"Oh?" Pierce ironically replied. "Go ahead. You may also want to call the director of the hospital," he added viciously.
Eliz rolled her eyes quickly in frustration. She swept her eyes around, and when she realized there was no help, she continued to stop Pierce alone.
"Mr. Aleotti, please do obey the hospital's rules and regulations." She tried to bring out her professional tone.
"Rest assured that you can visit him when the patient is out of danger." Pierce's skeptical expression told her that he wasn't convinced.
She did her best to be as persuasive as possible. Eliz explained that seeing him at the moment would not be of great help to the patient's fast recovery as he needed to be kept in a sterile environment. Any means of infection was strictly prohibited. She tried to stick to her arguments and reason from a medical perspective as much as possible. After all, she was pretending to protect Jamon Acendano as a doctor. She believed that Pierce was not there with the best intentions.
Despite all her efforts, Pierce responded to her mischievously. He took a seat as if not ready to concede on her show. "Okay, I'll wait here then." He gave a sardonic smile. He stretched his long hard-muscled legs and put his hands behind his head to relax.
Eliz blinked her eyes as she pulled her face. She was surprised that the CEO of Menarini Group and Petra Design LTD was not too busy. She nodded while thinking to herself, 'Looks like he intentionally wants to stay here with me and the patient. So stubborn!' She brushed off the idea and turned to Krisha, changing her tone as if she was in control, "Krisha, thank you for your help. I'll take care of this. You can go back to work now."
Eliz knew that Pierce wanted to stay with her for a while. Now that he wanted to go inside the ward, she would go inside with him as well.
Krisha rolled her eyes, knowing how dangerous Eliz's situation was. Pierce didn't look like someone easy to deal with.
"Okay, Eliz. I'm leaving." She took a few more glances at Pierce's handsome face before turning back.
Eliz was left standing there in silence.
"Aren't you a doctor of this hospital?" Pierce asked her in a threatening tone when Krisha was no longer in sight.
Eliz's heartbeat so fast. She twitched her mouth but didn't answer. She was afraid to say the wrong words.
"If you insist on going inside the ICU, I'll go inside with you," she said without looking at him.
Pierce looked at her in confusion. Darting an unflinching stare, she warned him, "But you have to bear the consequences. If the patient is accidentally infected, you should take full responsibility." Eliz showed a little aggressiveness.
"That's ridiculous! How can it be my responsibility?" He blazed. "Isn't your hospital responsible for the overall well-being of the patient?" Pierce would not give in to her tricks. She was playing indifferent, but Pierce did not force her for an answer.
'Is she bluffing me?' Pierce thought. 'She is so bold. How could she?'
"I have already explained why. Visitors are not allowed inside to protect the patient's sterile environment. If you don't want to follow the protocol and continue insisting on going inside, that is your choice. The hospital is no longer accountable if you violate the rules." Confidently, Eliz raised her head and looked at Pierce.
He was mad but still looked handsome with his arched eyebrows and big eyes. He took a deep breath and yielded to Eliz's profound reasoning. Nonetheless, he would not give up without a fight. He would not concede.
"I'm willing to undergo disinfection before I go in. If my uncle would still be infected after I went through the hospital's disinfection process, it would already be a liability of the hospital," he calmly said with a crooked smile.
Eliz could not defeat Pierce. He was too much to handle. She didn't know where her misery came from. Eliz used to have an easy and smooth life at work since she joined San Raffaele. Although the head of the department always discreetly bullied her, she never retaliated. As a learned person, she never let any difficulty get under her skin and was never afraid of what she would face.
But Pierce was making things too hard for her. Determined to see his uncle, Pierce cooperated well in the disinfection protocol. He also willingly changed his clothes.
"Miss Navarro, you're sweating. Are you okay?" Pierce asked. Eliz felt uncomfortable with the risk she was taking.
Upon entering the ward, Pierce sent a cold glance at Jamon from a distance. His face was emotionless, but his mind was banging with ideas and questions. He didn't give him a second look.
Eliz touched her forehead when it dawned on her what Pierce had said. She was so nervous and indeed sweated a little.
"I don't know. Must be the room temperature–too hot for me. What's wrong with that?"
Pierce didn't say anything but found it funny. Eliz was one of those people described as " too stubborn to admit defeat."
Eliz didn't talk too much. There was a long silence. The room was so quiet that she could hear the ticking of the clock.