Chapter 4
"Governor Rinaldi is here."
The words traveled faster than footsteps.
Rask rose from his chair for the first time that evening. Not hurried. Not slow. Just precise.
"Good, the meeting is about to start . Show him to the executive boardroom," he said. "We'll begin."
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The boardroom lights came up in stages. Long table. Leather chairs. A single screen at the far end, already awake.
Rask stood beside it.
"Time is the variable," he began. "Everything else follows."
He tapped the remote once.
A column of numbers appeared.
"Physical therapy," Rask said, "averages three months. Even at a thousand dollars per night, room fees top out around ninety thousand."
Another tap.
"Surgery begins at thirty-five thousand. Most procedures exceed that. The bed clears in two weeks."
The screen shifted again.
"Same patient volume," Rask continued. "Higher turnover. Predictable billing."
He didn't look at anyone in particular.
"Fast," he said.
"Efficient."
The room stayed quiet.
Rinaldi leaned back slightly. "Insurance doesn't pay for procedures without medical necessity."
Rask nodded once, as if acknowledging a rule everyone already knew.
"They do," he said, "when the alternative is worse."
He slid a folder across the table.
It stopped directly in front of Rinaldi.
"For the coming quarter," Rask said. "Your administration's first major healthcare initiative."
Rinaldi opened it.
He didn't read everything. He didn't need to.
A smile tugged briefly at the corner of his mouth.
"This is… aggressive," he said.
"Effective," Rask replied.
Rinaldi closed the folder, fingers resting on the cover.
"Congratulations, my friend, " Rask added calmly with a smile . "On becoming governor."
There was a pause—just long enough to be noticed.
Then soft applause filled the room.
The folder remained closed.
As Rinaldi stood to leave, Rask leaned in close enough that his voice carried to no one else.
"One more thing," he said.
Rinaldi paused.
"There's a name I need you to remember."