,” Janet said. But as she took a sip from her coffee, she gave the idea some thought. The problem was that she’d always been so passive in her life, letting things happen, then reacting after the fact. Maybe that’s how she got herself into this kind of trouble. Maybe she needed to encourage herself to be more assertive.
    “D AMN IT , M ARCIE !” Louis Martin shouted. “Where the hell are those projections? I told you I wanted them on my desk.” To emphasize his displeasure, Louis slapped his hand on his leather-bound blotter, sending a flurry of papers wafting off into the air. He had been feeling irritable ever since he’d awakened at four-thirty that morning with a dull headache. While in the bathroom searching for aspirin, he’d vomited into the sink. The episode had shocked him. His retching had come with no warning and no accompanying nausea.
    Marcie Delgado scurried into her boss’s office. He’d been yelling at her and criticizing her all morning. Meekly she reached across the desk and pushed a stack of papers bound with a metal clip directly in front of the man. In block letters on the front cover was: PROJECTIONS FOR BOARD MEETING FEBRUARY 26.
    Without even an acknowledgment, much less an apology, Louis snatched up the documents and stormed out of the office. But he didn’t get far. After half a dozen steps, he couldn’t recall where he was going. When he finally remembered he was headed for the boardroom, he wasn’t sure which door it was.
    “Good afternoon, Louis,” one of the directors said,
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