Dreams

"Can I?" With Diana's silence and dumbfounded look, Lucas asked.

"But we barely know each other.." Diana whispered.

"We have the time to get to know each other as we spend more time together, right?" Lucas said.

Diana was still shocked at what Lucas is saying now.

"But--why--" Diana wanted to ask why Lucas would want her to be his girlfriend.

Lucas's eyes twinkled. "Go on dates with me first? No harm in that, right?"

Diana tried to dissect his brain using her eyes.

'What is going on?'

How could she date her boss?

It will be troublesome if people at work will find out.

Diana sighed. "If I do, can we keep it from work? I don't want trouble at work because of this."

Diana is aware that she is taking a gamble now.

"Diana. Trust me. I will never let you get in trouble. And if ever there is someone who would dare, you have me to take care of it." Lucas said seriously as if he is promising.

Hearing this, Diana was slightly reassured. "Alright then." She smiled slightly.

Lucas chuckled. "Let's go?"

Diana nodded. They got up and left the restaurant.

"Bro! You won't believe who I just saw!" Troy called Henry on the phone.

"What? Who?" Henry absentmindedly asked as he looked through photographs in his computer.

"It's your Ex. Diana. I just saw her with a man." Troy gossiped.

"Are you sure it's not a colleague?" Henry sat up straight, waiting for his answer.

"Eh? I don't think so. The guy was especially acting gentlemanly with her." Troy scratched his chin.

"Did you see the guy's face?" Henry probed.

"Ahhh.. hehe.. No I didn't. Only his back. I only recognized Diana." Troy said. "They left already though."

"Hmm. Alright. Is there anything else?" Henry said blandly.

"Pfft! No. That was it.. I was only surprised at how quick she got with a guy." Troy laughed.

Henry grunted and ended the call with a short 'bye'.

Meanwhile, Lucas and Diana have exited the restaurant.

"Where did they go?" Diana asked Lucas when he opened the door to the passenger seat. The driver and bodyguard weren't there when they left the restaurant.

"Hmm?" Lucas said, tilting his head to urge her to climb in.

"Mr. Murphy and Mr. Foster.." Diana said.

"Ah.. them? They had an emergency." Lucas said, nonchalantly.

Diana stopped the door from closing. "What?! Are they okay?" Her eyes were wide with shock and worry.

"Yeah. They'll be fine. Don't worry about it." Lucas reassured, closing the door and went to the Driver's side.

Diana was still frowning in worry.

Lucas glanced sideways and seeing that he made her worry, he felt slightly guilty.

"So how has work been so far?" Lucas started a topic to take away the worry off her face.

"Hmm? Oh.. It has been great. It's busy.. Which is how I like it.." Diana grinned.

"Yeah? You like the heavy workload?" Lucas asked, glancing sideways every now and then but also being careful in driving.

"Yep. Not only that. I get the chance to encounter complicated test results. It's really different seeing it first hand and also actually meeting the patients with those conditions." Diana's eyes were shining as she spoke of her work.

Lucas chuckled. He saw himself in Diana. When he also started working in the field, his eyes also shone bright with curiosity. Even now, he would still get excited when researchers discover something new or when a new technology to aid science is invented.

"That's good. An advantage to being in a big facility. Do you know that we also take cases from rural areas or even from overseas?" Lucas mentioned.

At this, Diana's curiosity perked up. "Yeah.. I did hear about that. I understand that people from overseas might have heard of your facility's excellent results so if they have the ability, they will naturally fly in. But how does that work for areas that can't afford health care costs though?"

Lucas raised an eyebrow, a hint of a smile playing on his lips.

"You wonder how the people in low economic status can afford a facility as big and as expensive as ours?" Lucas asked, reading her mind.

She nodded, her arms folded. "I mean, people get sick whether they are rich or poor. It's just that when a condition that needs expensive medical attention happens to a poor person, the chance of survival is less. Not just that, there are even some areas where the health education is lacking, making it hard to diagnose and treat patients on time."

"You're right. This is why we have programs that will allow hospitals to connect with us every time there is a complicated case that their facility can't handle. We help the patients to be transported to our hospital and get treated. At no cost. It not only helps those patients, it helps our health care workers to study these conditions." Lucas explained.

Hearing this, Diana was impressed. Patients get treated at no cost. 'How generous!'

"That's incredible!" Diana whispered. But she had a sudden thought.

"You know, before I studied my degree I dreamt of becoming a doctor. I have had that dream since childhood. Back then, maybe I was too naive, but I imagined becoming successful enough to own my own hospital." She chuckled. "Then I would treat those poor patients for free. And also go to the rural areas to set up clinics that will also give free consultations, and connect with their schools and community to teach about health."

Lucas tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. "That would be nice. You should follow that dream." He smiled. "I know you'll be incredible."

Diana smiled softly. This was not the first time somebody said those words to her. Her best friend Heather has said this to her multiple times. After earning her degree, she planned to proceed to Medical school. But since that will need a lot of money, she would need a lot of time to save for that. When she was interning at Hopton Research Institute, she thought it would take her years to save up. But now that she's in Forrest Research Institute, which offers more pay and benefits, she might start sooner than she originally thought.